Tell me more ×
Ask Different is a question and answer site for power users of Apple hardware and software. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 3 down vote favorite
1

I am looking for a way to transfer large files to the iPad without using iTunes or pushing to and pulling from a remote server.

I run an Ubuntu laptop as my only OS at the moment and want to be able to transfer movies to my iPad. I currently transfer most of my files by way of the dropbox app which works well for small files but is quite slow for larger files and eats up my bandwidth. Ideally I'd like to be able to transfer over a cable or through WiFi.

Thanks for any tips.

share|improve this question

3 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted

Look at goodreader. It allows you to transfer files from windows, Mac osx & Linux via wifi. You can them open the files in other apps based on the filetype.

share|improve this answer
1  
Goodreader? What's that? A book, a magazine, a website or an application? – user2763 Jan 27 '11 at 19:58
Goodreader worked for getting the files onto my iPad though I was unable to play them, not sure if that is simply the file itself or how Goodreader deals with them as the "Open with" capability seems to be reserved for third party apps, i.e. I can't open with Videos or iPod. – Stephen L Jan 28 '11 at 17:48
goodreader is an app – fnord_ix Feb 8 '11 at 9:52
up vote 2 down vote

Yes! you can transfer files to / from the iPad from Ubuntu via USB.

1) You can always transfer files via ssh / windows share etc

2) However that would be over Wifi which is nowhere near as fast as USB connectivity.

3) Via USB you can only access /var/root/Media on the ipad. Useful to put movies onto it - you will need to find a way to make these visible within iPad - I think you need to create some playlist?

  • I use FileBrowser on the iPad and since my iPad is jailbroken, I ssh in and mv the transferred files from /var/root/Media to /var/mobile/Applications//.data/Movies/. It is then visible within FileBrowser and Movies can be played there.

Steps

Install additional PPA repository

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pmcenery/ppa
sudo apt-get update

Install libimobiledevice-utils

sudo apt-get install libimobiledevice-utils

Plug in the iPad / iPod / iPhone

It is visible as a removable drive !

share|improve this answer
To clarify: 1. you don't need jailbroken iPad 2. you don't need the ppa. The package is in universe on Ubuntu 11.10 3. Any app that accepts arbitrary files such as Smart Disk Free is enough (just connect ipad to the computer using the standard Dock Connector to USB Cable and drag and drop files) – J.F. Sebastian Apr 2 '12 at 18:04
up vote 0 down vote

FileBrowser is very good for transferring files.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.