Apple iPad power cord question

Factual Questions
1

I have an apple iPad, with the small, narrow 4-6 pin contact tip that slides into a small female connector under the power button.

This power cord was a change from the first iPad, which had this longer, flatter power cord end that clicked into place, and didn’t twist at all.

This new cord has a tendency to twist at the end, and with twisting comes breaking of the power line inside the plastic sheathing.

I bought a cord on-line that I thought was an apple cord but it turns out it wasn’t. It fits just fine, however, so I figured no big deal… I’ll just use this one.

However (and here is my question). I get a warning when I plug in the new power cord that says “this is not an Apple approved power cord and may not work properly with your device.”

How can it tell?

Here is how it behaves, which is also bizarre. It will charge my iPad battery, but it takes twice as long as the old, apple cord. But even worse, the battery discharges twice as fast when I use the iPad the next day.

How on earth does Apple control the power going into the battery and how fast it is used? At first, I thought I hosed my battery, and the power usage was a result of me using the wrong cord, and maybe somehow frying my battery.

But no. I got a new apple approved cord, and the battery charges up as it did before, very quickly, and the power lasts most of the day if I use the iPad throughout the day, which was consistent with how it worked before.

So, how is this possible? I figure that maybe the apple cord has something in the tip that tells the iPad that it is ok, but how does it slow down the charging of the battery and speed up the battery power that was put in with the new, bogus cord?

2

Apple uses very, very sophisticated power management in all their devices. I don’t know about the “lightning” connector specifically, but the MagSafe power connector used on the MacBook Pro has an IC in the charger connector which gives the Mac all kinds of information - power adapter model, wattage, serial number, etc. I would not be the least bit surprised it the lightning connector was even more sophisticated.

ETA: So, if you buy a non-Apple device, it may not have this IC, and instead of simply not working, Apple sets the charge current to the lowest possible value, in order to prevent tripping the USB over current protection circuit. The iPad can draw an Amp or more if it is available - standard USB ports only supply 1/2 Amp maximum.

3

Lightning cables do use a similar identification system: http://www.chipworks.com/en/technical-competitive-analysis/resources/blog/inside-the-apple-lightning-cable/

4

Thanks for this answer.

Is there any real reason for this other than a money grab? I mean, it’s a power cord. Surely, Apple could design its devices to not permit any power surges from 3rd party manufacturers cords from ruining their products. An apple power cord is expensive, and the way this “lightning” connector is designed, I am not surprised at all that the wires have broken inside… It seems like Apple designed this thing to die, and the user is forced to spend 3x as much as a third party cord would cost.
As to what you said, I can understand if Apple could slow the rate the batteries charged. But how could they increase the power consumption when the iPad is used with the power saved with a non-apple cord?

5

You are asking why your iPad only gets half the run time when charged with this cord?
Does the battery charge indicator say 100%? If so, you should get equal runtime. My guess is, it’s not charging fully.

6

Amazon makes lighting cords that work with no warning.

7

So does Monoprice.

8

One is that they want to make sure that third party accessory manufacturers comply with their responsibility code - they don’t want to be linked to suppliers that mistreat employees, pollute too much or make stuff that doesn’t work.

Another possible reason is that there have been a handful of cases of people electrocuted by counterfeit chargers (which are incredibly poorly made and downright dangerous). WAG: if they’re in a position to prevent their phones from working with potentially dangerous chargers but they fail to do it, they might be open to a lawsuit.

What do you think is wrong with it? They’re more robust than the old ones, and much more than other similar cables like micro USB in my experience.

9

Yes. It reads 100%. It then drops like a rock, which is why I found it so odd. I get about half the time with a charge with the non-apple cord.

The cord seems to have broken inside the plastic sheathing, right behind the male “lightning” fitting. The cord has been bending at this one single point much more than the old cord, since the old cord had that flat connector. So, now, with the broken cord, i often have to move it around before it would indicate that it is charging. I assume the copper (or whatever) wires inside the cord are broken and don’t connect and carry a current like a solid cord does.

There is significant wear at the spot where the cord enters the male “lightning”. connector. I think it has just been bent back and forth too many times. Sort of like taking a piece of aluminum, and bending it back and forth in your hands until the midpoint becomes weak and breaks.

I hope that makes sense.

10

Agreed. The power cord should have nothing to do with the discharge of the battery during use. Question. Are you using the device differently than before (ex., full streaming of whatever)?

11

Do you have an app running using Location Services? That sucks battery like nobody’s business.

Lightning connectors are rubbish, though. One of the plus points is supposed to be that they work both ways round, except that they don’t. After a while, they start only charging one way round. Now, whichever cord I use, it has to be one way round in order to charge, on a phone less than a year old.

The cables themselves are very weak, too. I have charging cables from other electronic devices that are 10 or 15 years old and none of them has ever broken. Apple cables, however, seem to be made out of some kind of soft cheese and fail within a few months of regular use.

12

You’re pissed at Apple because the cheap ass off brand cord you bought doesn’t perform?

It gives you a straight up warning, and you still don’t understand how it isn’t working correctly?

13

Actually he’s got two peeves: one at how the Lightning connector’s wire is weak and prone to damage and overpriced, and one at how Apple won’t play nice with off-brand knockoffs.

The first one IS an annoyance, but one must point out the knockoffs are even weaker. In any case I have taken to preemptively reinforcing the join points of any Lightning cables with a piece of duct tape, forget aesthetics. Still Apple is just off the hook with the prices it charges for wires and adapters.

The second one, nu, what did you expect, it’s Apple. But they do have a point that there’s some utter garbage sold out there as “compatible” and people somehow tend to think the point of failure is the expensive, high-end brand-name electronic device at one end, and not the unknown-origin bargain-bin aftermarket plug at the other.

14

I always use Apple cords with my iPhone, but I still sometimes get that compatibility warning, when the cords starts getting old and especially when the other end is plugged into my car’s USB port.

15

Another good reason to avoid these products.

16

Yeah, like the crappy alternatives are somehow better.
:smack:

17

I agree. I am doing nothing different. I run the same apps, same basic load. The only. Thing I can figure is that Apple is telling me I have a 100% when I really don’t.m i don’t think that would be especially hard to do, considering they have the ability to tell what cord I have plugged in.

Why is it that in GQ, people still feel a need to stick their opinions into their answer? Especially since you have no answer, but instead seem to want to just shout how superior you think you are?

No,mI am not pissed at Apple because the knock off cord doesn’t work. (And FTR, i had no idea the cord was a onock-off, but probably should have known better, given the price).

what i am pissed at Apple for is charging so much for a cord in the first place, and more than that, I am pissed that Apple built such a flimsy cord. The set-up of the cord is poorly designed for long life, but well designed for breaking and/or failing.

I have read about a number of folks having the same issue as me, so it isn’t just an isolated problem.

18

Apple doesn’t want to associate with companies that mistreat their employees? They’re in the newsall the time for just that.

19

Actually, I heard the battery gauge does sometimes say it’s at 100% when it isn’t, because lithium batteries sometimes don’t charge to 100%. But it’s still around 95% so it shouldn’t matter.

You can reinforce the cable - using Sugru, or they sell protectors, or you can buy a heavy-duty cable. But TBH the cheapest solution is to buy $2 cables and keep changing them.

20

Pent up frustration from years of using shitty products with no alternatives. Sorry. Guess you had to be there.