2.5.2019

It took a little while and some experimentation, but having worked out how best to use the ixpand flash drive I am really pleased with how well it works. It was a present for my non technically minded friend, who, once I had set up everything, sent me an email saying - The flash disk gadget is amazing, I am absolutely delighted with it.The 64GB flash drive has solved all her storage and back up problems and provided me with an easy way to let her have copies of photographs taken during our outings together. We both find the flash drive very easy to use. It plugs in securely and neatly into the ipad and just three basic commands appear on the Home Page when using the APP. These are 'Copy Files','View Files' and 'Back up and restore'. There is also a little cog symbol in the top right hand side of the App's Home Page page that if clicked leads you to online help and support.Here are some things I discovered that others might find useful. When the flash drive is first plugged into your Apple ipad or iPhone you are given the option to use automatic backup to back up your photo library, music and contacts list. This seemed to us a good idea and, as my friend didn't have many photos and only seven videos everything was backed up very speedily, the end result though disappointed us. In hind sight it wasn't a good choice, choosing to manually copy the photos and videos we wanted to back up was, I discovered, a much better option.Automatically backing up our music files and contact list worked well. There were however two problems with using automatic back up for photos and videos. The first problem was that automatic backup doesn't copy your albums it copies your camera roll so when you come to look at your photos you will find they are split up into lots of different dated folders with names that mean very little. Strangely too, we found the photos themselves weren't visible until I had used the flash drive on my computer and chosen to view them as large icons. The other downside to automatic backup was that, so the backup process doesn't take too long, all the backed up photos were compressed slightly. This doesn't really matter when you view them on your ipad or iPhone as they will still look ok on those but it is not ideal if, for example, you decided to use them to create an A4 sized print.The best way to back up videos and photos is, I think, to use the Copy Files option. Doing this allows you to copy files from your ipad/iphone to the flash drive or from the flash drive to your ipad/iphone.If you choose to copy photos from your ipad/iphone, you can either click on 'photos' and tick the photos you want to copy or click on 'albums' and click 'select all' to copy all the photos in an album. It is then possible to create a folder on the flash drive, click 'copy here' and all the selected photos go in the created folder. They are not compressed and appear at full size. For this reason it is probably best not to try to copy too many photos at once and best to copy videos seperately from photos. The end result - Being able to view your files as albums in folders is, I believe, much better than viewing them in lots and lots of seperate folders, arranged according to the date when a photo was taken.Using the ixpand flash drive on a computer is very easy as, when plugged into a USB socket, the flash drive functions just like a normal USB memory stick. I chose to copy and paste albums of photos from my computer into the Photos folder of the flash drive and copy and paste videos into the videos folder of the flash drive. It was then just a matter of plugging the drive into the ipad and choosing View files to see them on that.The flash drive was purchased at a very good price as I was able to buy it via one of Amazon's special lightning deals.

29.10.2019

A very neat piece of kit and ideal for someone like me who has access to iCloud, however, our internet speed is so slow (9-12 Mbits) that upload in particular is very slow: this despite living less than 1 mile from a market town and having installed fibre broadband. For some living in cities this type of device may have less use, however, for us, in particular backing up and transferring data from iPad/iPhone/iMac/PC it really is proving very useful. If any further endorsement is needed, I noticed that they sell this item in the Apple Store when I visited a few days ago.I received the 128 Gb version priced at £52.99 on 29th October 2019; on that basis I have deducted a star as I believe that sub £40.00 it would deserve 5 stars.Set-up was easy, I inserted the drive into the port on one of our iPads and I was prompted to download the Sandisk expand app from the iTunes Store. Once downloaded the intuitive app was easy to follow and I soon backed up an iPad to the drive: over 365 images within that backup too. It was easy also to set up sections of the drive for another iPad, thus keeping pictures and files separate. Connection to my iMac was also very simple using the standard USB 3.0 connector at the opposite end of the device. I can then transfer files direct from my iMac to the Flash Drive to share across a number of devices. Of course you can do this easily transferring files direct to your iPad or iPhone via cable, bluetooth or from iCloud. For us using a 128 Gb and a 32 Gb iPad I can see us using this flash drive more for items not routinely needed on a daily basis such as file sharing and for storing items, such as films and photographic images for when we need them. We am travelling to India in a few days and see that this item could be invaluable when transferring images via wi-fi from our Canon SLR's to the iPad to view and ultimately store on this drive. Yes I could just purchase more SD storage instead, but I tend to like to download images to my iPad at the end of each initially, edit them and then store them for full editing when I get home - on that basis and for this trip, I see this drive getting used a lot.Security wise, the app has adequate password protection, which we have not as yet been able to refine to accommodate allowing access to one section of the drive but not the other; a minor point. A further minor point is the fact that it would have been nice to have protection for both ports on the drive, the USB 3 for the iMac and iPad rather than having protection for one end or the other..In summary then:+. Great item to back up and hold data for your iPad/iPhone+. You can transfer high capacity items such as pictures or videos straight to from your iPad to the flash drive+. Great to move content across computers and other Apple devices without having to use cables+. An ability to back up and password protect valuable filesA must have item for travel.

