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I lost the original plug-in charger that came with my iPad. I have tried using my iPod cable to charge my iPad (plugged into the USB port of my Windows laptop) but the iPad will not charge (or at least it charges extremely slowly). I also have tried using another USB plug adapter with the iPod cable (plugged into a wall outlet) and it also does not charge. What is going on here and how can I charge my iPad now that I have lost the original cable and outlet adapter that it came with?

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4 Answers 4

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The iPad uses a 10W charger. The iPhone has a 5W charger. Most older computers only support the original USB spec of 2.5W USB port power support. Your iPad, when on, uses more than 2.5W, so it will not charge unless it's turned off, and when off it will charge at less than 1/4 the speed of the normal iPad charger. That can be up to 16 hours for a fully depleted iPad.

Newer Apple computers, and computers that support USB3.0, support higher USB power standards, but if your computer doesn't then you'll need to invest in a new charger for your iPad.

Note that the iPad will generally charge off other USB chargers from other manufacturers, but only at a slower rate than the original iPad charger, unless the charger you use is specified to charge the iPad. When the original iPad came out 10W USB chargers were not common.

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Because the iPad battery is so large, the iPad uses a more powerful charger to recharge its battery. The iPhone charger is 1 amp; the iPad charger is 2 amps. To get the extra juice, you need either a modern Apple computer (last 2 years) or an iPad specific USB charger.

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  • The thing that confuses me though is why any PC that supports USB2.x standards cannot charge the iPad. Power specs for USB ports are universal and standards are set by IEEE.
    – Webs
    Commented Sep 7, 2010 at 15:26
  • Standards Change and USB is positively ancient at this point they added a Battery Charging standard into USB - I don't know if the apple chargers meet the Battery Charging rules as they also specify reduced data rates - which might go someway to explaining the hideously slow sync times i see - or not. Apple started using higher power sockets with the origina macbook Air's Superdrive which used a higher voltage USB socket.
    – Anonymous
    Commented Sep 9, 2010 at 8:13
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Looks like this is a known issue. I didn't find any news of Apple attempting to resolve the issue though. Might need to pickup a wall charger or something. I would also call Apple and bug them about this.

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  • Ah... the included power adapter is a 10W USB power adapter (10W is more than most others). support.apple.com/kb/HT4060
    – Jeff Widmer
    Commented Sep 7, 2010 at 13:53
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I'm using the USB cord from my old iPod classic on my Windows PC, and my iPad charges just fine. Although I've never tested how fast it charges, I will often plug it in before bed and wake up to a fully charged iPad.

I have noticed that when the iPad is plugged in and it is not hibernating I get a "Not Charging" message on the screen. Once the iPad is asleep it charges.

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