two technicians at best buy said they have had multiple customers burn out their apple phones by relying on the apple chargers even though they are rated 110-220 volts. they said you need a power converter as well as an adapter.

I've been using Apple chargers for years, since 2008, with multiple iPhones and iPads. Never once had a single issue with the chargers, the cables, or the devices. And that includes international travel with them, and use on cruise ships, trains and other places.

Auto voltage switching power bricks are hardly bleeding edge technology - they've been around for decades now, and they work exactly as advertised.

If I had a penny for every silly thing I have heard a BestBuy "technician" say, I'd be richer than Bill Gates by now.

(these are the same guys who want to sell you a $500 power "conditioner" with every TV, Stereo, Computer or sound stick you buy from them - according to them, every house hold wiring on the planet is a ticking time bomb ready to fry anything and everything you ever plug into a wall outlet).

Nonsense. The power adapter puts out standard 5v/1mA USB international standard power, and it does it with either international standard voltage input.

These auto-switching power adapters for iPhone's have been sold by the hundreds of millions since 2007. People use them all over the world, and while traveling internationally. Quote me one single confirmed instance of anybody suffering damage by plugging their adapter into the wall in Europe, Asia, NA or anywhere else.

Just about every smart phone, cell phone, laptop, tablet or other consumer electronic device made and sold, by any company, in the last 20 years has come with auto voltage adapting power bricks (some at least as small or smaller than Apple's). These things are ubiquitous in the industry, and have been for ages.

But by all means, listen to the BestBuy guys - they will be more than happy to take your money and sell you all the power adapters/conditioners/regulators you could possible ever want.

It's even better than that, they are not auto-switching, they never have to switch at all. From any voltage over a range from 100 to 240 vac they will produce standard usb power. So no need to switch, (Japan uses 100v)

Totally agree, I have used the default apple charger on many international trips only utilizing an connection adapter so I could plug it in. On one trip I forgot my adapter but had some pliers so I straight up bent the post to the 45deg angle and plugged it in, worked fine the entire trip. I think further evidence these are rated for 240V is that apple used to if they still don't, sell an international adapter kit, eg not a voltage converter device.

Europe is famous for power spikes above the thresholds described on the apple charger cubes.

Huh? Travelled all over Europe and never ever had a problem, over many years and too many countries. That's a much bigger issue in the US.

It's not necessarily nonsense.

It's simply hooey, piffle, poppycock, twaddle, tom foolery, rigmarole, and perhaps even balderdash.

Perhaps the BB techs can sell you a laptop they overstocked three years ago for the same price as the replacement model that superseded it two iterations later.

one found a brick of manure and said, "this isn't doing anything". The other technician put it on the ground and kicked it. The first technician said, "why did you kick it?". The second said, "it's a Windows brick of manure, you have to reboot it."

The only places in my home where I use anything other than plugging directly into the wall are UPS units for my AT&T gateway & wireless TV transmitter,one for the wifi router (so I still have internet in the event of a power outage in a storm or such), and another UPS on the TV and wireless TV signal receiver for the same reasons.

Even when I have gone on cruises, on trains, travel to Europe and South America - I've just plugged my Apple iPhone and iPad power adapters in with just the prong adapters and never had an issue.

Wait a minute. Best Buy let you stand in their store and interview hundreds of people in that store and ask them if they had used their Apple devices in other countries and you found 100s (you had to have interviews thousands) who had damage? And how many did you interview who had the Best Buy adapter?

Who did you talk to at Best Buy that let you do this? Which store were you at? How long did it take you? Did you publish this information anywhere? Can you answer any of these questions?

Also your estimate of N=5 is not quite accurate, all of us here who posted know many people who have Apple equipment. We have also participated here for quite some time. I can't recall anyone ever posting that said they destroyed their Apple device by using there Apple charger. The same may be true for the adapter at Best Buy but it isn't necessary to buy it, it will not be any better than Apple's.

Count me in as another long time user of Apple devices.

The Apple wall power adapters will fail first, before damaging the device.

I've had 4 of these fail in 7-8 years. but never have damaged the device.

But I have had these plugged into good quality surge boxes and NOT plugged directly into the wall mains.

The wall power blocks simply stopped working.

I've already replaced two of these for my iPad pro within 18 months.

These power blocks are NOT very long term for charging, but I never had one actually destroy an iDevice.

A power converter may help to better regulate the current (something like what a UPS does), but they aren't a necessity, either!

Apple has now sold well over 1 Billion iPhones world wide in the last ten years. That is hundreds of millions of users, regularly using their little iPhone power bricks plugged into any old wall outlet all over the planet. Yet somehow the opinion of a couple of BestBuy clerks trumps real world usage? Go figure 😟

And one sees people plugging in Macs, Lenovos, Dells, HPs, Acers, Samsungs (smart phones, tablets, laptops, etc) and so on in coffee shops, hotels, restaurants, airport lounges and boarding areas, car campers, portable generators - the list of devices and places of use is endless. Almost none of those people ever do anything but plug their power cord in without a thought. And yet, I don't hear masses of complaints about destroyed devices or fried electronics. The tech press is not full of articles imploring people to rush out to BestBuy (or any other retailer) and load up on surge protectors, line conditioners and whatnot?

So what on this earth is the rational basis for these BestBuy guys insisting such things are routinely needed?

MichelPM wrote:

The Apple wall power adapters will fail first, before damaging the device.

There you go. That was what I was looking for too. I really don't understand why the OP does not understand that. The voltage would never get to the device. If the converter did fail, then it certainly would not burn out the phone. Best Buy works on commission, and you will get swarmed by those people, especially in the phone sections to they can make enough money to go to McDonald's for lunch.