Using U.S. Macbook in India...

I have an old, 13 inch white macbook purchased in the U.S.
Do I need new cables / power cord to use charge it in India or will
an adapter suffice?

Also, same question for Airport Express. Can I use that with just an adapter or will that not work?

Any advice on how to make my Macbook "India friendly" is much appreciated!

17" iMac Intel; 13" Macbook, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Jan 20, 2009 1:03 PM

Reply
6 replies

Jan 20, 2009 2:18 PM in response to HappySwitcher

Yes. Look on the adaptor itself. Or here are the tech specs:

*Electrical and operating requirements*

Line voltage: 100V to 240V AC
Frequency: 50Hz to 60Hz
Operating temperature: 50° to 95° F (10° to 35° C)
Storage temperature: -13° to 113° F (-24° to 45° C)
Relative humidity: 0% to 90% noncondensing
Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet
Maximum storage altitude: 15,000 feet
Maximum shipping altitude: 35,000 feet

I have no idea what was referred to by your other post. A plug adaptor is simple a small device you connect into the wall socket in the foreign country and then plug the standard AC connector of the power supply. The plug adaptor does not convert anything. As I said you can purchase these at the Apple Store: World Travel Kit.

Jan 20, 2009 2:06 PM in response to Kappy

Someone posted this review for those Apple adapters...
How can this be? Do I really need a converter?

"While in Argentia this year, I fried the logic board in my G4 laptop because I didn't know the difference between 'Adapter' and 'Converter'. This Apple product is an adapter, and only offers the specific prong configuration that allows you to insert into a foreign electrical outlet. However it will not convert the voltage, which why you will need to to get yourself a convertor as well."

Jan 20, 2009 2:38 PM in response to HappySwitcher

It will not fry anything unless you try to connect to the wall power improperly. As I said just look on your AC power adaptor. It says it right on the adaptor.

Electrical appliances typically do not have switching power supplies, and that is why they get fried when you connect them to a 220 V line when they've been designed for 110 V. Hence the need for special power line converters which convert the 220 V to 110 V.

Some wall sockets are designed such that it appears that you can plug in a normal U.S. plug into only one side of the line. They think it might work since each side of the line carries 110 V, but foreign power systems use 50 cycle, not 60 cycle AC and that, too, can damage some U.S. electrical appliances. Travelers who buy converters also don't take into account the power needs. You cannot connect a 1000 watt hair dryer to a 150 watt converter.

Whatever review you read was probably about an old Powerbook AC adaptor that was not a switching adaptor. Or the author didn't know what he was talking about - I'd suspect the latter. Most people today can't set the clocks on their VCRs, let alone know much about electricity and power systems. No offense intended, just an experiential observation.

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Using U.S. Macbook in India...

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