I've got the Go-Ahead!!

[Steve(NotJobs)]

Hey guys,

Okay so I'm in a great mood. I've been given the go ahead by my parents to take out a proper loan (interest included) from the Bank of Mum and Dad. I had thought that would mean me having to pay 1300e for the mid-range Macbook in the Irish Apple Store, but I had a brainwave. My dad goes to Chicago a lot on business, and in the neighborhood he works in there's an Apple Reseller.
I've asked Dad and he says he'll pick up the Macbook for me there.
Before I commit I need to know something, if I get a Mac from the US, will a European adapter on the charger of the US Macbook be sufficient in converting the voltage?
Or, if I buy a European charger over here, will that be compatible with the US Macbook?

Thanks in advance!

Whoooo, finally out of the Apple Stone-age!

 

[ktbubster]

You will have to pick up a different little prong attachment at home obviously, but I think the actual charging block allows the laptop to only draw what it needs so you should be fine. - someone correct me if i'm wrong.

Congrats on the new computer!

Edit: you may already have thought of this obviously and if you have, sorry for stating the obvious hehe , But ibook g4s still go for 300 - 600 or so dollars maybe even more if it's in good condition etc... either local sales or ebay. After you get your new macbook and everything transfered over you can pay back some of that loan quickly via the money from that sale

 

[mankar4]

if i was you, i'd buy a charger in britain. I believe it will work with the us-bought macbook.

 

[itou]

if i was you, i'd buy a charger in britain. I believe it will work with the us-bought macbook.

if this is a new purchase, you have the opportunity to swap the plug for a european one. all you have to do is ask. i know this for a fact because i did the same. whether or not they have the european plug on the spot however, may lessen your chances of getting the right plug. even if that doesn't work out, buy the international plug set. it's cheaper than buying a new charger, and with the money you'll save. it's ok.

 

[Tosser]

There's absolutely no reason to buy another charger.

They work world-wide, you only need another plug (the one with the prongs) and those are interchangeable, so if you don't have some prongs from, say, an iPod or an old charger, you can buy the travel-kit with prongs for the entire world.

It's a whole lot cheaper than buying a charger. Perhaps when you guys buy it in the us, you can convince the store to give you a world travel kit as a token discount.

Once again, the charger works worldwide - there's no settings to adjust - it's autosensing whether it's 50/60Hertz, and it works from 90-240volts.

Oh, by the way, the american keyboard has one less key than the european one.

 

[mankar4]

if this is a new purchase, you have the opportunity to swap the plug for a european one. all you have to do is ask. i know this for a fact because i did the same. whether or not they have the european plug on the spot however, may lessen your chances of getting the right plug. even if that doesn't work out, buy the international plug set. it's cheaper than buying a new charger, and with the money you'll save. it's ok.

Brilliant. I didnt know you could do this.

Either way, I wouldn't want to use an adapter because they are clunky and annoying. Especially with something portable on a daily basis. If you can't get the European charger in the states, I would sell the american charger on ebay and buy the european charger at home. But it's your call.

 

[Tosser]

Brilliant. I didnt know you could do this.

Either way, I wouldn't want to use an adapter because they are clunky and annoying. Especially with something portable on a daily basis. If you can't get the European charger in the states, I would sell the american charger on ebay and buy the european charger at home. But it's your call.

There is no "european" and "american" version of these chargers. There's just one universal charger with different plugs.

These (click me) are the only difference. Take a look at charger, and you'll notice you can pull the plug – litterally – and use another one or the extension cord.

 

[Steve(NotJobs)]

And the MacBook won't like fry if I just use a travel adapter constantly, or even if I buy and then use a Mac charger over here in Ireland?

Also, just out of interest what key is missing from the US Keyboard?

 

[displaced]

Here's a trick I use at work because I'm too lazy to unplug my Mac's power cable from the wall.

When you get the US MacBook with the US charger, pull the US-style plug off the charger. As noted, these plugs are swappable and are the only physical difference between all chargers.

Then, look at the adapter block itself. You'll see that the swappable plugs actually slide into a standard figure-8 connector. The manual for the charger even states that you can use a figure-8 lead in place of the plug.

