How to Connect any Hard Drive or SSD to an iPad Pro - 2021 

You are the *only person* who actually explained that an iPad doesn’t have enough output to power a disk drive, THANK YOU!!

Very helpful. My Mac is at Apple Store Service dept and now I can continue to do things on the Mac using my Mac backup drive remotely and temporarily.

Wow!! thanks for the detailed guide. I was wondering how to copy the files from SDD to ipad

Great info, thanks for your help!

gr8 video! informative and right to the point! Thank you!

Great info, thanks! I'm going to recycle my AirMac 2013 and old iPad Air and combine them into one travel solution at 3 pounds less bag weight. I appreciate this video!

Fabulous tutorial. Thank you!

Very clear and concise. Thank you

This is my initial review since I just got the ipad and I'm hoping to update it when I've had it longer ru-vid.comUgkxUGaHtKW8MwCql2fPyIm9-ftTqSMzKFFA . I purchased one that was listed as "acceptable condition" and was a little worried about what it would look like. However, I am pleased with its condition. The back has some scuffs and a small dent near the logo. There are a few tiny marks at the bottom of the front of the ipad but the condition of the screen is perfect. There are no scratches or anything. I was able to set it up, use it, and it charges fine. I'm hoping it continues to work well for me. So far it was worth the purchase. Also shipping was fast. The item came one day earlier than expected

Great video my guy. 👍🏽

So helpful. Thank you!

Just bought iPad Pro 12.9” WiFi 1TB yesterday 👍🏼 I’ll use it for hobby / casual video editing on Lumafusion I’m looking to purchase an SSD . This video comes at a good time !

Exactly what I was looking for..Thanks a lot for your efforts

Thanks Man. Saved me a lot of time.

Thank you for this video, you were very thorough and I was able to follow. Great video and content

Disregard...didn't know where to look. It works great!

Thanks for the viedo, Could you please clarify whether it is possible to install games app inside external flash drive in ipad mini.

Great stuff thank you. I want to use an enclosure and use my old laptop’s ssd drive. Would the iPad be sufficient in running it/ thanks

Thank you and very helpful! However, I am unable to copy and paste from icloud drive into external drive. The other way around I can do. Is there anything else I am suppose to do to enable this action?

Do you have videos about Lightroom for IPad? Your video was best one for showing attaching two external HD. Now need to find out how to use LR on IPad with them!

What would have been useful is if you had touched on the ways of formatting drives where you may want to share files between iOS and Windows

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Hi, nice informative video. I have a peculiar problem connecting SSDs to my iPad Pro 3rd Gen 12.9 in. I have two SSDs, both Sandisk, but one of them is the Extreme Pro version 1TB, while the other is the Extreme version 2TB. I use a Honeywell adaptor with a PD port that says 85 watts, to which I connect the original 20W power adaptor, while the SSD goes into the USB C (SS) port of the Honeywell adaptor, one by one though. The Extreme Pro 1TB connects perfectly and pretty much quickly, while the Extreme 2TB just doesn't show up in the Files app. The OS is 16.5, just updated yesterday. Any suggestion would help.

great video, though I don't believe at any point in the video did you suggest what format the hard drive should be in, so that the iPad recognizes the drive when connected; mind answering the question? thanks

Thanks very much

I am still rocking a 1st gen iPad Pro what hard drive is suitable I do have the lightning to usb adapter .

I have a Sandisk e61 2tb and it’s not recognizable on the iPad Pro. I can feel it get warm but i suppose the cannot support the power necessary for ssd

So how do you transfer data from a pen drive to an iPad with a lighting port?

I'd love to use an ipad pro while traveling just to offload/backup my footage (cfast cards to 2 ssd's). Can you "select all"? Because there are tons of files directly on the top directory of my cfast cards. And can you copy the footage on two drives simultaneously? Thx!

I have an older iPad with the lightning connection. I have a friend with boatloads of music on flash drives. Is there a way via adapters that I can upload the music onto my iPad?

Any advice? I have a (frustratingly costly) 8TB Samsung SSD installed within an exceptional External 2.5" USB C 3.1 Gen2 capable case (which works exceptionally well when plugged in to any PC or Android device). ~ The entire drive is formatted with one partition as an ExFAT partition. And despite my 2021 M1 iPad Pro 12.9" recognizing the drive (and its designated "label") within the "Files" App as soon as the drive is plugged in; it still wont see any files or directories.

thank you so much for this video you just made. you helped me save a lot of money by not buying macbook, where i can use ipad instead. your looks made it a lot easier as well : )

Hi how would I connect the sadisk sdd to a 9th gen ipad out in the county side any help would be appreciated

I have a sandisk extreme pro v2 1 tb but connecting it directly in ipad pro m1 in thunderbolt port is not recognize. Do i need a thunderbolt dock to power it up so ipad can recognize it?

Does this work for transferring music to your iPad as well or just photos & videos?

