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kjmff5

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 27, 2011
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Hello!

Just wondering if anyone recommends a particular flash drive with a lightning connector built in that works with an iPad Air 2 running iPadOS 13

Thanks!
 
Hello!

Just wondering if anyone recommends a particular flash drive with a lightning connector built in that works with an iPad Air 2 running iPadOS 13

Thanks!
It likely won’t work if the flash drive requires too much power. You’d be better off buying a powered hub. I tried the USB 3 Camera Adapter with my iPad Air 3 and it didn’t work. SD cards work with the SD to Lightning adapter, but flash drives require more power.
 
Hello!

Just wondering if anyone recommends a particular flash drive with a lightning connector built in that works with an iPad Air 2 running iPadOS 13

Thanks!

I think lightning drives do not work with the files app, they still require the manufacturer‘s app.
 
Yeah, the Lightning drives use proprietary apps. That may change eventually but who knows.

Unfortunately you generally need external power with the other USB drives. Get the Apple Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter, since it accepts passthrough power.
 
Darn so it sounds like using an SD card is the way to go? I’m trying to avoid the extra cost of buying an adapter.
Any particular lighting to SD card reader you’d recommend?
 
Yeah, the Lightning drives use proprietary apps. That may change eventually but who knows.

Unfortunately you generally need external power with the other USB drives. Get the Apple Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter, since it accepts passthrough power.
The Lightning port on the Camera Adapter powers the iPad, not the USB peripheral. It is meant to allow you to power/charge the iPad while having a peripheral plugged in instead of swapping just to charge the iPad.
 
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The Lightning port on the Camera Adapter powers the iPad, not the USB peripheral. It is meant to allow you to power/charge the iPad while having a peripheral plugged in instead of swapping just to charge the iPad.
That is not correct. If you plug in a USB drive to that Lightning to USB 3 camera adapter, it doesn’t work. However, if you plug in Lightning power, then the USB drive works fine.

Source: Myself, as I have that adapter, and have tried it with and without external power, with the iPad Pro 10.5, iPad Air 2, and iPhone SE.
 
That is not correct. If you plug in a USB drive to that Lightning to USB 3 camera adapter, it doesn’t work. However, if you plug in Lightning power, then the USB drive works fine.
It depends on the USB peripheral, some work and some do not. If the Lightning port of the Camera Adapter provided power directly to the USB peripheral then all USB peripherals would work. However, this is not the case.

It doesn’t work that way on my iPad Air 3. Show me proof directly from Apple and I’ll believe you, and I may be able to get a free swap out of it because my iPad Air 3 may be faulty. But, I cannot trust solely in your experience because your habits and set up are not identical to mine. Just because something works for you doesn’t mean it will work the same way for everyone.
 
It depends on the USB peripheral, some work and some do not. If the Lightning port of the Camera Adapter provided power directly to the USB peripheral then all USB peripherals would work. However, this is not the case.

It doesn’t work that way on my iPad Air 3. Show me proof directly from Apple and I’ll believe you, and I may be able to get a free swap out of it because my iPad Air 3 may be faulty. But, I cannot trust solely in your experience because your habits and set up are not identical to mine. Just because something works for you doesn’t mean it will work the same way for everyone.

True which I guess is why OP is asking for specific devices that are known compatible. I'll test out a couple of the flash drives and SSD's that I have with my wife's Air 2 and my USB 3.0 adapter when she gets back next week from a trip. I'm curious to see the difference between her iPad and mine in terms of support based upon this and a prior thread we discussed this in - I'm not expecting miracles but hope to be pleasantly surprised. It won't help you with your Air 3 but could prove useful for OP and their Air 2.
 
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So I just tried this with my Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter on my iPhone 7 Plus, with 3 different USB flash drives (2 Lexar and 1 Imation) and they all worked.

With no external power:

IMG_7681.jpeg


With Lightning power:

IMG_7680.jpeg


Note the MACRUMORS USB drive connected. This was formatted as FAT32.

