iPhone & iPad issues with inverter

DumfriesDik

DumfriesDik

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It’s the first time I’ve been using the inverter to charge the iPad and iPhone. When I do, the touch screen doesn’t work or the fingerprint ID.
Is this usual?
I got to the stage of being locked out of the iPad for 15 minutes.
Take the charge lead out and everything is fine.
 
I’ve had that problem at home when charging and using at the same time . I’ve put it down to dodgy lead possibly
 
The charge cable is one I’ve used for years. I’m using a new extension cable to the inverter which has two USB (A) points.
Later, I will plug in a USB wall adapter and charge via from there and see if makes a difference.
 
My iPhone and iPad both operate differently when they are on charge at home, so not surprised they are with an invertor. This is using good leads and Apple charger, no copy stuff.
Why are you charging via an inverter? Just use usb points.

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We don’t have EHU. I will try the USB plug in the later. I suspect it will be fine using these as it has been in the past.
Thanks for all your inputs. I’ll post how I get on.
 
My Sony Vaio laptop was the same (I dropped it last week so it's now just an ornament). The touchpad or an external USB mouse would not work when the charger plug was within about 6" of the laptop case. Keyboard was fine but not really any good without a mouse control. I put it down to witchcraft and 3000/6000W of PSW inverter magnetic energy. Strangely the laptop worked fine when plugged into my brothers 500/1000W PSW inverter
 
Try using the original Apple chargers and cables, this will rule out any questions about interference from new USB outlets. It would also be a good idea to turn everything else off to rule out interference from some other unshielded device. If the problem continues then it narrows it down to the inverter.

What make and model is your inverter?

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12v to 240v to 12v simply doesn’t make sense, is very inefficient and not good for your batteries

Surely its better to go direct to usb i’d have thought 😉
 
Manic said:
Sorry don’t see why you need the inverter, straight from usb should work.
Click to expand...

Al n Val said:
12v to 240v to 12v simply doesn’t make sense, is very inefficient and not good for your batteries

Surely its better to go direct to usb i’d have thought 😉
Click to expand...
USB is only 5v and typically 1 amp (5w) so charging a laptop would take about 10 times longer than using a 240/20v 2.5amp charger
 
Al n Val said:
12v to 240v to 12v simply doesn’t make sense, is very inefficient and not good for your batteries

Surely its better to go direct to usb i’d have thought 😉
Click to expand...
12V to 5V USB still involves electronics and changing the voltage, cheaper devices may not be properly shielded or producing a clean output. Electronics used in moving vehicles not only need CE marks but should also have an E mark, to show that they do not give off any interference that might affect the vehicle systems. Not so important when parked up but shows that electronic devices can interfere with each other.
 
dunnah01 said:
USB is only 5v and typically 1 amp (5w) so charging a laptop would take about 10 times longer than using a 240/20v 2.5amp charger
Click to expand...
Yes but op is talking iPhone and iPad both charge fine on 2.1amp usb

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dunnah01 said:
USB is only 5v and typically 1 amp (5w) so charging a laptop would take about 10 times longer than using a 240/20v 2.5amp charger
Click to expand...
The OP is talking about the ipad and iPhone charging. It should go straight to 12v powered usb. That way there is no interference from a dirty AC.
 
I bought an apple mains USB charger for my ipod touch a few years ago on ebay, must have been a copy because it affected the touchscreen, can't remember the exact effect, it charged my phone ok though.
 
My iPad has a 5V 3A USB C charger and I would not expect it to get a proper charge from a cheap USB A output.

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Okay, I’ve now been able to plug the USB lead directly into the MoHo’s USB outlet. And both devices work as expected.
I’m pretty sure that, in the past, I’ve plugged the extension lead into the MoHo three pin socket and not had this issue.
For me, it’s pointing to the inverter and a feature I’ll remember.

Thanks to everyone for your pure sine input.

I accept that going direct from the 12volt supply is best, especially as it does not cause this issue. I will be making sure the long usb lead is plugged in there, in the future. Sometimes, we have to do something because of circumstance.

For me, it is curious the inverter may cause touch screen and home button issues. I’m pleased I spotted this before the iPad was locked!

Thanks again.
 
DumfriesDik said:
It’s the first time I’ve been using the inverter to charge the iPad and iPhone. When I do, the touch screen doesn’t work or the fingerprint ID.
Is this usual?
I got to the stage of being locked out of the iPad for 15 minutes.
Take the charge lead out and everything is fine.
Click to expand...
I get that with my Samsung lap top when it's charging on mains but only since I bought a replica charging lead.BUSBY.
 
