I haven't experienced any file instability using the Files app. To see the differences between the versions, take a look at the chart on its developer's website.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad The Files app is still a disaster
- Thread starter macduke
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I haven't experienced any file instability using the Files app. To see the differences between the versions, take a look at the chart on its developer's website.
Bottom line is that if you want it to connect to attached storage (e.g., USB drive directly attached or on a hub), you need FileBrowser for Business. It has all of the capabilities. Full descriptions here -
https://www.stratospherix.com/products/
Some Files issues discussed here -
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/file-corruption-on-copy-to-external-storage.2235171/
Thanks for clearing that out. Also the extra PDF features might be useful for me.
One more thing, can other apps such as lumafusion, procreate, etc access files from FileBrowser?
From within FileBrowser, I can select a share a video stored there with Lumafusion.
I think I may have solved my own problem ?
So what I just tried is, connect my SD card to the card reader on my USB type C Hub.
And then access the video files that I want to copy via Files App, select them all, hit the share button and “save videos”.
This will save the video files to the Photos App. The video files will then start appearing one by one on the Photos app.
From there, I can copy them back to the Files App to certain folder by “saving to files app” like I intend it to.
Problem solved! ?
And the transfer rate is fast like it should be.
That is a great solution. I think it should be made a lot easier to copy files to iOS and iPadOS. In an Android kind of way. Just plug and copy. As much as you want, no limits. Want to create hundred new folders while at it? No problem. Copy speeds are also very fast. I love Apple products and the service but this is one thing where Android shines. If Apple could implement this it would be perfect.
I'm not a believer in using 3rd party apps for file management. They may be suitable as a short-term solution but they are not a long-term solution for file management on iOS devices. Apple will develop the Files app over time and it will offer all the file management capabilities anyone would want. They have to do this to make iPads in particular viable for business users.
The biggest drawback today is the lighning connector. iOS devices with USB-C connections already support a wide range of external drive options.
That's small comfort for users like me who's iOS devices are lighning equiped. I've battled with using either SanDisk iXpand drives and/or USB pen drives connected via the Apple Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter.
Then recently I saw this YouTube video:
The YouTuber uses an atolla four port USB 3.0 hub to connect almost any USB drive to his lighning based iPad/iPhone. I have purchased one of these hubs and now I can connect all my USB storage devices to my iOS devices. The beauty of this approach is that it works well today and only gets better as the Files app improves.
See: https://atolla.us/products/4-port-powered-usb-hub-204-wx
One day I will upgrade my iOS devices that include USB-C connectors but until then, this is a great solution for file management on iOS devices.
Stay safe,
Peter
The biggest drawback today is the lighning connector. iOS devices with USB-C connections already support a wide range of external drive options.
That's small comfort for users like me who's iOS devices are lighning equiped. I've battled with using either SanDisk iXpand drives and/or USB pen drives connected via the Apple Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter.
Then recently I saw this YouTube video:
The YouTuber uses an atolla four port USB 3.0 hub to connect almost any USB drive to his lighning based iPad/iPhone. I have purchased one of these hubs and now I can connect all my USB storage devices to my iOS devices. The beauty of this approach is that it works well today and only gets better as the Files app improves.
See: https://atolla.us/products/4-port-powered-usb-hub-204-wx
One day I will upgrade my iOS devices that include USB-C connectors but until then, this is a great solution for file management on iOS devices.
Stay safe,
Peter
If Files doesn't work - file corruption - and a third party app does, then a third party app is the better choice. When Apple finally fixes Files, I may go back to using it. These problems still exist in iOS 14.
I think you will find that the Files app DOES work for most people! I' a member of two Apple user groups here in Australia and I've not heard of anyone from these groups having problems with the Files app.
I accept that several of you on this forum have had issues but that DOES NOT mean that the Files app is "rubbish". It means that a few people are having issues, not most people!
we need to have some perspective, this forum is not Twitter!
Stay safe,
Peter
I accept that several of you on this forum have had issues but that DOES NOT mean that the Files app is "rubbish". It means that a few people are having issues, not most people!
we need to have some perspective, this forum is not Twitter!
Stay safe,
Peter
I amend it to say that "Files app is rubbish for me".
It is kind of sad that iOS/iPadOS is less functional in many areas than apps/OSes from decades past. For example,
- File management: Norton commander in DOS (and Total Commander from the 90’s)
- Email: The reliable push and functionality of Blackberry mail
- PIM (calendar, contacts, todo): the fantastic Palm OS calendar where you could tap and create/modify entries inline without opening a Dialog
- Preemptive multitasking: EPOC32 from Psion which had real multitasking on a mobile device with decent battery life. It even had a database app built in. By far my favorite mobile OS
It is sad and frustrating. This AM I used Files to copy 165 images from an on-board folder to an exFAT Samsung T5 SSD (freshly formatted). Five of the images on the SSD were corrupt and unreadable. I then did the same operation using FileBrowser for Business and no files were corrupted. I have deleted and reloaded Files and also rebuilt the iPad from scratch but these results continue in all cases. This is fundamental functionality - not new and not rocket science (I've led OS development in the past).
I run into the same issue copying RAW Sony photos from an external card reader using the native Files app. Some are corrupt and I can't rely on it. Using FileBrowser also works flawlessly for me. It's not like copying a few hundred files should be some extreme edge case here - this is pretty basic functionality.
Interesting thing is I have communicated with the FileBrowser development team and they no idea on the why of this as they use iOS API's. What is Files problem?
