I got my extension rod for the Osmo Pocket today. With it, I bought a USB-C/USB-C connection cable. Now, when I connect the Pocket to my Android 8 phone, the OP asks if I want to connect to PC. If I say yes, I can browse the content of the OP SD-card on the phone, but Mimo won't recognize the camera and I can do nothing. If I say no, nothing happens, the OP works as usual but the phone has no connection to it.
What am I doing wrong? If I connect the OP directly via the pop-on USB-C plug everything works fine.

Maybe connect the OP to the phone, fire up Mimo, then mount it on the rod?

Not all cables are created equal. Most C-to-C cables I have encountered are referred to as "charging" cables.

Is it a "cheap" cable?

in any case... it is a bad idea to use it with the cable and Android... your Osmo pocket battery will empty very fast.
Use the wifi adapter.

hedac Posted at 10-11 15:31
in any case... it is a bad idea to use it with the cable and Android... your Osmo pocket battery will empty very fast.
Use the wifi adapter.

Why would that be the case?  You'd think wifi would use more power on both sides than wired.

I use a USB-C to USB-C cable from amazon (https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01GGKYZQM/ref=twister_B06XT2FR5Q?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1).

And I figured out something:
When I connect the OP to the phone, the "Connect to computer?" popup appears on the OP screen. Then, I disconnect and reconnect the USB cable (while OP is on) a few times as long as the computer-popup appears. Usually after 3-4 trials the popup doesn't come anymore, instead "Phone connected" appears and the connection to Mimo works as expected. The connection is stable (even if I shake the cable or plugs, so it is not a mechanical problem with the plugs) and everything works perfect as long as I disconnect the devices by pulling out the cable or switch off the OP, then next time I have to do the procedure again.
When the connection doesn't work, the OP is charged by the phone. After the right connection is established, the charging direction is inverted and the phone is charged by the OP (what by the way seems to be a complete nonsense in my opinion - why does the small OP battery charge the usually much more powerful phone battery?)
So for me it looks like there is a problem between the two devices negotiating who of them is the host, and this finally happens at random. I also tried out everything I could (connect before and after switching on the OP, with and without the extension rod mounted, Mimo app started or not, all USB modes on the phone, USB debugging mode... nothing helps)

It's good to now that the connection using the cable works in principle, but the need to plug the cable in and out a few times each time I switch the OP on is not a satisfactory solution. Maybe it's a software bug in the OP? If this issue doesn't get solved soon, I will return the extension rod, as it's not really usable in the current state. And no, I am not willing to spend another 60€ for the wireless adapter just to get the extension rod to work properly.

Today I tried it again with the phone of a workmate (a Samsung Galaxy - mine is a Blackberry Key 2). With this phone, it works much better, the "Connect to computer" message only pops up occasionally, in most cases the connection works at first attempt. So the used phone seems to have an effect to the issue, but there must also be another cause.

OK, I have not tried this but all pictures I've seen is actually an female to male cable from the phone adapter to the phone and not through the charge port. Maybe that's your problem.

Some people use a male to female USB-C extension cable, but that's not how it is supposed to do - and when the OP is mounted on the extension rod, the only possible way to connect the OP to the smartphone is via the USB port on the bottom, as the other connector is used by the rod itself.
DJI also clearly states in the extension rod product description: "You can attach your phone to the phone holder, and use an Osmo Pocket Wireless Module or a connection cable (both sold independently) to control Osmo Pocket with the extension rod". So it should work using a cable, and it actually does, but only sometimes.

az5456 Posted at 10-15 11:43
Some people use a male to female USB-C extension cable, but that's not how it is supposed to do - and when the OP is mounted on the extension rod, the only possible way to connect the OP to the smartphone is via the USB port on the bottom, as the other connector is used by the rod itself.
DJI also clearly states in the extension rod product description: "You can attach your phone to the phone holder, and use an Osmo Pocket Wireless Module or a connection cable (both sold independently) to control Osmo Pocket with the extension rod". So it should work using a cable, and it actually does, but only sometimes.

You're right, forgot that it use the adapter slot. This is wired, I'll have ot see if I can get a USB-C to lightning cable and give it a try. I mostly use the wireless adaptor though.

I found the solution!
I spent many hours on further research according the USB-C specifications, and it is as I suspected. If you connect two USB-C devices that are both able to act as host as well as slave via a straight USB-C cable, there is no rule which of them gets the role of the host, so that happens at random. To define which device you want to be the host, you must use an USB OTG adaptor - it tells the device where you plug it in "you are the host now".

So, in our case, an USB-C OTG adaptor has to be connected to the Osmo, and the phone to the adaptor using a standard USB-C/USB-A cable. I bought a cheap one from Amazon, it works perfect.

The only annoying thing is that I had to find out for myself, and there is no information from DJI on this. It would have saved me many hours of work.