Two Nokia phones from different countries on the same charger?

February 12, 2007 11:26 PM

I have two Nokia mobile phones - one purchased in the US and one that I've purchased here in Indonesia, both with their own similar-looking chargers (though with obvious differences on the plugs). Can I charge the Indonesian phone in the US on the US charger?

I'd be using the Indonesian-bought one for trips abroad in a few months, and I'd want it to be charged in the US before buying a PAYG SIM card and credit in the country I'd be visiting.

Thanks.

posted by mdonley to technology (8 comments total)

Almost certainly that will work fine. But you should be able to figure out for sure by looking at the labels on the chargers themselves. There will be an output power rating, which will include a number of some kind followed by "V" and another one followed by "A" e.g. "12V 0.5A".

If the two bricks have the same "V" value, and if the American brick's "A" is greater or equal, then you're golden. If the American "A" is lower, or if the "V" values are different, then you can't use the American brick to charge the Indonesian phone without risking destroying the phone or smoking the brick.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 11:36 PM on February 12, 2007

yes.

i've done this charger interchange with a us nokia bought phone and a singapore bought nokia phone. no problem.
posted by netsirk at 11:48 PM on February 12, 2007

Yes. I've charged both my UK phones (Nokia and Motorola) in the States and Canada using US chargers without any problem.
posted by essexjan at 12:01 AM on February 13, 2007

Yes. I have a German Nokia, and until recently had an American one, and was able to charge both phones with both chargers.
posted by oaf at 12:29 AM on February 13, 2007

Another yes, I have used Asian, European and Australian chargers. SCDB above deserves the best answer because it is indeed down to whether the output voltage is the same and amps are at least as high as those supplied by the original charger.
posted by bystander at 3:11 AM on February 13, 2007

For what it's worth I've noticed some Nokia chargers with different voltages that still manage to charge each others phones fine. (I'm fairly sure they all have internal voltage regulation and charging circuitry in the phone and hence are not very sensitive to input voltage, but there'll be limits).
Nokia make quite an effort to make sure the chargers can be used interchangeably. A Nokia I got recently is using a new smaller power socket but came with an adapter so you can still use your old chargers.
You'd still be better off following the advice about insuring voltage is the same though, of course, just in case, or don't blame me if your phone breaks ;)...
posted by Morbuto at 3:27 AM on February 13, 2007

If the plug fits it will work fine. Just beware that the newer (last year or two) Nokias use a smaller tip than the older ones.
posted by cmicali at 5:56 AM on February 13, 2007

Newer Nokia phones have a smaller tip than the old ones (as cmicali said), but the new phones comes with an adapter for the old chargers. In general, all nokia chargers are compatible.

However, some old chargers does not put out enough power for the latest phones. During a recent trip I had one old charger (something like five years old, from a nokia 8210 originally) and two new phones, one e70 and one e61. The e70 charged fine, not the e61 (with the adapter from old to new plug). The phone just said "Not charging" when I plugged in the charger. No problems with a new charger.

So it is a good idea to try it before hand if possible.
posted by rpn at 9:44 AM on February 13, 2007