Enough people run into it so I can't imagine it would be too hard to duplicate. If they ever fix the native Files app and it was feature comparable to FileBrowser I'd probably use it but that isn't the case at the present time.
Just bought and play a bit with FileBrowser for Business... WOW!
I’m so happy with my purchase ?
It really is throws punches above it’s price!
Everything is clear, consistent and reliable.
Folder size info, smb connection, folder shortcut on desktop, better internal media player, file transfer progress dialog (finally!), etc.
Sure it’s not perfect, it still lacking external drive capacity info, but everything else work like it should for a file management apps.
This remind me of the old Android ICS days, back then I had to install ES File Explorer to access root system. Hopefully Files Apps will get better and better in the future. But for now, I’m removing all my local files to the FileBrowser for Biz.
Thanks everyone who recommend this app!
Yep, I also have ES File Explorer on my six now-unused Android tablets. One upgrade I asked the developers about was support for multiple external storage devices attached to a hub - it's on their list. For seeing drive capacity/usage info, I'm using this:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/system-status-cpu-memory-battery-disk-monitor/id401457165
Gentle person,
sadly this is a known bug for iPadOS 13 and, as it looks at the moment, iPadOS 14 (if you search for slow USB-C speed, file/media corruption you will get quite a lot hits on e.g. on reddit or Apple’s mailing lists)
For the moment none of the suggested solutions (different file system or cluster size on the external media) seems to work consistently. There is anecdotal evidence that in some circumstances it works - but in no reproducible way.
The only reliable way to copy a lot of files without corruption seems to be via WLAN (or LAN, which is so much faster, but both require additional hardware like a RAVPower WLAN-hub or LAN-adapter).
Everyone can and should report it here -> https://www.apple.com/feedback/ipad.html
Or, if you participate on the beta or developer program, here -> https://feedbackassistant.apple.com/
There is a quite old Apple Mailinglist discussion on this (slow USB-C transfer times), seems like not enough people reported this to Apple. Maybe we all should write to Hair Force One a.k.a. Craig...
sadly this is a known bug for iPadOS 13 and, as it looks at the moment, iPadOS 14 (if you search for slow USB-C speed, file/media corruption you will get quite a lot hits on e.g. on reddit or Apple’s mailing lists)
For the moment none of the suggested solutions (different file system or cluster size on the external media) seems to work consistently. There is anecdotal evidence that in some circumstances it works - but in no reproducible way.
The only reliable way to copy a lot of files without corruption seems to be via WLAN (or LAN, which is so much faster, but both require additional hardware like a RAVPower WLAN-hub or LAN-adapter).
Everyone can and should report it here -> https://www.apple.com/feedback/ipad.html
Or, if you participate on the beta or developer program, here -> https://feedbackassistant.apple.com/
There is a quite old Apple Mailinglist discussion on this (slow USB-C transfer times), seems like not enough people reported this to Apple. Maybe we all should write to Hair Force One a.k.a. Craig...
I guess that’s why many pro photographer and videographer uses Gnarbox.
So even writing to an external SSD is slower than usual?
I thought it was because I’m using an HDD.
Can I use a USB type C to LAN adapter to wire data transfer from my iPad Pro to my Macbook Pro (it has a LAN port)?
For photo SD card backup, I generally use my FileHub. I can plug the card and SSD into it, initiate the copy, and just let it go. 100% reliable. Useful for travel when I have many GBs each day. The Gnarbox is nice but really pricey and limited to its own internal storage whereas with the FileHub and its USB port I can use any.
Edited:
FileHub is also kinda expensive for just a wireless file transfer solution.
I just tried wireless transfer from my iPad to my Macbook via FileBrowser SMB connection. It does feels faster a bit than writing directly to a connected HDD via type C hub. And the transfer time dialog instantly appearing, unlike direct connection that sometimes only “Examining files...”.
But this method requires a laptop and wireless router. Not a very elegant solution.
Also one 5gb file failed to finish transferred, and only manage to finish at 3gb-ish. So the file is unusable.
Last edited:
FileHub is this one?
RAV FileHub
RAVPower FileHub for IOS is a useful app that helps you to manage and transfer files between your iOS device and RAVPower FileHub. Up to 5 devices can connect to RAVPower FileHub at the same time, making it an ideal for sharing media and work files between your friends. - File management...apps.apple.com
and which hardware / adapter / hub do you use with that?
Can I use any hub along with it?
No hub as there is no physical attachment to the iPad - it's wireless. I generally use a Samsung 500GB T5 SSD with it but I also use a Western Digital 4TB My Passport hard drive at times. My usual SD cards are 256GB SanDisk Extreme SDXC but I also use 256GB uSD cards in SD adapters. All are formatted exFAT.
Some time back, I posted a review of this model -
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/new-ravpower-filehub-model-wd009.2166261/
I also reviewed an earlier model that had similar performance characteristics. That review has data transfer numbers -
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/new-ravpower-filehub-model-review.2128117/
It's not as fast as a hard-wired connection but it's dependable. If I can't depend on/trust a device, speed is irrelevant.
Edit: I just noticed that the link you have is to an app. I'm referring to the hardware device -
https://www.amazon.com/RAVPower-FileHub-Wireless-Portable-Transfer/dp/B07P5QDQ1B
Edit 2: I saw that the FileHub is $10 cheaper at https://www.ravpower.com/ than at Amazon and that if you create an account there, you get an immediate 20% discount on purchases through them.
Last edited: