# How to increase storage space on ipad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 4, 2012, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711 "2012-03-04T08:44:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stelios](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Stelios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stelios)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/1 "2012-03-04T08:44:17Z")
I got an ipad for christmas (don’t know for sure which model, but I think it’s an ipad1). Best as I can tell, it comes with 13 gig storage space. Unfortunately, I have maxed it out by downloading the first season of The Wire and a series of South Park from iTunes. Each episode of The Wire, for instance, is over 550 megs. Is there any way I can increase the storage space without deleting anything? Ideally I want to build a nice little film and TV library for those long train journeys and delayed flights. Also, if there is a way to do it, please could you bear in mind that I am a COMPLETE technological ignoramus and, unless you go Ladybird basic on me, I won’t understand you. Many thanks in advance! ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/2 "2012-03-04T08:46:51Z")
Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/3 "2012-03-04T08:52:57Z")
You could try something like the [Wi-Drive](http://www.daniweb.com/hardware-and-software/netbooks-tablets-and-mobile-devices/reviews/373135), a wireless drive with an iPad app. Or sell it and get a non-iPad tablet with expandable memory. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/4 "2012-03-04T08:55:36Z")
You could try something like the [Wi-Drive](http://www.daniweb.com/hardware-and-software/netbooks-tablets-and-mobile-devices/reviews/373135), a wireless drive with an iPad app. Or sell it and get a non-iPad tablet with expandable memory. ---
**Author:** ![Stelios](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Stelios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stelios)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/5 "2012-03-04T09:01:12Z")
Can I utilise the iCloud in any way? I don’t really know anything about it or what it does (though I am learning) but I know you can buy extra ‘Cloud space’ (or whatever) for about $15.00 a year. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/6 "2012-03-04T09:05:10Z")
Not without deleting anything. You can already delete and re-download those TV shows from iTunes whenever you want, can’t you? iCloud would just let you do the same thing across more than one device, but you’re still subject to the 16 GB space on your iPad. In either case, you would have to delete an older show before downloading a new one. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/7 "2012-03-04T10:21:09Z")
Stelios: in iTunes, choose your iPad, then click on the Films tab near the top. You’ll see some options there to Sync Films, such as “Automatically include n most recent” and “Automatically include n unwatched”. You probably have it set to “all”, so just choose a smaller limit. Or you can un-check the automatic options, and choose specific videos on the iPad. Either way, those videos will stay on your computer and you can put them back on the ipad whenever you want by changing those options again. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/8 "2012-03-04T10:23:24Z")
Yep, keep all your stuff in iTunes, and just transfer to your iPad the shows you actually want to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Stelios](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Stelios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stelios)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/9 "2012-03-04T10:43:24Z")
Okay, this is where I reveal just how much of a dunce I am with these things. I’m not sure what you mean when y’all say I should keep my stuff in iTunes. Isn’t iTunes just a shop, like Amazon or eBay? How can I store stuff there? I _think_ what you’re saying is that, since episodes bought on iTunes ‘stay bought’, so to speak, I can just delete old episodes when I run out of room and can download them again later if I feel like re-watching them. Is that right? Or am I being an idiot? Thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/10 "2012-03-04T10:47:50Z")
You don’t need to delete anything. You just need to tell iTunes which ones you want to keep on your ipad right now. Stelios, do you have iTunes on your computer? Do you plug your ipad in to sync it? If so, do that, and see post #7 above. ---
**Author:** ![Stelios](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Stelios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stelios)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/11 "2012-03-04T11:11:21Z")
Hmm, I don’t have iTunes on my PC. I can get it easily enough, though. I think I see what you’re saying. If I get iTunes, then I can plug my iPad into my PC and I can use iTunes to tell my iPad which videos should be kept, and I can change it at any time, so I can effectively move season one of the Wire onto iTunes to make way for season two, and then swap it back again via iTunes if I want to watch season one again. Is that right? ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/12 "2012-03-04T11:25:42Z")
