Interesting USB cable issue

[shawn744]

Hey guys, I've been reading up on all the charger threads I could find, and i see that I have a unique issue...my issue is not a matter of iPhone vs iPad charging ....I bought several 15ft USB cables for my iPhone 4S on eBay, and they work very well for my iPhone. Bought my first iPad today and im finding that none of the cables are working except for the oem original cable that came with my iPad....obviously I'm using my iPad charging adaptor in the wall...why should the cable matter ? Two of the 15 foot ones don't work, and the 10 foot one actually recognizes charging but doesn't actually charge. I definitely need some longer cables but I'm hesitant to pay 15 bucks each...and I'm not even sure if the ones on amazon will work or not seeing they ALL say they work for all apple devices...any ideas ?

I really appreciate any help, thanks

-Shawn

 

[AQ_OC]

Search amazon for Khomo. They sell a two pack of 6ft cables for$10 that charge my iPads just fine. Ones you. Uh off eBay might be poorly made cables...impossible to say why they don't work right without even an examination of the cable, but a decent cable is not hard to have made up.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UHDUNI/ref=wms_ohs_product

 

[Tuttle]

I have tried two different brands of long cable: both began to fail after a time---first for synching and then for charging. I am now pretty much only plugging in overnight to recharge because the original cable is so short.

 

[gabey8]

Hey guys, I've been reading up on all the charger threads I could find, and i see that I have a unique issue...my issue is not a matter of iPhone vs iPad charging ....I bought several 15ft USB cables for my iPhone 4S on eBay, and they work very well for my iPhone. Bought my first iPad today and im finding that none of the cables are working except for the oem original cable that came with my iPad....obviously I'm using my iPad charging adaptor in the wall...why should the cable matter ? Two of the 15 foot ones don't work, and the 10 foot one actually recognizes charging but doesn't actually charge. I definitely need some longer cables but I'm hesitant to pay 15 bucks each...and I'm not even sure if the ones on amazon will work or not seeing they ALL say they work for all apple devices...any ideas ?

I really appreciate any help, thanks

-Shawn

I'm glad to see this thread. I got the iPad 3d generation on launch day, and so far I haven't been able to charge with anything other than the OEM cable, as well. I have several longer cables that I've been using to charge my iPhone, so I figured I'd use one for the iPad. No dice. They won't charge.

So I'll be scanning this thread for solutions. I'm sure that SOME non-OEM cables are out there that work. But I'm not about to buy one of every brand just to see which ones the iPad will like.

Having said that, however, I just did a search on Amazon for Apple OEM Cable, to see if there were longer versions of the original cable out there.

I found this. Amazon.com: Extra Long Apple iPad 2 Sync & Charge USB Cable (6 Feet): Computers & Accessories It's a 6-foot cable. I ordered one. If it works for the iPad, I'll head back to this thread to let everyone know.

 

[Comyn]

If you have a couple different 30-pin to USB cables laying nearby, go ahead and take a look at them. You'll notice that not all of the 30 slots have copper leads in them. I have an old Kensington cable that I've used with my 2nd gen iPod Touch, and the copper leads are only in positions 1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 20, and 30. In contrast, my new iPad 3 cable has its leads in the 4, 6, 8, 15, 16, and 30 positions.

This is all just an observation, but I'd surmise that Apple never intended to use the same configuration in its 30-pin connector for all mobile devices. Now, I wouldn't go so far as to say this is purely a corporate money grab, forcing us to buy new cables whenever a new device hit. I think it's more in line with Apple having the presence of mind to foresee their devices having different data/power needs. Having one proprietary connector to deliver those different configurations would've been simpler and more cost effective on the manufacturing end.

I don't have any experience with swapping cables between my iPod Touch and any other iDevices, so if anyone has any knowledge there, please share it. But I think it's obvious know that Apple has changed the configuration between the iPad 2 and iPad 3.

 

[huayangnianhua]

Choose the long enough cable is really important, but why not try some other methods to charger? such as ipad battery case, or some ipad docks which can work as charger too...

 

[imnparadise]

There were more reviews on Amazon that stated the cable would not charge verses that it would.

