iPad SSD drive and the iPad 10.2" 2020

[lungbutter]

Hey gang,

What's your setup for running an SSD drive off your 2020 iPad? I'm receiving an iPad 10.2" 2020 and have to add storage. I want to run an SSD off the lightning port. The SSD maybe an NVME or I already have a Sandisk Extreme 1TB drive. For starters, I'd like to use the Sandisk.

My understanding from the thousands of hours I performed research on this topic (TL;DR) is that the Lightning port can not supply power for the SSD. Is that a partial/complete truth?

Please share how you run your SSD off your iPad with a lightning connect.

Thanks!

 

[sparksd]

No longer have my 10.5, but I used the Apple camera adapter dongle with USB & power port with a drive.

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK0W2AM/A/lightning-to-usb-3-camera-adapter

 

[lungbutter]

Thanks for your response. I also saw that configuration on YouTube so that's the direction I'm headed in. I did pick up a cheap Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter and applied power and it won't support the SanDisk. I may need to use the actual Apple dongle. I'm going to take a look at the Pluggable brand adapter as well.

BTW, did yo format as ExFat?

Thanks!

 

[sparksd]

Thanks for your response. I also saw that configuration on YouTube so that's the direction I'm headed in. I did pick up a cheap Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter and applied power and it won't support the SanDisk. I may need to use the actual Apple dongle. I'm going to take a look at the Pluggable brand adapter as well.

BTW, did yo format as ExFat?

Thanks!

Yes, I did format as exFAT as I needed compatibility with my Windows machines (and I don't own any Macs, so really no choice there). I went for the pricey Apple dongle because I had seen posts from people having problems with third-party units - Lightning interfaces are tricky.

 

[lungbutter]

Yes, I did format as exFAT as I needed compatibility with my Windows machines (and I don't own any Macs, so really no choice there). I went for the pricey Apple dongle because I had seen posts from people having problems with third-party units - Lightning interfaces are tricky.

Thanks. Yeah, I found the Apple adapter and just ordered that. I don't have time to play around with Lightning. Blech.

 

[sparksd]

Thanks. Yeah, I found the Apple adapter and just ordered that. I don't have time to play around with Lightning. Blech.

Yeah, as the saying goes - buy cheap, buy twice. Seems to be true with Lightning adapters of any kind.

 

[rui no onna]

Yeah, as the saying goes - buy cheap, buy twice. Seems to be true with Lightning adapters of any kind.

Agreed.

Well, there are some things where I find cheaper (but not too cheap) is better. I've always preferred the Anker Lightning cables over Apple's original ones. The original Apple cables were always fraying around the joint/relief within 1-3 months of use for us.

 

[sparksd]

Agreed.

Well, there are some things where I find cheaper (but not too cheap) is better. I've always preferred the Anker Lightning cables over Apple's original ones. The original Apple cables were always fraying around the joint/relief within 1-3 months of use for us.

Good point - I own a ton of Anker products.

 

[lungbutter]

Yes, I did format as exFAT as I needed compatibility with my Windows machines (and I don't own any Macs, so really no choice there). I went for the pricey Apple dongle because I had seen posts from people having problems with third-party units - Lightning interfaces are tricky.

That's a good saying. That's what I did. I'm smart like that.

I too am an avid Anker consumer. Their cables are higher quality than Apple's and designed for actual use. Cables, chargers, I have a USB-C hub from them, etc.

 

[sparksd]

That's a good saying. That's what I did. I'm smart like that.

I too am an avid Anker consumer. Their cables are higher quality than Apple's and designed for actual use. Cables, chargers, I have a USB-C hub from them, etc.

Yeah, I use their 8-in-1 USB-C hub with my 2021 12.9, Mini 6, & Surface Pro 7 (Windows 11). Great devices.

 

[lungbutter]

Hmmm. No joy. Purchased an authentic Apple Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter. Powered it via a Lightning cable with from a laptop and a charging Lightning port on my Anker hub. Tired multiple Lightning cables. It doesn't even see the Sandisk 1TB drive. I plugged in a 32GB flash drive and received a "Cannot Use Accessory" ... requires to much power error. LOL. Yay!

iPhone 13 Pro Max. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong anyone?

