Europe power

[bistritapcv]

When charging in Europe (I live in USA) when I hit keys on the phone the Pixel goes crazy.
I am using this as pictured. Could it be a problem?

 

[Hadron]

That thing in the picture is a third party charger? It's got all of the regulatory markings OK, but sure, it's conceivable that it's the cause. To be honest I've used all sorts of chargers with my Pixel 2 (the Google one, a HTC 10 charger, an Anker charger, my 5 year old tablet's charger, and a mainland European HTC M9 charger) and never met anything like this, but it's possible. There's nothing in the output specs that looks wrong though (obviously it won't fast charge, but so what?).

Have you tried your usual charger with a plug adapter? Or do Google do something stupid like provide US-only chargers (110V/60Hz) to US customers and multi-voltage chargers to the rest of the world? Palm used to do this, so I guess others might.

For that matter, have you just tried it with a different cable?

 

[bistritapcv]

That thing in the picture is a third party charger? It's got all of the regulatory markings OK, but sure, it's conceivable that it's the cause. To be honest I've used all sorts of chargers with my Pixel 2 (the Google one, a HTC 10 charger, an Anker charger, my 5 year old tablet's charger, and a mainland European HTC M9 charger) and never met anything like this, but it's possible. There's nothing in the output specs that looks wrong though (obviously it won't fast charge, but so what?).

Have you tried your usual charger with a plug adapter? Or do Google do something stupid like provide US-only chargers (110V/60Hz) to US customers and multi-voltage chargers to the rest of the world? Palm used to do this, so I guess others might.

For that matter, have you just tried it with a different cable?

Yeah. Other charger is ok. I guess there are 50 and 60 cycle and Europe is different. Maybe Pixel needs 60 and this needs 50¿

 

[mikedt]

Sounds like that third-party charger is interfering with the phone's operation. I've had that before with a third-party cheapo charger, it would actually stop the phone's touch-screen working when it was plugged in.

You should be able to use the original Pixel charger anywhere, Europe, Americas, Asia, etc. as it's universal voltage.

 

[Hadron]

Yeah. Other charger is ok. I guess there are 50 and 60 cycle and Europe is different. Maybe Pixel needs 60 and this needs 50¿

No, the whole point of the charger is to convert to DC, and that one says it's rated for 50 and 60 Hz. No phone can accept AC input.

Plus they use the same Pixel hardware globally, and I've used mine in both the EU (several countries) and in the US.

As Mike says, the question is whether that particular charger is not doing what it should (especially if the other charger works in the same country).

 

[bistritapcv]

No, the whole point of the charger is to convert to DC, and that one says it's rated for 50 and 60 Hz. No phone can accept AC input.

Plus they use the same Pixel hardware globally, and I've used mine in both the EU (several countries) and in the US.

As Mike says, the question is whether that particular charger is not doing what it should (especially if the other charger works in the same country).

I would guess. This works fine.

Of course this has just one slot. Maybe the other has its smartphone and iPad switched?

 

[bistritapcv]

No, the whole point of the charger is to convert to DC, and that one says it's rated for 50 and 60 Hz. No phone can accept AC input.

Plus they use the same Pixel hardware globally, and I've used mine in both the EU (several countries) and in the US.

As Mike says, the question is whether that particular charger is not doing what it should (especially if the other charger works in the same country).

I don't remember where I got this. Must have been Germany. That is the only country i was in in the last 10 years except Canada but Canada does not use this. I may have purchased somewhere in USA?

 

[Hadron]

I would guess. This works fine.

Of course this has just one slot. Maybe the other has its smartphone and iPad switched?

I've never met a charger with separate slots for different types of device (2 slots, yes, but not different ratings). Is that an Apple thing?

 

[mikedt]

I would guess. This works fine.

Of course this has just one slot. Maybe the other has its smartphone and iPad switched?

That's just a Europlug adapter with round prongs. Which you can use in most European countries, except UK and Ireland, and you plug your flat pronged charger into it. FWIW we use the same two flat prong plugs here in China.

FYI Apple iPads and iPhones don't use Micro-USB or USB type-C to charge them, they use Lightning connectors. Although depending on country Apple may include a USB to Lightning adapter, so can use any USB chargers. Some countries and regions the USB to Lightning adapter is optional extra.

 

[Hadron]

FYI Apple iPads and iPhones don't use Micro-USB or USB type-C to charge them, they use Lightning connectors. Although depending on country Apple may include a USB to Lightning adapter, so can use any USB chargers. Some countries and regions the USB to Lightning adapter is optional extra.

A USB to Lightning charging adapter is kinda redundant, since every smartphone charger I've seen this decade has a removable cable with a USB socket at the charger end. So as long as you have a USB to Lightning cable with you you can use it in any charger.

The only qualification is that older chargers have USB-A sockets and newer ones USB-C, so you need the right cable for the charger. But then the same is true for adapters.

It's quite nice now that my entire family are using USB-C phones, since we're back to everyone's charging cable working with everyone's phone again.

The real irony in Apple's Lightning socket is that their laptops are now all entirely USB-C, same as Android phones. But of course if Apple used USB-C for iPhones then they'd not get royalties from everyone who wants to make accessories for them, and the accessories would work with other phones, removing one of the lock-ins.

 

[lunatic59]

I have an older Anker battery pack that has "iPhone" and "Android" USB sockets. The only difference is the amperage on the iPhone side is 2.1 while the Android is less (1.2). I would think that the wall charger is doing something equally silly.

 

[no one]

Sounds like maybe you're ready for the final countdown.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

My advice is that if it is charging with that adapter, let it charge for 10 minutes before you make a call.