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Josieb1

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 3, 2013
317
190
London
I purchased an iPad Air 5 today. It comes with the USB C cable and a USB C charger. I don’t really want to buy another charger as I have four of the 10W iPad chargers that came with my Air 3 floating around the house, so I’m looking for (I think) a USB A to USB C cable. I can’t seem to find one made by Apple. Can anyone help me please with what I need to look for. I am sorry but this is my first USB C device and I’m just very confused. Thank you .
 
Anker makes USB-A to USB-C cables. Apple doesn’t make those afaik.

Do note, using the 10-12W charger would take much longer to charge as I believe they’ll only charge at 5-7.5W when using older chargers.
 
Anker makes USB-A to USB-C cables. Apple doesn’t make those afaik.

Do note, using the 10-12W charger would take much longer to charge as I believe they’ll only charge at 5-7.5W when using older chargers.
Thank you. It’s only really for a spare way to charge. I’ll take a look at Anker
 
If it were me, I'd pony up the $19 for a USB-C 20w charger. Buying a USB-A to USB-C cable is spending money on soon-to-be-obsolete technology.
Thank you. Another charger and cable is still an option it’s just this iPad is the only usb c thing I have. I have three more iPads and three iPhones in the house, plus a Mac, which all take lightening/usb.
 
If it were me, I'd pony up the $19 for a USB-C 20w charger. Buying a USB-A to USB-C cable is spending money on soon-to-be-obsolete technology.

The Air 5 already ships with that and USB-C cable so there’s no need to buy another one.

Personally, I carry a RAVPower charger similar to this for travel:


1x USB-C to USB-C cable
1x USB-C to Lightning cable
1x USB-A to Lightning cable
1x USB-A Apple Watch cable

Very convenient for charging multiple devices at the same time.
 
Do note, using the 10-12W charger would take much longer to charge as I believe they’ll only charge at 5-7.5W when using older chargers.

Yep, the USB-C iPads don't support Apple 2.1/2.4 charging.

Instead, they use USB BC as a fallback. But, there's nothing wrong with that if a fast charge isn't needed.

I've found my '20 Pro tops out at 15W with the 65W Ravpower Pioneer 136, aka "Rolvse" 65W [cough].

But with the right combination of adapter/cable, it will max out at ~27W.
 
Yep, the USB-C iPads don't support Apple 2.1/2.4 charging.

Instead, they use USB BC as a fallback. But, there's nothing wrong with that if a fast charge isn't needed.

True, just figured a warning would be useful. Trying to full charge the Air 5 with USB-A will probably take 5+ hours.


I've found my '20 Pro tops out at 15W with the 65W Ravpower Pioneer 136, aka "Rolvse" 65W [cough].

But with the right combination of adapter/cable, it will max out at ~27W.

I think my 2021 Pro tops out at around 36W with the RAVPower (if there are no other devices plugged in).
 
You can buy 30w USB C chargers for as low as $9 on amazon these days. I recently upgraded every brick in my home. Well worth it - faster charging is really noticeable on all devices. Ditch everything USB A you won’t regret it.
 
Depending on your needs, you can get inexpensive adapters like this which you would leave on your cables. I have at least one of each to ease my transition to USB-C.

Plug USB-A cable into a USB-C port

Plug USB-C cable into a USB-A port.
 
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Thank you everyone for your help. I’ve also got some Amazon basics cable for USB C to USB A, they work to charge my ne ipad with the 10w chargers. I tried over the weekend and it works fine but I’ll probably get another 20w charger and a couple of cables, just so I’ve got more than one set for USB C.
 
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