I was given an ipad that I want to use to play movies that I've already
downloaded onto windows 10 (most of the movies are in mkv containers).

I have the ipad hooked up to windows by the lightening cable.
That should be all I need to do in order to copy files over, right?

I do not want to add itunes onto the computer for the obvious reasons.
I should be able to just copy the files from windows to the ipad, right?

But the ipad won't let me even though I already accepted the access prompt.
Googling I find most people install the itunes garbage but I don't want it.
Others install payware that I also don't want to add just to copy a file.

Is there a way to just tell the ipad to accept big mkv files from Windows?

On Wed, 12 Jan 2022 20:21:01 -0400, WaltS48 <schw01@invalid.net>
wrote:

>I was given an ipad that I want to use to play movies that I've already
>downloaded onto windows 10 (most of the movies are in mkv containers).
>
>I have the ipad hooked up to windows by the lightening cable.
>That should be all I need to do in order to copy files over, right?
>
>I do not want to add itunes onto the computer for the obvious reasons.
>I should be able to just copy the files from windows to the ipad, right?
>
>But the ipad won't let me even though I already accepted the access prompt.
>Googling I find most people install the itunes garbage but I don't want it.
>Others install payware that I also don't want to add just to copy a file.
>
>Is there a way to just tell the ipad to accept big mkv files from Windows?

There are Apple news groups I used when I had an iPad. Forgot names.

KenW

On 1/12/2022 7:29 PM, KenW wrote:
>>Is there a way to just tell the ipad to accept big mkv files from Windows?
>
> There are Apple news groups I used when I had an iPad. Forgot names.

They won't know anything about windows because they only know itunes.
Only someone who knows how windows works with ios without itunes can help.

On 1/12/2022 7:34 PM, WaltS48 wrote:
> On 1/12/2022 7:29 PM, KenW wrote:
>>> Is there a way to just tell the ipad to accept big mkv files from Windows?
>>
>> There are Apple news groups I used when I had an iPad. Forgot names.
>
> They won't know anything about windows because they only know itunes.
> Only someone who knows how windows works with ios without itunes can help.

Now, before you get too excited by this idea, Bluetooth has a couple
of transmission methods. Using just the BT radio is slow. It is about
the same speed as the ancient floppy diskette drive. but around the
second or third version of BT, it was set up so if there was a
Wifi radio on the computer, the BT portion would set up the transfer
and then the Wifi radios would be used as the datapath. Unfortunately,
the mode selected on Wifi for this (being similar to a Wifi Direct),
is still only 51Mbit/sec or so at the best of times. This will
not be smoking any USB cabling or Ethernet cabling, where higher
rates are possible.

Since my gear doesn't have Wifi on it, I've only done the floppy speed
transfers between PCs. But, if a PC is being isolated on purpose, I
have used this technique to get things like screenshots, off the isolated PC.

"Send files over Bluetooth in Windows"

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/send-files-over-bluetooth-in-windows-36f8cf26-d1ff-50d1-4b73-3a56e5b43e6a

"Receive files over Bluetooth"

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/receive-files-over-bluetooth-d8da2667-e79b-744c-c135-f58af38fc3ba

(Linux has it)

https://help.gnome.org/users/gnome-help/stable/bluetooth-send-file.html.en

(Implemented on Android)

https://www.techlicious.com/how-to/how-to-share-file-between-android-phone-and-pc-bluetooth/

One web page claims transfer to Apple products is "problematic".
The iPhone doesn't do the BT Send. The iPad might be more willing,
but the interface order, the permissions, the accept the transfer
parts, might be a challenge.

Even on Windows, the procedure is not "pleasant".

WARNING: If you are using BT nano receivers, when you buy a receiver,
only use it with the one PC. The serial numbers on the BT
will "confuse matters" if you swap them between PCs. Being
a dumbass, I neglected to put names on the nanoreceiver, such
as the now-dead BoB machine, and I don't really know which
receiver belongs with which PC. The BT connect dialogs insist
on looking for the wrong hardware as a result. The most likely
fix for this, is to delete all of ENUM and blow away all
the acquired hardware knowledge. I've tested that on Win10,
and the test subject survived quite nicely.

*******

This uses a USB cable, and once the Apple device is presented
as a DCIM directory on a digital camera, you can transfer
photos and video to the DCIM storage.

https://www.easeus.com/iphone-data-transfer/transfer-files-from-pc-to-ipad.html

Method 2. How to Get Photos and videos from PC to iPad via File Explorer

To transfer files from PC to iPad via File Explorer:
Step 1. Connect your iPad to your PC with a USB cable.
Step 2. Unlock your tablet and trust the Windows PC.
If asked, enter your iPad password to continue.
Step 3. Go to "This PC" > [your iPad's name] > "Internal Storage" > "APPLE100" > "DCIM".
Step 4. Copy the photos and videos you want to transfer to your iPad in the folder.
Step 5. Check the transferred items on the Photos app on your iPad.

