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Charging iPhone in Car, is it safe?

A

apple111115

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 21, 2011
112
6
We have a Honda Odessey and it has outlets.

I am curious as to if it is alright to charge my phone with these (is the electricity "clean")

Will using these decrease my battery "lifespan"

Thanks!
 
Yes, you can charge just fine.
As a precaution I unplug before starting the ignition because I fried an iPhone while on vacation in a rental car a few years ago.
 
It will be fine.

Is it a 120v AC outlet or a USB outlet? If its USB just check the volts. Regardless either will work.
 
I charge in my vehicle all the time via the little cigarette lighter USB port combo bootleg car charger setup they offered in light of a shortage of car chargers at the time of phone release. No issues.
 
It will be fine, although it causes the charge to progress more slowly than usual, but it is a proper way to Charge Your iPhone.
 
Just use quality chargers and cables and you should be fine. The cheap $2 ones from China can sometimes get you in trouble.
 
The problem could be not the car itself but the charger you are going to use.
Voltage provided by the car outlet could easily be better than the one you have in your house.
 
I use the Rocketfish™ Mobile - Dual USB Vehicle Charger + Apple dock USB cable for my 4S, haven't had an issue :)
 
mapledress said:
It will be fine, although it causes the charge to progress more slowly than usual, but it is a proper way to Charge Your iPhone.
Click to expand...

Depends on the charger. I have a dual USB adapter in one vehicle that charges as fast as the wall charger. In another vehicle I have an integrated USB port and that one charges quite a bit slower.
 
Thanks!

This car actually has a USB cord that I can plug the iPhone charger into....is this alright also? Thanks!
 
eawmp1 said:
Yes, you can charge just fine.
As a precaution I unplug before starting the ignition because I fried an iPhone while on vacation in a rental car a few years ago.
Click to expand...

Wow. That's good to know. Didn't realize it can do that to your phone.

On a side note, I've been using my Ravpower car charger. It has two outputs, 2.1A and 1A. Great charger and low profile too.
 
madsci954 said:
My car has a built in USB, and my iPhone doesn't charge when I plug it in, that's why I use the 12V USB adapter. So you better double check.
Click to expand...

That means the port is a 5V. It will charge (it won't say it is though) but increeeeedibly slowly, to the point that your adapter is definitely a better solution.
 
NT1440 said:
That means the port is a 5V. It will charge (it won't say it is though) but increeeeedibly slowly, to the point that your adapter is definitely a better solution.
Click to expand...

:rolleyes:
You realize that all USB for consumer electronics is 5v?
 
NT1440 said:
That means the port is a 5V. It will charge (it won't say it is though) but increeeeedibly slowly, to the point that your adapter is definitely a better solution.
Click to expand...
Uh, 5 volt is the USB spec. The iPhone charger even says 5V as it's output. Besides, it's the current that affects how fast an iPhone will charge.
 
You know how in movies you see a moving car explode from being shot at with a small handgun and it does like 15 flips in the air before it lands? What really happened is the driver (or passenger) plugged in an iPhone. DON'T DO IT! :eek:
 
I learned the "start the car before plugging the charger in" lesson years ago with a flip phone. The phone was fine but the charger blew its internal fuse and I had to take the charger in to have the fuse replaced; used the charger for another couple of years until I moved to iPhones.
 
my car has a radio usb and i feel like it charges faster than my wall outlet. maybe it's identical but i've gotten a decent boost of a charge out of a 10-minute carride :cool:
 
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