iPad iPad 8 gen & external SSD’s

[streza lenys]

Hello, recently I bought an external Western digital 256Gb SSD, intending to make space available on my 64Gb 8 gen iPad on connection the iPad wasn’t recognising the drive at all then a friend yesterday said that the reason it wasn’t being detected was because my SSD drive was unpowered and only the top end iPads like the iPad Pro were capable of allowing unpowered drives to draw energy from them. This sounds reasonable does anyone know if this is correct & if not what could cause the iPad to ignore my drive? Thanks. S L.

 

[Frankras]

It’s Correct. Some hard drive is underpowered with the lightning port alone and need external power to work. IPads with USB-C don‘t have this problem.

So you need a hard drive with external power to work. Some SSD works with Ipad 8 gen and other dont. Its hard to tell which one before you try It.

 

[rui no onna]

Hello, recently I bought an external Western digital 256Gb SSD, intending to make space available on my 64Gb 8 gen iPad on connection the iPad wasn’t recognising the drive at all then a friend yesterday said that the reason it wasn’t being detected was because my SSD drive was unpowered and only the top end iPads like the iPad Pro were capable of allowing unpowered drives to draw energy from them. This sounds reasonable does anyone know if this is correct & if not what could cause the iPad to ignore my drive? Thanks. S L.

What adapter do you have? I have the following and USB-powered SSDs and HDDs work fine as long as I also plug in the Lightning cable for power/charging.

Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter

Transfer photos and videos to your iPad Pro with Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter. Buy now with fast, free shipping.

www.apple.com

Note, nowadays, you don't need an iPad Pro. Even the mini 6 and Air 4 will work with USB-C SSDs. Mind, a certified refurb 2020 Pro 11" 128GB can be found for the same price as the Air 4.

 

[streza lenys]

What adapter do you have? I have the following and USB-powered SSDs and HDDs work fine as long as I also plug in the Lightning cable for power/charging.

Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter

Transfer photos and videos to your iPad Pro with Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter. Buy now with fast, free shipping.

www.apple.com

Note, nowadays, you don't need an iPad Pro. Even the mini 6 and Air 4 will work with USB-C SSDs. Mind, a certified refurb 2020 Pro 11" 128GB can be found for the same price as the Air 4.

No adapter, just the lead from SSD (usb-c) to iPad (lightning).

 

[rui no onna]

No adapter, just the lead from SSD (usb-c) to iPad (lightning).

That's not going to work. The USB-C to Lightning charge cable doesn't work that way.