I bought the 128gb wireless USB drive last Tuesday. Initially the three standard folders of photos, videos and music were visible in my iPad. I wanted to add in documents. The drive opened as a USB drive on my iMac with no problems, I added a new folder called “documents” and put some documents in it. Going back to the iPad and connecting to the drive the new folder could not be seen, indeed no folders.
I went back to the iMac, I have tried formatting as MS-DOS (FAT) and also using ExFAT but having added folders from the iMac when I connect the drive to the iPad and use the app no folders can be seen.
If I try to add a folder to say copy photos in I get the same message as a member reported elsewhere in these pages. Any name chosen is unacceptable.
Also there is often a message top left in the app screen saying drive is in USB mode. This sometimes goes but only after repeated tries - plugging it into a PSU, switching it on and off after being in the iMac and even resetting it. Still the working in USB message appears from time to time but when it doesn’t and the iPad is connected the app cannot see any folders or let me do anything.
How do I get this to work?
128GB drives are exFAT compatible so this is the File system you should use. If it is still in FAT32 reformat it as exFAT.
What version of iPad do you have?
What iOS version are you using?
What SanDisk connect app version do you have?
What FW version os on your Wireless Stick?
“Also there is often a message top left in the app screen saying drive is in USB mode.”
If you are not connected to the drive it should give you a “Not connected” page with instructions to connect or charge the wireless stick. Can you post a screen shot of this error? If the controller is not making the switch from MSC to wifi the drive may be defective.
Thanks.
In answer to your questions:
What version of iPad do you have?
Have tried it on an iPad Air 2, an iPhone 6 and an iPad Pro. I get the same problem on all three.
What iOS version are you using?
IOS 9.1
What SanDisk connect app version do you have?
SanDisk Connect version 1.0.21 (1121).
What FW version is on your Wireless Stick?
4.0.2 (2038)
Thr drive is formatted as exFAT
I don’t know if it is normal but the words “Wireless Stick in USB mo…” appear currently on the iPad Air 2 but having also accessed the stick using an iPad Pro I note they don’t on that. Both see the Stick. The app has connected to it, confirms it is fully charged etc. I know there is a folder on it with documents on it for I can see that when I plug it into my desktop. I have tried to add photos, selected some to add, it asks me to add a new folder, I take that option, it asks for a name for it, whatever name I try to give it the message comes up “Invalid folder name. Please try again”
I have taken a screen shot which shows the words “Wireless Stick in USB mo…” (I assume the last word is “mode” but it does not appear in full) but cannot see a facility on these pages to add it. The icon “Insert/edit image” just opens a box and there does not seem to be a way to paste the image in.
Richard.
RHLangdon wrote:
I have taken a screen shot which shows the words “Wireless Stick in USB mo…” (I assume the last word is “mode” but it does not appear in full) but cannot see a facility on these pages to add it. The icon “Insert/edit image” just opens a box and there does not seem to be a way to paste the image in.
Richard.
To post a screen shot you will need to upload the picture to a site like imgur or flicker etc and link it here.
Honestly it sounds like the drive may be bad. It sounds like the controller is almost stuck in MSC mode. If you have a windows machine you could try formatting on that to to make sure that the the app does not like Mac formatting for some reason. It is a long shot but maybe worth a try if you have a windows machine.
it does not seem to be related to your hosts as the same issue occurs on multiple different platforms. This leads me to think it may be a hardware issue with the stick itself.
RHLangdon wrote:
I have taken a screen shot which shows the words “Wireless Stick in USB mo…” (I assume the last word is “mode” but it does not appear in full) but cannot see a facility on these pages to add it. The icon “Insert/edit image” just opens a box and there does not seem to be a way to paste the image in.
Richard.
I enabled picture upload. You should now be able to upload a screen shot to the post.
Forum Admin
slotmonsta
I think I have found the solution, indirectly you pointed me in the direction to follow and for that I am grateful as the solution would not have become apparent otherwise.
I got a friend to format the drive on his PC. When he opened the drive his PC would only see the drive as one containing 200MB and with one partition. A little small considering it is 128Gb. No way at all could Windows see this drive as a 128GB one. However, we formatted the 200MB that could be seen.
Back home I then accessed the drive using DiscUtility and now it said the drive had two partitions, one was 200Mb and the other the remainder. I should say that at no time along the whole process was it formatted other than with one partition and DiscUtility has always until now only reported it seeing one partition. Windows though saw something else, a second partition that nobody knew existed but it could not see the main one.
On the 200MB I now had I found that in the app the drive was seen, I could add a folder called “Photos” and put a file in it. All working. But in a 200MB partition.
Therefore it had to be something to do with the formatting on the MAC. I reformatted the drive as exFAT and got back to one partition of 128Gb. However, the MAS OS in DiscUtiity formatting defaults to GUID Partition as the Scheme. I changed this to “Master Boot Record” and formatted again. Added files and this time the app now sees them.
Two things therefore, there is perhaps a second partition that does not appear normally on the drive but Windows could see it and the app wants to use it. Or formatting on the MAC and selecting one partition still for some reason creates two, a small one and a big one but on the MAC you cannot see the small one but the app can. Mysteriously even if one partition is chosen for formatting in MAC OS there are still two on the drive.
The solution for anybody else with the problem seems therefore that if formatting on a MAC, choose exFAT and also change the default scheme to Master Boot Record.
I guess somebody with the technical knowledge can explain all this but perhaps reference can made to it in the manual for future users.
Again thanks for your help, I would not have achieved this but for your suggestion and would otherwise been sending the drive back to Apple!
Richard.
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