iPad won't charge

[Humann]

So I got this nice, ued iPad 1 about four or five months ago. It's always been a little persnickety about what charger I use; for instance, it has always rejected the genuine Apple charger I have for my fourth generation iPod, but it has always worked with the third-party charger I got for it on eBay, as well as the charger for my Motorola smart phone. But as of this morning, every charger I plug it into, including my MacBook Pro, gives me the message "Charging not supported with this device". The battery is presently at 47%. Is there anything I can do to reverse this situation or do I just enjoy the iPad until the battery dies and then toss it and remember not to buy another used iPad?

 

[HardMetalAlchemy]

There's been a lot of controversy in the news in the past couple of weeks in regards to the use of 3rd party chargers. Apple says that you should only use official Apple chargers. The ipad uses a 10w charger, so you should probably use that. Any other alternative would make charging extremely slow and inefficient, and possibly dangerous.

 

[Richard Brown]

So I got this nice, ued iPad 1 about four or five months ago. It's always been a little persnickety about what charger I use; for instance, it has always rejected the genuine Apple charger I have for my fourth generation iPod, but it has always worked with the third-party charger I got for it on eBay, as well as the charger for my Motorola smart phone. But as of this morning, every charger I plug it into, including my MacBook Pro, gives me the message "Charging not supported with this device". The battery is presently at 47%. Is there anything I can do to reverse this situation or do I just enjoy the iPad until the battery dies and then toss it and remember not to buy another used iPad?

Hi Humann,

Did you buy your iPad as an apple refurb through an Apple store? If so, it should still be under warranty and you may need to take the matter up with your store.

It's just a thought - if all else fails.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[giradman]

So I got this nice, ued iPad 1 about four or five months ago. It's always been a little persnickety about what charger I use; for instance, it has always rejected the genuine Apple charger I have for my fourth generation iPod, but it has always worked with the third-party charger I got for it on eBay.........

Hi Humana - welcome to the forum! I'd have to agree w/ the first responder, i.e. the first generation iPads (I own an iPad 2) use a power adapter that is 10W (i.e. 5V x 2 amps) w/ a 30-pin docking adapter. Your iPod adapter is likely 5W and will not charge the iPad (also have an iPod Touch 2G w/ the same 'power'). As stated, 3rd party power adapters are a questionable purchase and will often fail to work w/ the iPad (just check out some of the reviews on Amazon). Concerning your Motorola smart phone adapter, I would assume that power is not 10W (and you must have some type 30-ping conversion adapter - not sure?). When using an USB port on a computer for charging, the power supplied by that port frequently is not adequate (the standards vary and newer USB ports support higher power). I would first suggest obtaining the appropriate charger for testing the iPad or take the device to an Apple store and let the 'geniuses' perform a check - good luck!

 

[Humann]

Thanks for the responses. I got the device on eBay from Gazelle. It did not come with a charger. The third-party charger is indeed 10w. It's worked just fine since April--up until today. The Motorola charger has a USB port on it and a removable USB cable for the phone. It has also worked fine with the iPad, using an iPod/iPad 30-pin USB cable in place of the USB/micro USB cable that came with it for the phone. There are no markings on it to indicate the wattage. I hate sitting around at the Apple store, but I guess I'll take it up there for them to check out. I'm sure they'll want to sell me a genuine Apple charger at a fully inflated price.

 

[HardMetalAlchemy]

Thanks for the responses. I got the device on eBay from Gazelle. It did not come with a charger. The third-party charger is indeed 10w. It's worked just fine since April--up until today. The Motorola charger has a USB port on it and a removable USB cable for the phone. It has also worked fine with the iPad, using an iPod/iPad 30-pin USB cable in place of the USB/micro USB cable that came with it for the phone. There are no markings on it to indicate the wattage. I hate sitting around at the Apple store, but I guess I'll take it up there for them to check out. I'm sure they'll want to sell me a genuine Apple charger at a fully inflated price.

Let us know how it goes

 

[Humann]

I messed with the third-party charger and finally moved it to a different outlet. It's now charging in the kitchen. Not a total fix, but I'll take it for now. I've got a genuine Apple charger (part no. A1357 MC359LL/A) on my eBay watch list used for $6.39 with free shipping. I'll probably pull the trigger on that and see if it works better than what I've got.

 

[HardMetalAlchemy]

I messed with the third-party charger and finally moved it to a different outlet. It's now charging in the kitchen. Not a total fix, but I'll take it for now. I've got a genuine Apple charger (part no. A1357 MC359LL/A) on my eBay watch list used for $6.39 with free shipping. I'll probably pull the trigger on that and see if it works better than what I've got.

Good luck.

 

[Humann]

Okay, this is totally nuts, but I think I fixed the third-party charger. That charger is designed just like a genuine Apple unit, so much so that the removable plug insert (the part that actually connects to the 110v outlet) from my old school iPod charger would fit it. I swapped the two and the genuine Apple insert actually fits the third-party charger more snugly than the one that came with it. The third-party insert works just fine with the old iPod charger also. Go figure...

Of course, I figured all this out after I ordered the OEM charger from eBay, so now I'll have two. And that ain't such a bad thing.

 

[HardMetalAlchemy]

A spare always comes in handy; I have 4!

 

[Richard Brown]

I'm glad you sorted out your problem Humann.

It's so often the way that a solution appears after you have sought out an alternative solution!

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[Elizellen]

A spare always comes in handy; I have 4!

I agree! I thought I'd left my charger behind at a hotel shortly after buying my first Ipad so contacted them and they found and posted me one they had found when cleaning the rooms. Later I discovered my original one tucked into a shoe in my suitcase I offered to return the one the hotel had sent me but as nobody else had said they had lost one they let me keep it! So now I can keep one at home and one at work, and now I have my mini I have one for travelling!!

 

[Humann]

The OEM charger came today and it works great. I was surprised to discover that the markings on my "third party" charger were identical to those on the Apple charger. Both say "Designed by Apple in California" on them, so apparently I have two OEM chargers. I just can't figure out why an eBay seller would misrepresent an OEM charger as third party. Oh well, now I have a charger for home and one to take to work.

 

[HardMetalAlchemy]

The OEM charger came today and it works great. I was surprised to discover that the markings on my "third party" charger were identical to those on the Apple charger. Both say "Designed by Apple in California" on them, so apparently I have two OEM chargers. I just can't figure out why an eBay seller would misrepresent an OEM charger as third party. Oh well, now I have a charger for home and one to take to work.

Glad to know your problem is now resolved

 

[Elizellen]

I just can't figure out why an eBay seller would misrepresent an OEM charger as third party.

Maybe they are not an "official" apple seller?