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iOS Storage Formats

Black Hole

May contain traces of nut
While investigating problems I am having moving video files around, I came across the following information which might be common knowledge (not to me!) but useful nonetheless.

According to this Seagate info, the following applies to iPadOS 16 and later, i(Phone)OS 17 and later:

Seagate (edited) said:
iPadOS and iOS support the following storage formats:
  • HFS+
  • APFS & Encrypted APFS
  • exFAT
  • FAT32
  • NTFS (read only)
Note on exFAT format via Windows: When formatting a drive as exFAT on a Windows PC, set the allocation size between 128K to 1024K. Allocation sizes larger than 1024K can lead to detection and write issues on an iPad USB-C. This is only true when formatting on a Windows PC.

I'm not sure when NTFS read capability was added, information elsewhere suggests it was not available in iOS 13.

However, it seems that for storing files >4GB, exFAT is the least worst. It seems weird that Ext3/4 isn't on the list (but I might try it anyway... no, Ext4 didn't work).
 
Last edited:
exFAT doesn't seem to work in iOS 13, even though sources suggest it should. Apple don't say, I'm relying on third party info.
 
What is it you are trying to achieve? Move the video files from, say, a PC to IOS, or store them on a USB drive that can plugged into any device (PC, IOS, Humax maybe)? If the latter, finding a format that is common could be a right pita. Fortunately NTFS works for me (only Windows and various Humaxes), but the file protection problems when swapping between XP and Win 11 had me tearing what's left of my hair out!
 
In the particular instance, I was trying to get a 6GB file off an iOS 13 iPad onto a PC. In the end I AirDropped the file to my iOS 16 iPad, and from there to an exFAT card.
 
Before getting a cheap Win 11 laptop, if I wanted to move any files (including large video downloads) from an Android phone to an XP computer I had to resort to connecting both devices to the WiFi network, setting up an FTP server on the phone and FTPing via a client on XP. With Win 11 I can just plug the phone into the laptop and I can see most of the phone's files. That, of course, requires Windows to recognise the Android's disks. (Not sure what internal drive is. Think the micro SD is exFAT). Either way I don't need bother about how the files are stored.

Don't know whether using FTP over your home network between the two devices would work for you and cut out the transfer to a card.
 
Don't know whether using FTP over your home network between the two devices would work for you and cut out the transfer to a card.
I take it you're not familiar with the sand-boxing iOS does (especially older versions)! First, the video file in question would have to be copied from Photos to Files, and then from Files there would be multiple ways to access over-the-network storage. But when the iPad in question has a mere 16GB total storage and very little free, there are not a lot of options (including installing more apps).

Even the export process takes more memory. Videos don't get transferred out untouched, they are "prepared" in some way, whereas AirDrop just copies from one camera roll to another.

That said, the Android on my phone (7) is more locked-down now than it used to be. I still haven't figured out how to (successfully) grant one app access to files stored by another app. It's ridiculous, and would not be acceptable on a desktop OS. iOS has always been like that, which is why I chose Android for my phone!

However, the why of me looking at storage formats isn't the point. I have a friend with a Mac, so at some point I will test HFS.
 
I take it you're not familiar with the sand-boxing iOS does (especially older versions)!
I am. I had a second-hand iPhone 5s. I can't remember whether I could FTP from it. Now that you remind me, there must be some reason I had to send things to the iCloud and then download from there to a PC. Seems like I forgot. :oops:
That said, the Android on my phone (7) is more locked-down now than it used to be. I still haven't figured out how to (successfully) grant one app access to files stored by another app.
I don't think you can without rooting the phone. If you can't find/read the file somewhere below /Android/data/ I think you're stuffed. I've yet to make sense of adb so don't know if that'll work. May also require rooting.

As I understand it new versions of Android (12 or possibly 13) now require apps to call a new procedure/function to allow access to micro SD cards. Old apps will work, you just can't access the SD card. The Aura has a similar problem, you cannot write from the internal drives to an external USB device. If you try really hard you can play something on the USB device, but you can't copy it. Other places you can read but not write. Some you can't delete except through FTP. What a mess! :frantic: .

The one saving grace with Windows is that you can get to, fiddle with, delete most files in most locations. If you can't there are usually things you can change that'll allow you to - until the next Windows update mucks it up again. Although you can turn update off.
 
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