IPad and External Hard Drive

Question

IPad and External Hard Drive

I have an iPad and two old Apple computers; an eMac and a PowerBook. There are files on the eMac and PowerBook that I would like to store on an external hard drive. In addition there are image and video files that I would like to copy onto the iPad from the external hard drive. A sales associate at Best Buy recommended a 1TB easy store portable hard drive and a USB 3.0 hub. After powering up the hard drive and the iPad using the USB hub I was not able to see the hard drive. And I wasn’t prompted to format the drive either. The impression I’m getting from searching the web is that I would need a camera or AV kit in order to do this? Could someone from the support community please clarify this for me.

Thank you!

Posted on Jan 2, 2021 4:20 PM

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Answer 1

Lindsay_B.

Community Specialist

Jan 4, 2021 2:08 PM in response to alfredfromstetson

Hey there, Alfred,

Thanks for stopping by the Apple Support Communities to get help connecting an external USB drive to your iPad. You've come to the right place!

The steps outlined in the Apple Support article Connect external devices or servers with Files on iPad - Apple Support reviews the necessary components and steps to connect your iPad and external drive, including the following regarding connections:

"Connect a USB drive or an SD card

Insert a USB camera adapter or an SD card reader into the charging port on iPad.

Depending on your model, use the Lightning to USB Camera Adapter, Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter, USB-C to SD Card Camera Reader, or Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader (all sold separately).

Note: The Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter can be powered with a USB power adapter. This allows you to connect USB devices with higher power requirements, such as external hard drives, to iPad."

Best!

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Answer 2

Jan 4, 2021 3:26 PM in response to LotusPilot

Thank you LotusPilot.

Indeed I just discovered on youtube the fact that I would need to use a computer to reformat the hard drive. I’m hoping I can do that on my dinosaur of an eMac. ( l still use the eMac by the way ) 🙂

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Answer 3

Jan 4, 2021 3:03 PM in response to Lindsay_B.

Hi, Lindsay_B.

Thanks for your help. 😀

unfortunately after trying all that it didn’t work. I’m using the correct Apple camera adapter and Apple power plug. I’m led to believe that my western digital hard drive will need to be reformatted for iOS since it comes formatted for pc. However I’m not prompted to go to a certain location (website) for reformatting options. In fact the hard drive is not even recognized at all.

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Answer 4

Jan 4, 2021 3:16 PM in response to alfredfromstetson

iOS/iPadOS does not offer any means by which it can format an external storage device. Device formatting, if needed, must be performed by another computer (such as a PC or Mac).

Your HDD must have only have a single data partition - and be formatted as FAT32, exFAT or APFS. Multiple data partitions and Microsoft proprietary formats (such as NTFS) are not support by iPadOS.

You must also ensure that the HDD has an adequate source of power other than the iPad. If the HDD does not have an integral power supply, you must use a powered USB hub - or power the HDD from a Lightning to USB3 Camera Adapter and connected Power Adapter of at least 12W.

The iPad alone cannot supply sufficient power to high-power USB devices.

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Answer 5

Jan 4, 2021 3:19 PM in response to Lindsay_B.

Lindsay_B - I just discovered on YouTube that I need to reformat the drive using an Apple computer. I have two pretty old computers at my disposal. One however Is operationally questionable. The other computer is an eMac that works fine. I’ll have to see if I can format the drive using my eMac. If not I’ll have to find someone to do that for me.

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Answer 6

Jan 4, 2021 4:29 PM in response to alfredfromstetson

I was able to reformat the drive on my eMac and even transferred a few image files onto the drive. When formatting the drive, my best/only option was to use MacOS Extended (journaled). However MacOS Extended is not compatible with recent versions of MacOS. Consequently I still can’t see the external drive on my iPad. But I’m well on my way - just need to have my drive reformatted on a later Mac.

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