Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad Pro External SSD not showing up
- Thread starter hajime
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The SSD should appear under Locations in Apple's Files. What file system does it use? Does it mount on e.g. a Mac?
Yes, that’s where it should be. I’m thinking of three possibilities:
- Your SSD may need power which the iPad can’t supply
- You may not be waiting long enough - when I plug flash into my M1 Air, there’s a dead 5 or 6 seconds before it appears in Files
- This is a long shot - if you’re using a Magic Keyboard, you can’t plug data in to its USBC - it’s just for charging.
Addendum: if the SSD uses ExFat or NTFS and the file system structure was left in an inconsistent state it will not mount on iPadOS. You first have to “repair” it using e.g. a computer running Windows, Linux or a Mac (for the latter two additionally FUSE with the appropriate file system support or similiar software has to be installed).
Is it a brand new SSD that hasn't been connected to a PC or Mac? If so, then it's raw and doesn't have a file system. You'll need to format it first before you can use it on the iPad.
That is probably the case here. Yes, hasn’t been connected to a PC or Mac. Now, without formatting it, how do I get this raw SSD recognized and connected to an iPad before formatting it?
Can’t. It needs to be formatted via computer first. One of the limitations of iPadOS.
Thanks. So the iPad cannot replace a computer because for such basic operation, it needs a real computer.
Yes, this is one of the many reasons why a lot of people can't ditch their laptop/desktop. You can't format or repair an external drive with iOS/iPadOS (and I've had to do many repairs because iPadOS corrupted one of my exFAT drives).
For initial formatting, it's a wash. In use, drives formatted in Mac formats suffer fewer, if any, problems than PC formats (exFAT, etc.).
Just to expound, iPadOS has problems dealing with FAT and exFAT. I haven't had it corrupt NTFS but that's probably because that's read-only on the iPad.
If one needs to write from iPad to external drive, it's probably best to use a Mac and format the drive as APFS.
Oddly, all of my problems with exFAT have occurred when using the Files app; I've never run into a problem when using FileBrowser Pro. I use it with SSDs, SD & uSD cards, and 4TB spinning hard drives, attached directly to my M1 12.9 and through a USB-C hub. Using a Mac isn't an option for me.
This brings up a very good point, Apple needs to add a formatting feature to iOS/iPadOS.It doesn't have to be any special, just a pop up asking you to format incompatibly formatted drives (with a warning about losing any data on them).It really feels like they put every little effort into iPadOS. It's severely lacking in a lot of ways, and doesn't know if it wants to be a large iPhone for rudimentary tasks, or an ultra-portable full feature computer (which is could very easily be).
Same for me. I use NTFS on large drives since I mostly just need to write with PC and read from those on the iPad.
I have some 128-256GB USB-C flash drives formatted as exFAT for when I need to sneakernet files between iPad and Windows.
If one is using the external drive exclusively with Apple devices though, then APFS is a good option.
External drives are usually pre-formatted though. OP is using internal SSD with USB-C enclosure and those come raw.
I also wouldn’t take advise from a guy who uses the charging cable (limited to USB2 speeds) to connect the SSD to the iPad instead of the USB-C to USB-C cable (possibly at 5-10 Gbps) that came with the SSD.
🤣
In case you missed it, this is the iPad forum. The OP is asking about using the SSD in enclosure on the iPad without formatting it with Mac or PC first. That suggests he might not have immediate access to a desktop OS.
He’s also asking if it’s better to format using Mac or PC so it’s possible he might need to buy a Mac or PC.