The rest of the methods in that article, are less likely
to meet your constraint list. Because iTunes is in the list.

*******

VLC for PC and VLC for Mac have some sort of file transfer capability.
It would be comforting to know the protocol used, because that
would predict what pitfalls there could be. Maybe this is a
DCIM-like digital camera thing. You *might* get better speeds
from this, via either Wifi or Ethernet, as this is an IP protocol
of some sort. It looks like they're using web servers maybe.

https://techlog360.com/wireless-file-transfer-from-pc-to-ipad-iphone/

Since you're moving MKV files, who knows, you might get lucky.
maybe the DCIM really is a nice "target" for the files. I would
give the VLC a try I think. I like can-openers, which is why
I own so many of them :-) The BT is just if you like lessons
in frustration. Try to keep the BT ID of the equipment constant,
so the stuff that worked yesterday, works for a few more days.

Paul

On 1/13/2022 12:59 AM, Paul wrote:
> Now, before you get too excited by this idea, Bluetooth has a couple
> of transmission methods. Using just the BT radio is slow.

I want to copy the files over wire because they are huge and many.

> Since my gear doesn't have Wifi on it, I've only done the floppy speed
> transfers between PCs. But, if a PC is being isolated on purpose, I
> have used this technique to get things like screenshots, off the isolated PC.

The ios vlc will copy over the intranet but these mkv files are huge & many.

> One web page claims transfer to Apple products is "problematic".

Yes. I googled first. There are many ios trial wear solutions out there.

> This uses a USB cable, and once the Apple device is presented
> as a DCIM directory on a digital camera, you can transfer
> photos and video to the DCIM storage.
> https://www.easeus.com/iphone-data-transfer/transfer-files-from-pc-to-ipad.html

That explained one of the good reasons not to use itunes on windows pcs.

"If you add photos, videos, music, and other media files from PC to your
iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch using iTunes, you will inevitably encounter the
loss of the existing music, movies, TV shows, and books on your device."

> Method 2. How to Get Photos and videos from PC to iPad via File Explorer
>
> To transfer files from PC to iPad via File Explorer:
> Step 1. Connect your iPad to your PC with a USB cable.
> Step 2. Unlock your tablet and trust the Windows PC.
> If asked, enter your iPad password to continue.
> Step 3. Go to "This PC" > [your iPad's name] > "Internal Storage" > "APPLE100" > "DCIM".
> Step 4. Copy the photos and videos you want to transfer to your iPad in the folder.
> Step 5. Check the transferred items on the Photos app on your iPad.

That does not work because you don't have write permission in that folder.
The only way it can work is to add some kind of special additional software.

> The rest of the methods in that article, are less likely
> to meet your constraint list. Because iTunes is in the list.

As the article said, if you use iTunes you will eventually lose all your
data (google why as it's a very common problem due to the itunes design).

> VLC for PC and VLC for Mac have some sort of file transfer capability.
> It would be comforting to know the protocol used, because that
> would predict what pitfalls there could be.

I tried vlc & it did work but what I want is to use the usb wire for speed.
The ipad vlc program seems to be using the https protocol for all I know.
https://allthings.how/vlc-player-share-files-wifi-iphone-pc/

> https://techlog360.com/wireless-file-transfer-from-pc-to-ipad-iphone/
> Since you're moving MKV files, who knows, you might get lucky.
> maybe the DCIM really is a nice "target" for the files. I would
> give the VLC a try I think. I like can-openers, which is why
> I own so many of them :-) The BT is just if you like lessons
> in frustration. Try to keep the BT ID of the equipment constant,
> so the stuff that worked yesterday, works for a few more days.

You don't want to use bt or wifi for large collections of large files.
But with the ipad and the windows pc that may be the only way that works.

On Wed, 12 Jan 2022 22:59:01 -0500, Paul wrote:

> Since my gear doesn't have Wifi on it, I've only done the floppy speed
> transfers between PCs. But, if a PC is being isolated on purpose, I
> have used this technique to get things like screenshots, off the isolated PC.

Paul,
Do you have an unused old spare router?
Does your non-Wi-Fi PC have an RJ45 Ethernet port?

What you can do rather easily is _add_ Wi-Fi to your PC by setting up any
old unused spare router as a "bridge" to your SOHO router's access point.

