iPad Pro external NTFS drive became read-only after iPadOS update

There are two stand-out points here...

Firstly, at the time of writing, iPadOS 27.2.1 is the current production release of iPadOS. If you are running iPadOS 27.3, you are not running supported software. When using beta-release software, you should have full expectation of encountering issues and bugs.

NTFS, an Apple-proprietary storage format, is not supported by Apple. You may be using third-party Apps or ancillary software to access NTFS volumes.

If your iPad is not operating as expected, try a forced-restart - as this will often clear an isolated software issue:

Force restart iPad (models with Face ID or with Touch ID in the top button)

If your iPad doesn’t have the Home button, do the following:

1. Press and quickly release the volume button nearest to the top button.
2. Press and quickly release the volume button farthest from the top button.
3. Press and hold the top button.
4. When the Apple logo appears, release the top button.

If the problem persists after performing the restart, it may be necessary to reset your iPad settings. While this reset will not cause any loss of data, as a precaution, it is always wise to ensure that you have a current iCloud or iTunes backup before performing the reset:

How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

When you are happy to proceed, you can perform the reset from iPad settings:

Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPad > Reset > Reset All Settings

If the problem still doesn’t clear, the next step is to reset the iPad to factory settings - which will restore the current version of iPadOS supported by your device:

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

Otherwise, you would be best advised to seek assistance directly from Apple Support. You can contact the Support Team using the Support link at top-right or bottom-left of this page. Alternatively you can initiate and manage your support cases using the excellent Apple Support App. If not already installed on your iPad, the App can be downloaded from the App Store:

https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-support/id1130498044

While not doubting your assertion that you were previously able to access your external storage device, Apple doesn't support NTFS.

As such, unless you have access to a computer that can access NTFS (such as a Windows PC), if your Apple devices are no longer able to natively access the storage device when connected, it is very unlikely that you will be able to recover data using your iPad Pro.

There is considerable doubt that the storage device is actually formatted as NTFS. If it were formatted as an NTFS volume, it is highly unlikely that your TV would be access the drive. What is perhaps more likely is that the drive has, at some point, been re-formatted to FAT32 (or possibly exFAT) - which are supported by Apple devices and very likely by your TV.

Notwithstanding the above, with the drive now no longer accessible by your iPad, it is a distinct possibility that the drive has been corrupted due to a bad dismount/disconnect operation - and this has rendered the drive unreadable by the iPad.

Apple has never supported using NTFS-formatted drives with an iPad – let alone, writing to them.

Connect external storage devices to iPad – Apple Support

"Note: An external storage device must have only a single data partition, and it must be formatted as APFS, APFS (encrypted), macOS Extended (HFS+), exFAT (FAT64), FAT32, or FAT."

Even on Macs, the built-in NTFS support is read-only. To write to NTFS drives (other than to erase and reformat them, using some other filesystem) requires the aid of third-party filesystem drivers.

I would like to emphasize something very important.

Since June 2025, I have been successfully copying large video files directly from my iPad Pro to this exact same 10TB external NTFS drive using Apple's built-in Files app.

Everything worked perfectly until recently. I could copy movies, create folders, and move files between folders. In fact, I was surprised myself that it worked so easily!

I am not particularly knowledgeable about file systems or technical software. I have never installed any third-party applications, NTFS drivers, or tools to bypass file system restrictions. I wouldn't even know how to do that.

I simply connected my external drive to my iPad, opened the Files app, and copied my movies. That was my entire process, and it worked reliably for well over a year.

After a recent iPadOS update, the same drive suddenly became read-only. I can still browse and access all my movies, but I cannot copy anything to it, create folders, or move files.

I have already restarted my iPad and attempted a force restart, but nothing has changed.

I understand that Apple does not officially support writing to NTFS drives. However, I can assure you that this functionality worked on my iPad from June 2025 until recently.

My question is: how was this possible for more than a year, and why did it suddenly stop working?

The drive contains approximately 4.91TB of movies, so formatting it is not an option.

I would really appreciate any explanation or solution that would allow me to restore the functionality I previously had without losi