Sandisk dual drive USB type C not working on my IPadPro 2018

Question

Sandisk dual drive USB type C not working on my IPadPro 2018

I just bought a Sandisk Drive USB Type C to backup my photos from my iPad Pro. My iPad detected it but when i open the folder on the USB drive, iPad Pro suddenly lose the detection and i cannot find the drive on my Files app. When i unplugged and plugged the drive back in it detects but when I try to browse my folder in the drive iPad loses detection again, ie i cannot see the drive on my ipad. Any one has similar experience and have found a solution to this?

iPad Pro, iPadOS 13

Posted on Aug 3, 2020 2:30 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Georgethephantom Author

Level 1

9 points

Aug 5, 2020 8:19 AM in response to LotusPilot

Just formatted the Sandisk flash drive after my IPadPro hanged from using the external drive. Although the drive is said to be IPadPro compatible it was formatted for Window DOS. After reformatted it to ExFat format, i am now able to use the drive without a powered adapter. Thanks for your help. :)

Reply

Answer 2

Aug 5, 2020 8:35 AM in response to Georgethephantom

The only truly “universal” non-proprietary filesystem formats are all FAT-based. Whilst iPad also supports APFS (which will also work with Mac) this is Apple proprietary - locking you in to the Apple ecosystem and limiting portability between systems.

Good to learn that the problem has been easily resolved through re-formatting to a supported standard.

Reply

Answer 3

Aug 3, 2020 2:59 AM in response to Georgethephantom

To be recognised by iPadOS, the attached USB storage device must be formatted to FAT, FAT32, exFAT or APFS+ with a single partition. As the iPad has limited power capabilities, dependent upon the Storage Device, an external power source is often required.

If your iPad Pro has a Lightning port, you will need to use an Apple Lightning to USB3 Camera Adapter to directly connect USB devices to the iPad. This adapter has both a USB 3.0 Type-A connector and an additional Lightning port to supply power, from your charger, to both the iPad and connected device. The external charger must be rated at 12W or more.

If you have one of the newest iPad Pro models, with a USB-C connector, you may need to utilise a powered USB hub (i.e., it has its own source of power) - connecting both the iPad Pro and the storage device to ports on the hub.

I hope this is helpful.

Reply

Answer 4

Aug 3, 2020 3:49 AM in response to LotusPilot

Thanks for your helpful comment. My IPad Pro is with a USB-C connector. Looks like i may have to get a powered USB hub to see if the problem can be overcome. Will explore that route. Much thanks for your help LotusPilot!

Reply

Answer 5

Aug 3, 2020 3:57 AM in response to Georgethephantom

Delighted to help.

You are certainly not the first to discover that the iPad cannot supply sufficient power to operate an external storage device - and you won’t be the last. The iPad is designed to be frugal in its use of power - as such, it’s battery (and ability to power external devices) is quite limited.

Reply

Answer 6

Aug 3, 2020 11:14 AM in response to LotusPilot

i tried copying files again without using a powered usb-c adapter. this time it worked but some copied files got corrupted. is that a power issue or do you think it could be the incompatibility of the sandisk drive although it is stated in the sandisk package that it was made for use in pc mac and ipad pro. i do hope it’s because of the lack of power so i could at least solve the problem with an adapter.

Reply

Sandisk dual drive USB type C not working on my IPadPro 2018

Similar questions