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Barnum

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 4, 2008
29
0
Sorry if this question has been answered before but I haven’t been able to find a thread about it. I’ve misplaced the charger for my 2017 iPad pro. Is it safe to power it up using the USB 3.0 ports of my desktop computer or my (mid 2012) MacBook Pro?
 

Newtons Apple

Suspended
Mar 12, 2014
22,757
15,253
Jacksonville, Florida
Sorry if this question has been answered before but I haven’t been able to find a thread about it. I’ve misplaced the charger for my 2017 iPad pro. Is it safe to power it up using the USB 3.0 ports of my desktop computer or my (mid 2012) MacBook Pro?

You really need to find your charger as some USB will charge very slow, some not at all.
 

cruisin

macrumors 6502a
Apr 1, 2014
962
223
Canada
The MacBook will charge the iPad at full speed, due to Apple increasing the power output for their own devices. You should get the full 2.1A, same as the iPad charger.

See: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4049. It should tell you how much power you are getting.

The desktop will not have this feature, so it will charge very slowly (0.5A). The iPad will say its not charging, as the screen will need more than 0.5A to stay on. If you still want to charge it, it can take up to 24 hours to charge this way, keeping the screen off (I did this once as an experiment). Turning on Airplane mode will shorten the time, but not by much.

Devices request the power they need over USB, so it will be safe to charge (the charging power will not exceed any limits). The only potential issue is if you use a cheap charger, it can give the wrong power amount and there were news reports of a bad charger electrocuting people.
 

Precursor

Cancelled
Sep 29, 2015
1,091
1,066
Istanbul
Not all USB ports are created equal. SO this is not true.
I charged my iPad from USB ports on TVs in hotel rooms to USB ports on planes. USB port has to provide some sort of a power in order for the plugged item to operate. So yes, it IS true. As long as you don't use the iPP it will be charged. (better in Airplane mode)
 
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