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Is "MFi certified" important for the USB power adapter?

S

slapple

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 25, 2008
466
21
It seems that for cables, it's important that they are "MFi certified".

But what about the USB wall socket adapter? How important is it to get an Apple certified one, or should any third-party one (like those $2 ones on Ebay from China) work fine?

Looking at Amazon, I actually don't see any USB wall socket adapters that say they are "MFi certified". The only things I see that say "MFi certified" are cables.
 
slapple said:
It seems that for cables, it's important that they are "MFi certified".

But what about the USB wall socket adapter? How important is it to get an Apple certified one, or should any third-party one (like those $2 ones on Ebay from China) work fine?

Looking at Amazon, I actually don't see any USB wall socket adapters that say they are "MFi certified". The only things I see that say "MFi certified" are cables.
Click to expand...

There are a few tear downs showing the internals of the cheap ones and personally I wouldn't use one.
 
slapple said:
It seems that for cables, it's important that they are "MFi certified".

But what about the USB wall socket adapter? How important is it to get an Apple certified one, or should any third-party one (like those $2 ones on Ebay from China) work fine?

Looking at Amazon, I actually don't see any USB wall socket adapters that say they are "MFi certified". The only things I see that say "MFi certified" are cables.
Click to expand...

I don't use any of those cheap eBay wall sockets. Not worth it. But since I have a bunch of Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, etc wall plugs, I will use those and have for years. iPhone i use anything rated between 1 and 2 amps without issue. For iPad, I use any of my tablet plugs rated at 2.1 amps. There are a ton of aftermarket plugs specifically rated for the iPad at 2.1 amps. Anker comes to mind.

As for cables, I have some that aren't mfi rated and haven't had any issues. In fact, I have a slim Qi wireless charging case on my iPhone 6 to use with my Qi chargers. Works like a champ and was cheap at $15 on Amazon.
 
I mean, if you value safety, you might want to get the apple one. And seriously, spending $19 bucks on something isn't all that bad compared to spending three bucks on something that could fry your battery in your $200+ iPhone.
 
I found a bunch of listings on Ebay selling "genuine" USB power adapters for $7-8. Would you trust those are really genuine? For example:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Genuine...S_Cell_Phone_PDA_Chargers&hash=item1e8c7a22bf

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Genuine...ader_Chargers_Sync_Cables&hash=item3a902c1c1e

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Genuine...ader_Chargers_Sync_Cables&hash=item3383dfd3e5

That last one has a photo of it in a little plastic bag with UPC code. It is supposed to come in a plastic bag or a box?
 
slapple said:
I found a bunch of listings on Ebay selling "genuine" USB power adapters for $7-8. Would you trust those are really genuine? For example:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Genuine...S_Cell_Phone_PDA_Chargers&hash=item1e8c7a22bf

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Genuine...ader_Chargers_Sync_Cables&hash=item3a902c1c1e

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Genuine...ader_Chargers_Sync_Cables&hash=item3383dfd3e5

That last one has a photo of it in a little plastic bag with UPC code. It is supposed to come in a plastic bag or a box?
Click to expand...
Probably buying in bulk from Whomever is manufacturing the outlet and reselling. Likely legit, but you are the one taking the risk. Do you not have any other plug chargers from other phones, iPods, tablets or iPads you can use?
 
Short answer, YES.

Cheap ones are cheap, may not work and may damage your device.

If anything happens to the phone, Apple may not honor warranty
 
slapple said:
I found a bunch of listings on Ebay selling "genuine" USB power adapters for $7-8. Would you trust those are really genuine?
Click to expand...

I would never trust these as genuine. I have one here which I know is counterfeit (and never use) but is externally completely indistinguishable from a genuine Apple adapter.
 
slapple said:
It seems that for cables, it's important that they are "MFi certified".



But what about the USB wall socket adapter? How important is it to get an Apple certified one, or should any third-party one (like those $2 ones on Ebay from China) work fine?



Looking at Amazon, I actually don't see any USB wall socket adapters that say they are "MFi certified". The only things I see that say "MFi certified" are cables.
Click to expand...


A cable being Apple certified means it is past Apple tests to work with its devices reliably and properly. It also means no errors about being certified will come up on any iOS version: it also uses Apple parts. Apple does not give mfi certification to wall chargers. I would look for wall chargers that are UL listed or ETL listed. If you're looking for a cheap MFI certified Lightning cable I recommend you take a look at these:
Synapse Lightning Cable [Apple Mfi Certified] | 3M (3.3 Feet) Nylon Braided Cable with Aluminum Tips by SYNAPSE http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PE6CYKY/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_X-gHub0P8S1FR
[Apple MFi Certified] iOrange-E™ Lightning to USB Cable 3.3ft... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O05TM5U/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_G.gHub1HRRY7Q
 
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I personally would stick to apple certified cables, Just safer. Think about it you've got a $500+ device and you want to rely on $2 cables to charge your device safely. As I said apple certified is the way to go and they are really not even that expensive anymore. A Mfi cable with a anker power IQ wall or battery charger is what I use to charge my phone. Then all I have to worry a bout is plugging it in and I know it's getting the best, fastest, safest charge.
 
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