The wireless SD card reader, WiFi router, WiFi repeater, 6000 mAh power bank and so on called RAVPower FileHub is apparently an inexpensive "egg-laying woolly milk sow" for travelers. Especially travelers who consider themselves “digital nomads” who make films, photos and other great things on their computers. Bloggers can also benefit from the RAVPower FileHub; and even at home you can find areas of application ... But does the part keep what it promises?
The FileHub card reader, WiFi router and repeater, the power bank with data exchange function ... um ... what can the part not actually do? Image source: Amazon
Okay, imagine you are out and about somewhere – maybe clichéd in the forest or hiking in the mountains. You have your camera with you, but the memory card slowly overflows. But then you also have your smartphone with a lot of memory, on which the pictures could fit. Great, then off with the camera card in that RAVPower Multifunction device and transfer the images via WiFi. And then: charge the smartphone battery with the same device.
Click to enlarge; Image source: Amazon
Or imagine that you don't have to pay anything for the included modem with your internet contract, but you do for the version with WiFi functionality. The RAVPower device can also save you from the additional costs - simply plug in the LAN cable and it is a WiFi router. It can also become your very own cloud in no time by connecting up to five devices wirelessly and / or via USB 2.
RAVPower FileHub: Small point of criticism on my part
The device would be perfect if it offered 3 USB ports. Data transfer should be fast, especially when you're out and about, when you don't have much time. But despite this small point of criticism, which I wouldn't even call a “defect” or “deficiency”, I really like the device!
RAV FileHub app
The RAV FileHub app for iOS, which you can use on the iPhone or iPad for wireless data exchange with the device, is available here to download. According to the manufacturer, the AirStor app can be used for data exchange via WLAN. By the way: even with that chromecast is the FileHub of RAVPower compatible!
This is what customers on Amazon say about the wireless all-rounder
First of all: there is on Amazon currently 327 ratings of which 262 have five stars (> 80%) and 41 have four stars (> 12,5%). For all star numbers from one to three, there are only 24 ratings. So I think the device can be recommended. Nevertheless, I would like to offer a platform for various user opinions.
A 5 star rating on Amazon reads as follows: "I have received the device and think the quality is completely OK. The enclosed folding instructions are unfortunately only in English, but if you read them in peace and quiet and thanks to the pictures it is understandable.
Device switched on, WLAN searched for on the iPhone, connected, done.
Then I have the free one App downloaded, started, the file hub is recognized.
Since I didn't have a USB stick or SD card at hand, I tried my 2,5″ HDD “Freecom Toughdrive 320GB WITHOUT an external power supply. Plug it in, wait for it to start up, the WLAN symbol flickers... a short time later I was able to access 320GB of data with the iPhone (via the app).
I just searched “Directory” in the app and selected PDF, Word, JPG and also Videos from there. All files were loaded quickly and quickly and played smoothly.
The app also has special video or document etc areas, but I think these are just searches that are filtered based on the file format.
The transfer of photos and videos from the iPhone to the HDD also worked without any problems.
I think it's really cool!"
The dimensions of the RAVPower multi-function device; Image source: Amazon
On the other hand, a 1 star rating says the following: "I bought the RAVPower for my vacation so that I can copy the 64GB memory cards from my 4K camcorder to a connected USB 3.0 hard drive with my iPad. Since the 64GB memory cards required for this are very expensive, the solution with an external hard drive sounded very useful.
Installation via the web interface was very easy. Unfortunately, the associated app from the AppStore cannot be used because it does not connect to the RAVPower at all.
That's why I installed the FileBrowser app. This connects to the RavPower without any problems and shows me the SD card and the external hard drive. While on vacation I wanted to copy my memory card to the hard drive, delete the SD card and then use it in the camcorder again. And this is where the problems started: The copying process was extremely slow (approx. 6 Mbit / sec, so it would have taken 24 hours !!!) and even after repeated attempts after approx. 1 hour it simply stopped.
Therefore, the RavPower is not usable for me. So I would rather invest the money in SD cards."
