How long would you have to crank to fully charge an iPhone? Would it be a ridiculously long time, making this only good for short 911 calls?
2082250
yeah you really have to crank it a long time. It doesn't hold a charge at all. It charges my phone (not an iphone) in about 45 mins.
2082251
After I bought this, I measured the time, not the number of crank rotations, for 1% increment in iPhone 4. It took at least 2-3 minutes with continuous rotation for 1% increment. If I have to increment of 80% (if only 20% of battery power left) , it will take 160-240 minutes every night. It needed a lot of arm muscle power to generate the electricity for quite a long time. I bought this for John Muir Trail this August (for GPS, altimeter and photo, at least 8 hours on), however I did not carry this. Because I might be exhausted after everyday's 20km backpacking. It would be ridiculous not having a rest after long distance hiking for generating electricity. In a manual, at least 2 rotations per minute are enough, however, keeping rotation with even speed was not easy. If speed was getting lower, there were beeping sound from iPhone 4 because voltage might be insufficient and not even(in my thought). So I had to grip tight and rotate the crank as fast as I can. If this is for an occasional use for short period (under extreme condition, no sun light), this is useful. But it is for long distance hiking in remote land, solar panel would be choice. I carried solar panel in JMT, and it was a good choice.
2082252
I bought this for an iPhone, and I wouldn't consider it a logical option for most peoples uses. (At least from what I could conclude in the short time I toyed with it)I only see this as handy under extreme circumstances, and even in those the solar charging pads seem like a much superior alternative.It simply takes to many cranks to convert energy that is needed constantly for hours to complete a charge.
1503297
HelloIn order to charge iPhone, you can use the included USB cable along with iPhone's charging cable and then you need to keep cranking the device to charge it. You need to start the cranking really fast for a minute or so until iPhone is showing charging and then you can slow down to normal speed. This is an emergency device. It was not designed to charge the phone to full capacity. it gives you the option to charge the phone up to make a few emergency phone calls. It will take a lot of cranking to charge a phone fully.
1281613
I just plugged in my cell phone into the USB port and it did not seem to charge the phone from the installed AA batteries. There may be a setting I don't have set right for using the batteries. When I used the crank, it did start charging the cell phone. I didn't do it for long so I'm not sure how long it would take to fully charge a dead cell phone. I would think a camcorder would take a lot more juice. Good arm exercise though...
1111099
It's a matter of personal preference. I use it mostly with my IPhone. I'm able to quickly recharge my phone battery without having to search for a plug. It's a quick charge; only takes about 15-20 minutes from a 40% battery level status. Also my recharge can occur while I'm on the move. The charging unit is good for multiple (4-5) charges without having to plug in for recharge. Only thing is the unit is a little bulky & heavy I'm still able to fit in my bag. Hope this helps you to decide.
1613573
It charges at the same rate as plugging in a wall outlet. So a few minutes to bring a phone back from the dead. Over an hour to fully charge which is too much hand cranking. We recommend three minutes at a time, take a break and repeat for 30 minutes a day. Enough to keep you going away from power forever. We tested it for two months like this without plugging in on a smart phone. It is the only hand crank that really works. Others are under powered.
1120214
Yes with the USB port. However you had to crank on the handle for several minutes and the info they sent with the radio said it would charge the phone for a minute, so not a very good trade off. Better find another way. I never did it, however the radio plays constantly if put in the sunlight. But no I would not use this for my iphone.
2171449
It is best to power off your iphone then let it charge. it's ok for emergency but sometime it does charge very slow
1109026
Same length of time a standard iPhone charger takes. If you're asking how long to charge the battery bank, a couple hours to 3-4 depending on how drained it is. This should be used as a supplemental power source as it has never given a full charge to any of my dead iPhones- 3GS, 4, 4s, 5, or 5s.
217930
I use it when the power on my iphone is going down. I have not used it very often. I had trouble at first but do not think I had it completely charged.
