Focal Car Audio

This cable is great, if you use it right…, January 20, 2012

By 

Andrew Coven (Silicon Valley) –

  

You’re looking at this cable because you’ve got yours and your spouses’ iPhones, or your iPhone and iPad, and you need to charge both at once, and you don’t want to take two power plugs and two cables with you.

Right?

Great. This cable will do exactly what you need. But you need to know a few usage tips that have snagged what happened to these negative reviewers.

1) iPad 2nd and 3rd generation requires more power to charge than the small little square two-prong USB plugs which only deliver 1.1A. (Such as this one: Apple USB Power Adapter (Newest Version) [Retail Packaging]) You have to use the small brick that delivers 2.1A or greater that came with your iPad 2nd or 3rd gen or iPhone4S. iPhones WILL charge on the 1.1A. It’s very hard to read but look at the small print on the charger and make sure it says 2A or greater. Here’s one: Genuine Apple Branded iPad / iPad 2 / iPhone 4 /iPhone 4S 10W USB Power Charger Adapter (Plug)

2) If you’re charging two devices, use the small brick that delivers 2.1A. The 1.1A will not always have the juice for both when you split it.

3) If you need to sync a device, you can use this cable, just make sure you use the port that has the little “sync” icon and not the “lightning” icon.

4) Both plugs WILL charge two devices. There is no magic of the “lightning” plug versus the “sync” plug AS LONG AS YOU HAVE ENOUGH AMPS (see point 2.)

5) The port plugs LOCK INTO THE DEVICE. You HAVE to PINCH THE SIDES TO REMOVE THEM. Don’t muscle it off. This is a safety mechanism that has kept my phone from hitting the floor when accidentally pushed off the end of the table MANY times. It’s a FEATURE.

6) The port plugs ONLY GO IN ONE WAY, with the “icons” facing the same way as the BACK of the phone. They will not fit any other way, DON’T FORCE THEM.

7) The total cable length is just over 3 feet. So don’t plan to use this with a floor plug and a high desk, but plugged in on a desk or end table connected to the wall works fine.

If you do these steps, you will have a delightful time with this cable and it will give you years of great service as it has us!

Cheers,

…Andrew

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