Thanks!

 

[sparksd]

Hmmm. No joy. Purchased an authentic Apple Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter. Powered it via a Lightning cable with from a laptop and a charging Lightning port on my Anker hub. Tired multiple Lightning cables. It doesn't even see the Sandisk 1TB drive. I plugged in a 32GB flash drive and received a "Cannot Use Accessory" ... requires to much power error. LOL. Yay!

iPhone 13 Pro Max. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong anyone?

Thanks!

Is the power source then the laptop? If so, I wonder if it can provide enough power to that setup.

 

[lungbutter]

Is the power source then the laptop? If so, I wonder if it can provide enough power to that setup.

Well, I've tried a 16" MBP port, my Anker USB-C hub's Lightning charging port, the Anker's Anker USB-C hub's USB-C charging port, and an Apple USB-C brick and cable for the iPhone 13 Pro Max. The phone is happy and receives a charge. LOL

Update: Just added an Anker Power code adapter. Same results. @sparksd Did you mention that you formatted as ExFat? I'm thinking if it's not throwing an error about the SanDisk Extreme, maybe it's a file system issue. However, My understanding is that IOS recognizes ExFat but I could be mistaken.

 

[rui no onna]

Umm, are you trying it on your iPhone or your iPad? I've only tested on the iPad.

Also, try powering up the adapter using a USB-A to Lightning charging cable with a 10-12W USB wall charger. I think you might need to go old school here since as far as I recall, USB-C PD doesn't support the 5V/2.4A charging protocol.

 

[lungbutter]

Hi rui no annam that's a very good question.

I'm currently testing with my iPhone 13 Pro Max. I receive the iPad next week or earlier if I'm lucky. Do you think that makes a difference? I'd imagine iPadOS' 15.2 file system is a bit more advanced than IOS 15.3 beta 1. Do you think I'm just wasting time until I receive the iPad?

Thanks

 

[rui no onna]

I'm currently testing with my iPhone 13 Pro Max. I receive the iPad next week or earlier if I'm lucky. Do you think that makes a difference? I'd imagine iPadOS' 15.2 file system is a bit more advanced than IOS 15.3 beta 1. Do you think I'm just wasting time until I receive the iPad?

I just checked the camera adapter kit specs and it's supposed to work on iPhone as well (with iOS 9 or later). The fact that it says not enough power even for a crummy flash drive suggests it doesn't play nice with the USB-C charger though. Either that or the iPhone is pulling too much power for itself.

If you haven't already try charging the iPhone to 90+% before connecting the adapter. Also, try old school USB-A cables and wall chargers as mentioned earlier.

When I tried it with my iPad, I had it plugged in to an Anker 60W multi-port USB-A wall charger (max 12W per port) with a 6ft Anker USB-A to Lightning cable (which are a bit thicker than Apple's cables).

 

[lungbutter]

Interesting. Thanks for checking the specs. The phone is near or at 100%. It also receives a charge through the adapter from the Lightning source. I'll play with USB-A cables. I also have an Anker 60W multi-port USB-A wall charger and a Anker Nano Pro USB-C 511 charger. I'll try a combination of cables, adapters etc. This stuff drives me up a wall. ?

 

[lungbutter]

So, I'm just gonna get some patience and wait. I should have the iPad Wednesday. Pffft.

Happy Holidays and thanks for trying to help!

 

[lungbutter]

So, I ran across someone on the web where they specifically stated that the SanDisk Extreme 1TB SSD will not work with the iPad using the USB 3 Camera Adapter at all. I'll go for a Samsung T-7 or T-7 Plus. Still waiting for arrival. The delivery date moved 4 days sooner. Hoping for another jump. It would help if they had actually shipped it by now.