1156837
It takes quite a while to charge it from completely drained to a full charge. It took me about 8 hours the first time. I have charged it the last few times with one light still showing and it took about 5 hours. However, it gave me over 10 hours of additional use on my iPad Air. I have totally charged my iPhone 5 twice on one charge of the battery. I have had one that I did not use for almost a month and it still had three out of four lights showing and was able to completely charge my iPhone. I believe the information said the battery would hold a charge for 60 days, but I have not personally left the battery unused for that long. It takes quite a while to charge it from completely drained to a full charge. It took me about 8 hours the first time. I have charged it the last few times with one light still showing and it took about 5 hours. However, it gave me over 10 hours of additional use on my iPad Air. I have totally charged my iPhone 5 twice on one charge of the battery. I have had one that I did not use for almost a month and it still had three out of four lights showing and was able to completely charge my iPhone. I believe the information said the battery would hold a charge for 60 days, but I have not... » Read More It takes quite a while to charge it from completely drained to a full charge. It took me about 8 hours the first time. I have charged it the last few times with one light still showing and it took about 5 hours. However, it gave me over 10 hours of additional use on my iPad Air. I have totally charged my iPhone 5 twice on one charge of the battery. I have had one that I did not use for almost a month and it still had three out of four lights showing and was able to completely charge my iPhone. I believe the information said the battery would hold a charge for 60 days, but I have not personally left the battery unused for that long. « Show Less
276849
I haven't used it to charge a phone. But see instructions for connecting. It takes a lot of cranks to build up a charge to use the radio. Quickest charge is in sunlight but it takes a while. mAh is Greek to me.
1184416
I wouldn't waste your time looking for a cord. Trying to power any current mobile phone with a crank is impossible. A phone needs way.more power than you can crank manually. It's a fun selling point, but doesn't really work. I've already tried on a very low.power cell phone.
983738
For the most part it needs to be cranked constantly. About 3 minutes of cranking, stop and use for about 30 minutes, and then crank again for more. It's mildly annoying - except in an emergency, when I needed an ambulance, it worked !
1503296
iPhones require a lot of power. The solar panel is too small for this, as is the internal battery. While in theory it is possible if you crank this at 160 turns/minute. What you need is a stand-alone device with a solar cell and battery (sized 2250mA or more). The iphone will stop charging if interrupted. So use the stand-alone solar/battery device to charge it's internal battery. Then charge the iphone from internal battery. That way, there no interruptions.
2020433
I have used mine up to 30 minutes and it still can go, but my arm gets tired about then and I quit and put it back on its charger. I love it. Much better than my corded one with no limited range. And better than the gas driven one that I've had that kept leaking gasoline. That thing scared me and was a pain to crank too.
1218745
If your iPod has the same connector cord as a pre-5 iPhone (3, 3G, 4, 4S), then it may charge it, too. However, for how much cranking is required, it would not be a useful tool to charge iPods. I believe for iPhone use, it takes 20 minutes of hand cranking to charge an iPhone for 1 minute of talk time. Good for emergencies, but not for anything frivilous (like listening to music on an iPod).
1233805
I bought this for my wife and I think the longest she has had it in her purse without using it was about 3 weeks. When she went to use it again it had enough charge to keep her iphone 4 going until she was home. Then she used it for the next several hours because she didn't want to get up and look for the ever elusive iPhone cable and adapter.She's not diligent about keeping it charged and it has always had enough charge when she needed it. We've got a satellite TV receiver in the kitchen with a usb port and out of cconvenience she uses that port to keep it charged. From that port it takes about 30 minutes for a full charge. I'm sure it would be faster with an ac adapter. I bought this for my wife and I think the longest she has had it in her purse without using it was about 3 weeks. When she went to use it again it had enough charge to keep her iphone 4 going until she was home. Then she used it for the next several hours because she didn't want to get up and look for the ever elusive iPhone cable and adapter.She's not diligent about keeping it charged and it has always had enough charge when she needed it. We've got a satellite TV receiver in the kitchen with a usb port and out of cconvenience she uses that port to keep it charged. From that... » Read More I bought this for my wife and I think the longest she has had it in her purse without using it was about 3 weeks. When she went to use it again it had enough charge to keep her iphone 4 going until she was home. Then she used it for the next several hours because she didn't want to get up and look for the ever elusive iPhone cable and adapter.She's not diligent about keeping it charged and it has always had enough charge when she needed it. We've got a satellite TV receiver in the kitchen with a usb port and out of cconvenience she uses that port to keep it charged. From that port it takes about 30 minutes for a full charge. I'm sure it would be faster with an ac adapter. « Show Less