Samsung Dex setup

[naughty001]

actual pic of the stand



it looks pretty - too bad about them lying regarding the weight handling capacity



monitor on the stand - don't even have to remove the cover - just bend it over on to the other side and the monitor still sits okay on the stand



rear view of the stand as you rotate it for the person facing you or next to you to view whats on the monitor - this stand will obviously work great for larger tablets and ipads too

this is it now - no more frivolous spending on this setup - just going to leave the Dex setup and laptop as they are now - no need to spend any more at all because i can't really improve much more here for either unit now just going to use these till they stop working OR the phone gets stolen (whichever comes first)

 

[naughty001]

notwithstanding what i said above i actually got another stand from Temu for the monitor - so the heavier duty stand posted above i will use with the laptop mainly when i need to use both the laptop and monitor together - otherwise i can use it for the monitor too ..... the stand from Temu looks like this and its purely a tablet stand




this is what the monitor looks like on the stand



and here too i don't need to remove the monitor covering case



another view



so i can use the monitor and laptop together as down below - i can also use the monitor as a second monitor for the laptop with an HDMI cable connected as well while the phone is connected to the USB port and i can keep switching sources on the monitor



sorry this stuff was dusty its all due a good cleanup

and while searching Temu i came across this - i'm not going to order it straight away - since i'm running out of money to buy toys with but i'm confident that since these USB C ports are 10GBPS they will allow the video of the phone to pass through to the monitor using this unit, and it will work as i intended all those other ones earlier to work, so i reckon this will be my answer to complete my Dex setup - and i will probably need to get another big PD capable powerbank but waiting for those to go higher than only 22.5 watts PD since this thing can accept 100 watt PD input to output 87 watt PD to charge even a laptop - so it should do the trick since it also has gigabit ethernet and also also up to 4k@60hz HDMI capability ..... so this thing will be my next but last item to complete the setup - not sure when i will get it though

USB C hub for DEX

 

[naughty001]

so following on from my last post up above - i conducted an interesting experiment (it was interesting to me .... not sure if it will interest anyone else BUT on the off chance that there are people out there who want to make hard drives and external portable SSDs work of a mobile Android device this might provide a few clues as to how it can possible be done)

I downloaded an app called Zugate to see if i can make the phone recognise and read and possibly work with NTFS files - and it does work (you want NTFS and ExFat because you may need to store files larger than 4.7GB for ultraHD video and i use NTFS because ExFat is really fragile ie if the drive is formatted in ExFat and you remove it improperly without unmounting it then you will corrupt it easily and lose everything on it (i know because i have been burned by this pesky fact and i did a whole lot of research on it at that time but that was obviously too little too late so i just stick to NTFS so i don't lose more data than is necessary) so yep ZiGate is able to read NTFS and i managed to format a flash drive in NTFS then add some files to it and successfully use ZuGate to transfer those files to the phone - the long term implication being that it is possible for the phone to read NTFS storage devices. so the new gen hub i linked to above will work but my power bank is not up to the task of providing that thing with the required amounts of power for two differing tasks :

1) to allow the USB C to work at full speeds to transfer video even if i use a thunderbolt capable USB C cable (these cables start off costing around R450 or thereabouts)

USB C to USB C 40 GBPS cable (linky)

2) to give the hub full PD power to allow hard drives and SSD's to work seamlissly without being plugged into a wall power outlet so i need a power bank capable of providing 100 watt PD power

100 watt power bank (linky)

and obviously the hub model that i linked up above that has all the latest spec ports and speeds that are required to make the whole thing work ..... link as a reminder

USB C hub (linky)

so i am actually three items and around a R2000 spend away from making the Dex setup work exactly as i intended - so i have to wait a little longer than i intend as well since i have blown the last of my electronic toy budget buying the Gen 3 Mi Box S and around R1k worth of small items from Temu - so will need to see what i can get rid off for R2k so i can get these items without disturbing my planned budget (and i intend to stick to that even if it means waiting a few months and increased pricing on buying these last few "toys")

 

