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Windows 10 USB-A port and iPad 9th gen

My Windows 10 computer does not have a USB-C port, just USB-A ports.

My brand new iPad 9th gen came with a Lightning to USB-C cable.

Can I use the current Lightning to USB-A cables that I have for my iPad 6th gen and iPhone 7 with the iPad 9th gen?

I don't use the 'cloud', but backup my devices to my computer so I need to access my PC.


Thanks

Barb

iPad (9th generation)

Posted on Jun 7, 2023 1:11 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 7, 2023 4:43 PM

Your existing USB Type-A to Lightning cables are perfectly suitable for use with any iPad that has a Lightning port. Many older computers do not have USB-C ports, but instead have older USB Type-A connections.


Insofar as the cables are concerned, the only practical difference will be the speed of potential data transfer between your computer and iPad. USB-C can operate at much faster speeds than USB Type-A.

6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 7, 2023 4:43 PM in response to fritzmom

Your existing USB Type-A to Lightning cables are perfectly suitable for use with any iPad that has a Lightning port. Many older computers do not have USB-C ports, but instead have older USB Type-A connections.


Insofar as the cables are concerned, the only practical difference will be the speed of potential data transfer between your computer and iPad. USB-C can operate at much faster speeds than USB Type-A.

Jun 7, 2023 5:43 PM in response to fritzmom

It depends on your computer. It should be safe, but some of those ports (depending on the manufacturer) don't put out a lot of power/current. They're pretty much guaranteed to be 5V, but they could be maybe 1A (5W) max output. The older USB-A standard was 5V/0.5A (2.5W) but that's not terribly common any more. A newer one should be able to output at least 0.9A (4.5W) although you'd need to find out if it could output more than that, where some do. Apple can put out quite a bit more than that when connected to an iPad. Mine says that it has 2.1A (10.5W) available for an iPad when I check in System Report. But it goes down if I have something else connected at the same time, like an iPhone or another iPad.


A newer iPad will come with a USB-C power adapter that's 5V/3A (15W) or 9V/2.22A (20W). Your computer won't have that amount of power available via USB-A, but it's hard to know how much without an inline USB meter.



Jun 8, 2023 7:56 AM in response to y_p_w

y_p_w wrote:

It depends on your computer. It should be safe, but some of those ports (depending on the manufacturer) don't put out a lot of power/current. They're pretty much guaranteed to be 5V, but they could be maybe 1A (5W) max output. The older USB-A standard was 5V/0.5A (2.5W) but that's not terribly common any more. A newer one should be able to output at least 0.9A (4.5W) although you'd need to find out if it could output more than that, where some do. Apple can put out quite a bit more than that when connected to an iPad. Mine says that it has 2.1A (10.5W) available for an iPad when I check in System Report. But it goes down if I have something else connected at the same time, like an iPhone or another iPad.

A newer iPad will come with a USB-C power adapter that's 5V/3A (15W) or 9V/2.22A (20W). Your computer won't have that amount of power available via USB-A, but it's hard to know how much without an inline USB meter.


Just to clarify, no one mentioned anything about power or charging. Only about backing up and ostensibly syncing. There is no charging requirement here with the Windows 10 computer.

Jun 8, 2023 8:05 AM in response to Phil0124

Phil0124 wrote:


y_p_w wrote:

It depends on your computer. It should be safe, but some of those ports (depending on the manufacturer) don't put out a lot of power/current. They're pretty much guaranteed to be 5V, but they could be maybe 1A (5W) max output. The older USB-A standard was 5V/0.5A (2.5W) but that's not terribly common any more. A newer one should be able to output at least 0.9A (4.5W) although you'd need to find out if it could output more than that, where some do. Apple can put out quite a bit more than that when connected to an iPad. Mine says that it has 2.1A (10.5W) available for an iPad when I check in System Report. But it goes down if I have something else connected at the same time, like an iPhone or another iPad.

A newer iPad will come with a USB-C power adapter that's 5V/3A (15W) or 9V/2.22A (20W). Your computer won't have that amount of power available via USB-A, but it's hard to know how much without an inline USB meter.


Just to clarify, no one mentioned anything about power or charging. Only about backing up and ostensibly syncing. There is no charging requirement here with the Windows 10 computer.


It still seemed obvious that input power might be important.

Windows 10 USB-A port and iPad 9th gen

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