What You Need to Use External Storage for an iPad or iPhone
There are only a few requirements for adding external storage to your iOS device:
Your device needs to be running iOS 13 or higher. You need a storage device to connect to your iPhone or iPad. Most often, this will be a media card (like an SD card or microSD card) or a USB flash drive, though it may be possible to attach some external USB hard drives as well. You need a connection cable that can bridge the gap between the iOS device and the storage device. In this case, that will most likely be a USB-C to USB-A cable or a Lightning to USB cable.
Keep reading for more details on each of these requirements. Assuming you have all the things you need, though, you can now connect an external storage device to your iPhone or iPad.
Connecting an External Storage Device
Updating to iOS 13 for Built-in Support
iOS 13 is the first version of Apple’s mobile operating system to support reading and writing to external storage from your iPhone or iPad. Check to see what version of iOS you are running: Not all iOS devices can be updated to iOS 13. If you have a very old iPhone or iPad (such as an iPhone 5 or older), Apple may no longer support upgrading it.
Getting a Compatible Storage Device and Connection Cable
Virtually all iPhones and iPads currently use Apple’s standard Lightning port for charging, syncing, and data transfer. If you have one of these devices, you need a connection cable that plugs into the Lightning port at one end and accepts the storage device you want to use at the other end. There are a lot of cables and hubs available, but one of the most popular (and reliable) options is an Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter. There are many less expensive alternatives but be sure to read the customer reviews carefully, since many are somewhat unreliable. A couple of the latest iPad Pro models have a USB-C port, and so you will want to use a USB-C connection cable if you own one. You can use any USB-C-to-USB-A cable or a USB-C media card reader.
Using an External Storage Device
Not all external storage devices will work perfectly with your iPad or iPhone. Some devices require more power than your iOS device’s Lightning port can deliver, and connecting it will result in an error message. Most external hard drives require too much power, for example, and even some flash drives won’t work. If you try to connect a device and see an error message that the accessory uses too much power, use a storage device with a smaller capacity instead. For example, you might find that a large-capacity 32 GB flash drive doesn’t work with your iPhone. Instead, try an 8GB flash drive. Another option: You might find that you can use a connection cable that includes both a port for the media device and a second USB-C port. For example, the Apple Lightning to USB3 Camera Adapter contains both a USB-A and USB-C port. You can plug the USB-C into a power port or AC adapter, and that can supply enough power to allow a flash drive or external hard drive to work. Even so, some external storage devices, especially hard drives, will require simply too much power to work with some iOS devices.
