We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Can I use this charger - what do the electrical figures mean?!

Options
13»

Comments

  • Ectophile
    Ectophile Posts: 7,975 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Ignore the stuff on the plug. It's completely irrelevant to what you need.

    You need a charger than can supply 5 volts at 2 amps DC. More specifically, it must be 5V, and at least 2A.

    If it's got a USB socket on, then it should be 5V anyway, because that's what the USB standard says. The important thing is how much current it can supply. Too little and the phone may not charge.
    If it sticks, force it.
    If it breaks, well it wasn't working right anyway.
  • Lum
    Lum Posts: 6,460 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Combo Breaker
    edited 8 November 2012 at 5:03AM
    When mixing and matching chargers you need to make sure the voltage is the same and that the amperage is at least as high as the "real" charger.

    So a 5V 2A Samsung charger can definitely be used to charge the 5V 1A iPhone, but not necessarily the other way around.

    Most of these modern USB phones and tablets will attempt to charge off a device that puts out a lower current. They pretty much have to do this as a computer's USB port often only puts out 0.5A. However doing this may not always be satisfactory.

    Depending on what apps you are running you might find you are draining the battery faster than you can charge it, particularly if you use satnav. Or it may just refuse to charge and pop up an error message.

    For non-USB devices, e.g. clock radios, the amps rating must always be equal or higher than the original charger or it will probably malfunction.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.5K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.9K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.9K Life & Family
  • 257.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.