Can I use a Western Digital USB harddrive as a file storage unit for my iPhone 13?

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Can I use a Western Digital USB harddrive as a file storage unit for my iPhone 13?

I've got an iPhone 13 and I'm filling up all my space with the videos I take. I have an old Western Digital USB harddrive that I could use to put my videos on. I know I could do it if I had a Macbook but it'd be really convenient if I could do it direct with a cable from the USB harddrive direct to my iPhone.

Are they compatible? I've read that I should be able to do it in theory, but I'd like to be a bit more confident before I spend money on a USB Mini-B to Lightning Cable, assuming I can find one.

iPhone 8, iOS 16

Posted on Apr 6, 2025 2:15 PM

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Answer 1

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Top-ranking reply

LotusPilot

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Apr 8, 2025 5:01 AM in response to AHardy42

Understand that Hard Disk Drives are notoriously power-hungry - and will likely require more power than your iPhone's Lightning port alone can supply. As such, unless your external HDD has its own source of power, you must either use a powered USB hub and/or use an Apple Lightning to USB3 Camera Adapter - to which you must also connect your iPhone's Power Adapter. The Power Adapter must be rated at least 12W (2.4A @5V) - although a 20-30W Power Adapter is recommended.

Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter

https://store.apple.com/xc/product/MK0W2ZM/A

Don’t be confused by the name of this Adapter - as it is the key to connecting many USB devices to your iPhone or iPad. The adapter incorporates the essential USB Controller/Root Hub that interfaces USB accessories to your device's Lightning port.

iOS/iPadOS supports FAT, FAT32, exFAT (FAT64), APFS or HFS+ with a single partition. Microsoft NTFS and other proprietary formats are not supported.

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Answer 2

Tesserax

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155,402 points

Apr 8, 2025 10:22 AM in response to AHardy42

Yes, you can use the Files app, or any other app you prefer, to do the same thing.

Ref:

Connect external storage devices to iPhone - Apple Support
How to use external storage with an iPhone or iPad - digitaltrends

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Answer 3

Apr 8, 2025 2:35 PM in response to AHardy42

For what you are attempting to achieve in attempting to access a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) from your iPhone, you have no choice other than to invest in Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter:

https://store.apple.com/xc/product/MK0W2ZM/A

This Adapter adds the USB Root Hub/Controller that your iPhone requires to connect the HDD.

Connect external storage devices to iPad – Apple Support

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Answer 4

AHardy42 Author

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4 points

Apr 8, 2025 11:14 AM in response to LotusPilot

I'm still trying to work out how this would work since I have a powered USB hub. It has 6 female USB sockets and the one male USB connector on the end of the cable, which goes into the computer it's attached to. My question is, do I have to plug the USB hub cable into the Lightning-to-USB-adaptor socket? Or will this setup still work if I plug my iPhone into one of the USB hub female sockets, using my normal iPhone charging cable?

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Answer 5

AHardy42 Author

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4 points

Apr 12, 2025 11:14 AM in response to LotusPilot

Hi LotusPilot, thanks for another useful answer, that sounds straight-forward. One more question: would I be able to keep the videos and images in my Photos app despite moving them to the removable hard drive? Or is that impossible? Or to put it another way, does the Photos app handle media on external drives?