I recently bought an iPhone 15 Pro Max and wanted to use both of my Sandisk Extreme Pro 2TB SSDs for recording video straight to SSD.
Unfortunately, I’ve discovered they’re not compatible with the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
If I run “Disk Test by Magic Benchmark”, the write test never completes to 100% - it will either lock the system or hang anywhere between 10 and 80%, and I have to unplug the SSD.
When I plug it back in, it’s not recognised.
I have two of these drives and one is recognised in the “Files” app, but still hangs when trying to write to it, and the other is only recognised AFTER the other drive has been plugged in and unplugged.
Using the Camera app, I can record less than two minutes of footage at 4k 60fps ProRes LOG before the iphone freezes completely and won’t unfreeze until I unplug the Sandisk SSD.
I’ve just bought a Samsung T7 to compare, so I can see if its my phone at fault, but that works absolutely fine.
The Sandisk SSDs also work fine on my Macbook, but just not on iPhone 15.
I’ve seen videos on youtube with people using Sandisk Extreme SSDs, but not with the Extreme PRO SSDs…
It seems there is a compatibility issue here - since I have two that don’t work.
Have you opened a Support Case? If not opened, for more information, please contact the SD Technical Support team for best assistance and troubleshooting:
It looks like there may be a compatibility issue between the Sandisk Extreme Pro SSDs and the iPhone 15 Pro Max, since you’re experiencing issues with both drives. Incomplete write tests and a freezing issue during video recording indicate that the iPhone 15 Pro Max cannot handle the high data transfer speeds required by Sandisk Extreme Pro SSDs.
The fact that the Samsung T7 performs well on your iPhone 15 Pro Max further supports the concept of compatibility rumors with Sandisk Extreme Pro SSDs. There could be a software bug or hardware limitation on the side of the iPhone 15 Pro Max that is causing this problem. You can talk to Sandisk’s customer support team or Apple and inform them about the compatibility issues you’re experiencing with the Sandisk Extreme Pro SSDs and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
It appears there might be a compatibility issue between the Sandisk Extreme PRO 2TB SSDs and the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The symptoms you’re describing, such as the write test hanging, the system freezing, and the drives not being recognized consistently, suggest that the iPhone is having difficulty communicating with the SSDs. This could be due to a software issue with iOS 17 or a hardware incompatibility between the specific SSD model and the iPhone’s USB-C port.
The fact that the Samsung T7 works fine with your iPhone suggests that the issue is likely specific to the Sandisk Extreme PRO SSDs. However, it’s still worth checking for any software updates on both the iPhone and the SSDs to rule out any potential software-related issues.
If you’ve already tried updating the software and the problem persists, then it’s likely a hardware compatibility issue. In this case, you may need to wait for a software update from Apple or SanDisk that addresses the compatibility issue. You could also try contacting SanDisk customer support to see if they have any known solutions or workarounds for this issue.
In the meantime, you can use the Samsung T7 as an alternative for recording video straight to an external SSD.
I’ve encountered the same problem when I connected my iPhone 15 Pro Max to an Extreme Pro 2TB SSD. I need to do this because the phone needs external storage to record 4K video at 60fps. I suspect the problem is caused by the Extreme Pro needing more power than the iPhone 15 can supply; the SSD does run pretty hot when connected to my Macbook Pro.
In retrospect I should have bought a phone with more internal memory, but I am where I am. Has anyone tried using an Extreme Portable SSD? Being a much slower drive, it likely requires less power.
Hello, after reading your comments, when I installed 1 tb extreme pro ssd iphone 15 pro maxe, there was a slowdown. Later, I thought it was used with the ugreen multiplexer, it was normal and it was working by heating up. But I read this forum, it turns out that the cable that comes with ssd is insufficient, I think the problem disappeared when I plugged in the iphone 15 pro max’s charging cable
As a result of my recent checks, I have a disk test done, it comes out with its own iphone 15 pro max charging cable for 150mb/s. The disc is not working with its own cable. It works efficiently with the Ugreen multiplexer, but it needs to be used with a charging adapter.strong text
The Extreme PRO SSD is not compatible with iPhone 15 or iOS 17 due to the lack of native support for external SSDs on iPhones. While iPhones support some external storage devices, compatibility issues with file formats and connection interfaces often prevent seamless use with certain SSDs like the Extreme PRO.
Yet the Samsung T7 works perfectly fine with the iPhone 15.
It also beggars belief that Sandisk are collaborating with BeastGrip - actively promoting the Sandisk Extreme Pro SSD for use with the iPhone 15 in adverts - despite telling customers with problems that they don’t support using them with iPhones…
Hoping to add something relevant to this conversation.
I’m using an iPhone 16 Pro, Kondor Blue Pro Blade Handle and 2TB Pro Blade mag.
From Sandisk Support: "
I understand that you are facing issue with SanDisk Drive. I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. It will be my pleasure to assist with your case.
Please allow me to inform you that the Pro blade need power requirements about 3 Amp to work properly and iPhone 15 -16 may not be able to provide that consistently. Please refer to the below mentioned article to know more"
Doing a quick google search shows that the iPhone 15 Pro is capable of outputting 2 amps of power, and the iPhone 16 Pro is capable of outputting 2.2 amps of power, both shy of what’s needed to run the Pro Blades, so it’s reasonable to assume that this is a power issue. This may not be as much of an issue with 1TB mags as said by several others on YouTube and in this forum.
Like the OP I purchased the Pro Blade 2TB mag, I had intended on using it with a Kondor Blue handle to record to as a nice clean solution. My phone would be able to see the Pro Blade after it was plugged into my MacBook or iPad and could start recording at 4K 120 in ProRes Log for about 30 seconds, then it would disconnect.
I also ordered the Lexar SSD Hub from the Kickstarter which works perfectly but prompted me to try using the hub with the Pro Blade because I want to use the Lexar SSD on a overhead B Roll camera due its light weight sometimes.
Initially I had the same result as before, but was able to make it function perfectly when the hub was plugged into an external battery, basically killing 2 bird with 1 stone keeping the phone charged and forcing the Pro Blade to function.
I hope this is insightful to someone else struggling to make this work.
