iPad SATA to USB drive doesn’t work on iPad (it should)

[Super Xander]

I got an old WD 750gb HDD from my old PC which I thought to format and use as external storage through my SATA to USB cable, but it doesn’t show up at all on my iPad. It even doesn’t give me notification than it doesn’t work.

I formatted and tested it on my MacBook Pro 2016 where it works perfectly fine. I have formatted the drive to Mac OS Journaled, ExFAT and FAT32. All of them works on MacBook none on the iPad.

Max from AppleInsider tested it out on beta 1 where it worked fine:

(From 6:15)

My device is iPad Pro 11 on Public Beta 3.

Does only SSD works through SATA, or is it a bug?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Shirasaki]

It is a bug. And it seems that Apple still does not flip the switch on USB device support on this beta. All you can do right now is patiently wait until September when iOS 13 goes to the general public.

But, you can also check following restrictions on USB device support on iPad:
1. USB drive must be formatted as HFS+ or APFS partition (HFS+ recommended). exFAT is also ok. NTFS will not work.
2. Supply your USB drive with external power when necessary.
3. iPad cannot eject USB drive after finishing using at this time. You need to make sure file transfer is not in progress before unplug it.
4. USB drive cannot be encrypted.

 

[AutomaticApple]

I got an old WD 750gb HDD from my old PC which I thought to format and use as external storage through my SATA to USB cable, but it doesn’t show up at all on my iPad. It even doesn’t give me notification than it doesn’t work.

I formatted and tested it on my MacBook Pro 2016 where it works perfectly fine. I have formatted the drive to Mac OS Journaled, ExFAT and FAT32. All of them works on MacBook none on the iPad.

Max from AppleInsider tested it out on beta 1 where it worked fine:

(From 6:15)

My device is iPad Pro 11 on Public Beta 3.

Does only SSD works through SATA, or is it a bug?

Thanks in advance.

Sadly, it is in fact a bug...

 

[Super Xander]

It is a bug. And it seems that Apple still does not flip the switch on USB device support on this beta. All you can do right now is patiently wait until September when iOS 13 goes to the general public.

But, you can also check following restrictions on USB device support on iPad:
1. USB drive must be formatted as HFS+ or APFS partition (HFS+ recommended). exFAT is also ok. NTFS will not work.
2. Supply your USB drive with external power when necessary.
3. iPad cannot eject USB drive after finishing using at this time. You need to make sure file transfer is not in progress before unplug it.
4. USB drive cannot be encrypted.

Thank you it’s very helpful!
HFS+ is that the same formatting as MacOS Journal or FAT32? It seems like the only choices I have so far in formatting.
[doublepost=1563867314][/doublepost]To everyone interested. I bought a hard drive enclosure for my internal hard drive and that seemed to work this time with the iPad compared to my SATA to USB cable. It’s the same drive I used on ExFAT

 

[Shirasaki]

Thank you it’s very helpful!
HFS+ is that the same formatting as MacOS Journal or FAT32? It seems like the only choices I have so far in formatting.
[doublepost=1563867314][/doublepost]To everyone interested. I bought a hard drive enclosure for my internal hard drive and that seemed to work this time with the iPad compared to my SATA to USB cable. It’s the same drive I used on ExFAT

Same as Mac OS Journal, not FAT32. And I think you can see FAT32 as an option during formatting. If you want to use your drive on Windows machine, go for exFAT, which provides better compatibility.

 

[Newtons Apple]

I feel “gutted? Over the whole thing!

 

[EugW]

My Samsung T5 USB SSD works fine on my iPad Pro 10.5 through the Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter, on iPadOS Public Beta 3 (if I attach external power).

Worked on Public Beta 1 but didn't work on Public Beta 2. Working again on Public Beta 3.

 

[aevan]

I just noticed the same issue. First of all, my 4Tb WD My Book is not detected when I hook it up. I also have a PlayStation 4 500Gb HDD in a USB 3 enclosure - and it works everywhere except on my iPad Pro. I'm running the latest DP of iPadOS and using Apple's own USB-A to USB-C adapter(the adapter works with all Flash Drives on the iPad). The WD is HFS+ and the PS HDD is ExFat.