1. Ethernet comes out of the PC into the spare router LAN port
2. The spare router's radio connects as a bridge to the SOHO router AP
3. The PC "thinks" it has an Ethernet connection but it's actually via Wi-Fi

As for the original problem set, iTunes on Windows is a clusterfuck by all
accounts. Only Apple could devise a clusterfuck as bad as iTunes is, but
worse, Apple doesn't test _anything_ (and certainly not its free PC
software) until and unless the publicity forced Apple to fix their bugs.
*Apple only fixes known security bugs when the shit hits the fan*
<https://groups.google.com/g/misc.phone.mobile.iphone/c/8t8JWWN8H9s>

What anyone intelligent would want is a non-Apple solution to this problem
which Apple created (Apple has to create problems so you use their s/w).

The most efficient solution, IMHO, is for people to dual boot to Linux
although I realize that many people wouldn't know how to even use Linux.

The advantage though of a dual boot to, oh, say, Ubuntu, is that iFuse is
native on Ubuntu such that the iOS device can be written to from the PC.

Why Windows doesn't add iFuse to Windows is something I wish they would.

On 1/13/2022 11:04 AM, Andy Burnelli wrote:
> On Wed, 12 Jan 2022 22:59:01 -0500, Paul wrote:
>
>> Since my gear doesn't have Wifi on it, I've only done the floppy speed
>> transfers between PCs. But, if a PC is being isolated on purpose, I
>> have used this technique to get things like screenshots, off the isolated PC.
>
> Paul,
> Do you have an unused old spare router?
> Does your non-Wi-Fi PC have an RJ45 Ethernet port?
>
> What you can do rather easily is _add_ Wi-Fi to your PC by setting up any
> old unused spare router as a "bridge" to your SOHO router's access point.
>
> 1. Ethernet comes out of the PC into the spare router LAN port
> 2. The spare router's radio connects as a bridge to the SOHO router AP
> 3. The PC "thinks" it has an Ethernet connection but it's actually via Wi-Fi
>
> As for the original problem set, iTunes on Windows is a clusterfuck by all
> accounts. Only Apple could devise a clusterfuck as bad as iTunes is, but
> worse, Apple doesn't test _anything_ (and certainly not its free PC
> software) until and unless the publicity forced Apple to fix their bugs.
> *Apple only fixes known security bugs when the shit hits the fan*
> <https://groups.google.com/g/misc.phone.mobile.iphone/c/8t8JWWN8H9s>
>
> What anyone intelligent would want is a non-Apple solution to this problem
> which Apple created (Apple has to create problems so you use their s/w).
>
> The most efficient solution, IMHO, is for people to dual boot to Linux
> although I realize that many people wouldn't know how to even use Linux.
>
> The advantage though of a dual boot to, oh, say, Ubuntu, is that iFuse is
> native on Ubuntu such that the iOS device can be written to from the PC.
>
> Why Windows doesn't add iFuse to Windows is something I wish they would.
>

Windows has two mechanisms for FUSE file systems.

1) IFS (Installable File System), used by Microsoft itself in one case.
2) Dokany (third party framework for IFS like functions)

This is the Linux thing. The naming convention "libimobiledevice"
is reminiscent of the package name of one of the MSI files within
Windows iTunes installer (AppleMobileDeviceSupport64.msi).
That suggests the inspiration.

https://github.com/libimobiledevice/ifuse

Now, you might ask yourself why Microsoft doesn't write one.

The answer is, that companies jealously guard their ecosystems.
Do you remember all the chat wars? Where someone would make a tool
that interworked with someone elses chat, and the other party would
immediately rework the code, so the foreign code no longer worked ?

That's why you don't invade someone elses garden. It might seem
like a good idea at the time, but it can be thwarted in just
a couple weeks. And you can play tit for tat forever.

Look at youtube-dl and Youtube.com , for an example of
continuous warfare. One side wanting to enable download
without commercials, the other working to stop it.

*******

By mixing libimobiledevice and dokany in a search,
you can find requests like this. And that's how just about
all Dokany projects work - they're barely visible and impossible
to find unless you have a good idea they are there (somewhere).
And you have no idea of the skill set or the intentions
of these projects (because there might not be enough reviewers
to find out).

https://github.com/libimobiledevice-win32/libimobiledevice-vs/pull/23

Just because someone submits something, doesn't mean it gets accepted.

https://github.com/libimobiledevice-win32/libimobiledevice-vs/pull/23/commits/c544c427b73c398a9aea760dc3534b2c89399ac2

If you read the details, some of the things being done there, the
documentation is not complete, and there are security issues too.

*******

You can always multiboot the PC side of this, run Linux on it and
use the Linux version there to do the job. It's not an ideal solution,
but it will at least satisfy your curiosity as to how well it works.

A second possibility, is install Linux in VirtualBox, then use USB
Passthru in VBox to communicate with the iPad. This will bring the
files into the Guest session in VirtualBox, followed by a transfer
from there, to the Host. Until you get the hang of doing that in
VirtualBox, there will be hair loss doing that. VirtualBox tends to,
at random, block the success of these little experiments. Sometimes
I have to reinstall VirtualBox three times in Windows, before, out of
the blue, it starts working. It may remain working, for a long time.

