{"id":240176,"date":"2026-01-18T22:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T22:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/240176\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T22:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T22:14:10","slug":"youre-probably-underusing-your-phones-usb-c-port-i-use-it-for-these-5-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/240176\/","title":{"rendered":"You\u2019re probably underusing your phone\u2019s USB-C port \u2014 I use it for these 5 things"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most people never use their phone\u2019s USB-C port for anything other than charging the device. At best, they might plug in a USB flash drive to move a few files and call it a day. But that small port at the bottom can handle far more than most of us give it credit for. <\/p>\n

I use it for faster wired internet through a LAN connection, charging my accessories, mirroring my phone’s screen to a TV, and connecting external devices like a microphone, keyboard, mouse, and even a gaming controller. The best part is that you don’t need anything more than a cable and an adapter to turn your phone into a workstation<\/a>, a media hub, a gaming console, or even a backup power source in a pinch.<\/p>\n

Enjoy a wired LAN connection<\/p>\n

Zero lag, zero drops, just pure speed<\/p>\n

\"Android
\n Pankil Shah \/ MakeUseOfCredit:\u00a0Pankil Shah \/ MakeUseOf<\/p>\n

This one may sound a bit odd, but hear me out. Every so often, I connect my Android phone to my router with an Ethernet cable. For this, I use a USB-C to Ethernet adapter and a LAN cable that runs from the router to my PC. <\/p>\n

Any time I need fast internet on my phone, I simply need to connect that LAN cable using the adapter. Once done, all that\u2019s left to do is turn off Wi-Fi and mobile data from the Quick Settings panel, and I\u2019m good.<\/p>\n

Of course, this isn\u2019t something that\u2019s practical to do all day. But I find it especially useful when backing up large photos and videos to the cloud and gaming online. It saves me from longer wait times and those occasional backup errors.<\/p>\n

Charging other phones and accessories<\/p>\n

Nothing short of a portable power bank<\/p>\n

\"Android
\n Pankil Shah \/ MakeUseOfCredit:\u00a0Pankil Shah \/ MakeUseOf<\/p>\n

A phone\u2019s USB-C port is not just taking in power. It can also send power out. In other words, your phone can act as an emergency power bank.<\/p>\n

I find this extremely useful, especially now that newer iPhones also have a USB-C. With a USB-C to USB-C cable, I can plug my phone into another, and whichever one has more battery automatically becomes the charger. I\u2019ve used this more than once to save a friend\u2019s phone that was about to die.<\/p>\n

The same also works for accessories. I can use my phone to power my wireless earbuds, smartwatches, fitness bands, and even a Bluetooth speaker. <\/p>\n

This feature is called reverse charging, and most modern phones have it. My Samsung phone also has a wireless power-sharing option<\/a>, which turns my phone into a wireless charger. Still, I prefer using a cable connection wherever possible because it\u2019s faster, reliable, and also lets me transfer files.<\/p>\n

External microphone<\/p>\n

Professional audio with minimal setup<\/p>\n

\"Phone
\n Pankil Shah \/ MakeUseOfCredit:\u00a0Pankil Shah \/ MakeUseOf<\/p>\n

My Samsung phone has a decent microphone that\u2019s good enough for calls, notes, and voice typing, but it is nowhere near ideal for recording high-quality audio. It simply cannot compete with a real microphone. <\/p>\n

So any time I need to record a voiceover, I connect my Fifine microphone to my phone using a USB cable. It makes my voice sound fuller, clearer, and far more professional.<\/p>\n

What I love most is how simple the setup is. All I need is a phone, a microphone, and a cable. I don\u2019t need to use a laptop to record my voice in high quality. I can record narrations and voiceovers and get audio quality that requires almost no editing.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tHow USB-C reversibility actually works
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Reversible doesn’t mean identical.<\/p>\n

Mirror phone to a TV or monitor<\/p>\n

Your phone, supersized<\/p>\n

\"Selecting
\n Digvijay Kumar \/ MakeUseOfCredit:\u00a0Digvijay Kumar \/ MakeUseOf<\/p>\n

One thing that separates phones from PCs is the screen size you get. But with a USB-C cable and a TV or monitor that supports display over USB-C, that limitation disappears.<\/p>\n

I can connect my phone to my monitor or TV and mirror everything to a bigger screen. This is great for watching photos and videos on a large screen and even doing a quick presentation. Yes, it\u2019s possible to mirror my phone to a TV wirelessly<\/a> too, but using a cable connection means I don\u2019t have to worry about lag or having a Wi-Fi connection.<\/p>\n

This setup even allows me to use my phone as a temporary workstation. I can pair it with a keyboard and mouse to answer emails, edit documents, or browse comfortably using Chrome’s desktop mode.<\/p>\n

Mouse, keyboard, and game controllers<\/p>\n

Ditch the touch, plug in precision<\/p>\n

As someone who uses a mechanical keyboard all day, I find typing on a phone quite uncomfortable. For long writing sessions, I connect a wired keyboard to my phone using a USB-C cable or a USB-C to USB-A dongle<\/a>. This makes typing long emails or editing documents feel more comfortable.<\/p>\n

I can do the same with a mouse. This is especially handy when I\u2019m recording my phone\u2019s screen to demonstrate something, because a mouse gives me a visible cursor that makes it easier for others to follow what I am doing. Another possible use case for this is when a phone\u2019s touchscreen stops working. Plugging in a mouse can help you navigate the interface and back up important data.<\/p>\n

The peripheral I use the most, though, is a game controller. I find this handy in games that show on-screen buttons. With a controller, I can simply hide them and enjoy a clean view of the game. The overall gaming experience feels much more console-like.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s crazy how much of a difference a simple shift from old Micro USB and Lightning ports to USB-C on phones has made. And yet, it\u2019s kind of sad that most people don\u2019t get to enjoy these possibilities, simply because they are barely talked about or marketed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most people never use their phone\u2019s USB-C port for anything other than charging the device. At best, they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240177,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[342,111,139,69,145],"class_list":{"0":"post-240176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-mobile","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}