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Need to buy the phone charger?

Discussion in 'Prime Audio, Electronics, and Infotainment' started by thebat, Jul 19, 2017.

  1. thebat

    thebat Junior Member

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    Apologies if this has been addressed elsewhere, but when I ordered my Prime Plus, they asked me about extras, and I only picked the floor mats (figuring if there were things I later decided I wanted (for instance, cargo liner), I could buy them later). The guy at the dealership kept trying to get me to buy the $69 iPhone charging cable because he said that using third party ones would mess up something (the phone? the car? the space-time continuum?) and he kept giving dire warnings of all the horrible consequences of just using a charger I already have. Anyone know if he was just giving me the upsell or if there's some reason not to just use the charging cable I already have? (Of course, I could also get a wireless charger, but I'll be frank - I'm not looking to spend lots of money on my hand-me-down iPhone 5, so really I wanna know if it's okay to use the lightning cable I got from Family Dollar or if I should just stick with charging it from my extra cell phone battery)
     
  2. alexcue

    alexcue Active Member

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    I'll tell you my experience.... I had a micro USB cable with the Apple lightning adapter that worked perfectly with my Gen 3. It was constantly giving me errors the few times I tried it in my Prime. I switched to an official Apple lightning cable and haven't had an issue since. I have a USB meter that measures the current going through the cable... There is a difference between them.
     
  3. joachimz

    joachimz Senior Member

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    i've been using my one and only non-Apple USB/Lightning cable (Belkin) for ~ 2 years now both in Gen3 and the Prime, no issues
     
    CoastRider likes this.
  4. CoastRider

    CoastRider Active Member

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    I also have the older iPhone 5, and I just use the supplied "cigarette lighter charging plug" that came with the phone, and plug it in my Prius. Works great, but I don't have a Prime. Nothing gets messed up.
     
  5. jaqueh

    jaqueh Active Member

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    They’re pulling your leg. If anything the cable they’re trying to sell you is going to be worse for your phone than the standard issued by Apple. Don’t ever get a cable for your iPhone that isn’t MFI certified.
     
    'LectroFuel likes this.
  6. PT Guy

    PT Guy Senior Member

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    Total BS

    Any USB charging cable will work fine. Plug into the USB port in the console. Or, a cigarette lighter cable.
     
  7. 'LectroFuel

    'LectroFuel Senior Member

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    Do what jaqueh said. Don't ever use a lightning cable that isn't MFI certified. You can't just use any USB cable. You can if you want your phone fried and useless. If you get the lightning cable from the dollar store, make sure it says "MFI certified."

    So it was total BS if you had a certified cable. It wasn't if he was warning you of the consequences of your knock-off.
     
    jaqueh likes this.
  8. kozolchyk

    kozolchyk Junior Member

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    you can use the q1 charger that comes with the prime you will to buy from amazon a wireless charger that you plug into your phone
    they are very inexpensive to hold the charger you will need a soft case that you also can buy from amazon
     
  9. ttait

    ttait Active Member

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    The thing I've noticed about the built in QI charger is that it is very slow. I don't know why they didn't put in an adaptive fast charging pad. I have one I could put in but it would just cover the existing pad and not look built in. I suppose if I REALLY wanted to, I could replace the guts in the console with a fast charger, and CNC a holder that wouldn't look too bad. A fairly major hack that's not worth the trouble in my opinion.
    If you have waze running for real time traffic alerts and hazards, the charger can't keep up. I solved this by getting an adaptive fast charging 12 volt adapter and plugging in my S7 edge. Works great. I only use the QI pad for charging my wife's phone when she rides along.
     
    'LectroFuel likes this.
  10. kozolchyk

    kozolchyk Junior Member

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    where did you get the 12 volt fast charging adapter I agree the q1 is slow but works fine with my apple iPhone with the wireless charger plugged in and a soft case to hold it the case that apple sells is too heavy and won't al.low the phone to charge
     
  11. ttait

    ttait Active Member

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    Amazon, and not too expensive. Some have 2 charging outlets. Just make sure they're Fast Charge 3.0 capable (for a phone that supports it). My phone is a Galaxy S7 edge, I don't know if the iphone supports fast charging.
    My phone will charge, albeit slowly, on the pad if it's off. But, if it's on, running an app, say waze, it will not charge, and on a long drive, will be dead. BTW, if you listen to Pandora on Entune, and run Waze at the same time, you WILL get the traffic alerts through the car speakers. Very convenient, considering that we will never get android auto or apple carplay.
     
    'LectroFuel likes this.