How do I see RAW file photos (i.e. the image not just the file name) prior to importing, so I know what image to select to import. I can only see the file names. Thx

I have the lightning connector. My iPad Pro was purchased in 2016. I want to download pictures from a flash drive but can’t figure out how to do it.

Good video.

I have same exact SSD shown at 9:16 I connect it to my iPad but it does not show up in the locations section in the files app on iPad. Please help. I only use it with iMac, so im assuming its formatted correctly for iPad OS.

How about the OS files and Apps files that u have installed or the whole HDD, can they be back up to one image file for later restoring??

Can we use the Apple dongle to connect our SSD? I have one but mainly use it for my macbook but will it work for iPad as well?

Help me!!! I have an Ipad Pro and it does not recognize my external hard drive or USB after many attempts to connect. Can someone tell me what I might be doing wrong? How do I find out what type of drive is in the enclosure kit if I haven't built it personally? TIA

What dongle device are you using that is powered by house/wall power?

I have an internal Samsung 850 500gb Solid state drive in an external closure. USB-C. By using a USB-C to Lightning cable, can I transfer data to and from a 2021 new iPad using the Lightning socket? Thank you. Geoff

Can the ssd work directly with the iPad or iPhone with out extra power

i have ipad pro 1 1inch 2021 m trying to connect external ssd frm crucial brnd but its not showing in it how to solve this?

what format should the HDD be, I have a hub that sends power and everything but when I plug my toshiba 4tb HDD it reads as unknown and gives an error that can`t be opened???? On my samsung tablet it opens with no issues, any advise?

I have an external DVD plugged into my Mac. Can I connect this to my c drive of my iPad Pro?

Great video, can external ssds connect to ipad mini 6?

Hi I have the same San disk but an iPad 7th generation, would it work in my iPad? Cause I’ve been trying but doesn’t work

I am using an iPad Pro 5th gen 16. iOS . I have a device like you have in the video to have power while having a external device. My problem is the drive never shows up on the ipad screen.

T work with Lightening Ipads with latest OS and powerde by same devices ..with ome ore vmore HD?

Is it possible to transfer 70gb of music from old cd collection that is on a spinning hard drive to an iPad Pro? Many of my cd’s are not on Apple Music and out of production. I’m deciding between iPad or or a MacBook Pro.

Hi, may I know if HDD portable hardisk can use this doogle? With the doogle having powered PD port can it have enough power to use the HDD?

I have a windows sector and a Mac sector to my hard drive but at the iPad Pro 2021 I can see only the windows sector. Do you know how can I appear the second sector?

Very good but how do I safely eject the external drives ?

Can you use externals with ipad gen 9/10 or higher? Im no apple expert, i just bought an ipad 9th gen for digital art.

Is there any way to determine used / available space on an SSD drive? Does not seem to be a feature if iOS or iPadOS.

I have the latest update and I also have Upgrow 7 in 1 USB C HUB. I can’t get anything to happen at all any advice?

See SSD in Files… IPAD (New MinI) ssays content unavailable because of unknown error. Did I need to have done a special formatting to use the SSD? I loaded files (photos, videos) from PC. Formats are jpg, etc.

I bought a Satechi dongle and I can't complete the act according to the video. The dongle shows up but when I connect SSD or hard drive with a spinning disc nothing registers. You got any ideas. Or should I Satechi support or Apple?

Did you say you can't open the files while they are on the external drive? Only when they are on the tablet drive they can be opened?

ipad 2020 or 2021 available with connection to other adapters and gadgets? or any iPad with usb-c

From your video, it looks like SSD external drives are the only way the iPad can transfer pictures and video?

Can i view a hard drive from a 2012 mac pro if i purchase the base model 2021 ipad?

Hey I am not able to copy from ipad to pendrive. But i m able to transfer from pendrive to ipad. How do I fix it.

How to unmount securely? Since there are reject option out there

Thanks for the video. Found it quite helpful. But wondering why in your video, you say ”if you have any questions post them in the comments “ but then it seems you only answered a couple-- of probably over 20? Regardless, I got some useful info.

My laptop just died and I only used it to hook an external hard drive up to save pictures would I be able to do this with an iPad Pro?

My external hard drive did not appear on my ipad; i can hear the external drive (1T) spinning, and I also at the same time charging my ipad pro and it is not showing up on my ipad; I tried with another external drive 10T (with external power adapter), it shows up on my ipad pro but disappear sometimes later, so the drive was on and off on my ipad, idk why

Why do some files open and some are not reading when they were reading before? I hit open and its a black screen with just info but no option to play as it cant read the video. Very weird and frustrating.

i tried using my brand new SSS 1GB external drive (exactly like yours) to my I-pad 9th gen by plugging the USB-C connect in to my I-pad power port from my SSD and it didn't work. The I-pad never recognized my SSD hard drive.

Got my new iPad Pro 11 inch, my sandisk ultra doesn’t detect in ipad. Any idea?

is it normal that the gb still appears the same on ipad storage and update from time to time?

