Charging iPhone 3G S

Question

Charging iPhone 3G S

Hello All,

Was wondering whether someone could help me or point me in the right direction. I have the earlier iPod Dock (with the SVideo Connector) and was wondering whether it would be safe to use this for my new iPhone. The output voltage on the Dock seems to be set at 3.3v but I believe the iPhone and newer devices need 5v. That being the case, would it be safe to use this Dock or do I need to go out and spend another $50 for the newer model? It seems such a shame if I do as the dock even though it given the incompatible message when you connect the phone, does seem to work and output the audio as needed.

Any help/tips/ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Vin.

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.7)

Posted on Jul 25, 2009 3:35 PM

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Answer 1

w7ox

Level 4

2,407 points

Jul 25, 2009 3:41 PM in response to Vincenzo Baldacchino

Some older docs will not charge the 3GS in particular. Yours may be one of those.

Phil

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Answer 2

PTBoater

Level 4

2,845 points

Jul 25, 2009 3:50 PM in response to Vincenzo Baldacchino

My aduio link to my Acura radio works (I get audio) but I get the message that the iPhone does not support charging. The iPhone seems smart enough to know.

I bought a $15 dock on eBay for my 3GS and have been using it with no issues (it does connect to the computer so the power source is known). You can always email the manufacturer to the dock to be sure, but if it were me I would just plug it in and see if you get a message. If you dont, you should be good to go.

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Answer 3

Jul 25, 2009 4:50 PM in response to PTBoater

Well, the Apple Universal dock (Model MA045G/A) does seems to be working just fine...!

I haven't tried Video out and would be amazed if that worked but as far as charging and playing audio through the audio out port, it seems to be working OK. It has charged the iPhone from 32% to 70% in about 30 minutes which seems very reasonable. The question remaining now, is whether I am harming the iPhone and in particular, the battery in any way by charging using a lower voltage of 3.3v?

Thanks to all for your feedback...

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Answer 4

Jul 25, 2009 5:01 PM in response to Vincenzo Baldacchino

One thing I forgot to add, is that I do get the message "This accessory is not made to work with iPhone" when I plug the phone into the dock - I guess this is understandable given that it was made before the iPhone came out.

Cheers,
Vin.

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