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Can this be used to charge the iPhone 4

K

karansaraf

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 18, 2010
231
8
I was given an old iPod (3rd or 4th gen perhaps) charging cable, which is a FIREWIRE cable and is attached to a power adapter.

Can this be used to charge the iPhone without causing damage? It would fit, but it's the old style one where you have to press the sides to unplug it from the iPhone. I only ask about this because a friend of mine told me not to otherwise it would screw up my iPhone (not sure whether to believe this or not).

Picture:

photo.jpg
 
No. It must be a USB power source. It won't screw up your iPhone. It'll just say "Unsupported power source. Please use a USB charge source." or something along those lines.
 
I used one with my iPhone 3G, it charged just fine.
But interesting point:
I went to the Apple Store to exchange some fraying cables and told the genius that I preferred the old style like that and she said don't use it if the product didn't come with it. It could change the amprage (sp?) and mess with the battery life of newer Apple products.
My 3G worked fine and had no battery issues but to play it safe I don't use it anylonger. And don't plan to on my iPhone 4.
 
I believe those are 25 or 30 watts. The newer ones are all 10. Over time it damages the battery. So no, don't use it.
 
Any 2008 or later iPod/iPhone can't charge over Firewire. Sorry.
 
Thanks a lot for the info guys.

Good to know I can't use it, not that it's a big deal, I already have 1 other compatible charger and 1 cable (without mains adapter) so it's no loss.
 
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