[naughty001]

this photo i posted up above was a funny thing ie the laptop was taking ages to boot up and i thought that it was because the battery was not charged BUT it was my O/S giving up the ghost - i cant figure out how to repair because the laptop came with windows 10 and was upgraded to 11 via Windows update and i did not do a backup image of the laptop after the upgrade - upshot was that i was stuck with a non-booting laptop that i couldn't figure out how to repair because the repair files in the laptop were for Win 10 and the version of Win 11 that was updated to was an older version of Win 11 than what is currently on Microsofts website so this on a flash drive was unable to do a repair (this is why i hate O/S updates unless you have spare hard drive space to store a backup image .... and i hadnt hadn't had the foresight to store a backup on onedrive either)

BUT

earlier as i had posted i had just added the SSD into the machine and purchased Win 11 pro to install into that - so up to now i was too lazy to do that so this forced me to get my ass into gear and figure out how to do it - so i had already downloaded Win 11 from the Microsoft website so i tinkered with the bios settings and made the first boot device into the SSD - i then ran into the problem that this laptop had Win 11 home embedded into it and it just wanted to default to running a Win 11 home install, so i just did some research on the net and then i added an ei.cfg file as well as a PID.txt file with my cheaply purchased Win 11 pro Key into the sources folder on the Win 11 install drive - this did the trick and now i have a fresh new install of Win 11 pro running on the SSD and it does boot quicker and run fairly faster than the conventional drive - just need to check the health of that old conventional drive to figure out what caused it to go flaky all of a sudden - if the drive is fine then i'm just going to use it as a storage drive but as it is currently configured with me booting from the SSD i can actually access any of the files i hadn't saved or backed up in the old drive (obviously after giving my self admin access to the old drive) and i can transfer those files onto the new drive (just hope that it wasn't some form of malware that caused my issue because then i will have to restart the whole procedure again from scratch if it was and i get it onto this new install )

 

[naughty001]

okay - to get the setup close to complete i have ordered the following items - though it still might be lacking one or two items

to start i found a better USB-C hub than the one i linked above - the new one i found has PD 100 watt as well as 2 x USB-A 3.0 5gps ports and 2 x USB-C 3.2 10gps ports and then a single USB-A 3,2 10gps port then it has two HDMI ports (one for 4k @ 60hz and the second one capable of up to 8k @ 30Hz or you can use both at the same time at 4k @ 60hz) then it also has 100 watt PD power input connection as well as SD and microSD card capability and finally a gigabit lan connection

USB Hub (clickable link)

then i also ordered the following cables from temu - the first one which is only 13cm or 14cm long to work from the new PD power bank to the hub - the specs are probably a whole bunch of science fiction but if they work to at least 30% of the claimed spec i will be happy with the cable

short USB-C cable (clickable link)

than as spare USB-C to USB-C i got a two of these - again impressive claims on specs but i'm sure its all gibberish and once again if it works to at least 30% of the claimed spec these will be good enough for the price - even they don't work to that level they will at least work as USB-C to USB-C for other purposes

cheapie USB-C cables (clickable link)

than as above i ordered the power bank and the one important cable i want to use for video transmission via USB-C from Takealot - and i really hope this works otherwise all this stuff in this post was a wasted R2k effort

100 watt PD capable Power Bank (clickable link)

cable for touch screen/video transmission (clickable link) this is a way better cable than the ones i linked above

so as i said its all almost over now - but since i borrowed the cash for this stuff - once i pay it back i still have to get the following items :

desktop docking PD charger to charge the PD power bank (clickable Link)

for now i have to use a much slower charger to charge the power bank ..... plus this thing will have the required PD capability f i want to use the setup connected to the wall plugs ie my phone charger is only a 45 watt charger and the hub needs 100 watt

then if i want to also charge the laptop on the go if im not using the Dex setup and using the laptop and the battery dies i can use the 100 watt power bank with the following (on paper - its all assumptions but they do state that its compatible to charge notebooks/dell legacy laptops with the power bank i'm buying)

USB-C to Dell adapter cable (clickable link)

 

[naughty001]

stuff from Takealot arrived - just waiting for the Temu stuff but they did not have the USB-C hub in stock and were awaiting stock replenishment - so could be a small wait for that item (i wanted them to ship the entire order together because getting any of the other things early makes no sense since it should all be connected together

Power bank and the good cable



i haven't tried out the power bank yet because i don't have anything that needs such a powerful/fast charger but i did try the cable out as my primary Dex connection from the phone direct to the monitor and it looks WAY better than the output from the original cable that came with the monitor (far smoother and less grainy while displaying more color and higher contrast and brightness with zero adjustments done) so the cable was worth the price just for that alone - now it just remains to be seen if the Hub specs are for real and whether those USB-C ports transmit video while it is powered up by the 100 watt power bank

 

[Lupus]

You're really going all out here turning your phone into a sort of PC . I mean I tried it once on the S23 and was like this is cool and haven't really done it again.
I do have quite a few docks laying around and portable screens thanks to me trying to turn my Ally into something more, but ended up just not doing that. Might whip some of those into a Dex setup.

