On an iPad, can I connect to local network files using SMB?

The APP “Files” shows my local file server and when I open it, I see all the file server volumes that I have set up. What then happens for each folder when I try to open it I get the following message…


Is there something that I can do to actually access files and work with them?

iPad Pro, iPadOS 16

Posted on Aug 19, 2025 02:24 AM

Reply
5 replies

Aug 25, 2025 09:19 AM in response to Peter Marsh

My pleasure Peter.

IMHO this is the power of community forums (fora?) - with a big enough user base, I have faith that *someone* out there is grappling with the same issue as me - so it’s always worth asking :) and I’m thus happy to help when I can…. Glad it worked for you!

Likewise, I felt that this *should* “just work” with the native Files app - but it didn’t, despite all my diagnostic and recovery efforts. Hence looking for a bypass. Periodically, I did wonder whether they’d fixed it while I wasn’t looking, but I guess not…

Cheers Derek


PS way back in my late-80s corporate days, our company rolled out an early email system which had a location-based domain and a 7-character userid - which they decided to automatically assign as the first 6 characters of the surname, plus the first initial. I thus use it in some contexts for nostalgia purposes :)

On an iPad, can I connect to local network files using SMB?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.