A question about charging the Mini 4.

[graywoulf]

I have my Mini 4 attached to the OEM charger that came with my iPad. When I first plug in the Firewire connector it shows the charging icon as I would expect but if I start using the iPad, I see that it says that it is not charging. Am I overlooking something here?

 

[twerppoet]

Firewire?

The iPad Mini 4’s charger should be USB on the wall wart side and Lightning on the iPad side. The plug should be 5W, and look very much like this: Apple 5W USB Power Adapter

The only Apple made chargers that would have Firewire would be some of the early modle iPod chargers. Those would not have enough current to charge and iPad while it is running, and would only charge it very slowly when not running.

 

[graywoulf]

The charger that came with the iPad looks like the OEM charger but it is a cheap knock off I'm pretty sure. It is rated at 1.5 Amps while the power requirement calls for at least a 2.1 Amp charger. I have contacted the seller about getting a replacement one from them. The supplied charger does not set off any alarms as to compatibility but apparently charges so very slowly. I purchased a new charger this evening. I have not tried it yet though. I'll let you know how that goes. Thanks again for you reply and information.

 

[twerppoet]

Yep. The charger that it was purchased with should have been 5W ( approximately 2.5 amps at 2 volts). The charger you have is not meant for the iPad Mini. It might be an iPhone charger. The iPhone chargers look identical to the iPad Mini charger, but don’t produce enough current to properly charge an iPad Mini.

Cheap knockoffs usually supple the right ammount of current for the devices they are meant for, but have other safety and reliability issues. Best to buy from Apple, or an Apple certified manufacturer like Belkin or Griffin.

Good luck with the new charger.

 

[graywoulf]

The one I got is the Walmart brand "Blackweb" 5V 3.1 Amp dual USB port charger made for Apple products.and for $14 and some change, it works like a charm! Two Walmart employees and a customer recommended it highly. The quality of it is awesome. The charger has folding prongs and it came with a tangle free flat USB to Firewire cable. It has charged my iPad 4% just in the time it took to write this.

 

[twerppoet]

Sounds like you’re set.

But the iPad side of the cable is Lightning, not Firewire. You’ll trip yourself up if you go out looking for Firewire cables for your iPad.

 

[graywoulf]

OK, so I'm old and feeble minded. I knew that, but I appreciate you setting me straight.

 

[twerppoet]

No problem. Keeping track of all the all the conector types, names, and capabilities is not a trivial task.

 

[Thomas1977]

I believe the default charger for the iPad mini your talking about is 12watts. I know the one that came with my mini 2 is. Also there is no FireWire on iPads as far as I know. I am sorry for adding to a kinda old post.