Using powered HDD with iPad Pro

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Using powered HDD with iPad Pro

Hi all,

I have recently tried using a lightning-usb adapter (not the powered one) with my 2nd gen 12.9 ipad pro. It connected to a simple small flashdrive with no problem.

Now I just wish it would work with my 1TB Toshiba powered HDD. I connect it, the HDD powers up (I can hear it running and the light flashes too), but no reaction from the iPad. Not even the “Not enough power” message (which would be funny anyway, since the HDD has its own power source).

The iPad is updated to the lates iPadOS.

I tried contacting Apple support twice, that was no use at all..

Any idea?

Thanks a lot

iPad Pro 12.9-inch, 2nd Gen, Wi-Fi, Cell

Posted on Apr 2, 2020 2:54 AM

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Answer 1

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LotusPilot

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Apr 2, 2020 3:01 AM in response to Maarkus89

As described, your specific problem might not be power - as your HDD is clearly self-powered - but instead it is more likely that your HDD formatting or partitioning is not compliant with iPadOS system requirements.

External bulk storage devices, for compatibility with iOS/iPadOS 13.x, must only have a single partition - formatted as FAT32, exFAT or APFS. Other formats (such as NTFS) or multi-partition drives are not supported.

I hope this is helpful in providing some useful clarity.

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Answer 2

Maarkus89 Author

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Apr 2, 2020 3:04 AM in response to LotusPilot

Thanks for the swift reply.

I have used the HDD with my iMac before and it worked fine. I suppose the Mac and the iPad don’t have the same requirements.

I will try and format the HDD. Does it make a difference if I do it on a Mac or a PC?

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Answer 3

Apr 2, 2020 3:28 AM in response to Maarkus89

Beware of you partition type/mapping - only a single drive partition is supported.

Formatting can be performed by PC or Mac. FAT/exFAT are supported by iPadOS, PC and Mac, whereas APFS is Apple proprietary.

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Answer 4

Maarkus89 Author

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8 points

Apr 2, 2020 3:51 AM in response to LotusPilot

Yeah I’ll be aware of that. The HDD is formatted as NTFS right now, that might have been the issue.

Thanks a lot for the help, I will post an update when the formatting is completed. Maybe it will be useful for others too.

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Answer 5

Apr 2, 2020 3:55 AM in response to Maarkus89

There’s no maybe at all. NTFS (a Microsoft proprietary format) is not supported by Apple.

The only “universal” formats supported by both Microsoft and Apple are FAT, FAT32 and exFAT.

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Using powered HDD with iPad Pro

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