Pausim said:
12V to 5V USB still involves electronics and changing the voltage, cheaper devices may not be properly shielded or producing a clean output. Electronics used in moving vehicles not only need CE marks but should also have an E mark, to show that they do not give off any interference that might affect the vehicle systems. Not so important when parked up but shows that electronic devices can interfere with each other.
Click to expand...
you have completely missed my point which was the up conversion of a 12v voltage to 240v then down converting it back to 12v.

Also why would you want to use an inverter and batteries for let’s say 2-4 hours to charge an ipad, your flattening your leisure batteries when it’s simply not necessary

It simply doesn’t make sense, is not electrically efficient and certainly not necessary in the OP’s case
 
Last edited:
Al n Val said:
you have completely missed my point which was the up conversion of a 12v voltage to 240v then down converting it back to 12v.

It simply doesn’t make sense, is not electrically efficient and certainly not necessary in the OP’s case
Click to expand...
But he is not taking it to 12V, he needs 5V for charging iPhones and iPads. This also involves voltage conversion and power wastage. Many of these plug in 12V USB devices are crude and achieve the voltage drop by turning it into heat, which is why they get hot. However I agree that turning 12V into 230V and then back to 12V is not generally efficient.

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I find the Apple genuine charge adapter (240/12v) dodgy on motorhomes/boats. Mine used to make the phone "tingle" if i touched it when it has charging! Like a small charge is being passed to the outside of the phone. Not good! (maybe to do with the lack of a true earth?)

When i use an old Nokia adapter instead its fine.
 
I had a similar issue with a laptop, the touch pad kept cutting out when it was plugged into the cheapo invertor.

I'm not sure why though. Computer power supplies and phone chargers use switch mode power supplies. They really don't care about the quality of the waves coming in. Our house had an issue with the local substation where once of the phases had completely failed. All the incandescent lightbulbs went dim and the microwave and vacuum were not happy. But my laptop carried on charging. The substation caught fire a few hours later...
 
Guigsy said:
I had a similar issue with a laptop, the touch pad kept cutting out when it was plugged into the cheapo invertor.

I'm not sure why though. Computer power supplies and phone chargers use switch mode power supplies. They really don't care about the quality of the waves coming in. Our house had an issue with the local substation where once of the phases had completely failed. All the incandescent lightbulbs went dim and the microwave and vacuum were not happy. But my laptop carried on charging. The substation caught fire a few hours later...
Click to expand...
It will be a voltage regulated power supply 110 or 230v input.
We had a similar problem with our mains supply a few years ago, all the lights went dim but the old CRT TV stayed on as normal.
 
Al n Val said:
buy cheap buy twice or many times in your case 😉
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, they weren't all cheap that didn't work, £22.99 was the dearest not to work and a 99p from China one is charging the iPad as I type
 
Al n Val said:
you have completely missed my point which was the up conversion of a 12v voltage to 240v then down converting it back to 12v.

Also why would you want to use an inverter and batteries for let’s say 2-4 hours to charge an ipad, your flattening your leisure batteries when it’s simply not necessary

It simply doesn’t make sense, is not electrically efficient and certainly not necessary in the OP’s case
Click to expand...
I wouldn't get carried away with the efficiency argument - in fact, it's probably better to use an inverter.

A USB socket, powered off a 12V battery, will almost certainly just drop 7V across a resistor to give you your 5V output; this makes it very inefficient, at only 42%. The only way this could be efficient is if you bought one that had a built-in switching transformer to convert 12V to 5V, but I'd be surprised if anyone sells these.

If you use an inverter instead, then it hopefully has an efficiency of 90%+ (as long as it has a reasonable load on it), and the plug-in wall adaptor to get back down to 5V should be about 75% efficient (even counterfeit iPhone ones should manage 60%+). This gives an overall efficiency of 0.9*0.75 = 67%, which is way better than a campervan USB adapter. The inverter advantage isn't so great if it only has a low load - if you just run it to charge your phone, then your overall efficiency may be as low as 45%, which is still better than the USB adapter.

The time taken to charge the phone/computer/whatever is not relevant - overall, the same energy gets pumped around the system, either in a 'short' time or a 'long' time.

Having said all that, I don't use an inverter to charge my (sensible, ie. not iPhone) phone, and use a 2.1A USB socket instead. It charges (very) quickly and doesn't make an appreciable dent on the LiFePO4 battery.

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