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Does USB 2.0 protocol in lightning port limits the speed of files copying from card reader to external drive via usb hub?

Hello guys, I'd like to know exactly what's in the topic title, does USB 2.0 protocol in lightning port limits the speed of files copying from card reader to external drive via usb hub?


So basically what i want to do: I want to connect lightning to usb dongle (my iPhone), then connect it to the active usb hub with power delivered, then connect card reader and external drive to the same hub and finally I want to copy files from card reader to the external drive.

My question is: Do the files pass through iPhone itself, through the slow usb 2.0 protocol of lightning port, or do they go straight from usb card reader to the usb external drive? Using full potential of usb 3.2 and fast card reader?


Many thanks

Thomas

iPhone 12 Pro, iOS 15

Posted on Jul 30, 2022 1:21 PM

Reply
2 replies

Aug 1, 2022 8:26 AM in response to trmgkl

Hi Thomas,


The article Connect external storage devices to iPhone outlines the requirements to accessing other storage media using the Files app on your device. As the process you're describing is not listed on that page as a supported option, it would not be possible to predict exact speeds you should expect to see. If the iPhone is being used to manage the transfer, it's possible that the files would need to pass through the iPhone memory before they are written to the final destination.


Regards.

Aug 1, 2022 8:48 AM in response to trmgkl

The speed will be USB 2.0 from the Lightning port on the iPhone to another device. If you have already copied files from the phone to a card reader with USB 3.0 capability and the external drive has 3.0 capability, then the transfer from the card reader to the external will occur at 3.0 speeds.


If you were copying files from the iPhone directly to a Mac or external drive, then the speed of the transfer would be USB 2.0 regardless of the capability of the Mac or external.

Does USB 2.0 protocol in lightning port limits the speed of files copying from card reader to external drive via usb hub?

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