Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Charging cord
- Thread starter max2
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I've got GREAT experience with the Anker PowerLine+
https://www.anker.com/products/A81230A1
http://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerLi...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00
Highly durable and made by a reputable brand
https://www.anker.com/products/A81230A1
http://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerLi...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00
Highly durable and made by a reputable brand
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
agree apple is best but i do have two of the above anker cables (black though) and they are of high quality. ipad pro was my first apple product (13 inch) and i got it launch day along with these cables.
have had no issues with anker apple cables and highly recommend the ones above..
have had no issues with anker apple cables and highly recommend the ones above..
Don't read those Apple reviews. There are millions of people who use them and of course there will be some people who have to express their feelings.
But I would imagine the knock off Apple cords will have much more poorer reviews overall!
So if you must go aftermarket, those anker cables posted above are choice! As I said I have 2 of them in black and they are very robust and the tablet has no issues with them. I don't get any pop up errors saying the cable may not work properly, etc...
But I would imagine the knock off Apple cords will have much more poorer reviews overall!
So if you must go aftermarket, those anker cables posted above are choice! As I said I have 2 of them in black and they are very robust and the tablet has no issues with them. I don't get any pop up errors saying the cable may not work properly, etc...
Maybe the reviews would tell you? Is there an overall opinion that all reviews have in common?
I've used and known people use a lot of different cable brands.. One mum in particular has an autistic son who will break cables regardless of how expensive they are, so there's no point her going for official ones unless she wants to flush money down the drain. Amazon basics, Anker, etc are all good. *some* of the ones that by all rights should be terrible and you get from a pound/dollar shop are actually great, while others disintegrate almost instantly. Poundworld (UK) have braided ones that are much tougher than the official apple cables.. Which is a bit mad but oh well.
Power blocks on the other hand I've had issues with when I've tried other options - usually from horrible coil buzzing.
Power blocks on the other hand I've had issues with when I've tried other options - usually from horrible coil buzzing.
I always buy either Apple (99% of the time) or from a reputable authorised third party.
I've got testing equipment for USB cables and I've had a few from various cheaper manufacturers to test. Some are wildly out of spec and aren't regulated at all well. I wouldn't trust them to charge anything. So I tend to stick to the ones I know deliver the required power and are well regulated, such as Apples ones. There more expensive for a reason, there's a surprising amount of circuitry in them to make sure everything is perfectly regulated.
I've got testing equipment for USB cables and I've had a few from various cheaper manufacturers to test. Some are wildly out of spec and aren't regulated at all well. I wouldn't trust them to charge anything. So I tend to stick to the ones I know deliver the required power and are well regulated, such as Apples ones. There more expensive for a reason, there's a surprising amount of circuitry in them to make sure everything is perfectly regulated.
Where would one aquire kit for testing a lightning cable? 3rd party ones have never let me down, and I'm generally pretty cautious about stuff after the whole MacBook on fire thing (see my sig, haha.)
As long as you get it from somewhere vaguely respectable and its tested to your country's legal requirements shouldn't it be up to spec? (CE marked in the EU, etc.)
I have found some of the "braided" cords to be solid (i.e. functional after 2+ years) but I almost always end up getting the Apple-made connectors.
You can get various testing gear on Amazon or even eBay, just search for USB tester and you'll find a variety of multimeters and monitoring gear. You can even get some very inexpensive ones that are still good enough to show you the current and voltage over time.
I have found a lot of good ones in my time but I've also found quite a few that claim to be MFI certified and have all of the various regulatory markings yet perform shockingly, one can only assume that some of these sellers and manufacturers are lying out of their arses.
You can even have a read of the reports the Google engineer wrote in his testing of USB-C cables, some were seriously dangerous and actually fried his system. The same applies to lighting cables.
USB-C is a lot newer and more complex. I don't remember any similar reports of 3rd party lightning cables causing problems..?
Thanks though just ordered one, let's see how the weirdly durable braided £1 lightning cables fare in the stats department, haha.
About 2 weeks ago or so I got the 29 Watt charger brick with a 10' USB-C charger. It certainly charges my 12.9" Pro quicker than the set up that came with the unit. I went with Apple because I don't trust 3rd party accessories for my expensive Apple kit.
Back before I retired I had a friend who told me he had just bought a $4.00 charger & cable on Amazon for his new iPad, I went over to where he had it plugged in and felt the charger brick–it was uncomfortably hot. I pointed this out and he got rid of it and went with an Apple charger.
Back before I retired I had a friend who told me he had just bought a $4.00 charger & cable on Amazon for his new iPad, I went over to where he had it plugged in and felt the charger brick–it was uncomfortably hot. I pointed this out and he got rid of it and went with an Apple charger.
From an internal component standpoint, USB-C isn't really more complex than Lightning is and just as vulnerable to the same knockoff techniques as Lightning is.
Good thing about Apple cords is they will replace them without a question if ever defective. I have an older iPod and the old type charging cable went bad after 3-4 years and when I brought it into Apple they gave me a brand new one for free.
But those scary USB-c cables pins were wired up totally wrong and not to spec.. I'd hope that commonly available lightning cables are at least wired correctly, generally speaking.
Looking at product reviews (not scientific) there are a ton of 3rd party cables that people aren't having issues with.I would definitely buy it from Apple.
Unrelated subject--------
Right before I purchased my first MacBook Pro, I was reading reviews on apple's website regarding the charging cord. I remember very clearly that this person, who left a total negative comment about the charging cord, was all the way on top, and the person said: this chargin cord is ****, I got this thing 2 months ago and it had already fallen apart. You need to make things in better quality apple.
So, i disregard the comment and bought it anyway. 5 years later I'm still using the same cord.
What I was trying to say was that, I feel it's a quality guaranteed when I buy accessories directly from Apple. ^_^
I get generic cords, they end up smashed just as the Apple cords. the difference is that they are cheaper to replace.
I use OEM cables and always will. I still have my original Lightning cable that came with my iPhone 5 and it still looks new. Its all about how you take care of your cables, don't mash them into bags or tightly wrap them up and they will last forever.