Is it OK to use my iPhone charger for charging other USB powered devices like the Kindle or a digital camera (with a rechargeable battery)? Can it cause any damage to the charger or to the device being charged?
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related: apple.stackexchange.com/questions/2017/…– cregoxCommented Feb 25, 2011 at 19:43
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12 Answers
Most standard USB charges for 0.5A. But not all USB are standardized - there are some that go for up to 1.8A and even the MacBook Pro is said to raise up to 1.1A when relevant. iPhone's charger do little more than 1.1A and it's pretty decent. That's why iPhone charging on regular USB usually take double the time to fully charge. iPad's charger are roughly 10W and 5V which translates to 2A.
There's nothing wrong that can happen with the charger because USB devices are made to work with the same standard voltage (about 5V). The USB hosts are only outputting the maximum energy it can provide up to what the client can receive. A 10W energy source will only give up to 10W and just 1W if the plugged device can only take 1W.
I'm no electrical specialist but...
Having bigger power supply (measured in watts) or bigger current (measured in amperes) on itself can't break any system because what puts them in movement is the difference of potential measured by volts.
Think of a light bulb and picture all USB devices are prepared to receive about 5V (actually little more). If you get a 220V and put in on a 110V nothing wrong happens, but it will be very weak. Apple's chargers only go up to 5V, which is within the USB standard. So yeah, it's all good and safe.
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1The current/voltage comments regarding the iPad charger is incorrect. It supplies 5V @ 2A. The iPad internally converts the 5V to the 4.2V max required to charge the lithium batteries. Frankly, any device that has a USB connector, and supplies anything other then 5V is a fire hazard. Commented Oct 26, 2011 at 9:15
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1As a side note, I use my iPad charger to charge my (Android) phone regularly. It works fine. Commented Oct 26, 2011 at 9:16
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@FakeName if you mean both 4V and 6V USB hosts are both fire hazards, that makes no sense to me. As for the iPad charger, I stand corrected. I'm not sure where I got the 3.7V figure from, but Apple sure gives a hard time publishing this data as I couldn't find any!– cregoxCommented Oct 27, 2011 at 0:26
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2A USB host that supplies anything other then 5V is (significantly) out of spec, and not really a USB host anymore. A USB Host that supplies 6V is definitely a fire hazard. A USB host that supplies 4V could be dangerous, depending on how the connected device handles an undervoltage problem. It should be safe, but I'd rather not risk it. Commented Oct 27, 2011 at 7:02
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Also, USB is standardised. On 500 mA (USB 3 is 900 mA). USB hosts that supply more current are violating the standard. Generally, the non-standard extensions used to allow higher charging currents are carefully designed to fall back to standard USB behaviour in the event that a standard USB device is connected. Commented Oct 27, 2011 at 7:05
Yes, you can. It converts the AC power to the standard USB power, so anything that charges with USB will charge with the iPhone's adapter.
answered Feb 24, 2011 at 19:00
Regarding to USB charging, there are two kinds of USB devices:
- Dumb ones that doesn't check if they are connected to a charger and always use less than 100 milliamperes. Some use up to 500mA, but they are out of USB specs.
- Smart ones that check if they are connected to a charger and try to use full power of the charger (up to 1800mA or 2100mA).
Apple USB chargers (1000mA to 2100mA) are of the second type but doesn't follow the USB charging standard (1800mA) and aren't compatible with other smart devices that follow that standard. Only with dumb devices and other apple devices.
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Apple USB chargers do in fact follow the USB charging standard. If you believe otherwise then please specify how they violate the USB spec. "Dumb" USB devices will not always use less than 100 mA, only those that follow the spec will, and there are far too many devices that do not meet the spec. There are some older Apple USB chargers that comply with the older USB spec in effect at the time they were made, so long as devices plugged in also meet the USB spec this is safe, though charging may be limited to 5 watts. Commented Jan 16, 2021 at 21:56
Usually you can use the charger for other devices. But check the power requirements of the device in question. For instance an iPhone charger can't charge an iPad that's not sleeping (because it requires 10W and your iPhone charger is probably rated for 5W).
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actually iphone charger can charge an ipad much better than regular USB can. and both do it. but it's true they might not charge fast enough if the iPad is being used.– cregoxCommented Feb 25, 2011 at 20:10
This isn't always safe. I tried charging a Kindle Fire with my Apple iPhone chargers and ended up burning out 2 of them.
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I have a Nuvi nav system with a mini-USB charging/sync port. It hangs when plugged into a generic charger. My theory is that the nuvi gets confused for some reason and tries to go into sync mode when it should just charge. I don't know how the nuvi charger or cable is different than a generic USB charger or cable.
So caveat emptor. But I would expect that it usually works across devices.
answered Feb 24, 2011 at 23:35
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the Nuvi might be setup to work only with their gear. I hate it when companies do that... Commented Feb 24, 2011 at 23:50
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The nuvi is a general issue; only their car charger can tell it that it's not a computer.– SLaksCommented Feb 25, 2011 at 3:32
My brother charged his Blackberry just great using his USB cable and my iPhone prongs-to-USB wall cube.
My iPhone cube overheated when I used it to charge an external battery which wants 2.0 A. Using USB current meter the battery was pulling 1.5 A from the cube which caused it to quickly overheat. iPhone connected to cube pulled 0.7 A.
When the external battery was connected to USB port on an old XP computer it pulled only 0.7 A during initial charging and even dropped to 0.6 A when 75% charged.
It seems that connecting the iPhone cube to a non-Apple source which wants 10 W (2 A) rather than 5 W (1 A) can cause the cube to attempt to deliver too much current and cause it to overheat and fail.
Yes, you can and it is a very good charger. See: http://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-apple-is.html and: http://www.righto.com/2012/05/apple-iphone-charger-teardown-quality.html
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Welcome to the site! It would be good if you could give us some more info in your post. Links can be broken and that would render you comment less useful.– AlexCommented Jun 3, 2013 at 11:41
I have interchanged my chargers and devices for several years. Not experiencing any problems, except my blackberry which has been finicky lately, only a few chargers work for it, and blackberry charger isn't one of them.
Actually, all technicalities, manufacturers systematic operating schedules, and voltage/ amps/mA/ohms or any other current measurement aside...ALL COMPANIES manufacture product specific hardware and accessories ESPECIALLY Apple!! Otherwise what would be the point in manufacturing, buying, or choosing between different brands. In general vocabulary terms, all brands are different and work different. Putting too much or not enough current through any device in any manner is detrimental to that equipment. Broken down even more, YOU WILL BURN UP YOUR DEVICE/ BREAK IT!! They're may be a few cases that it will simply hinder performance, but why risk it?? not to mention, if you can afford Apple products in the first place, why are you cutting corners on cost of regular upkeep accessories ;)
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1You appear to misunderstand the nature of the USB standard (with which the iPhone, iPad, and iPod families all comply), so I down-voted your answer. If you have specific information to share that demonstrates a verifiable danger to non-Apple devices when using Apple USB chargers, then please edit your answer.– NateCommented Jun 3, 2013 at 13:24