Hello All,  I took my AIR 3 out yesterday for its first flight.  I installed a new formatted Samsung SD Card, when I got back home I removed the SD card and tried to download to my  IPAD PRO .  The card showes NO PHOTOS TO IMPORT ..I tried several other cards with the same results.  I Don't have this issue with my Air 2S/ Mini 3 Pro

Hi there. Thank you for reaching out and we're sorry for the trouble. The screenshot that you posted is the same as the screenshot you provided on this thread https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=292312 could you please confirm what specific SD card are you using? Furthermore, please try to connect the SD card to a computer and check if you can export the files using a computer. Please keep us posted. Thank you.

Make sure to go into the settings of the FLY app and tell it to use the SD card for storage. If you don't it will use the internal storage of the controller instead. Of course if it is using the internal storage, there is in fact no media to view on the SD card as it will be on the internal storage.

Yes I had changed it to SD storage. It may be the iPad can’t read the card in photos.  When O go to my files I can see the SD card and down load the files, ???

Can you open the SD card using finder and see the folders? If so, open the photos or movies folder and see if you can see the media you are looking for. Been a while since I've used an ipad to do anything since I got my macbook so I apologize for the lack of proficiency here.

Hi I have the same problem can’t see any videos or pictures on my iPad 11pro and on my iPhone 13 Pro Max as well

I Photos will not recognize files from the Mavic series or the Air 3. You will need to open your files on your iPad to download your pictures.  

Kriegers Drone Posted at 9-18 19:01
Hi I have the same problem can’t see any videos or pictures on my iPad 11pro and on my iPhone 13 Pro Max as well

Hello there. Thank you for reaching out. May I know what SD card are you using and does the issue also occurs using different devices aside from your IOS devices?

I have the exact same problem with my new mini 4! DJI sort this out!

DJI Tony Posted at 9-20 03:07
Hello there. Thank you for reaching out. May I know what SD card are you using and does the issue also occurs using different devices aside from your IOS devices?

After trouble shooting this issue, DJI is not at fault.  The issue is with apple not allowing long file names which DJI has started with the Mavic 3 series.

The Air 2S/Mini 3 Pro or any other older DJI drones do not have this issue with downloading files directly to IPHOTOS.

MHM Posted at 9-27 07:20
After trouble shooting this issue, DJI is not at fault.  The issue is with apple not allowing long file names which DJI has started with the Mavic 3 series.

Well they are at fault if they have messed with something that didn’t need messing with!  They need to give the user the option with file names not force it on us. I’m starting to find all tech is going backwards and taking longer and longer to do what was an easy task!

Mark＼@gray52.fsnet.co.uk Posted at 9-27 07:13
I have the exact same problem with my new mini 4! DJI sort this out!

Same problem with my M3T. Just got it last week. Can see files on sd card when I put into laptop. Shows no files on my iPad. I can always load them onto iPad with my mavic 3.

S Marsch Posted at 9-27 10:06
Same problem with my M3T. Just got it last week. Can see files on sd card when I put into laptop. Shows no files on my iPad. I can always load them onto iPad with my mavic 3.

What you need to do now is create a folder and then you can  download your files to that folder and then you can move them over to iPhoto if needed

MHM Posted at 9-27 07:20
After trouble shooting this issue, DJI is not at fault.  The issue is with apple not allowing long file names which DJI has started with the Mavic 3 series.

I'm glad it was already figured out. And we are sorry about the inconvenience. Please rest assured that we will register the information and provide feedback to the related departments for evaluation. Thank you for your support and understanding.

Mark＼@gray52.fsnet.co.uk Posted at 9-27 09:32
Well they are at fault if they have messed with something that didn’t need messing with!  They need to give the user the option with file names not force it on us. I’m starting to find all tech is going backwards and taking longer and longer to do what was an easy task!

Well they are at fault if they have messed with something that didn’t need messing with!
Real computers have no problem with this.
The problem is Apple and the dopey way they work.

Labroides Posted at 9-29 23:42
Well they are at fault if they have messed with something that didn’t need messing with!
Real computers have no problem with this.
The problem is Apple and the dopey way they work.

Haha ….. Apple products are the best you can buy.

The problem is DJI new drones, such as Air 3 and Mini 4 Pro, use a different naming scheme than older drones or cameras. Even if you rename photos long file names to short names, they may not appear in Apple Photos or Lightroom import tools. The files must be named IMG_XXXX where XXXX are figures. If you batch rename the DJI Air 3 names that way, they do appear on SD card when importing to Apple Photos or Lightroom. Batch renaming is easy with Mac OS Finder but not possible with iPad OS finder.

