Where can I find airdropped files on my ipad?

Thanks for the response. The MOV was made in iDVD on my iMAC from old VHS homemade material. It plays perfectly in several media players there, hence my expectation that it would do the same on the iPad Air 2.

Nothing to tell or show about the AirDrop process as it occurs in exactly the same manner as previous successful transfers: I get the prompt to accept the file, i accept, and the wheel turns until completed. The new part is that no media playing App knows it is there.

It may be some strange Codec problem but at this point I'm just going to get a program to turn it into an AVI or MP4 and transfer again.

Thanks for your help.

It was an MOV made with Apple's iDVD on an iMac and plays perfectly well there on several programs, so I still think it's a logical and reasonable assumption it should play easily on an iPad Air 2 with several different media players.

But since you make the astounding statement given the issue at hand, "I don't know what the iPad can play, it's not my area of interest", I don't know why I'm even responding.

Ewal60 wrote:

....But since you make the astounding statement given the issue at hand, "I don't know what the iPad can play, it's not my area of interest", I don't know why I'm even responding.

You need to remember that you aren't the original poster here and if I recall correctly this post was originally posted in the iCloud community and relocated by the hosts. When I say it's not my area of interest, I didn't mean I'm not interested, I meant it isn't an iCloud matter and therefore not an area where I have much knowledge, I'm not familiar with the video playback capabilities of the iPad.

I do however have an interest in amateur video and I say again, it isn't logical to assume that all .mov files are the same and can all be played by the same devices. It's a complex matter, video has been standardised much more than it used to be, but iDVD is an old application, I don't have it anymore and don't believe I have any .mov exports from when I did to test with. I'd just accept it doesn't work and send it another way.

Lets try something out.

Try downloading the mov file form this link to your computer:

QuickTime Sample files - Apple Support

The second one from the top.

Take it out of the Zip file it comes in, and AirDrop it to your iPad.

Have your iPad just be at the home screen, No App open. And see if the Photos App opens automatically when the AirDrop is complete.

It's a year later but there was no real answer on this thread. I was having the same problem till I realized that not all .mov files are made the same. I wanted to leave a response that may help the next person.

.Mov files can be created from different codec. The iPad will act like it received the .mov file with a wrong codec but the video will not be found. I figure the system is fooled because of the .mov tag thus runs through all the processes in receiving the file without the file actually showing.

IPad's require a .mov or MPEG-4 video files but they must be encoded with the H.264 codec. If your iPad looks as if it's receiving the .mov / MPEG-4 file but it's no where to be found, convert the file with a H.264 codec and try again. Personally, I use the Xilisoft Video Converter; but any decent converter will work - especially if it has pre-programmed configurations for iPad use.

Take care and God bless

I had this same problem this week, and found this thread. I do understand the differences between .mov files (which are containers for content in a variety of compression formats), and video files in those formats. I don't think the original question has yet been answered.

My main question has to do with where the file lands (if anywhere) if the format is not supported. Specifically:

• If the file is downloaded, but not openable by any currently installed app, where is the file stored, and how can I delete it? (The previous poster described how to successfully transfer and play such files—which is helpful—but not what happens to an unsupported file that transfers but doesn't appear.)
• If I do have an app that can open the file, why won't it see it?

  In my case, I have VLC installed, and can successfully transfer and play the file in question via that app's transfer method, but it doesn't "see" the same file if AirDropped.

• If the file is transferred, but discarded, why isn't that fact indicated when the transfer is completed?

Cheers,
Mitch

I only have 3 photos on this iPad as it is new

I have a Macbook Pro and just received photos from my iphone via airdrop. Where does my macbook save the photos Cant find it in photos

Try the Downloads folder, that's where they go from my iPad

My sentiments exactly. @ Winston Churchill -- I'm not sure you understand the problem lots of people are running into; if you do, and if you know a solution, please actually communicate an answer.