How to connect an Ethernet cable to your iPad

Ethernet? In 2018? Yes. Maybe you work in an office without Wi-Fi. You may need to directly connect your Mac and iPad with the help of a cable for high-speed file transfers. Or maybe you just want to get the most reliable network connection possible, for example when recording a podcast.

Whatever the reason, Wi-Fi has not yet completely ousted Ethernet. And using Ethernet on your iPad is easy. If you connect an old iPad Lightning, it's very simple. If you connect a new iPad-USB USB-C Pro, dead woman easy.

Get an Ethernet adapter

The first step is to get an Ethernet adapter. Like on modern MacBooks, there is no built-in Ethernet port on the iPad. What you need is a dongle. On the iPad Pro 2018, you can use any USB-C Ethernet adapter. In fact, if you have already purchased a USB-C hub to help you with the connections, there may already be an Ethernet port. Mine does:

If you have an iPad (or iPhone) Lightning, you need to be a little more creative. First, plug the Apple Lightning to USB adapter into the Lightning port. Then, connect the Apple USB-Ethernet adapter to the first adapter. then you can connect the Ethernet cable. Get the largest Lightning Camera Adapter to USB 3 because it will also allow you to power the iPad while you're using it.

Belkin offers a $ 99 all-in-one version, but the two Apple adapters are cheaper. In addition, they can be used independently.

Ethernet on the iPad

Now you have everything connected. And then? If you simply connect to a router and it is properly configured, you should already be connected to your network. However, if you need to make adjustments, see the new Ethernet section visible in the Settings application. Touch and you will see this:

Manually configuring your connection goes well beyond the scope of this article, but it works exactly like Ethernet on any other computer. And if you really want to explode, you can even connect a USB modem to your iPad in the same way.

That's all. You have finished. Ethernet may not seem like the best way to connect an ultra-portable device like an iPad. However, if your job requires you to use a wired connection, for example, it works very well. In this case, the best choice may be to use a USB-C hub installed on your desktop, permanently connected to the Ethernet cable. Then you can simply connect to the dock when you need it.

There are also other uses. Maybe you are shooting a video and your camera has an Ethernet port so you can direct a cable to a computer for monitoring. Depending on the software needs, this could also work on the iPad. Whatever your needs, you now know how easy it is to start using Ethernet on iPad.