iPad Pro Connect external drive to iPad and transfer / backup files?

[ItsMeMicke]

Hello,

Have an iPad Pro with usb-c. Is it possible to connect an external drive to back up various files from the iPad? I have a few thousand photos that I want to backup.

Does the external drive show up in the Files app? Suggestions on drives? Don't have a computer but suspect that the drive is pre-formatted.

Is it easy to mark a whole bunch of pictures and then transfer them?

 

[sparksd]

Yes, you can connect an external drive and copy files to/from it with the Files app (I prefer using FileBrowser Pro myself). The drive will be delivered pre-formatted. The iPad can read/write to drives formatted for Apple products and drives with FAT, FAT32, and exFAT formats; the iPad can only read - not write to - NTSC drives. I use Samsung SSDs formatted exFAT with my M1 12.9 & Mini 6. The Photos app doesn't support selecting all photos to copy but you can multiple individually. FileBrowser Pro has access to the Photos library and does support Select All.

 

[ItsMeMicke]

Yes, you can connect an external drive and copy files to/from it with the Files app (I prefer using FileBrowser Pro myself). The drive will be delivered pre-formatted. The iPad can read/write to drives formatted for Apple products and drives with FAT, FAT32, and exFAT formats; the iPad can only read - not write to - NTSC drives. I use Samsung SSDs formatted exFAT with my M1 12.9 & Mini 6. The Photos app doesn't support selecting all photos to copy but you can multiple individually. FileBrowser Pro has access to the Photos library and does support Select All.

Thanks for Your answer! I will have a look at Samsung SDDs, any specific model / series?

 

[sparksd]

Thanks for Your answer! I will have a look at Samsung SDDs, any specific model / series?

I'm using the 1TB T7 (price has really come down since my last purchase) -

https://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-Portable-SSD-1TB-MU-PC1T0H/dp/B0874YJP92

SanDisk also makes excellent portable SSDs.

 

[ItsMeMicke]

I have got the iPad Pro M2. Does T7 support full speed from my iPad?

 

[sparksd]

I have got the iPad Pro M2. Does T7 support full speed from my iPad?

Yes.

 

[Digitalguy]

I have got the iPad Pro M2. Does T7 support full speed from my iPad?

No, but the difference is not worth spending a ton more money on a Thunderbolt drive, as with iPadOS TB speeds are not even half of what they are on Macs (which in turn are far from the advertised 40Gb/s on Macs, more like 22.5Gb/s is the max transfer speed of TB).

 

[ItsMeMicke]

No, but the difference is not worth spending a ton more money on a Thunderbolt drive, as with iPadOS TB speeds are not even half of what they are on Macs (which in turn are far from the advertised 40Gb/s on Macs, more like 22.5Gb/s is the max transfer speed of TB).

Ok, thanks!

 

[muzzy996]

SanDisk also makes excellent portable SSDs.

Just a word of caution - I wouldn't touch a SanDisk or WD portable SSD in 2TB or 4TB version with a 10' pole at this point. I have several, and after having numerous issues with file transfers failing and loss of data I no longer trust them. Some of them work just fine but a couple of them have given me issues despite having flashed the latest firmware fix that SanDisk released for them. They now serve as temporary storage of things that I have stored and backed up elsewhere. Not just me talking either . .

We just lost 3TB of data on a SanDisk Extreme SSD

How are these still on sale?

www.theverge.com

WD refused to answer our questions about its self-wiping SanDisk SSDs

Oh, and it’s also getting sued.

www.theverge.com

SanDisk’s silence deafens as high-profile users say Extreme SSDs still broken

SanDisk is ignoring lost data claims. It’s time to ignore the company’s SSDs.

arstechnica.com

SanDisk Portable SSDs Are Failing So Frequently, We Can No Longer Recommend Them

We can no longer SanDisk portable SSDs amid widespread drive failures and data loss.

petapixel.com

 

[sparksd]

Just a word of caution - I wouldn't touch a SanDisk or WD portable SSD in 2TB or 4TB version with a 10' pole at this point. I have several, and after having numerous issues with file transfers failing and loss of data I no longer trust them. Some of them work just fine but a couple of them have given me issues despite having flashed the latest firmware fix that SanDisk released for them. They now serve as temporary storage of things that I have stored and backed up elsewhere. Not just me talking either . .

We just lost 3TB of data on a SanDisk Extreme SSD

How are these still on sale?

www.theverge.com

WD refused to answer our questions about its self-wiping SanDisk SSDs

Oh, and it’s also getting sued.

www.theverge.com

SanDisk’s silence deafens as high-profile users say Extreme SSDs still broken

SanDisk is ignoring lost data claims. It’s time to ignore the company’s SSDs.

arstechnica.com

SanDisk Portable SSDs Are Failing So Frequently, We Can No Longer Recommend Them

We can no longer SanDisk portable SSDs amid widespread drive failures and data loss.

petapixel.com

Thanks for the info. I'm only using Samsungs.