FLIR One connection to iPad Pro 2021

[Lorenzo_1]

Lucky enough to get hold of an iPad Pro 2021 version. I'd like to use it with my FLIR One that I currently use on an older iPhone, but the Flir One uses a Lightning connector while the iPad has a USB-C Thunderbird 4 connector.  Flir website suggests the latest iPads with USB-C/Thunderbird are unsupported for Flir One. Apple specs say the iPad port will support charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40 Gbps), USB 4 (up to 40 Gbps) and USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10 Gbps). Wondering whether anyone's been down this track and found adapters/cables capable of supporting Flir One connection? Looks like it would need a male USB-C to female Lightning adapter.

[Fraser]

Have you asked Apple support about using a lightning accessory with your Tablet ? From what I have read, the USB-C port on these tablets has all sorts of caveats associated with it when it comes to attaching accessories. I suspect Apple will know whether a USB-C to lightning adapter is feasible. It is often possible to find weird adapters on eBay but some are only for charging or are basically junk that does not work. An example would be the passive FireWire to USB adapters that are not intended to convert USB to FireWire or vice-versa but appear to be for that purpose from their advertising. You do not want to kill your new toys USB-C port experimenting 

You are right to ask if anyone has experience of this situation but I still advise asking Apple for comment. If they decline to help….. we’ll that is Apple for you  . I am typing this on an iPad Air2 so not anti Apple per-se but they do have a bit of a reputation for taking the proprietary, least 3rd party accessory friendly path in their product designs.

[Ultrapurple]

Apple: expensive and highly proprietary.
FLIR: expensive and highly proprietary.

Must be compatible, no?

 

[Fraser]

 

[Lorenzo_1]

I’ll try Apple but given their propensity to let users rely on self-help to sort out common bugs/problems don’t expect much. Will try FLIR too though their website seems to have nothing re USB-C iPads. I suspect these two will prove incompatible - at least for direct connection.

[Fraser]

Both USB-C and Lightning systems use the USB hardware layer and it has been possible to use USB2.0 products on a USB-C port so we know that is possible. The problem is the software running on the host and the Apple Lightning Authentication/ID chip that controls power to the accessory. The iPad Pro 2021 does not provide the option to add USB drivers so the accessory needs to be of a supported type that the iPad can work with using its built in drivers. This should also not be a problem as the iPad needed similar for the FLIR camera in its lightning configuration. The problem would likely be the authentication/ID chip that resides within the accessory, in this case the camera dongle. That chip not only identifies the accessory as a legitimate Apple approved product to the iPad OS, but it also controls the power supply to the accessory. It has been shown that the power control element of the authentication chip may be bypassed by applying power to the accessory from the available power pin on the lightning connector.

The question has to be, does the new iPad USB-C hardware/software configuration still require an authentication/ID chip in accessories?
Well we know that the iPad Pro USB-C port will work with a standard USB-C keyboard but that it does not permit use of a USB-C memory stick as memory expansion (except for photo import/export) so the port is not exactly predictable in terms of its functionality, thanks to the iPad iOS operating system configuration. If an Authentication/ID chip is still supported, is it the same as the Lightning port in terms of its ID functionality etc ?

If the Authentication/ID chip is no longer needed, it may be possible to bypass it in the FLIR camera so that the camera is basically standard USB with Apple iOS version Firmware. Then it might be possible to connect the USB camera to the USB-C port with a common adapter to see whether the iPad iOS will recognise it and apply a suitable driver. Then there is the question of whether the FLIR app for the camera can be installed on the iPad as the Apple App Store may claim incompatibility with the USB-C equipped iPad Pro.

So many unknowns and little information to work with 

[Lorenzo_1]

That’s a lot of useful background that my readings on USB issues hadn’t brought to light. Thanks for the insights. The only point I can shed light on is that the FLIR One app does run on this iPad and throws up the usual screen asking for camera to be connected to the non-existent Lightning port. Other questions look a lot more challenging. Did set me thinking about other ways to take advantage of larger iPad screen size - turns out iPhone screen mirrors easily to iPad over wireless so I can at least view thermal images on large screen conveniently placed while iPhone/FLIR remains tripod mounted over pcb. That’s useful as a first step.

