I will be traveling to London in January and have gotten the SAMSONITE worldwide universal travel adapter (white). It was $10 and it works for Europe, Japan, Australia, UK, Spain, etc. all I want to do is charge my Apple iPhone there in the hotel room! My apple phone charger is 100-240V 50/60hz. The adapter is 10A 250V. How can I be sure this won't fry my charger?
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
It won't fry anything. Your device is set up for world operation/charging. All you need is a plug adapter to change the shape of the plug to fit into the socket there, and you have that.
Posted by
OP
Rochester, NY, United States
4 posts
Thank you!
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32202 posts
Carissa, The Plug Adaptor that you listed will work fine. The "10A 250V" label indicates the electrical ratings of the device. It does not change the voltage. One point to note is that outlets in the U.K. are often controlled by a small switch, which is located right next to the outlet. iPhone Chargers are designed to operate with an Input Voltage of 100-240 VAC, and these supply a USB-level voltage of about 5VDC for charging the phone. I'm assuming you've checked to determine that your iPhone will work in Europe? You'll need to be VERY careful with data roaming, as the costs can be HUGE! Happy travels!
Posted by
OP
Rochester, NY, United States
4 posts
The information on the switch next to the outlet was helpful, thank you for clearing this up. As for using my phone I plan to turn it on airplane mode whenever outside of the hotel, and when in the hotel I will use their wifi to access Internet and an application called VIBER that has free text and call when everything else doesn't work. Have you heard of any iPhone users doing this?
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
Yes, that is the way to avoid huge data charges. It works with other smartphones, too, not just iPhones.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32202 posts
Carissa, I've never used the VIBER app that you mentioned. I travelled with an iPhone for the first time this year, and tried a "travel SIM", using the phone as I normally do at home for voice, text and data. My trip this year was somewhat of a "trial run" with the iPhone, and I found that it was a bit on the expensive side, so I'll be "fine tuning" the arrangements next year.
Posted by
Des Moines, IA
2193 posts
I've never used Viber but have been using KakaoTalk this year. It's a similar app and does essentially the same thing: free calls, free texts, photos/video sharing, etc. from anywhere in the world using Wi-Fi. We've used it on three different continents in 2012...works like a charm! It's good with iPhone, Android, iPad, iPod, other tablets, or any other smart device that uses apps. BTW, you don't have to be on Wi-Fi (nor does the other party), but you'll be using plan minutes if you're on 3G or 4G instead. And that would be missing the whole point, which is to do it for free. And if you do need to make a regular 3G or 4G call or text, you'll need an iPhone 4S or newer (iPhone 4 is not a world phone and may not work in Europe...check with your carrier). If all you're planning on is Wi-Fi, then even an older iPhone is okay...no problem.
Posted by
Dallas
1021 posts
Carissa, we traveled to England with unlocked iPhone 3s's this year. We charged the phones as usual using the iPhone charger cord and a 3-pronged plug adapter for the UK. No problems. As the iPhones are unlocked, we were able to get the good UK deals on local prepaid phone and data service. If your iPhone is or can be unlocked, you can have all its benefits at low cost in the UK.