My preliminary conclusion as remote diagnosis
Not only do the possible applications and the various customer opinions sound interesting, the price of the RAVPower FileHub multifunction device (word monster) is also attractive. At the moment it doesn't cost 49,99 euros either, but only 39,99 euros. I am almost certain that there will be a test of this device here soon. ;)
After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.
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10 comments on "RAVPower card reader, WLAN repeater, power bank, ... the jack of all trades"
Piet
Unfortunately, the article is hardly suitable for Apple at all, so I find the basic topic exciting, but the specific discussion in this blog unsuitable.
See note on Amazon:
- Supports Microsoft Windows NTFS FAT16 / FAT32
- Will not work with a Mac formatted hard drive
- Due to the limitations of Apple iOS, you can only access the photo folder on your iPad
- No app is offered for the Windows Phone operating system
Thanks for your advice. I would like to go into each one briefly: "Supports Microsoft Windows NTFS FAT16/FAT32"
-> That is correct, but the Mac supports MSDOS FAT32 and is therefore suitable for reading the photos from the photo memory. Incidentally, all USB sticks that you buy are also formatted in FAT32. Nevertheless, you can use it on your Mac without any problems (unless you want to copy files with a size of over 2 GB to it).
"Will not work with a Mac-formatted hard drive"
-> that is also correct. But as already mentioned above, hard drives and USB sticks can also be used in FAT32 format and the Mac also reads and writes this. So from my point of view no problem.
"Due to Apple iOS limitations, you can only access the Photos folder on your iPad"
-> This limitation is a limitation imposed by iOS for security reasons. I think it's ok if the photos can only be copied from the "Photos" folder on the iPad or iPhone. The photos you take with your iPhone always end up in this folder anyway. For this reason, it is not a limitation for me that would mean that the device cannot be recommended.
"There is no app available for the Windows Phone operating system"
-> right so. The Windows Phone has been discontinued anyway. Why should you support the three people who still have the part? ;-) We are also a Mac blog and luckily there is an iOS app. ;-)
I hope I was able to dispel your criticisms a bit.
Hi, the aspects regarding the MS dos / FAT formatting are, in my opinion, technical possibilities, but which normal Apple user wants to have a DOS format on a disk. Even if it is basically possible, it makes little sense and is at best a workaround. So I keep my criticism upright and think that this device and its review is superfluous for an Apple user.
I think there will also be enough parts that are really particularly interesting for Apple users. That's why at least I'm here, otherwise I could read MS DOS articles, I like to educate, but doesn't get me any further ;-)
Hi Piet! I think most Mac users don't even notice that their USB sticks are running FAT32. I feel that way a lot myself. You don't have to change your main hard drive or something. And you can plug any USB stick into the RAV Power so that you don't even have to reformat an external hard drive.
From my point of view, the device is already interesting for Apple users. I'm one myself and found it exciting - otherwise it wouldn't have ended up here on the blog. And if you know a device that accepts Mac hard drives and offers all the functions, then bring it on quickly! I would like to introduce it. I don't know any. :)
But in any case: Sorry if the article was of no interest to you. If you have a lot of readers, it is inevitable that you do not cover all interests 100%. I hope that in the future you will just read over articles like this and not feel annoyed. Beautiful evening!
I now also have this device and unfortunately cannot use the FileHub Plus app to copy pictures from the SD card to the iPad. I mark all the pictures, copy them, but I am not given the opportunity to insert them into the Photos folder of the iPad. What am I doing wrong?
Hello Marco, thank you for your answer, but unfortunately that doesn't work either. If I tap the picture for a longer time, a small window with a progress bar opens, but no picture is saved, at least I can't find it anywhere on my iPad. In addition, this solution is extremely impractical with an average of 1000 images.
PS: Just notice that the app was also recommended above. And yes, it's true that USB3.0 would be great, but it's not in it.
The transmission speed is about 1MByte / s which is very slow with raw + jpeg with 50MB per image. I use it for the situation when someone gives me a USB stick and I should transfer a few files to my iOS device. With the iPad Pro 12.9 it is about 1 second per picture via USB3.0.
Is my iPad compatible with iPadOS 17?