Air 3 and Mini 4 Pro firmwares allow to customize files names, but only at the end of a long characters string. Maybe DJI could allow user to fully customize the files names, or add an option to name them as classic cameras do (IMG_0001...) ? That would be great if this issue is solved on DJI's side.

Actually, Apple follows Design Rule for Camera File System and ISO standard which limits the file names to 8 letters/figures.

If I remember correctly, I think I read that you can change the filename format and maybe get around this issue then. I maybe wrong and thinking of something entirely different though.

DJI Tony Posted at 9-20 03:07
Hello there. Thank you for reaching out. May I know what SD card are you using and does the issue also occurs using different devices aside from your IOS devices?

I tried with the iPhone is the same problem

Did you got it solved?

I have the same issue with my DJI Mavic 4 Pro.  My Dji Mavic 3 works fine.  Apple Photos will not load photos or videos from the DJI Malice 4 Pro.

DJI Paladin Posted at 8-27 18:16
Hi there. Thank you for reaching out and we're sorry for the trouble. The screenshot that you posted is the same as the screenshot you provided on this thread https://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=292312 could you please confirm what specific SD card are you using? Furthermore, please try to connect the SD card to a computer and check if you can export the files using a computer. Please keep us posted. Thank you.

I have the exact same problem.  I took the SD card out of the DJI Mini 4 and put it in my Mac Studio, running Sonoma, opened the Apple photo app and it says no photos. If I change the file name Apple Photos can read it. Very cumbersome with multiple photos.

hvail Posted at 11-7 15:01
I have the exact same problem.  I took the SD card out of the DJI Mini 4 and put it in my Mac Studio, running Sonoma, opened the Apple photo app and it says no photos. If I change the file name Apple Photos can read it. Very cumbersome with multiple photos.

Try opening it with finder.

hvail Posted at 11-7 15:01
I have the exact same problem.  I took the SD card out of the DJI Mini 4 and put it in my Mac Studio, running Sonoma, opened the Apple photo app and it says no photos. If I change the file name Apple Photos can read it. Very cumbersome with multiple photos.

Hi there. Sorry for the late response. Please try the following steps  to transmit your footage on your MAC.

Power on the aircraft, and connect the aircraft to Mac using a USB cable, as shown in the figure:

Click “Finder” on the Mac, and the internal storage disk appears in “Locations ” on the left sidebar. Click it to check the footage in the internal storage


The original videos/photos recorded are saved in the DCIM file folder.

On my iPad, I cannot directly import photos and videos from the SD card into PHOTOS.  However, I can definitely see (and import) the sd card contents in FILES (iCloud drive). This is an "acceptable" workaround, however, I would prefer to import the SD card images directly into PHOTOS.

Markdo Posted at 12-8 15:22
On my iPad, I cannot directly import photos and videos from the SD card into PHOTOS.  However, I can definitely see (and import) the sd card contents in FILES (iCloud drive). This is an "acceptable" workaround, however, I would prefer to import the SD card images directly into PHOTOS.

I wish DJI would go back to shorter file names.  I have no issues downloading directly to photos with my Air 2s.

Markdo Posted at 12-8 15:22
On my iPad, I cannot directly import photos and videos from the SD card into PHOTOS.  However, I can definitely see (and import) the sd card contents in FILES (iCloud drive). This is an "acceptable" workaround, however, I would prefer to import the SD card images directly into PHOTOS.

Hi, there. Thank you for your feedback and sorry for the inconvenience. Rest assured that we've taken your feedback. Please feel free to reach us if you have further concerns.

MHM Posted at 12-8 16:57
I wish DJI would go back to shorter file names.  I have no issues downloading directly to photos with my Air 2s.

Hi, there! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. We will voice out your idea to our relevant team for future reference. Thank you for yoru support!

I have recently bought the Action 4, pocket 3 and Mini 4 pro for work and none of them allow you to import directly to photos on MacBook. Instead it shows "No Photos"
This wasn't an issue with previous models.
Now i have to open them in finder and drag them to photos, its a pain in the ass as it takes much longer.
Got on to DJI about this and they offcourse blamed apple!
It's all down to the longer file names.

You would nearly start to think DJI did this on purpose to frustrate apple users.....

Just Wondering Posted at 12-18 13:15
I have recently bought the Action 4, pocket 3 and Mini 4 pro for work and none of them allow you to import directly to photos on MacBook. Instead it shows "No Photos"
This wasn't an issue with previous models.
Now i have to open them in finder and drag them to photos, its a pain in the ass as it takes much longer.