Yup, that’s about it. When you first plug your ipad in, you’ll see a question like [this](http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1848). You want the “transfer purchases” button - that’ll copy your episodes of The Wire etc onto the computer. Once that’s all synced you can choose which ones to keep on the ipad, and which stay only on the computer. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/13 "2012-03-05T03:53:55Z")
> [@Stelios](#): > > Hmm, I don’t have iTunes on my PC. I can get it easily enough, though. I think I see what you’re saying. If I get iTunes, then I can plug my iPad into my PC and I can use iTunes to tell my iPad which videos should be kept, and I can change it at any time, so I can effectively move season one of the Wire onto iTunes to make way for season two, and then swap it back again via iTunes if I want to watch season one again. Is that right? You can download itunes for your computer and use that to backup your stuff. But it’s not really necessary, as you can re-download any past purchases directly to your ipad using the ipad version of itunes. The one exception _might_ be: if you purchase something on itunes, and apple yanks it (that is, deletes it so that it’s no longer available for purchase), then I don’t think you can re-download it. Pulled items are fairly rare though. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/14 "2012-03-05T04:30:59Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Or sell it and get a non-iPad tablet with expandable memory. Unfortunately, there are actually no non-iPad tablets that let you download TV shows and watch them later. The iTunes Store is the only game in town. There are streaming services for Android tablets, but those don’t work if you want to watch the show somewhere where you don’t have access to an internet connection, or only have a mobile internet connection that is limited to a few GB per month. Of course, you can pirate stuff, but that is unacceptable for most people. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/15 "2012-03-05T04:46:41Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Unfortunately, there are actually no non-iPad tablets that let you download TV shows and watch them later. The iTunes Store is the only game in town. > > There are streaming services for Android tablets, but those don’t work if you want to watch the show somewhere where you don’t have access to an internet connection, or only have a mobile internet connection that is limited to a few GB per month. > > Of course, you can pirate stuff, but that is unacceptable for most people. Wow, I didn’t know that. Movies are available but apparently not TV shows, beyond the Kindle Fire (which has even less memory and isn’t expandable either). Sad state of affairs. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/16 "2012-03-05T05:07:16Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Sad state of affairs. It certainly is. There’s nothing more frustrating than laying in bed in a shitty hotel, trying to watch a TV show or movie over a streaming service that keeps freezing because half the other people in the hotel are trying to do the same thing and saturating the internet connection. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/17 "2012-03-05T15:11:34Z")
Stelios - did you buy your media (shows, movies, etc.) from iTunes? If so, feel free to delete them and reload them at will. If not (i.e. you ripped them from DVDs on your home computer), you could always use a program like DropBox for cloud storage. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/18 "2012-03-05T15:25:44Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Unfortunately, there are actually no non-iPad tablets that let you download TV shows and watch them later. The iTunes Store is the only game in town. Movies from the android market can be downloaded and watched offline. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/19 "2012-03-05T20:01:48Z")
> [@yoyodyne](#): > > Movies from the android market can be downloaded and watched offline. Movies are not television shows. ---
**Author:** ![goldmund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a4c791/32.png) [@goldmund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goldmund)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-storage-space-on-ipad/614711/20 "2012-03-05T22:08:32Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > You could try something like the [Wi-Drive](http://www.daniweb.com/hardware-and-software/netbooks-tablets-and-mobile-devices/reviews/373135), a wireless drive with an iPad app. > > Or sell it and get a non-iPad tablet with expandable memory. And there’s also the [GoFlex Satellite](http://www.stuff.tv/news/computers-and-consoles/how-to/how-to-%E2%80%93-expand-your-ipad-storage-to-500gb) from Seagate. Sounds like you want to play DRM’ed videos, but if you wanted to play non-DRM content, it is also possible to [connect some USB storage devices](http://tidbits.com/article/11222) via the Apple camera connection kit. AFAIK this won’t let you play iTunes videos, though.