External hard drive to iPad

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External hard drive to iPad

I have a 2TB external hard drive and the newest 128GB 10.2-Inch iPad. The external hard drive has a USB 3.0 connection (Western Digital My Passport Ultra - bought in 2014). I'd like to connect the two to be able to watch the movies that are on the external hard drive.

My first question is, is it possible to make this connection without having to transfer/download movies off the hard drive and onto the iPad? If it IS possible, what is the correct dongle/adapter I need to make this connection? If it is NOT possible, what are all my options?

Thanks in advance!

iPad, iOS 13

Posted on Feb 17, 2020 10:07 AM

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Answer 1

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LotusPilot

Level 10

302,414 points

Feb 17, 2020 10:22 AM in response to rhiannon019

Your external HDD can be connected to your iPad with the Apple adapter appropriate for your model of iPad - if the HDD is both partitioned and formatted appropriately (i.e., a single partition - formatted as FAT32, exFAT or APFS+). However, iPadOS does not provide facility to play or directly access media from the external storage device; such content must be transferred to the iPad or iCloud.

You should also note that the iPad is not capable of providing sufficient power to run an HDD. If the HDD does not have its own source of power- then external power must be supplied to the HDD using the connecting adapter (e.g., an Apple Lightning to USB3 Camera Adapter and Apple Charger of at least 12W) - or by connecting both the iPad and HDD to a powered USB hub.

I hope you find this to be helpful in providing some useful clarity.

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External hard drive to iPad

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