DJI had no reason to extend files name….. it was fine as it was.  Perhaps it was changed due to Apple.

I have the same issue and I believe Apple cannot read the long file names from the DJI Mini 4 Pro and the DJI Air 3.  Maybe if we go to settings =>camera and customize the file name format that will be  a temporary fix.

hvail Posted at 12-28 14:27
I have the same issue and I believe Apple cannot read the long file names from the DJI Mini 4 Pro and the DJI Air 3.  Maybe if we go to settings =>camera and customize the file name format that will be  a temporary fix.

Maybe if we go to settings =>camera and customize the file name format that will be  a temporary fix.
Good luck with that (it won't help you at all).
Use Finder and you'll be able to work with long filenames, just like the folks with real computers do.

I have the same issue with a Mini 4 Pro and an iPad Air (5 - USB C)

I have found a workaround. I can't see the DJI files at all in Apple Photos, but I CAN see them in the Apple Files app. The SD card shows up as a Location. From there I can preview and play all the media. It's possible to select the files you want and then SHARE > Save Image. The file(s) will then show up in Photos and be visible to Light Cut and other apps.

I tried experimenting with the file names and folder structures to no avail. It's possible that the length of the names are an issue with the Import feature in the Apple Photos app if it's expecting strict compliance with the Design rule for Camera File system. I have no idea.

While this method works, it's clunky, and it's awkward to have all the footage in the Photos app. It'd be nice to have the option to bypass Photos and have Light Cut manage the source files so they could be purged easily.

You can also use quick transfer which is much faster.  Plus they go straight to your photos app.

Hello pilots! I've faced with a very same issue and I was struggling about it so hard.

Seems like it's limitation of Apple, not DJI as it was mentioned here.

I've found 2 possible workarounds for it:

1. Use Files app to transfer photos from your SD card to your iPad and then you'll be able to use "Import" functionality on iPad including photo apps such as Lightroom.
2. Manually move photos from <SD Card>/DCIM/DJI_001 to <SD Card>/DCIM/100APPLE folder and rename photos in a proper format such as IMG_xxxx.DNG where xxxx - are numbers.

I'd prefer 2nd option, but it's a real pain to move and rename photos manually.

So I've created Shortcut to do it for me https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/2969658700b249088b98344ce8548ba4

It's not ideal since I'm not very familiar with Shortcuts, so feel free to modify it.

What it does:
1. It goes to <SD Card>/DCIM/DJI_001 folder and search for all files with DNG extension
2. File name format is expected as "DJI_20240128173814_0259_D.DNG"
3. It creates 100APPLE folder under <SD card>/DCIM (if it not exists yet)
4. It loops through all original photo files, for each (assume we have file DJI_20240128173814_0259_D.DNG) it extract 4 digits (0259) and check if file IMG_0259.DNG presented under <SD_Card>/DCIM/100APPLE folder
5. If it presented - nothing happens
6. If it's not presented, it COPIES this file under 100APPLE folder
7. At the very end it offers you to delete all original photos from DJI_001 folder (they must be already moved to 100APPLE folder)

Current limitations are:

1. It works with photos with DNG extension and file name format must be like DJI_20240128173814_0259_D.DNG (it's default format)
2. Your SD card name must be SD_Card (in other words, if you open Files on the iPad, on the left side menu your SD card must be named as SD_Card)
3. I don't know what would happen if there is another folder beside DJI_001 (e.g. DJI_002 etc) and if there are more than 9999 photos. Probably this script gonna crash


PLEASE USE THIS SCRIPT AT YOUR OWN RISK, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND TO DECLINE DELETION OF ORIGINAL FILES AT VERY FIRST RUNS TO CHECK IF IT WORKS FOR YOUR SETUP.

djiuser_gEuDiczqTkJB Posted at 2-1 02:45
Hello pilots! I've faced with a very same issue and I was struggling about it so hard.

Seems like it's limitation of Apple, not DJI as it was mentioned here.

Just use quick transfer ……easy and quick.

MHM Posted at 2-1 04:56
Just use quick transfer ……easy and quick.

It place photos / footages into photo app and I don't want it.
I wanna import raw footages directly into app such as lightroom without this intermediate step of saving raw data into photos / files

Hi, has there been an update on this please? Whilst quick transfer is useful, it’s a massively more difficult to do, since you need to turn the drone on and take it with you … vs before you couldn’t take the sd card out.