Setup: Sandisk iXpand Mini Flash Drive User Manual

Overview

The iXpand Mini Flash Drive is designed for iPhone and iPad users who need a convenient way to free storage space, back up photos, transfer files, and watch supported videos directly from external storage. Its flexible Lightning connector is designed to work with most cases, while the USB 3.0 connector connects the drive to compatible Mac computers, PCs, and other supported computers.

The companion iXpand Drive app provides tools for camera-roll backup, file copying, photo and video viewing, music playback, contact archiving, social-media backup, password protection, and drive management. The Lightning and USB connectors are used one at a time.

Specifications

• Connectors: Lightning and USB 3.0
• Connector use: One connector is used at a time
• Dimensions: 13 × 17 × 59 mm
• Operating temperature: 0–35°C
• File system support: Microsoft exFAT support is specified for the 128GB version
• Mobile compatibility: Listed iPhone, iPad, and iPod models with a Lightning connector and iOS 8.2 or later
• Computer compatibility: Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Chrome OS, and Mac OS X v10.8 or later
• Transfer interface: USB 3.0 for connection to a compatible computer

Detailed Description

The drive has two physical connectors positioned at opposite ends of the device. Remove the cap from the Lightning end before connecting it to an iPhone or iPad. The USB 3.0 connector is used to move files between the drive and a compatible computer.

On an iPhone or iPad, the iXpand Drive app acts as the main control center. It displays quick-action cards for common tasks, including copying files, viewing drive contents, backing up data, checking available storage, connecting social-media accounts, and updating the drive. Swipe through the cards to select an action. Swipe a card upward to dismiss it, or swipe downward to access options for resetting dismissed cards.

Because the drive stores files independently of the iPhone or iPad, photos and videos can be moved off the mobile device without deleting them permanently from the drive. Files stored on the drive can later be copied back to the device or transferred to a computer.

Safety

• Use the drive within its specified functional temperature range of 0–35°C.
• Do not delete the SanDisk SecureAccess Vault Settings folder if password protection is enabled.
• Files protected with SanDisk SecureAccess cannot be recovered through the app if the security password is forgotten.
• Restoring photos or contacts with names that already exist on the iPhone or iPad can create duplicate entries.
• Use only legally obtained or rights-holder-authorized music and video files.

Setup and Operation

Connect to an iPhone or iPad

1. Remove the cap covering the Lightning connector.
2. Insert the Lightning connector into the iPhone or iPad.
3. When prompted, install the SanDisk iXpand Drive app from the App Store.
4. Open the app and allow the requested access needed for photos, files, contacts, or other selected functions.

Take Photos and Videos Directly to the Drive

1. Open the iXpand Drive app and select the Photos feature.
2. Choose the camera function.
3. Capture a photo or record a video.
4. The captured media is saved directly to the iXpand Mini Flash Drive rather than occupying additional space in the iPhone or iPad camera roll.

Back Up the Camera Roll

1. Connect the drive to the iPhone or iPad.
2. Open the iXpand Drive app and select Backup and Restore.
3. Choose the camera-roll backup option.
4. Allow photo access if the operating system displays a permission request.
5. Enable automatic backup if you want newly added photos to be copied whenever the drive is connected.
6. Wait for the first backup to finish. Initial backups may take longer than later backups.

After the initial backup, automatic backup copies newly added files rather than repeating the entire camera roll. You can pause an active backup from the app. The default backup location is the Camera Backup folder on the drive.

Restore Photos

1. Open Backup and Restore in the iXpand Drive app.
2. Select the restore option.
3. Choose the source folder, such as Camera Backup.
4. Confirm the restore operation to copy the photos to the iPhone or iPad camera roll.

Photos with names that already exist in the camera roll are added as duplicates instead of replacing the existing files.

Back Up Social-Media Photos

1. Connect the drive and open the iXpand Drive app.
2. Choose Backup and Restore, then select the social-media backup feature.
3. Select the social-media account to back up.
4. Sign in and authorize the app when prompted.
5. Allow the app to locate and copy photos associated with the selected account.

After an account has been connected, the social-media backup option can be used again to copy its available photos to the drive.

Back Up and Restore Contacts

Contact backup creates an archive that can be useful when moving to another iPhone or iPad.

1. Open Backup and Restore.
2. Select Backup and Restore Contacts.
3. Choose Back Up.
4. Select the contacts by tapping the selection dot beside each entry.
5. Tap Archive Contacts at the bottom of the screen.

To restore contacts, open the same contact menu, choose Restore, select the contacts, and tap Restore. Contacts with matching names may be duplicated.

Copy Files on an iPhone or iPad

1. Connect the drive to the mobile device.
2. Choose Copy Files from the app home screen.
3. Select whether to copy items from the iPhone or iPad to the drive, or retrieve files from the drive to the mobile device.
4. Select the photos, videos, documents, or other files to transfer.
5. Choose a destination folder.
6. Press Copy to begin the transfer.