 

[AQ_OC]

If you have a couple different 30-pin to USB cables laying nearby, go ahead and take a look at them. You'll notice that not all of the 30 slots have copper leads in them. I have an old Kensington cable that I've used with my 2nd gen iPod Touch, and the copper leads are only in positions 1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 20, and 30. In contrast, my new iPad 3 cable has its leads in the 4, 6, 8, 15, 16, and 30 positions.

This is all just an observation, but I'd surmise that Apple never intended to use the same configuration in its 30-pin connector for all mobile devices. Now, I wouldn't go so far as to say this is purely a corporate money grab, forcing us to buy new cables whenever a new device hit. I think it's more in line with Apple having the presence of mind to foresee their devices having different data/power needs. Having one proprietary connector to deliver those different configurations would've been simpler and more cost effective on the manufacturing end.

I don't have any experience with swapping cables between my iPod Touch and any other iDevices, so if anyone has any knowledge there, please share it. But I think it's obvious know that Apple has changed the configuration between the iPad 2 and iPad 3.

Corporate money grab........I used every white 30 pin cable I've accumulated over the years on my idevices. I don't see why you base your observation on how many pins are connected in a Kensington clone cable.....hardly a good way to draw a conclusion.

 

[Comyn]

Corporate money grab........I used every white 30 pin cable I've accumulated over the years on my idevices. I don't see why you base your observation on how many pins are connected in a Kensington clone cable.....hardly a good way to draw a conclusion.

I mentioned the Kensington cable simply because that's what I had handy at the moment. My other cables were at home.

Could very well be Apple wanting us to buy new cables just for profit-sake, but my vote would be it has more to do with the physical demands of the new design. Keep in mind, the hardware specs and the power consumption needs are much beefier due to the new retina display. Granted, this is all speculation and I don't claim to be a hardware engineer but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night!

 

[AQ_OC]

I mentioned the Kensington cable simply because that's what I had handy at the moment. My other cables were at home.

Could very well be Apple wanting us to buy new cables just for profit-sake, but my vote would be it has more to do with the physical demands of the new design. Keep in mind, the hardware specs and the power consumption needs are much beefier due to the new retina display. Granted, this is all speculation and I don't claim to be a hardware engineer but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night!

I just realized that I read your post wrong....sorry about that. The power demand are indeed much beefier...and apple has been trying to use the same connector and cable system for years...and they were constrained by this for the new iPad. Eventually, they will likely need to move on...I'm not a huge ran of their 30-pin connector. The iPad 3 needs to charge faster, just from a general use POV.

 

[Comyn]

On a slightly related note, has anyone had any issues with the factory charger getting really hot? If I need to start a new thread, I will. I just haven't found any info here yet about it.

[EDIT] Just found one, and it seems the issue remains largely unsolved.

 

[gabey8]

There were more reviews on Amazon that stated the cable would not charge verses that it would.

Drat. Well, even if it doesn't charge the iPad, it'll charge the iPhone.

And, I trust, third-party manufacturers will eventually get some REAL iPad-3-compatible charging cables onto the market. But really, it's a giant pain in the neck to have to deal with this issue in the first place.

 

[wosiccp]

I have bought two cables for my iphone, they work well so there is no need to worry about this issue.

 

[gabey8]

Having said that, however, I just did a search on Amazon for Apple OEM Cable, to see if there were longer versions of the original cable out there.

I found this. Amazon.com: Extra Long Apple iPad 2 Sync & Charge USB Cable (6 Feet): Computers & Accessories It's a 6-foot cable. I ordered one. If it works for the iPad, I'll head back to this thread to let everyone know.

Rejoice and be glad! It just arrived, and it's charging my iPad 3. I am using it in the OEM charging cube that came with the iPad.

 

[gabey8]

I have bought two cables for my iphone, they work well so there is no need to worry about this issue.

I thought so, too, before I actually got an iPad. I figured I had all sorts of cables for my iPhone and iPod Touch, so I was all set... until I discovered that none of my third-party cables charged the iPad 3. I never expected that to happen.

I expect this issue to fade away, as third-party manufacturers determine how to make cables that charge the new iPad as well as other iDevices. But for today, it's an issue worth being aware of.