Download MP3 to iPad: 3 Methods with Full Instructions

We’ve had a lot of questions about our audiobooks from Apple users. In the same way that it’s not immediately obvious how to access our pdf e-books from iPad or iPhone, we wanted to make it as simple as possible for you if you want to download MP3 to iPad too.

There are two MAIN methods that we’ll cover on this page:

1. Add the MP3 file to iTunes via a laptop or desktop computer (and then “share” it to your iPhone or iPad)
2. Use a free App from the App Store

Obviously the first method relies on you having a laptop/desktop computer and also assumes that you are an iTunes user. If those things are the case, then you might find this a convenient option (especially if you opt to include your files in iBooks as audiobooks – since you have some additional playback controls available).

The advantages of using dedicated third party Apps to download MP3 to iPad or iPhone (including the examples given in the video walk-through examples included in this article) is that you don’t need either a second computer or an iTunes account. You can download and then access your audiobook MP3 files at any time (and once downloaded, you don’t need to be connected to the internet to access and listen to them).

On top of that, particularly the “Documents 5” app, offers some file management functions that you might find useful for any downloadable content (not just audiobooks) that you might want to store locally and manipulate in a range of different ways on your iPhone/iPad for when you don’t have an internet connection.

Download MP3 to iPad via Laptop and iTunes/iBooks

First of all, go to the download link for your audiobook (for example, in your confirmation email, within a membership website page or directly on the “thank you” page following the completion of your order from Gumroad or Kartra). Pressing “Ctrl” and the mouse button at the same time will bring up a menu of options. Click “Save File As” from the menu options. Select a folder in which to save the file and click “Save“.

Next, Open iTunes. Choose File > Add Folder to Library and then locate the folder on your computer that contains the MP3 file(s) you want to import. After selecting your preferred folder – your newly imported files should appear in your iTunes library.

Although (ironically) the audio on the following video isn’t perfect, it does give step by step guidance on setting up MP3 files on iBooks as audiobooks (which unlocks options to keep track of listening progress as well as controlling the reading speed).

Adding to iTunes and iBooks (for controllable speed reading and keeping track of progress):

Download MP3 to iPad Via Free Apps

Although the overall general principle is broadly similar for this method, there is obviously a wide range of apps that you could potentially use. Basically, because iPad and iPhone devices don’t have an in-built file management system, you need to install one or more apps to work with different files offline.

Here I’ve offered two potential Apps that should work well for that intended purpose with MP3 files (although do note that free apps often include adverts unless you pay a modest amount for the premium versions). Because this article isn’t an endorsement of either app – just suggestions for practical solutions, please feel free to suggest additional or alternative apps for us to include on this page (via the comments at the bottom of the page).

First of all let’s look at eDownloader (eDownloader):

Download MP3 to iPad with Easy Downloader (eDL) by Juan Ramon Rivero

This option is a straightforward install and a simple process to use. It allows you to download and manage files in a very similar way to when you work on a computer. The product description suggests fast download times and is designed to act essentially as an all in one download manager. As well as being able to download MP3 to iPad, the app includes audio player with playlists, mp4 video player, decompression of ZIP and RAR plus ad blocker and more.

Follow the instructions in the following video and you should be up and running in no time (we’ve had recent reports of success from folks who bought our “11 deadly Tenkara Manipulations” when using eDl)

eDownloader video:

Download MP3 to iPad with Documents 5 by Readdle

Another App with a good reputation (and designed to be a real “all in one” solution to downloading, managing and manipulating files on your Apple mobile device) is the fifth update to the “Documents” app by Readdle. With this version, iPad users can now install and configure add-ons so that Documents 5 can be the central hub for other single-purpose Readdle apps. As one example, it’s possible to open a PNG file from Documents with PDF Converter, modify the type of that file and then immediately use the new copy with Documents 5’s file manager.

You can get a good introduction to the App and step by step instructions for managing all types of files (whether you are downloading MP3 files to use offline or another file from a wide range of formats).

Note: With the correct add-on from Readdle (Printer Pro), you can also print documents that you’ve saved on your Apple mobile device – so it’s definitely worth exploring the full range of capabilities for this integrated range of apps.

Documents 5 video:

So there you go, we hope that you’ve found your own ideal method for interacting with the audiobook content that we (and others) produce and distribute on platforms such as Gumroad and Kartra (for example, the 3 audiobooks within the Hirata-san Bundle). Please let us know in the comments whether you have a favoured method from the ones we’ve shown here – and especially if you have discovered your own solution which might be even better than the ones shown.

Also – if you have found this guidance valuable – there will definitely be other folks who would also like to benefit so please do click those social share buttons.

Paul