Using iPad charger w/ iPhone 3GS

Question

Level 3

933 points

Using iPad charger w/ iPhone 3GS

Is it safe to do so? I'd like to carry only one charger.

Active: iMac (G5, G4), PB G4, iPad, iPhone, iPod, MP2100 Retired: iMac G3, A2c, Mac OS X (10.5.8), Mac OS 10.4.11, Mac OS 9.2.2, iPhone OS 3.2 & 3.1.3, Newton OS 2.1

Posted on May 26, 2010 8:02 AM

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Answer 1

Swizzlar

Level 2

330 points

May 26, 2010 8:57 AM in response to romad

my experience with electrical devices is to always use the correct charger to charge your device. the ipad charger is a 10v charger while the iphone charger is a 5v. so use a 5v charger for your iphone and 10v for your ipad. i read a couple of threads where users used a wrong charger and it burnt out the ops iphone.

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Answer 2

prk60091

Level 1

40 points

May 26, 2010 2:41 PM in response to Swizzlar

so far i have had "no issues" charging my 3gs with my ipad charger (i've had the ipad since launch day and i've had my 3gs since last july)

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Answer 3

celliott147

Level 6

12,582 points

May 26, 2010 2:57 PM in response to romad

If you use only one charger, use the iPhone charger...better a slow charge on your iPad than a fried iPhone...

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Answer 4

romad Author

Level 3

933 points

May 27, 2010 7:19 AM in response to celliott147

I thought it wouldn't work since it is only 5vdc which is the same as the USB port on my iMac. However, after using a magnifying glass to read the specs on the charger, it is rated at 1 Amp, which is double the .5 Amp of the USB port.

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Answer 5

May 29, 2010 5:53 AM in response to Swizzlar

I'm sorry but you are wrong.

Both chargers are 5 VOLT. one is 5 watts and one is 10 watts. These are based on maximum amperages before the voltage drops. If you put an iPhone on the ipads charger it will see 5 volts as it always does. It has an inherent internal resistance and will draw a specific amount of amperage and hence power from the charger.

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Answer 6

erre.pi

Level 1

0 points

Jun 1, 2010 1:55 PM in response to Joshua Wein1

So Joshua, you are saying that it shouldn't be a problem to use the iPad charger with an iPhone 3GS?

I thought so, but wanted to double check.

Thanks.

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Answer 7

omo

Level 1

8 points

Aug 14, 2010 5:31 AM in response to erre.pi

Check: "Myth: iPad charger blowing up iPhone" http://munnecke.com/blog/?p=836

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