USB port problems with TP2

[philox]

I just called Lenovo and they will give me a free dock based on the advertisement page. The keyword here was "lawyer".

[rzp2003]

I received my TP2 tablet for work today. I like the size and build quality, but I discovered a serious flaw. The USB port on the tablet will only accept a USB thumbdrive and not an external USB HDD or an external USB DVD/CD drive. I was going to install Office 2010 and after plugging in the non-powered DVD drive realized the TP2 was not reading it. The same thing happened when I tried my Seagate USB HDD. Both of these devices work with the Samsung 500t, 700t, ASUS 810 and the Envy x2. I contacted Lenovo tech support and sure enough, the TP2 does not have the power to run these external devices. I was told the only way they would work is if the TP2 is docked in the $100 external desktop dock and the external devices would have to run through that. I also tried to plug in my ThinkPad USB keyboard and that doesn't work either. What good is a built in USB port if it can only be used for a thumbdrive? This is an absolute deal breaker for my company because we would need to connect to these type of external devices in the field and there is no way we are lugging that huge desktop dock around just to use simple USB peripherals.

Ours are going back and we will have to decide on a different tablet. Certainly Lenovo tech support could be wrong, but we have tested on several tablets and no go. I can't even load Office because there aren't any desktop docks in stock to order anyway. Hopefully you guys are having better luck, but if you haven't tried to connect these types of external devices and will need the capability I would suggest testing it now before your return Window runs out.

when you do this, is the tpt 2 on battery only?

[spinedoc77]

That sucks. I know the 500t worked perfectly with my DVD and USB hard drives, the w510 worked as well.

[Techgeek32]

when you do this, is the tpt 2 on battery only?

Nope. Tried on battery and with power.

[Techgeek32]

I just called Lenovo and they will give me a free dock based on the advertisement page. The keyword here was "lawyer".

That's great. It sucks that you have to threaten companies to come to a fair solution. Even with a free dock that doesn't solve the problem for us because we have to constantly connect to external HDD while traveling and there is no way I am lugging that dock around just to accomplish what all of the other W8 tablets do correctly. I hope you get your dock and that all works out.

[Pianomanos]

None of my HDD are powered and they are all current devices. I tried a powered DVD burner it spooled up at least but still wasn't recognized by the tablet.

I didn't quite understand this wording... is the problem that A) the TPT2 doesn't have the juice to power an external optical drive (my Motion LE1600 had the same problem), or B) the TPT2 is not compatible with external optical drives, even if the drive is plugged into the wall for power? If B, then that's a very serious bug, and I wonder how using the dock would help such a compatibility problem.

[Techgeek32]

I didn't quite understand this wording... is the problem that A) the TPT2 doesn't have the juice to power an external optical drive (my Motion LE1600 had the same problem), or B) the TPT2 is not compatible with external optical drives, even if the drive is plugged into the wall for power? If B, then that's a very serious bug, and I wonder how using the dock would help such a compatibility problem.

What I meant was that most portable USB HDD are non powered, meaning they don't have to be plugged into an outlet before you plug them into your computer. Most of them run off of the power of the USB port on the computer. I have not tried a powered HDD, but I have tried a powered DVD burner and it did not work. My guess is that Lenovo did not give the TP2 enough power to run anything other than a USB thumbdrive. The reason the dock would be able to handle those devices is because it uses a larger power brick than the tablet. So, I don't believe it is a bug, but rather a design flaw and Lenovo marketed the product incorrectly. The problem is that most buyers want the TP2 for portability reasons and don't want to lug around the large desktop dock if they need to connect to anything other than a thumbdrive. I hope this explains what I meant more clearly.

[joffa]

I'm hoping to get a 3G model if it's not going to be too long, but failing that, do you think a USB modem would work okay?

[Pianomanos]

I see... your USB-powered external HDD didn't work, and your DVD burner didn't work even when running off its own power brick. Is anyone else finding that external HDDs or optical drives aren't working, even when powered by their own A/C adapter?

[teiger]

I really cant use an USB stick as well? Bad news for me :/. Not that I use external USB Drives, ... on the Tablet often but it would be very handy.