Do you have to format it or could you use it straight out of the box on the sandisk SSD

But how can I transfer information from my PC desktop to and from my IPAD (USBC version)?? Created files on PC to SSD drive it will not show up on IPAD???

What about if you wanted to download a program?

When I open files in my ipad pro I dont see my movies and pictures and dont know how I can move Them to my external harddrive. I see the harddrive+

Any idea why I can see images but can’t see my videos on my iPad from my sandisk but can see them from sandisk on my Mac mini / permissions seem ok 🤨

I attached an external hard drive to my iPad. The drive that had files on it were accessible from my iPad. The drive itself says read only so I could not copy a file from my iPad. I also had an external drive that has no files on it. I was not able to copy anything to it because it also says read only. Is this a format issue? Do you know how I can change this. I need this to copy from iPad to external drive. I also have an SSD drive. I bought one of the adapters from your link. Will I have the same issue of read only?

am trying to open photos from Microsoft external hardrive which has been formatted into exfat. Lightning usb dongle Microsoft pc won’t open iPad files and iPad won’t open Microsoft external hard drive even though I paid for this file manager. Over Apple.

Jered, I have an iPad Pro 12.9 4th Gen running IOS17.4.1. It was a gift from a friend who wasn’t using it. Yesterday my main HP i9 laptop failed as it won’t charge. I know it’s not the battery and I suspect it’s something in the charging circuit that will need to be serviced. I removed the 500GB SSD from the HP and put it into a USB-C enclosure and plugged into the iPad. I do not see it in the iPad’s Files tab. The iPad does not recognize it. Since I have a multi-port dongle, I plugged the SSD into the dongle then plugged it into the iPad.Still nothing even though I know the SSD enclosure is getting power as I see the light on the enclosure and the wireless USB transmitter for my wireless mouse is working. Plus the USB-C cord from my phone charger plugged into the dongle is charging my iPad (but the same cord plugged into the port on my Magic Keyboard does not charge the iPad… very strange). I really need to be able to at least access my files on the iPad Pro so I can work while I get my HP laptop serviced. I know my Apple friends use their iPad Pros with the Magic Keyboard as a laptop substitute which is what I want to be able to do but can’t. Based on what I’ve described and your greater Apple experience than mine, what should I be doing? I can’t believe that I’m the only person experiencing this. I found your video helpful (I never knew there was the extra USB-C port on the Magic Keyboard) but I am at my wits end dealing with this. Can you help me? My EMA is fmc2900R@gmail if you can communicate with me, that would be greatly appreciated as well as posting a solution here for everyone to see. Is my problem related to a power issue? Is that what I am missing, why the SSD in the enclosure not being recognized?

How do i pack my ipad music on a Sandisk portable

Great video as always! I would like to ask you for advice. I have two Hard Disks (formatted in exFat) that I normally use on a PC. I tried to connect them via the Hub to the iPad (Air m1) but they turn on without the iPad recognizing them. How could I solve? I also changed the adapter but nothing. I state that until some time ago they were read without the slightest problem.

How do you format Samsung ssd for iPad pro

how we will know how much storage is left in that ssd after using it …?

How did you detach the external drive?

Thanks for the very clear run down. One question I have (that I may have missed the answer to) is whether the hub/dongle you’re using will run without external power (on iPad power only) to do file transfer. I’m a wildlife photographer and can be in the field away from power for days at a time. I can plug into a power bank in a pinch. But it’s often more workable if I can just run the hub directly on iPad power. Any help much appreciated! Cheers

Thanks for this video. It helped me decide to buy 1TB ssd instead of upgrading ipad to 256GB in the same price.

When disconnecting a drive, does it not have to be unmounted first? I just ordered an iPad Pro primarily for this feature. Looking forward to it arriving!

You should’ve demonstrated how to safely eject or disconnect an external drive from the iPad.

Hi great video ,one question the sandisc hard drive ,which generation did you use 1050 mbps or the 500 mbps Have heard of the 1050 mbps overheats not sure what os they were using

Can we used 1Tb HDD to connect to Ipad Pro M2?

How to format the external SSD so as to be able to store 4K video files and edit them in LumaFusion on the iPad?

can you run apps through the external ssd?

Can I save my photos and videos from my iPad to the hard disk or I can just save files? , And can I put a password for the hard disk? , can I bring a cable which has one side for iPhone and another side type-c and move the photos and videos directly from iPhone to hard disk?

Thanks for the very informative video! I am getting ready to purchase the iPad Pro 11 with either 256 or 512Gb. I would prefer to save a little money for the Apple Pencil and get the 256 Gb. Question, can you edit photos while they are sitting on the external hard drive? Or do you need to move them to the iPad Pro, edit and then move the photos back to the external hard drive? I have the Samsung T7 SSD drive. Thanks!

If my external is formatted for iOS and worked for my laptop, can I also use it for the iPad Pro? Just want to transfer my music on my external HD to my iPad Pro Lightning So I was just going to buy a cable adapter

you missed formatting to FATex on a MAC or PC prior to use on the iPad.

What about the lightning iPad?