Files copied to the drive remain available through the app’s local file view. When files are copied to the iPhone or iPad, photos and videos may be placed in the camera roll according to the app’s available options.

Transfer Files with a Computer

Connect the USB 3.0 connector to a compatible PC or Mac computer. Use the computer’s file-management window to open the drive and transfer documents, photos, videos, music, and other supported files. To move computer files to an iPhone or iPad, first copy them to the drive, then connect the Lightning connector and use the iXpand Drive app.

View, Search, and Manage Files

• Choose View Files to browse the drive or mobile-device storage.
• Use the storage selector to switch between iXpand storage and iPhone or iPad storage.
• Use the search field to locate files by name.
• Swipe left on a file to access actions such as opening, copying, moving, or deleting.
• Select multiple files when the app provides multi-selection controls.
• Use the available sort and view controls to display files in grid or list form.

Photos

The app supports BMP, TIF, TIFF, JPG, PNG, GIF, XBM, ICO, and TGA image formats.

1. Connect the drive to the iPhone or iPad.
2. Open View Files.
3. Select the Photo category.
4. Tap a photo to view it.

Pinch to zoom, and swipe left or right to move between photos in the same folder. The photo menu can provide slideshow, sharing, deletion, sorting, layout, and security options.

Videos

Supported video formats include WMV, AVI, MKV, MP4, MOV, FLV, MPG, RMVB, M4V, and TS. AC3 and DTS audio formats are not supported for playback.

1. Connect the drive to the iPhone or iPad.
2. Open View Files.
3. Select the Video category.
4. Tap the video to start playback.

Playback performance depends on the file and the mobile device. Files protected by digital rights management may not play through the app.

Music and Playlists

Supported music formats include MP3, AIF, WAV, AIFF, M4A, WMA, AAC, OGG, and FLAC. The Music section can combine music stored on the drive with music available through the device’s music library. DRM-protected content is not supported.

1. Connect the drive and open View Files.
2. Select the Music section.
3. Choose a track or browse by song, artist, album, playlist, or genre.
4. Tap a song to begin playback.

To create a playlist, open the playlist area, select the option to create a new playlist, name it, and add songs. Existing playlists can be opened from the Music menu.

Password Protection

SanDisk SecureAccess protects selected files in a dedicated vault on the drive.

1. Connect the iXpand Mini Flash Drive to the iPhone or iPad.
2. Open the app menu and select Settings, then Security.
3. Enable security.
4. Create and confirm a password.
5. Enable Touch ID authentication if that option is available and preferred.
6. Select files to protect and use the lock command.

Protected files are moved to the SanDiskSecureAccess Vault folder. The related vault settings folder must remain on the drive for the security feature to continue working.

To access protected files on a Mac, copy the SanDisk SecureAccess software package from the drive to the computer, install or launch it as required, accept the license terms, and enter the password created for the vault.

Drive Settings

The app provides settings for changing the drive name, formatting the drive, and checking for firmware updates. Formatting removes stored data, so copy important files to another location before starting that operation. Keep the drive connected during a firmware update and follow the on-screen instructions.

Troubleshooting

The drive is not recognized

• Remove and reconnect the Lightning connector.
• Check that the connector is fully inserted and not obstructed by the phone or tablet case.
• Confirm that the mobile device has a Lightning connector and meets the supported operating-system requirements.
• Install or update the iXpand Drive app when prompted.
• On a computer, reconnect the USB 3.0 connector and check whether the drive appears in the file browser.

Automatic photo backup does not work

• Open the iPhone or iPad privacy settings and allow the iXpand Drive app to access photos.
• Reconnect the drive after changing the permission.
• Confirm that automatic backup is enabled in the app.
• Allow extra time for the first backup, especially when the camera roll contains many large files.

A file will not play or open

• Confirm that the file type is included in the supported formats.
• Check whether the video uses AC3 or DTS audio, which the app does not support.
• Confirm that the content is not protected by digital rights management.
• Try copying the file to a computer to check whether the file itself is damaged.

Restored items appear twice

Photos or contacts with names matching existing items are duplicated during restoration. Review the destination before restoring a large archive and remove unwanted duplicates afterward.

Secure files cannot be opened

Use the same password created when security was enabled. If the password is forgotten, the protected files cannot be recovered through the security feature.

Pros & Cons

• Pros: Connects directly to Lightning-equipped iPhone and iPad models, includes USB 3.0 computer connectivity, supports automatic camera-roll backup, enables direct media playback, and provides password-protected file storage.
• Cons: Requires the iXpand Drive app for many mobile operations, supports only selected media formats, does not play AC3 or DTS audio, and password-protected files cannot be recovered if the security password is lost.