Paul

On Thu, 13 Jan 2022 16:04:46 -0000 (UTC), Andy Burnelli
<spam@nospam.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 12 Jan 2022 22:59:01 -0500, Paul wrote:
>
>> Since my gear doesn't have Wifi on it, I've only done the floppy speed
>> transfers between PCs. But, if a PC is being isolated on purpose, I
>> have used this technique to get things like screenshots, off the isolated PC.
>
>Paul,
>Do you have an unused old spare router?
>Does your non-Wi-Fi PC have an RJ45 Ethernet port?
>
>What you can do rather easily is _add_ Wi-Fi to your PC by setting up any
>old unused spare router as a "bridge" to your SOHO router's access point.
>
>1. Ethernet comes out of the PC into the spare router LAN port
>2. The spare router's radio connects as a bridge to the SOHO router AP
>3. The PC "thinks" it has an Ethernet connection but it's actually via Wi-Fi

In Step 2, replace "bridge" with "client", and the problem becomes much
clearer. Most factory router firmwares don't include client mode, so you
end up looking for a suitable third-party firmware such as openwrt,
dd-wrt, Tomato, etc.

In article <6op0ug9sitbo5qc5jv0fh2acml4mmu8jjl@4ax.com>, Char Jackson
<none@none.invalid> wrote:

> >What you can do rather easily is _add_ Wi-Fi to your PC by setting up any
> >old unused spare router as a "bridge" to your SOHO router's access point.
> >
> >1. Ethernet comes out of the PC into the spare router LAN port
> >2. The spare router's radio connects as a bridge to the SOHO router AP
> >3. The PC "thinks" it has an Ethernet connection but it's actually via Wi-Fi
>
> In Step 2, replace "bridge" with "client", and the problem becomes much
> clearer. Most factory router firmwares don't include client mode, so you
> end up looking for a suitable third-party firmware such as openwrt,
> dd-wrt, Tomato, etc.

travel routers usually do, and even better, they're generally very
cheap.

On Thu, 13 Jan 2022 11:55:16 -0600, Char Jackson wrote:

> In Step 2, replace "bridge" with "client", and the problem becomes much
> clearer. Most factory router firmwares don't include client mode, so you
> end up looking for a suitable third-party firmware such as openwrt,
> dd-wrt, Tomato, etc.

You are correct!
My apologies.
I'm sorry.

In my haste to respond to provide Paul with helpful advice, I skipped that
important "bridge client" admonition (mea culpa!).

Paul, likely, already knows all this so what's useful is _other_ people will
benefit from just knowing these facts which this newsgroup helped me know.

1. If you have an old router, save it - it can be used as a "wi-fi card"
2. If it can't do "bridge client" mode, then flash dd-wrt (or similar) on it

I'm using a desktop PC right now which is doing exactly that.
To continue being helpful, if anyone want to know those settings, just ask.

On 1/12/2022 6:21 PM, WaltS48 wrote:
> I was given an ipad that I want to use to play movies that I've already
> downloaded onto windows 10 (most of the movies are in mkv containers).
>
> I have the ipad hooked up to windows by the lightening cable.
> That should be all I need to do in order to copy files over, right?
>
> I do not want to add itunes onto the computer for the obvious reasons.
> I should be able to just copy the files from windows to the ipad, right?
>
> But the ipad won't let me even though I already accepted the access prompt.
> Googling I find most people install the itunes garbage but I don't want it.
> Others install payware that I also don't want to add just to copy a file.
>
> Is there a way to just tell the ipad to accept big mkv files from Windows?

There seems to be a million answers lately to something along these
lines, so I'll just tell you what I found out.
I've never had to use itunes, as I said in another thread, because I use
file transfer app to move my photos and videos off and on my phone. But
I did want to see if it could be done using the file app on the iphone.

Someone said to simply have a shared folder on the computer and the
files app would see it. That didn't work for me. However, If in
"Files" I click on the circle in the upper right corner with the 3 dots
in it, It has a connect to server option, I used IPconfig on windows to
find the address of my computer and used it. I opted for a registered
user, and gave it my PC user name and the password to unlock the screen
at windows startup, and that did the trick. It gave me access to my
user folder on the computer and everything in it. EVERYTHING!

Now initially somewhere it said it was read only, but once in the
folders it even gave me the option to delete things, so I don't know.
Either way, it doesn't sound like a big deal for you since you are
trying to get things on your Ipad, and not on the computer. Anyway, I
could then select and item, any item and move it to any of several
location, "Files" being one of them.

It certainly worked, and I am actually quite surprised at the access I
seemed to have. It also unpackaged zip files.

Hope it gets you what you need if you give it a try.