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ipad not recognizing external hard drive

My iPad not recognizing my SSD external hard drive?

iPad Pro, iPadOS 13

Posted on Aug 27, 2020 5:06 PM

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Posted on Aug 27, 2020 5:29 PM

To be recognised by iPadOS, the attached USB storage device must be formatted to FAT, FAT32, exFAT or APFS+ with a single data 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 Power Adapter, to both the iPad and connected device. The external Power Adapter 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 information proves to be helpful in resolving the problem.

1 reply
Question marked as Best reply

Aug 27, 2020 5:29 PM in response to rewaithi

To be recognised by iPadOS, the attached USB storage device must be formatted to FAT, FAT32, exFAT or APFS+ with a single data 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 Power Adapter, to both the iPad and connected device. The external Power Adapter 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 information proves to be helpful in resolving the problem.

ipad not recognizing external hard drive

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