 

[Smiggles]

How much money did you waste so far all in?

 

[naughty001]

How much money did you waste so far all in?

On the Dex aspect - with the +/- R2k i just spent in the last few posts its still under R7k all in including the hub and stands and monitor and every other little accessory including the bag to carry it all around (the stuff that did not work was returned) - so the entire Dex setup minus the phone was just around a similar pricetag to buying a Samsung A36 phone - the only thing i regret is not looking at temu before starting the whole journey because i could have rather had a 4k ultraHD monitor within a couple of 100 bucks more - though i can live with what i have ..... as for wasting - its the Apple guys who waste money - this exercise was fun and my phone plus all this stuff was still WAY cheaper than an iphone 16 pro max - and it does a whole bunch of additional stuff that the iphone will never, ever be able to do - and even if the hub doesn't work exactly as i plan and lands up being another dead end wasted effort the rest of the setup is still more than adequate for what i needed it to do ie work as an online browsing and video streaming machine when there is load shedding and there is no Diesel in the generator, while not having to wait half an hour for a laptop to boot due to windows updates

the laptop stuff is for the laptop and that will be around R3.5k once i get the Dell charging adapter for the powerbank but that doesn't count as part of the DEX setup, even though its still mobile it definitely is not part of the Dex stuff ..... hopefully this can make sense to you and i don't have to explain why 1+1=2

 

[naughty001]

You're really going all out here turning your phone into a sort of PC . I mean I tried it once on the S23 and was like this is cool and haven't really done it again.
I do have quite a few docks laying around and portable screens thanks to me trying to turn my Ally into something more, but ended up just not doing that. Might whip some of those into a Dex setup.

no reason why not - if it doesn't cost you anything ...... at least you won't be accused of wasting your own money (even if its only small amounts - i still can't figure out what Apple things you could buy for R7k because it certainly wont even buy you 25% of a Macbook PRO)

 

[Lupus]

no reason why not - if it doesn't cost you anything ...... at least you won't be accused of wasting your own money (even if its only small amounts - i still can't figure out what Apple things you could buy for R7k because it certainly wont even buy you 25% of a Macbook PRO)

You know like in Jurassic Park where Malcolm said that they spent too much time on that they could, but not on the should they have

 

[Lupus]

How much money did you waste so far all in?

He's having fun with it, it's his money. Let him choose to do with this as he pleases. You waste your money your way, he does it his.

 

[Smiggles]

He's having fun with it, it's his money. Let him choose to do with this as he pleases. You waste your money your way, he does it his.

Just wanted a tally for interest's sake.

 

[Lupus]

Just wanted a tally for interest's sake.

So you could've asked, so how much did you spend, not waste.

 

[naughty001]

Just wanted a tally for interest's sake.

sure - i was annoyed at the "wasted" comment initially BUT then i realized that it might be of interest to some people to put the totals together - and this is the net spend as it stands and some people might be interested and some might not

Dex setup

1) Bluetooth keyboard and mouse R230
2) JVC 15,6" touchscreen monitor R2700
3) Tripod stand for phone R250
4) power bank R500
5) HDMI cable for TV setup R250
6) laptop bag R300
7) Stylus R99 (no bluetooth connection)
8) Stand for monitor R300 (was like R270 plus share of taxes)
9) the 240W PD cable from Takealot R450
10) The 100 watt PD powerbank R720 (R713 to be exact but we are rounding off here)
11) the USB C hub which is in SA - just have to pay the import fees to receive now R800
12) various USB-C cables from Temu R208

total for Dex setup = R6807 so just a smidgeon under R7k as i said earlier

Laptop stuff - (this is not part of the Dex cost)

1) SSD M.2 drive 1 TB - R1500 (for laptop)
2) battery for dell laptop - R900
3) Windows 11 key - R100
4) Stand for Laptop - R700

total for laptop stuff = R3200

(all pricing in ZA rands)

