Charging an iPhone with 220 Volts
Mar 17, 2015, 5:41 pm
#1
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Charging an iPhone with 220 Volts
I have a 6 Plus Verizon. I heard that the American charging "cube" can take a 220 volt input. Is this correct? If so, can you just use a plug (not voltage) adapter to plug into a socket in Europe?
Mar 17, 2015, 6:16 pm
#2
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Mar 17, 2015, 6:16 pm
#3
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All you need is the European style adapter into which you plug in your iPhone charging "cube". If you examine the cube on the two pin side you'll see in very faint letters it's rating for 100-240 volts. You'll probably need a magnifying glass to read the letters if you are anywhere near my age 
Mar 17, 2015, 7:16 pm
#5
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Yes, I can confirm this... all my Iphones are US sourced and I charge them down here in EZE where native voltage is 220V.
Mar 17, 2015, 7:38 pm
#6
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Some plug converters have no marking at all.
If they do, they'll have a max voltage and current (eg 250V 10A). They wont list a range. If it fits in a common euro socket it certainly supports euro voltage.
What he actually needs to look at is is the "iPhone charging 'cube'" itself (and those for other devices he intends to use). That's the important bit. And all the ones I've encountered are 100-240v. Meaning they'll work just fine.
If they do, they'll have a max voltage and current (eg 250V 10A). They wont list a range. If it fits in a common euro socket it certainly supports euro voltage.
What he actually needs to look at is is the "iPhone charging 'cube'" itself (and those for other devices he intends to use). That's the important bit. And all the ones I've encountered are 100-240v. Meaning they'll work just fine.
OP - here's a photo of my iPhone adapter, the same as yours:
Mar 18, 2015, 7:03 am
#9
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Electronic chargers deliver the same current regardless of the input voltage -- provided that voltage is within their operating range. In other words, they charge at the same rate in the US at 120 volts, in Japan at 100 or in the UK at 240.
Mar 18, 2015, 7:13 am
#10
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At 100VAC it will draw ~0.05A to deliver 1A at 5VDC.
At 240VAC it will draw ~0.02A to deliver 1A at 5VDC.
Some generic USB chargers will only provide 2.5W (0.5A at 5VDC) and so will charge slower than an Apple 5W (1A at 5VDC) charger.
More recent iPhones will charge faster using an iPad 10W charger.
Again, this is independent of the input voltage.
Mar 18, 2015, 4:09 pm
#11
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Thank you all for these great replies.
Today I found out that Apple has put some kind of chip or sensor in the Lightning cables to force you to buy their brand name (and higher priced) versions instead of the cheaper ones at CVS, Walgreens, etc.
Today I found out that Apple has put some kind of chip or sensor in the Lightning cables to force you to buy their brand name (and higher priced) versions instead of the cheaper ones at CVS, Walgreens, etc.
Mar 18, 2015, 4:26 pm
#12
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Some of the third-party chargers claimed to be "compatible" (meaning they would identify themselves correctly to the laptop) but often didn't; you then had a worthless brick.
Not sure if many/any other laptops do the same, but it looks like Apple is playing that game, too, with iPhones.
Mar 18, 2015, 5:49 pm
#13
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3rd party MFI lightning cables work fine - whether branded monoprice, anker, amazonbasics, amongst many others.
theyre priced at about 1/2 of apple. ive got a bunch and they all work fine