UsbTerminal

Terminal emulator for serial devices connected with USB

Install

UsbTerminal is a versatile terminal emulator designed for Android phones and tablets with USB-Host Mode (USB-OTG) support. It allows users to connect through USB cables to physical devices such as Arduino, ESP32, routers, and other serial communication hardware for direct terminal control.

Key features include support for multiple USB-to-Serial protocols (CDC-ACM, FTDI, Prolific, CH34x, Silabs CP210x), two keyboard input modes (real-time and dedicated input field), partial ANSI/VT100 escape sequence handling with text coloring, and two display modes (Text and Hex). UsbTerminal supports background communication, has a large scroll-back buffer, session logging, sending control characters, and DTR/CTS line control without requiring root or special permissions. Its intuitive interface includes built-in help and shortcuts to reset Arduino and ESP32 boards, making it ideal for IoT device and serial console management from mobile devices. UsbTerminal is open-source and can be found at https://github.com/liorhass/UsbTerminal.

By:: Lior Hass
Downloads:: 122,926+ 32
Rating:: 4.10
(451)
Version:: 2.0.25 (Last updated: 2022-09-19)
Creation date:: 2013-05-01
Email:: li*****@gmail.com
URLs:: Website ,Privacy policy
Full description:: See detailed description
Source:: Google Play Store
Updated:: 20 hours ago

Ranking

# 177,063 ▼ 206

Other rankings

#27 in usb keyword 7 ▲

User reviews

UsbTerminal is praised for its simplicity, effectiveness, and compatibility with USB serial devices, especially for Arduino projects and network device access. Users appreciate features like font size adjustment and integrated keyboard support. However, the app faces repeated issues with text display when the keyboard is active, limited terminal emulation capabilities, improper backspace behavior, lack of file transfer protocols, and hardware compatibility problems such as failing on Android 14 and non-recognition of some USB devices.

Pros

Simple and effective serial terminal for Android devices.
Supports essential terminal features like some escape sequences, font size adjustment, monospaced font, and keyboard integration including ctrl and arrow keys.
Works well with Arduino projects and various USB serial devices with little setup.
Useful for fieldwork allowing quick access to devices like routers, switches, and microcontrollers without a laptop.
Reliable on various Android versions and devices including older tablets and Samsung DEX.

Cons

Text display issues when the on-screen keyboard is shown causing scrolling and misplacement of text.
Limited terminal emulation support; users wish for better Ctrl key support, VT100 emulation, and more escape sequence compatibility.
Lacks advanced features such as file transfer protocols (e.g., XMODEM), binary/hex byte sending, and ability to upload files or automate delays between transmissions.
Backspace key does not behave correctly onscreen causing difficulty correcting input, even when using physical Bluetooth keyboards.
App crashes on Android 14 devices and fails to recognize some USB serial chipsets like CP2102, limiting its hardware compatibility.

Recent reviews

Works well, but needs a bit more work. The font colour escape codes work well, and I like the option to change font size. However, something odd happens when the keyboard is displayed. The text is scrolled up and further text is displayed in the wrong position. I overcame this problem by never displaying text below where the keyboard pops up.

Brian Plummer, 2024-12-08

Excellent simple serial terminal. Would be perfect if support for retro computers could be added like text file upload and delays in ms for character and line send.