Still need to buy Dell Link cable adapters will cost R250 to charge laptop from Power bank, and the last link in it all is the wall powered charging dock that can give PD 100 watt to the power bank as well as charge other stuff all at the same time which will be at most R700 for a 10 port unit so around a grand more to spend and then its definitely all over

so for the mobile stuff and make sure i have some kind of stuff to use during any power outages without windows updates and with Windows updates is R10k but i still need to spend around R1k more to make it bullet proof ...... all obtained from Takealot and Temu and a more than fair bit of it from my good buddies at Govan Mani who give me great discounts so i save a bit

as you can see the total spend would not even be enough to buy an iphone 16e or might be just about around 1/4th of what a typical macbook pro 14" M4 would cost when you include accessories like a bag etc to carry it around - the phone cost me R14449 during last Black Friday but included a Samsung Galaxy buds 3 in the package (typically valued at R3200 at the Samsung store now) and the laptop was around R14k to R15k for the 8th gen Dell i7 around 4 to 5 years ago - newer laptops of this level in 11th gen or 12th Gen intel chip models would still be around R15k to R17k (equivalent AMD Ryzen models a similar price range) but we are not including the cost of the phone or the laptop in the upgrade bundles ..... and even if you do you will easily see i'm a universe away from spending what an equivalent Apple setup would cost me ...... would that setup do more for me than this stuff can? Is definitely an interesting question and i'm sure it will do far more for the user that has more advanced use case scenarios, but for the exact jobs i need done i doubt i can get it done much cheaper - maybe slightly better in certain ways ie like being able to get a no name brand 4k ultraHD monitor from Temu (but that would not have been touch screen like the full HD one i have now)

ultra HD portable monitor (no touch screen) (clickable link)

i just looked at the Apple istore - maybe some kind of 13" ipad would have done, but the cheapest 13" model new would be like close to R25k and the pro model for 256GB storage would be close to R40k - and it would do fantastically well for the situation (besides for the prohibitive cost) and Apple doesnt make it easy to play local files either, and i would be very much relying on local files with no wi-fi during load shedding and a very limited 20gig daytime and 20gig night time data package for the emergencies, so in full effect i may need one with a larger storage space and the 2TB 13" ipad pro is closer to R60k so its only possible if i hit the Lotto numbers big time then i won't say "NO" ...... i did not look at pre-owned Apple stuff because everything up above is all spanking brand new and most of the time i opened the packaging besides for one suspect time when i returned the item

should have named this thread "The Poor mans way to waste money with Samsung Dex and other cheapie Chinese stuff"

 

[Lupus]

sure - i was annoyed at the "wasted" comment initially BUT then i realized that it might be of interest to some people to put the totals together - and this is the net spend as it stands and some people might be interested and some might not

Dex setup

1) Bluetooth keyboard and mouse R230
2) JVC 15,6" touchscreen monitor R2700
3) Tripod stand for phone R250
4) power bank R500
5) HDMI cable for TV setup R250
6) laptop bag R300
7) Stylus R99 (no bluetooth connection)
8) Stand for monitor R300 (was like R270 plus share of taxes)
9) the 240W PD cable from Takealot R450
10) The 100 watt PD powerbank R720 (R713 to be exact but we are rounding off here)
11) the USB C hub which is in SA - just have to pay the import fees to receive now R800
12) various USB-C cables from Temu R208

total for Dex setup = R6807 so just a smidgeon under R7k as i said earlier

Laptop stuff - (this is not part of the Dex cost)

1) SSD M.2 drive 1 TB - R1500 (for laptop)
2) battery for dell laptop - R900
3) Windows 11 key - R100
4) Stand for Laptop - R700

total for laptop stuff = R3200

(all pricing in ZA rands)