27.10.2019

The principle of this iXpand drive is simple; it allows you to back up your photos and whatever else from your lightning connector-fitted phone or iPad (please note though, the latest iPad Pro's have USB-C connectors so this won't be compatible) onto the USB drive and these can then be transferred to a computer or wherever else you like.On one end is a lightning connector and on the other end a standard USB connector. With an app from the app store you can view what is on the card.If you use iCloud for your backups then you may wonder why you'd need this. For me, I find it is handy to grab photos quickly off my phone and organise them more clearly on my PC. They're also easier to print from there and share via email etc too.

19.2.2017

This is a brilliant idea for backing up photos, videos, contacts and calendar events from your iPhone or iPad without having to pay extra for Apple cloud storage or connecting to iTunes on a computer. Setting up is straight forward, you plug this into your device, it will then prompt you to download and install the correct app which is free. Once installed, the app allows you to copy and back up said items, and delete backed up photos/videos to free up space. The drive is compact and feels secure when plugged into the iPad, this gives you the option to take pictures/videos with the camera and have it automatically saved to the drive rather than the device.

2.6.2016

I think this is an excellent flashdrive. It works very well, it's well designed and it seems well made. (I've not had the durability problems reported by another reviewer – yet, anyway. I will report back if I do have any trouble with it.)The device is simple in conception: it has a normal USB 3.0 plug at one end and a lightning connector at the other so it can be used with both PCs and Apple devices. The design is very neat, with the lightning connector tucked back in to form a handle.It just works. Plug it in and it's recognised straight away, and just under 60GB of free memory is available. I get write speeds of around 20MB/s on my USB2.0 PC, which is very good – and if you've got USB3.0 they will be much faster.

13.4.2018

Some time ago I purchased a Ipad Air Mk 2 64gb at a much reduced price. I am a retired professional photographer / technician.I thought that I would be able to read files from a SD card or 2.5 inch drive with the Ipad. Yes, you can read files from a SD card via an adapter, but you have to import them first. This is not what I wanted to do. I Now use Google Photos, which is a cloud based app. I have access to some 90,000 of my images.This is fine until I want to show images to someone who does not have a network connection.This is where the Sandisk Ixpand comes in. I can transfer files to it and show them to friends and family as required.I think though for what it is, its way overpriced for 32gb of storage.

14.2.2017

I like SanDisk drives and when I can afford the extra I much prefer the brands reliability for my cameras, so I was pretty happy to receive this iXpand to review. It feels and looks like a quality item. You have USB 3 on one end and one of those little Lightning connectors on the other. I don't use Apple gear so just tested the USB 3.0 on my laptop. I had zero problems. It's snappy too, certainly quicker than my existing USB drives. I didn't have any of the issues a few people have reported here. I dumped around 29GB of music FLACs from my hard drive to the USB by way of a test. All was good. I like the look of the drive and kinda like the flexibility of Apple and PC connectors.