Unfortunately, the article is hardly suitable for Apple at all, so I find the basic topic exciting, but the specific discussion in this blog unsuitable.
See note on Amazon:
- Supports Microsoft Windows NTFS FAT16 / FAT32
- Will not work with a Mac formatted hard drive
- Due to the limitations of Apple iOS, you can only access the photo folder on your iPad
- No app is offered for the Windows Phone operating system
Hi Piet!
Thanks for your advice. I would like to go into each one briefly:
"Supports Microsoft Windows NTFS FAT16/FAT32"
-> That is correct, but the Mac supports MSDOS FAT32 and is therefore suitable for reading the photos from the photo memory. Incidentally, all USB sticks that you buy are also formatted in FAT32. Nevertheless, you can use it on your Mac without any problems (unless you want to copy files with a size of over 2 GB to it).
"Will not work with a Mac-formatted hard drive"
-> that is also correct. But as already mentioned above, hard drives and USB sticks can also be used in FAT32 format and the Mac also reads and writes this. So from my point of view no problem.
"Due to Apple iOS limitations, you can only access the Photos folder on your iPad"
-> This limitation is a limitation imposed by iOS for security reasons. I think it's ok if the photos can only be copied from the "Photos" folder on the iPad or iPhone. The photos you take with your iPhone always end up in this folder anyway. For this reason, it is not a limitation for me that would mean that the device cannot be recommended.
"There is no app available for the Windows Phone operating system"
-> right so. The Windows Phone has been discontinued anyway. Why should you support the three people who still have the part? ;-) We are also a Mac blog and luckily there is an iOS app. ;-)
I hope I was able to dispel your criticisms a bit.
Hi, the aspects regarding the MS dos / FAT formatting are, in my opinion, technical possibilities, but which normal Apple user wants to have a DOS format on a disk. Even if it is basically possible, it makes little sense and is at best a workaround. So I keep my criticism upright and think that this device and its review is superfluous for an Apple user.
I think there will also be enough parts that are really particularly interesting for Apple users. That's why at least I'm here, otherwise I could read MS DOS articles, I like to educate, but doesn't get me any further ;-)
Hi Piet! I think most Mac users don't even notice that their USB sticks are running FAT32. I feel that way a lot myself. You don't have to change your main hard drive or something. And you can plug any USB stick into the RAV Power so that you don't even have to reformat an external hard drive.
From my point of view, the device is already interesting for Apple users. I'm one myself and found it exciting - otherwise it wouldn't have ended up here on the blog. And if you know a device that accepts Mac hard drives and offers all the functions, then bring it on quickly! I would like to introduce it. I don't know any. :)
But in any case: Sorry if the article was of no interest to you. If you have a lot of readers, it is inevitable that you do not cover all interests 100%. I hope that in the future you will just read over articles like this and not feel annoyed. Beautiful evening!
Hallo,
I now also have this device and unfortunately cannot use the FileHub Plus app to copy pictures from the SD card to the iPad. I mark all the pictures, copy them, but I am not given the opportunity to insert them into the Photos folder of the iPad. What am I doing wrong?
Best regards,
Sascha
Hey Sascha! You would have to ask the support of RAVPower. I am not using the device and I cannot understand how it should work. :( LG! Jens
Hi Sasha,
Simply tap on the picture and then click on save. Finished
Hello Marco, thank you for your answer, but unfortunately that doesn't work either. If I tap the picture for a longer time, a small window with a progress bar opens, but no picture is saved, at least I can't find it anywhere on my iPad. In addition, this solution is extremely impractical with an average of 1000 images.
Hi Sasha,
I use the FileBrowser app from Atmospherix Ltd and there is a Select All button. The app was last updated on May 24.5.2017th, XNUMX.
PS: Just notice that the app was also recommended above. And yes, it's true that USB3.0 would be great, but it's not in it.
The transmission speed is about 1MByte / s which is very slow with raw + jpeg with 50MB per image. I use it for the situation when someone gives me a USB stick and I should transfer a few files to my iOS device. With the iPad Pro 12.9 it is about 1 second per picture via USB3.0.