Still need to buy Dell Link cable adapters will cost R250 to charge laptop from Power bank, and the last link in it all is the wall powered charging dock that can give PD 100 watt to the power bank as well as charge other stuff all at the same time which will be at most R700 for a 10 port unit so around a grand more to spend and then its definitely all over

so for the mobile stuff and make sure i have some kind of stuff to use during any power outages without windows updates and with Windows updates is R10k but i still need to spend around R1k more to make it bullet proof ...... all obtained from Takealot and Temu and a more than fair bit of it from my good buddies at Govan Mani who give me great discounts so i save a bit

as you can see the total spend would not even be enough to buy an iphone 16e or might be just about around 1/4th of what a typical macbook pro 14" M4 would cost when you include accessories like a bag etc to carry it around - the phone cost me R14449 during last Black Friday but included a Samsung Galaxy buds 3 in the package (typically valued at R3200 at the Samsung store now) and the laptop was around R14k to R15k for the 8th gen Dell i7 around 4 to 5 years ago - newer laptops of this level in 11th gen or 12th Gen intel chip models would still be around R15k to R17k (equivalent AMD Ryzen models a similar price range) but we are not including the cost of the phone or the laptop in the upgrade bundles ..... and even if you do you will easily see i'm a universe away from spending what an equivalent Apple setup would cost me ...... would that setup do more for me than this stuff can? Is definitely an interesting question and i'm sure it will do far more for the user that has more advanced use case scenarios, but for the exact jobs i need done i doubt i can get it done much cheaper - maybe slightly better in certain ways ie like being able to get a no name brand 4k ultraHD monitor from Temu (but that would not have been touch screen like the full HD one i have now)

ultra HD portable monitor (no touch screen) (clickable link)

i just looked at the Apple istore - maybe some kind of 13" ipad would have done, but the cheapest 13" model new would be like close to R25k and the pro model for 256GB storage would be close to R40k - and it would do fantastically well for the situation (besides for the prohibitive cost) and Apple doesnt make it easy to play local files either, and i would be very much relying on local files with no wi-fi during load shedding and a very limited 20gig daytime and 20gig night time data package for the emergencies, so in full effect i may need one with a larger storage space and the 2TB 13" ipad pro is closer to R60k so its only possible if i hit the Lotto numbers big time then i won't say "NO" ...... i did not look at pre-owned Apple stuff because everything up above is all spanking brand new and most of the time i opened the packaging besides for one suspect time when i returned the item

should have named this thread "The Poor mans way to waste money with Samsung Dex and other cheapie Chinese stuff"

Yeah some of that stuff could've been cheaper via temu, windows 11 key slightly cheaper on BoB

 

[naughty001]

okay - USB-C hub and Temu cables have arrived - just need to connect those cheap 240 watt cables to see how they work compared to the expensive one that i got from Takealot - that expensive MCDodo cable actually transmits 8k remastered stuff from the phone and it then downscales on the 1080p monitor but plays smoothly while the cable that originally cane with the monitor struggles a lot with the demands of the same files (stutters, judders, slowdowns and complete stops as well as spells of total darkness then recovering and playing for while but its not smooth - the cables that claim to play 8k video are all fine but just have to compare the cheapish Temu ones still)

the USB does not transmit video which was disappointing but i then connect via HDMI and by mistake i just tried the touchscreen while connected with HDMI and it bloody well damn works - i was so excited about this fact that you could have dropped me with a feather - the hub plus the 100 watt powerbank providing power to the monitor as well as concurrently charging the phone can also have hard drives (and by extension portable SSD's or any other USB based storage source) powered up and working perfectly in the setup so the hub actually becomes the heart/centre of the connections - and now i can have the whole setup connected up and actually play up to 8k video if i need to (obviously for now the 8K signals downscale to the res of the monitor i use ..... can get 8k files from yourtube for testing) ...... as an aside i have the USB-C to HDMI cable that claims 4k and that plays all the 4k files perfectly onto my 4k TV but that cable also struggles with 8k because somehow the TV doesnt downscale the 8k files BUT when i use the monitor the 8k files just downscale down to 1080p and play

maybe when i connect to the TV as well i need to do it via the hub - so its possible that the phone needs additional power with the 100 watt power connected and it will transmit those 8k files in the same way it does as when connected to the portable monitor - but for now the phone playing 8k video through the hub to the portable monitor plays beatiful video quality through to the portable monitor

so now absolute last step is to get the wall connected 100 watt PD capable charger (so will work on getting that charging dock station that has 140watt as well as 100watt connections) BUT as it stands - i can do everything i wanted to with what i have - the 100watt PD power bank charges well enough with my 45 watt wall charger thoughit obviously isnt an ultra fast charge - it just takes a bit more time to charge it till it's ready for use

heres the wall charger i need to get when i have the spare cash :

wall charging docking station (clickable link)

then step after that is to get an 8k TV or monitor BUT thats very long term

EDIT : will also try and take some photos and video of the setup playing 8k videos (downscaled to monitor res but 8k files playing)

