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iPhone extension cord

R

Runt888

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 17, 2008
841
32
Does anyone know of a longer iPhone cable that works with the 3G dock? Or a USB extension that will work work with the existing iPhone cable? I'm trying to put my dock on my nightstand, but the apple provided cable is about 2 feet short.

I found this, but it says it's for low-powered devices only, so I don't know if it will work to charge the phone.

I've tried using a simple power extension cable, but the apple cable doesn't reach to the floor, so the combined weight of the USB power adapter and the extension cord plug will drag the dock off of the nightstand.

I've also tried the USB extension cables that come with the Apple keyboards (which would have been perfect!) but they are engineered so the plugs are incompatible with standard USB connectors.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

EDIT: Just found this...seems to be the best option so far.
 
Runt888 said:
Does anyone know of a longer iPhone cable that works with the 3G dock? Or a USB extension that will work work with the existing iPhone cable? I'm trying to put my dock on my nightstand, but the apple provided cable is about 2 feet short.

I found this, but it says it's for low-powered devices only, so I don't know if it will work to charge the phone.

I've tried using a simple power extension cable, but the apple cable doesn't reach to the floor, so the combined weight of the USB power adapter and the extension cord plug will drag the dock off of the nightstand.

I've also tried the USB extension cables that come with the Apple keyboards (which would have been perfect!) but they are engineered so the plugs are incompatible with standard USB connectors.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1646850&CatId=444
 
Runt888 said:
Does anyone know of a longer iPhone cable that works with the 3G dock? Or a USB extension that will work work with the existing iPhone cable? I'm trying to put my dock on my nightstand, but the apple provided cable is about 2 feet short.
Click to expand...

I keep wondering why they made the cable so short.
 
I use the keyboard extension that came with my octo Mac Pro.

It's an apple brand, apple colored USB extension of about 4 feet that has a nudge in it that only lets the keyboard's keyed USB port to be plugged in. I took some needle nose and broke/bent the nudge and made it a general USB extender. I now use it to extend my iPhone dock/charger by my bed.
 
I got this one: [link] Fifteen feet for $1.53 (plus reasonable shipping). Can't beat that! It works great... if I don't need more than a few feet, I just keep it wrapped up with a velcro cable tie. But I have on occasion used the full 15 feet, believe it or not.
 
fs454 said:
I use the keyboard extension that came with my octo Mac Pro.

It's an apple brand, apple colored USB extension of about 4 feet that has a nudge in it that only lets the keyboard's keyed USB port to be plugged in. I took some needle nose and broke/bent the nudge and made it a general USB extender. I now use it to extend my iPhone dock/charger by my bed.
Click to expand...

I never thought about breaking the thing off of the apple brand one. I don't use it for anything else, I guess I'll give it a try.
 
fs454 said:
I use the keyboard extension that came with my octo Mac Pro.

It's an apple brand, apple colored USB extension of about 4 feet that has a nudge in it that only lets the keyboard's keyed USB port to be plugged in. I took some needle nose and broke/bent the nudge and made it a general USB extender. I now use it to extend my iPhone dock/charger by my bed.
Click to expand...
That nudge in the connector is one of the most pointless things I've seen, did they really want people to only be able to use the extender with the keyboard? Was it really all that much of a big deal to them when making it that it had to have that little nudge?
 
Yeah, go with the Monoprice link. Monoprice has great prices, good quality products, and process orders crazy fast. A cheap extension is all you need for this, but I can confirm that the active USB repeaters they sell (less than $10 for a 16ft cable) work great. I have my iPhone synched to a server I keep in the basement on one side of my house but have the dock for it on the first floor in our game room on the other side of the house. I use 4 of the USB repeater cables together for a 64 ft run. No problems synching, upgrading firmware, etc. Great stuff and all you see on the built-in cabinetry in the room is a tiny little dock. Now, if they would just make a black dock instead of that hideous looking white one...
 
Thanks for all of the replies. Looks like I have a few options to go with.
 
I used a generic USB extender and it worked fine. But I quit using it when I got a new computer desk and the stock cables became long enough.
 
Did any of you have trouble with your phone fluctuating between charging and not charging with the extension? My phone goes absolutely nuts. I can take the USB cable minus the extension and plug it into the computer and it works just fine. I don't have my charger with me, so I am not sure if it is a faulty charger or if the USB extension is what is making it go crazy.

I thought there was something wrong with my phone, but since it doesn't fluctuate when plugged into my computer I am beginning to think that it is something else.

It is an Iphone 3G.
 
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