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US to two prong adaptor

I am going with my mac book to england, austria, czech republic and poland. will one three prong to two prong adaptor work in all those countries? i leave thursday (three days). thanks so much to all.

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17639 posts
Posted by
32171 posts

Peter, To begin with, you'll need two different Plug Adaptors, one type for the UK and another for the Continent. The UK model has large rectangular pins while the Continental model has small round pins. Note that outlets in the UK are often controlled by a switch so be sure to look for that. I'd suggest packing along at least two of each type as they're easy to misplace. It's been many years since I've been on Salt Spring, so I'm not sure what stores you have there. If you have The Source electronic stores or any travel & luggage stores, you'll be able to find the appropriate types. There are also "all-in-one" style Plug Adapters, but I tend to prefer the cheap & simple models. Happy Travels!

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3 posts

thanks so much for the info. we do have a 'source' store here plus pharmasave has a product with several plugs, one per continent, it seems. i appreciate the replies.

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118 posts

the adaptor i bought for use in europe worked didnt work in austria (or hungary). i needed one with two prongs, but the outside plastic part the prongs were connected to needed to be a diamond shape. i dont know if im explaining this in any way that makes sense. i found one for about 75 american cents in some weirdo "looks like it sells used everything" store in budapest. the one i brought with me worked in belgium, czech republic, slovenia, slovakia, italy and so on.

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973 posts

I've found the apple adapter kit to work all over Europe.

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9363 posts

In addition to them being easy to misplace, you might need more than one of each type of adapter simply to reach the outlet. In many cases, the actual outlet is inset, not flush with the wall, and you might need to use two to get your computer plugged in. I found this true in a couple of places in Spain this year.

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17639 posts

Nancy, good point. All the modern outlets on the continent are recesses about an inch and nothing will be more certain to work than the first adapter i listed above. It is a perfect fit for the modern schuko outlets; the standard on the continent. And because it is grounded it will help protect your equipment. It will fit modern outlets from Paris to Moscow to Sofia to Rome. I always carry three. One for the laptop, one for the phone and one to forget and leave behind. Still its a 50/50 chance the room will have two accessible outlets.

Posted by
17639 posts

Nancy, good point. All the modern outlets on the continent are recesses about an inch and nothing will be more certain to work than the first adapter i listed above. It is a perfect fit for the modern schuko outlets; the standard on the continent. And because it is grounded it will help protect your equipment. It will fit modern outlets from Paris to Moscow to Sofia to Rome. I always carry three. One for the laptop, one for the phone and one to forget and leave behind. Still its a 50/50 chance the room will have two accessible outlets.

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9363 posts

You can buy four adapters for the cost of one of those on this website or at a local hardware store. I would be much more OK with losing two of mine than one of those. James, you could just plug your phone into your computer to charge, thereby only needing one outlet.