 

[sparksd]

So, I ran across someone on the web where they specifically stated that the SanDisk Extreme 1TB SSD will not work with the iPad using the USB 3 Camera Adapter at all. I'll go for a Samsun 7 or 7 Plus. Still waiting for arrival. The delivery date moved 4 days sooner. Hoping for another jump. It would help if they had actually shipped it by now.

That's odd. I wonder what the issue is. With adequate power applied to the adapter it should work unless the drive was encrypted.

 

[lungbutter]

Hi guys,

So the Gen 9 10.2" iPadlanded today. Finally. I set it up and upgraded to the latest beta. I'm using the power brick that came with the iPad to power the Apple USB 3 Camera Adapter. I've plugged the SanDisk Extreme 1 TB SSSD into it using the ISB-C cable with a USB-C to USB adapter. It is seen on my Mac. It is seen on my Windows 10 rig. It is still not seen on the iPad. It's formatted as ExFat.

I'm at a loss. As I mentioned before, I read where someone stated that the SanDisk Extreme 1TB SSD will definitely not work. I have to rack that down and dig. I may have to pick up a Samsung T5 or T7, etc.

It doesn't make much sense to me but...

 

[rui no onna]

Hi guys,

So the Gen 9 10.2" iPadlanded today. Finally. I set it up and upgraded to the latest beta. I'm using the power brick that came with the iPad to power the Apple USB 3 Camera Adapter. I've plugged the SanDisk Extreme 1 TB SSSD into it using the ISB-C cable with a USB-C to USB adapter. It is seen on my Mac. It is seen on my Windows 10 rig. It is still not seen on the iPad. It's formatted as ExFat.

I'm at a loss. As I mentioned before, I read where someone stated that the SanDisk Extreme 1TB SSD will definitely not work. I have to rack that down and dig. I may have to pick up a Samsung T5 or T7, etc.

It doesn't make much sense to me but...

I can't recall but did the iPad 9 come with USB-C or USB-A charging brick? If USB-C, switch to USB-A power brick to power the camera adapter. Don't bother with USB-C anything for now.

Also, does a regular flash drive work when plugged in to USB-A power? If a flash drive works, then the SanDisk Extreme is the most likely culprit. If even the flash drive doesn't work, then the camera adapter itself might be defective.

With that said, you should've probably tested the camera adapter first on iOS 15.2 stable before installing the beta.

 

[lungbutter]

Yes. It comes with a USB-C plus adapter rated at 20W.

Per your recommendation, I just popped in a 32GB USB Flash Drive from Micro Center (LOL) and it's fine. So, there appears to be an incompatibility between the Sandisk Extreme 1TB SSD. Not sure which version it is but I've had it a few years. Not heavily used. What's odd, is that it works fine under Moneterrey 12.2 Beta 2, Windows 10 latest rev. no issues. On YouTube, people are using Samsungs even with the iPhone with the adapter and power.

Looks like it's Samsung time.

 

[rui no onna]

Per your recommendation, I just popped in a 32GB USB Flash Drive from Micro Center (LOL) and it's fine. So, there appears to be an incompatibility between the Sandisk Extreme 1TB SSD. Not sure which version it is but I've had it a few years. Not heavily used. What's odd, is that it works fine under Moneterrey 12.2 Beta 2, Windows 10 latest rev. no issues. On YouTube, people are using Samsungs even with the iPhone with the adapter and power.

Looks like it's Samsung time.

Well, I can confirm Samsung T7 1TB (exFAT) works on the 2017 Pro 10.5, 2017 Pro 12.9 and iPad 7th gen via Lightning USB3 camera adapter. At least it did a couple years ago on iOS 13. Misplaced my adapter so can’t check now).

Alas, iPadOS caused corruption a couple of times so I don’t quite trust it with any data that doesn’t have a bunch of backups.

 

[sparksd]

...

Alas, iPadOS caused corruption a couple of times so I don’t quite trust it with any data that doesn’t have a bunch of backups.

This. I never use a drive on my 12.9 or Mini 6 with data I care about unless it's backed up elsewhere first - I always assume it could be corrupted by the iPad.