I even tried a Samsung T5 SSD formatted as APFS and that worked too. Interestingly, I didn't get the insufficient power message for the T5 when the Lightning power cable was disconnected. The drive was simply invisible, presumably because the power was insufficient for the drive to provide any info at all so the phone couldn't recognize it at all. However, once I plugged in Lightning power, it got recognized as a USB drive just fine.

So that's 4 different USB drives that worked with the Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter, but only once I plugged in external power. None of the 4 worked without external power.
 
So I just tried this with my Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter on my iPhone 7 Plus, with 3 different USB flash drives (2 Lexar and 1 Imation) and they all worked.

With no external power:

View attachment 870626

With Lightning power:

View attachment 870627

Note the MACRUMORS USB drive connected. This was formatted as FAT32.

I even tried a Samsung T5 SSD formatted as APFS and that worked too. Interestingly, I didn't get the insufficient power message for the T5 when the Lightning power cable was disconnected. The drive was simply invisible, presumably because the power was insufficient for the drive to provide any info at all so the phone couldn't recognize it at all. However, once I plugged in Lightning power, it got recognized as a USB drive just fine.

So that's 4 different USB drives that worked with the Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter, but only once I plugged in external power. None of the 4 worked without external power.

That's an iPhone, though - do the non-Pro iPads play differently?
 
So I just tried this with my Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter on my iPhone 7 Plus, with 3 different USB flash drives (2 Lexar and 1 Imation) and they all worked.

With no external power:



With Lightning power:


Note the MACRUMORS USB drive connected. This was formatted as FAT32.

I even tried a Samsung T5 SSD formatted as APFS and that worked too. Interestingly, I didn't get the insufficient power message for the T5 when the Lightning power cable was disconnected. The drive was simply invisible, presumably because the power was insufficient for the drive to provide any info at all so the phone couldn't recognize it at all. However, once I plugged in Lightning power, it got recognized as a USB drive just fine.

So that's 4 different USB drives that worked with the Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter, but only once I plugged in external power. None of the 4 worked without external power.
Just because they all worked with the Lightning cable plugged into the Lightning port on the Camera Adapter does not mean that the Lightning port on that adapter puts power directly to the USB drive. It merely means that the USB drive is no longer drawing so much power that there is none left to power the iPad.. because the Lightning cable is now powering the iPad directly.

Please show me something that proves that the Lightning port on the Camera Adapter puts power directly to the USB drive. I‘m just trying to dispel a misconception.
 
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I don't think that's the case.

I'm thinking in terms of power usage differences for the devices themselves being a factor (along the lines of what revmacian said above). I'd like to see the same storage devices tested with the iPhone being similarly tested with a non-Pro iPad like the Air 3.
 
Just because they all worked with the Lightning cable plugged into the Lightning port on the Camera Adapter does not mean that the Lightning port on that adapter puts power directly to the USB drive. It merely means that the USB drive is no longer drawing so much power that there is none left to power the iPad.. because the Lightning cable is now powering the iPad directly.

Please show me something that proves that the Lightning port on the Camera Adapter puts power directly to the USB drive. I‘m just trying to dispel a misconception.
No, you made an assumption, and then drew a wrong conclusion from it. The real point is the Apple Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter works with USB flash drives... if you provide external power via the Lightning input.


That's an iPhone, though - do the non-Pro iPads play differently?
Like I said, I already tried the iPad Air 2 a while back. It worked.

However, I only tried it briefly as it's my kids' iPad. Also, IIRC, it had problems with some HEIC files when I tried it during the beta. I presume it's because those files used HEVC for the video portion. I can try it again later though.
 
No, you made an assumption, and then drew a wrong conclusion from it. The real point is the Apple Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter works with USB flash drives... if you provide external power via the Lightning input.
The Lightning power input goes to the iPad, not the USB drive. Please prove that my conclusion is wrong. If you cannot prove it, then please stop publicly stating that I’m wrong.
 
The Lightning power input goes to the iPad, not the USB drive. Please prove that my conclusion is wrong. If you cannot prove it, then please stop publicly stating that I’m wrong.