2.12.2017

This was one of my favourite 'mini' purchases of the year. My iPhone 5s and my Ipad were both 16gb of memory which as anyone owning one will tell you soon runs out of storage space. So I took a punt and went for the 64gb iExpand and found that the setup of the initial app was quick and very painless in order to set the iExpand up on both devices. Couple that with the ease of being able to transfer your mp3's to it with ease from your pc.. or any movies that you got too.Downside:The iExpand is formatted as FAT32 so the maximum filesize is 4gb as far as I can tell. I tested with a 5gb file and it did indeed error. Keep this in mine when transferring files to it from your PC/Laptop.Other than this,

20.6.2018

I often have to give presentations where I have to hand over a USB flash drive to the AV staff. This is difficult when you have used an iPad to make a presentation in Keynote or Powerpoint. This drive solves the problem. Very easy to set up; download the iExpand software from the App Store, plug in the iXpand drive and you have nearly 32GB of extra storage at your disposal. You can share Keynote or powerpoint files easily to the drive, which can then be opened on a PC/laptop. I was impressed at how easy it was to set up and use. I have knocked off a star for the cost. Transfer to a USB drive can also be achieved using the SanDisk wireless drive

24.6.2016

In readiness for a long flight I loaded my iPad with films and TV, then topped up this flash drive too so I had plenty of choice.You'll need to download an app to allow this drive to work as an iPad/iPhone cannot read it natively. When I first received it the app was rather flaky but recent updates have improved stability considerably.To add content, simply plug into a USB port (preferably USB3) then drag/drop any content you want. It must be readable by the iDevice so mp3, mp4, m4v etc. but no mkv, avi etc. When you want to use it, plug the lightning connection into the iDevice and through the app either play directly or transfer to the internal memory (space permitting).The 'U'

4.6.2016

This is incredibly easy to use - plug the USB end into your PC/laptop or use the other end to plug into your iDevice of choice. The i-connector is nicely designed, as it's tucked in to form a handle; this is the smaller and less solid connecting end, so it's a brilliant design to keep it safe. Once attached to the iDevice, this lies flat to avoid damage, and the flexibility is great.I've not had the issues that a couple of users mentioned, as every time this has been inserted, it's been recognised without trouble. It;s quick and easy to transfer files, music, images. This is clearly not a technical review, as I'm not tech-minded, but I needed a product that would work along the lines of 'the dummies'

4.6.2016

Couldn't easier than it already is. Upon connection to device it says App not connected, and offers to take you to the App store to get the App. Once App is installed you are good to go. It's easier to back up content to the drive and you can choose if this should be done automatically. The contacts backup is a life saver and it's really fast. The data can then be stored safely on your PC or in my case an External Driver I keep offline and not connected to any computer. Sometimes you are unable to access iCloud due to any number of causes, but a backup on this is with you, easily accessible.The media playback feature is also very convenient. You can playback media files save on the disk.

30.10.2019

A very useful and long-overdue device.We all know how reluctant Apple is to allow you to take control of anything but this device gives you extra storage and allows you to copy and back up your photos, videos and contacts to a physically separate hard device. All is controlled through the free SanDisk iXpand app that you install on the iOS. You can then copy or share with another Apple device using the lightning connector. It works like a mini USB drive but gives you 128GB of formatted storage. You can even backup social media photos like Facebook. The regular 3.1 USB connector then allows you to look at this on a PC etc. Difficult to fault at the price and gives you versatile storage and a physical backup rather than just virtual.

3.7.2016

This flash drive enables you to transfer files not just from PC to PC, but also from PC to iPad/iPhone and vice versa. In order to transfer files to and from an iPad/iPhone, you first need to download an app. I wasn't anticipating this to be much fun as other apps I've downloaded in conjunction with hardware have been torturous to use. However, SanDisk's app is simple and intuitive and the whole process was painless. I have now been able to transfer all my music from my PC to the drive. You can then download the music onto an ipad or iphone, or alternatively, save memory and stream the music straight from the drive.

28.6.2016

The SanDisk iXpand 64gb flash drive is designed to work wirelessly within the apple ecosystem, something I didn't notice when ordering. So unfortunately I can't comment on how it operates as a wireless device. However I can say how it operates as a standard flash drive. In short it's quick. It's nicely made and feels durable, it connects via plug and play and file transfer speeds seem extremely swift. Another nice feature is SanDisk gives you the same amount of secure cloud storage as the device. So you have a great recovery option should you be unfortunate enough to misplace the drive.All in all a nice product, I just wish I read the description a bit more carefully before ordering

SanDisk iXpand GO - Reviews

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