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ZaphodB

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 15, 2012
6
0
Does anyone know if a North-American Thunderbolt display, purchased in Canada to be precise, would work in Europe?

I may have to move to Europe from Canada, and was wondering if I could take my TBD with a power-plug converter to Europe (e.g. Germany). Note that I would not convert the voltage - just the "shape" of the plug.

Would it work? Would it flicker? Heat up? Explode?

On a good day, in Canada we have 120V at 50Hz. In Germany, voltage should be 220V at 60Hz. TBD technical spec claims the following legal voltage range: 100-240V AC; 50-60Hz. But I know that there is more to it than just the voltage. I'll be using my Canadian MacBook Pro 13" to feed it with the products of my imagination, so I think, I'm okay "data-wise". It's the voltage and frequency that I'm worried about... PAL vs SECAM issues?

Anyone had any similar experiences?
 
Yes, you're correct about the specs (it was the first thing I checked), and like I said in my question - the voltage seems to be well within the range. I was just curious if anyone had tried to do that and if they noticed any undesired effects like flickering, overheating, sleep/wake up issues, etc.


In Germany and the rest of Europe, 50 Hz is used. And yes, that ATD will work in Europe too, as it is rated for up to 240 V usage.
 
Yes, you're correct about the specs (it was the first thing I checked), and like I said in my question - the voltage seems to be well within the range. I was just curious if anyone had tried to do that and if they noticed any undesired effects like flickering, overheating, sleep/wake up issues, etc.

Apple does manufacture its displays for specific markets using different components for each market. The display you can buy in Canada is the same you can buy in Germany, except with the boxing maybe.

And as said before, modern power equipment is able to handle varying frequencies and different voltages.
 
Hi guys,

Just wondered if anyone has actually tried this yet - I have a 27" TBD which I use with my MacBook Pro and want to take back to the UK but don't want the cost and hassle if I'm going to experience any technical problems?

Any help would be much appreciated!
 
I brought my us one to France it works fine, all i did was buy an adapter to plug it in, been working fine for a year now
 
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