How to transfer files via USB cable to iPad?

Is there a way I can use the adapter to plug a flash drive into my lightning iPad or iPhone to read the PDFs? If so, where will I be able to find the PDF files?

No.

That accessory does one thing. It allows certain video and photo files to be moved between an SD card and the Photos app.

Period.

http://www.apple.com/ca/shop/product/MD821AM/A/lightning-to-usb-camera-adapter

No accessory will give you full access to the iOS filesystem.

iOS is not Android, Or Windows. Or even macOS.

It is a closed filesystem.

I have a very similar problem. I have a USB Flash Drive with PDF files that I'd like to access on my iPad. Before seeing this discussion, I bought an Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter, expecting it to fill my need. It did not. Is there a way I can use the adapter to plug a flash drive into my lightning iPad or iPhone to read the PDFs? If so, where will I be able to find the PDF files?

BillGS wrote:

Thanks, but the files on the flash drive are sensitive. That's why I store them on the flash rather than on the iPad.

They may well be safer on the iPad. If the iPad has a passcode, the files are completely encrypted. No on, not even Apple can get to them.

Sure, this drive will let you do just that.

http://m.gearbest.com/usb-flash-drives/pp_307912.html?currency=CAD&gclid=CP2JpZb gwswCFYkCaQodkSYIKA

OR

one of these

https://www.sandisk.com/home/mobile-device-storage/ixpand

OR a wireless solution.

https://www.sandisk.com/home/mobile-device-storage/connect-wireless-stick

Nope. You don't have an Android device. iOS has no direct access to its filesystem.

You can use iTunes to transfer files to individual apps, if they support the file type, or to the appropriate iOS app (videos to the video player, for example, music to the music app, photos to the Photo's app, etc). Or you can use iCloud from your PC to place those files into your iCloud drive storage area and use iCloud drive in iOS to download them and open them in an app that supports the file type.

Your question was can you access your iOS device like your friend can access his Android device. No.

You can absolutely transfer files using iTunes and a USB cable. Unlike an Android device.

That device is for copying files FROM an iPad to somewhere else, or streaming from it for videos. You still can't copy and paste into the iOS filesystem, because there isn't one visible to you.

To use these special flash drives for iDevices, for the SanDisk devices, SanDisk uses their own proprietary apps to access their drives and access the iPad's operating system to move data back and forth from the their drives from various apps.

SanDisk's apps are available in the iOS App Store for their various iDevice compatible drives.

To see what these drives and apps combinations do seardh the App Store for SanDisk

I use their 128 WifI USB SanDisk connect drive that uses a bulit-in WiFi transmitter to send out a WIFi signal that your iDevice can connect to to wireless transfer , back and forth between iDevices and the wireless drive, various types of data like documents, PDFs, eBooks, videos and images.

These Wifi style drives DO NOT ACCESS the Internet, at all.

They generate a bulit-in, isolated WiFi signal of their own to connect up to the drive wirelessly via Wifi signals.

No Internet involved.

The other San Disk Flash Drive I linked to is one that you can directly connect to an iPad, but it maybe needs to be accessed by one of SanDisk's own proprietary, free apps that allow the drive to be seen and accessed by the iDevice it is connected to.

The computer and iTunes method of backing up, transferring and syncing up data, back and forth from computer to your iDevice, requires no connection to Internet, either.

The only time you need Internet connectivity is when you are, actually, using your iPad online and for doing app updates and/or iOS system upgrades/updates.