Here's what I mean by figure-8 plug:
https://www.krcs.co.uk/images/library/products/300/lindy_30059.jpg

So - you can use this method straight away instead of a travel adapter... until you get the correct swappable plug.

 

[johnnyjibbs]

It should be fine. Just bear in mind that the US keyboard is slightly different (I imagine the Irish one would be the same as the UK) but that's not neccessarily a big deal. But I for one cannot stand the horizontal return key (as opposed to the European inverted 'L' shape) because it is much more difficult to hit accurately with your little finger...

 

[mankar4]

There is no "european" and "american" version of these chargers. There's just one universal charger with different plugs.

These (click me) are the only difference. Take a look at charger, and you'll notice you can pull the plug – litterally – and use another one or the extension cord.

oh I see, kudos to apple for making this so easy. thanks for pointing this out

 

[shawsinio]

If you have a Playstation 1 or 2, they have the same figure of 8 plugs, so you can always use on of those, instead of having to buy a new one or anything. Just a thought.

 

[Steve(NotJobs)]

Oh oh, so that means when I bring it over here, I can just pull the actually plug of the American charger and stick on the European plug that I got with my iBook charger, way back in the day?

 

[Tosser]

And the MacBook won't like fry if I just use a travel adapter constantly, or even if I buy and then use a Mac charger over here in Ireland?

Also, just out of interest what key is missing from the US Keyboard?

Well, I'm a dane, so what's printed on the "missing key" might be a bit different than yours, but as Johnny points out, it changes the return key because of this. Personally, I'd be **** out of luck, if I bought one with an american keyboard. It's bad enough that our alphabet has three more letters to be printed on there. But to do that with one less key would suck even more.

Oh oh, so that means when I bring it over here, I can just pull the actually plug of the American charger and stick on the European plug that I got with my iBook charger, way back in the day?

Yup. Exactly like that. It's the same charger as the one you would get with the MB if you had bought it in GB or anywhere else in the world.

This is what it says from the specs-page on the apple.com/Macbook-site:

Line voltage: 100V to 240V AC
Frequency: 50Hz to 60Hz

It will work with your iBook-plug

 

[J@ffa]

Yup. Exactly like that. It's the same charger as the one you would get with the MB if you had bought it in GB or anywhere else in the world.

This is what it says from the specs-page on the apple.com/Macbook-site:



It will work with your iBook-plug

Nopers, the end is different. MagSafe, don't forget — the iBook has a pin charger. Unless I'm getting confused (entirely possible, since I'm on the far end of a terrible hangover), and in that case, ignore me!

 

[displaced]

Nopers, the end is different. MagSafe, don't forget — the iBook has a pin charger. Unless I'm getting confused (entirely possible, since I'm on the far end of a terrible hangover), and in that case, ignore me!

The other end

Assuming the iBook charger is the same style as, for instance the iPod chargers, you can unplug the actual mains connector from the charger unit. Then, that connector can be plugged into the MacBook's charger, replacing the American mains connector that it'll ship with.

Look at this:
https://www.krcs.co.uk/images/library/products/300/apple_ma357.jpg

You see the section at the upper-left where the US-style AC connector is? That pulls off. Then, assuming the iBook shipped with the same style adapter, you can pull off the UK/Ireland style 3-pin mains connector from that and plug it in where the US connector was.

Also, as I alluded to above, the connector is the same as that used on Apple-made iPod chargers. I've got a bag full of the UK connectors sat in a draw somewhere.

See http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/dyn_imgs/prods/prod_full/303798.jpg
The triangular UK plug pulls off and is interchangeable with the US plug -- they're swappable throughout the modern Apple product line -- iPod chargers, MacBook and MacBook Pro chargers...

 

[Tosser]

Nopers, the end is different. MagSafe, don't forget — the iBook has a pin charger. Unless I'm getting confused (entirely possible, since I'm on the far end of a terrible hangover), and in that case, ignore me!

Haha, you know, you're looking at the wrong end. We're not talking about the plug that goes into/onto the computer, we're talking about the plug on the wall-wart you plug into your electrical outlet