 

[naughty001]

so here is a pic of the stuff that's arrived from Temu - the USB hub on the right hand side and how the short cable connects the 100 watt power bank to the hub - and the extra 8k video capable USB-C cables (still have to open those and test them) - will do that when i can get a buddy to come and help take some pics and video of the setup in action (the setup cant multi-task to the extent of playing 8k video while capturing video via the camera so while my phone is part of the setup i need to ask my buddy for his phone to take a few video clips)



close up of the USB-C Hub and this thing is definitely next generation to the usual stuff you get for far cheaperand how i know that this stuff is genuine is because as soon as i plugged in a hard drive - it recognized on the phone and the Zugate app mounted the drive in like lass than a second which is even quicker than going direct to the phone via an OTG connector which seems to slow the connection down a bit - through the hub it mounts and then loads files in a flash and then video playback is instantaneous and glitch free and when i connect the power bank as well as the hard drive it still powers the drive and also the monitor itself and all while charging the phone all effortlessly and instantly with no slowdowns, glitches, shudder or judder and the video doesn't blank out at any stage - it all just works ..... and at the end of the day that is what you want ..... and yes it is all easier with the laptop until the laptop starts doing the windows updates when you want to start the damn thing - with this setup it takes less than 50 seconds to connect up all the cables and you are then playing video - and i can play all the files that are 4k with Dolby Atmos as well so its even better than my Gen 8 microserver that i use as a desktop PC to do my downloading and when i get all the relevant apps it is going to do all that my laptop does and more ..... so i'm reaching the stage where i can abandon the laptop and the PC ..... in fact i wont buy another desktop PC ever again



the other side of the hub with theoretical max speeds of the connection shown




so yeah setup is now taking shape and enough new toys to keep me fiddling around with stuff for ages

 

[naughty001]

so here's the complete mobile setup



On the extreme right is the laptop with the new Win 11 installation on the dedicated aluminum alloy steel rack while on the middle we have the portable monitor with Dex coming from the phone thats extreme left on the smallish tabletop tripod while under the phone you can see the 2TB hard drive that will store the content - in the meantime behind the monitor is the USB-C hub as well as the 100 watt powerbank that provides power to the monitor and storage whilst simultaneously charging the phone and the bluetooth keyboard and mouse for the Dex bit is the blue and white units in the forefront in line with the laptops keyboard

This stuff is not really going to be used like this always - its more a either/or type if situation but suffice it to say that if there are updates going on to Win 11 then the laptop will just stay in the bag unopened - so most of the time its just going to be the Dex setup which will look more-or-less like this



also i don't necessarily have to use the keyboard and mouse because i can use the phone as a touchpad as well as the Samsung keyboard on the phone for the typing duties without connecting the bluetooth stuff .... and for the bits when i don't need to type anything at all the screen is a touchscreen unit and will just work as a bigass tablet while connected to the phone in Dex mode

if i don't want to use the PC style interface i can also still keep using the big monitor as something i can cast to and it works like a big android tablet



so i can make calls or do messaging and e-mails on the bigger screen if i want to instead of having to squint at the phones small screen - in terms of the 16 : 9 configuration i can stretch the picture to zoom using the finger pinch method and this works for video as well

Now i just need to look for some bits of software that will increase the utility of the Dex setup ie if i can find the relevant software i wont need the Laptop or even my microserver at all, and i can instead even use the phone as an entry level desktop machine because the phone does more video and multimedia stuff than the laptop and microserver combined

 

[naughty001]

this is the file explorer showing the 2TB drive just connected and recognising via the USB-C hub and this works completely glitch free - no slowdowns and instantaneous reaction as if i was browsing on a PC instead of on just a phone





and then this is how ZUgate works with NTFS :

first you tap to connect the drive



then you mount it



then you tap to open the drive - and then you can browse it as per the file explorer like ususal and attempting to open the files will then prompt you to specify the app that you wish to use to open that file




the file explorer file structure is something that should remain very similar on most android phones - here is a TV series and how the file structure looks in the Samsung file explorer