So, if I understand all of this correctly regarding the Lightning-based Camera Connection Kit: If power is attached to the Kit, the power goes into the iPad and none of it goes through the Kit itself to the attached storage. The power will power/charge the iPad and if the power input is strong enough it will also supply power back through the Lightning connector to the Kit and to the attached storage. However, there are limitations as to how much power can be supplied out through the Lightning connector, meaning that some storage devices may not work as their power requirements are too high.
 
So, if I understand all of this correctly regarding the Lightning-based Camera Connection Kit: If power is attached to the Kit, the power goes into the iPad and none of it goes through the Kit itself to the attached storage. The power will power/charge the iPad and if the power input is strong enough it will also supply power back through the Lightning connector to the Kit and to the attached storage. However, there are limitations as to how much power can be supplied out through the Lightning connector, meaning that some storage devices may not work as their power requirements are too high.
I do know that some USB drives do not work on my iPad Air 3 even when a Lightning cable is plugged into the Lightning port of the USB 3 Camera Adapter.

There is an Apple employee that works at the Apple keyosk at my local Best Buy - he is an Apple employee, not a Best Buy employee. He corrected me once and told me that the USB 3 Camera Adapter has a Lightning port that supplies power to the iOS device, not to the USB storage device that is attached. This is so you can charge the iOS device while using the device’s Lightning port for something else. This man is super smart and knows his stuff and I have known him for a few years. I used to do research to confirm his statements, but I stopped doing that when I could never prove him wrong. This is why I made my initial statement.

When someone can find proof that I am wrong I will happily confess that I was wrong.
 
So, if I understand all of this correctly regarding the Lightning-based Camera Connection Kit: If power is attached to the Kit, the power goes into the iPad and none of it goes through the Kit itself to the attached storage. The power will power/charge the iPad and if the power input is strong enough it will also supply power back through the Lightning connector to the Kit and to the attached storage. However, there are limitations as to how much power can be supplied out through the Lightning connector, meaning that some storage devices may not work as their power requirements are too high.
I wouldn't necessarily expect bus-powered external hard disk drives to work consistently as they are more demanding for power. Remember that USB 3 supports up to 900 mA at 5V, or 4.5 Watts. However, many HDDs out there require more than 4.5 Watts at peak draw. In fact, some of them (particularly the DIY ones) will draw more than 5 Watts.

However, the three USB flash drives I just happened to have handy and my Samsung T5 SSD all work, if external power is attached.

Imation 2 GB el cheapo flash drive
Lexar 128 GB S73 flash drive
Lexar 256 GB S75 flash drive
Samsung 1 TB T5 USB-C SSD

I also just tried that Samsung SSD on my kid's iPad Air 2. It works:

IMG_0376.PNG


According to this review, the Samsung T5 1 TB peaks at less than 3 Watts, so well within the 4.5 Watt spec for USB 3.
 
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Well since I’ll be using this mostly on the plane I won’t want to deal with an extra power source. Does anyone recommend a good but cheaper than Apple SD card reader to Lightning port?
 
Well since I’ll be using this mostly on the plane I won’t want to deal with an extra power source. Does anyone recommend a good but cheaper than Apple SD card reader to Lightning port?
Some people seem to be having problems with certain SD cards with iPadOS 13.1.x using the Apple OEM Lightning SD reader. Buyer beware.
 
I just ordered a SanDisk iXpand flash drive with lightning and USB... thinking of cancelling it since it doesn't work with the iPad OS Files app... why?!
 
I just ordered a SanDisk iXpand flash drive with lightning and USB... thinking of cancelling it since it doesn't work with the iPad OS Files app... why?!

Vendors are going to have to switch from their proprietary s/w interfaces to the iOSPad model and either aren't going to do it or are still working it.
 
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Vendors are going to have to switch from their proprietary s/w interfaces to the iOSPad model and either aren't going to do it or are still working it.

Having read this thread and watched a few YouTube videos to confirm it, yeah I cancelled my eBay order (only placed this morning). Yes that's true. No doubt they'll have a nice new range of models to go along with it too, sadly!
 
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