[Fraser]

Great news that the Apple App Store lets you download the standard FLIR One APP 

[Lorenzo_1]

Some more progress.  Turns out I can not only mirror iPhone screen output to iPad (and PC with large screen attached) but critically I can control the Flir One app from the remote device so change capture settings, relocate temperature cursors, record video etc.  That should work really well b/c I can have the Flir set up in whatever position/orientation needed and control it all from a conveniently placed desktop.  So looks like I can do everything I'm after without bothering with Lightning/USB-C connectivity complications.  Will post some screenshots when I get it configured properly and see how robust the interface is, in case others are interested. Needs Bluetooth for remote control connection and shared Wifi connection for screen sharing.

[Fraser]

 

[Maxwfk]

I FINALLY FOUND A SOLUTION

I don’t know whether this thread is still active or not but I found a solution and wanted to share it anyways so that others don’t have to search as long as I had to.

After I got an IPad Pro 2021 I was quite frustrated to find out that there were no official adapters for my FLIR one pro (lightning version). I also couldn’t find any lightning (female) to usb c (male) cables.

After I had pretty much given up I found a lightning (female) to usb A cable which was marketed for charging a first gen Apple Pencil on your pc on Amazon. I figured that it could work together with a cheap usc c to usb A (female) adapter and ordered it. Sadly this didn’t work. For my monitor I have a bigger usb c dock which gives you display output, card readers and usb A ports. Just to verify that the cable from Amazon isn’t working I plugged it into the usb c dock and to my surprise it actually worked. I used the Normal and unmodified Flir One app from the AppStore so there’s no special knowledge necessary.
The setup:




So this is what I found:

The lightning (female) to usb A (male) cable: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07ZG5WMZK/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_5BAPMS8RYFMMR5YFYGGR?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

The dock (I couldn’t find the exact model I used but this is the closest one I found from the same brand):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R3W42LS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_47YG6DCS0HZ98ZY5TBQ2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I hope this will help some of you in your search to connect Flur cameras to the iPad Pro.





TLDR:
- This cable works:
        https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07ZG5WMZK/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_5BAPMS8RYFMMR5YFYGGR?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
- DONT use simple usb C to usb A adapters but rather a usb C dock
- the normal flir one app from the AppStore works normal on the iPad Pro

Have fun!

[Bill W]

I FINALLY FOUND A SOLUTION

I don’t know whether this thread is still active or not ......

Any unsolved thread where someone finds a solution is 'active' !

[Lorenzo_1]

Just noticed this new solution to Flir One connectivity. Will be a much simpler solution  assuming I can get it working on mine. Will have a crack at it as soon as I can get hold of the connectors. Thanks. 

[w1ldthing]

I FINALLY FOUND A SOLUTION

I don’t know whether this thread is still active or not ......

Any unsolved thread where someone finds a solution is 'active' !

Hi,
Just to let people know, tried your method - exact same cable but different USB-C dock and it worked perfect.
But, I didn't like having to hold iPad and Dock and Camera - the dock just made it bulky and horrible to hold.

On the off chance I tried the cable via an Anker UBS3 to USBC adapter and it worked to.
So if you want to avoid a dock in the middle, use the cable as linked but also just grab a USB to USB-C dongle instead.

These are the ones I used:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adapter-Anker-High-Speed-Transfer-Notebook/dp/B08HZ6PS61/ref=asc_df_B08HZ6PS61/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=463435628870&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6597329255186652274&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007422&hvtargid=pla-1036271215189&psc=1

[Lorenzo_1]

USB-A to Lightning connector as recommended arrived today and I tried it with my simple HP USB-C TO USB-A hub that has just one USB-C Port and 3x -A outputs. Works fine. Only trick seems to be that FLIR app won’t recognise FLIR on startup but simple dis-/re-connect to iPad fixes that. So seems don’t need a higher-priced multi-function hub - though haven’t yet tried all functions. Thanks for the tips. Great to have this working.

[DanTat]

Has anyone tried this method of connection for Android devices with a USB-C socket?

I have Flir One iOS version, but I use Android on a daily basis and it would be more convenient for me to connect to USB-C and not to Lightning.

I even tried an adapter like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/264363637649?hash=item3d8d4cfb91:g:dXYAAOSwh7tcNC8f
(Lightning -> USB-C) but it doesn't work because it's only for charging, not for data transfer as well.