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Driver updates for charging iPad on PCs

by Mike Schramm May 31st 2010 at 6:00PM


If you're one of the many iPad customers having issues with charging, there may be relief in sight. A few popular PC motherboard manufacturers have released new drivers for their mobos that supposedly enable (or help with) iPad charging. If you have an ASUS, Gigabyte, or MSI motherboard, you can try hitting those links, downloading and installing the new drivers, and see if that helps. Unfortunately, this is still a YMMV situation -- there are a ton of different factors that go into the kind of power that can come off of a USB port, and even if you have the right software for the right motherboard manufacturer, there's no guarantee it'll work exactly right.

Still, if you've been craving a little extra power while charging your iPad on a PC, and know your way around a motherboard software update (which can be quite a task in itself, let me tell you from experience), attempting an update might be worth it. If you get it working and see an improvement in your iPad's charging capability, be sure to let us know in the comments.

[via Engadget]

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If you're one of the many iPad customers having issues with charging, there may be relief in sight. A few popular PC motherboard...
 

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Refurbished Computers

I have always this problem with my Ipad that I cannot charge it from my computer but when I come across this article it really eased my worries. Thanks for the update.

August 26 2010 at 12:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
biddlebubbly

I love that my Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H charges my iphone while the system is turned off. Really useful feature, saves energy too.

Updating the BIOS or using the asus app is pretty much drop dead simple amyway. Just find your model, download, and run the big glaring exe.

June 02 2010 at 6:25 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
artifex

check this guy's history out, he's been astroturfing for "starfaces" for the last month.

June 01 2010 at 5:47 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to artifex's comment
artifex

(parent referred to a sneaky post that has since been deleted)

June 03 2010 at 9:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
tessoroislands2

it doesn't work on my vaio sz660 but work great on my PC

June 01 2010 at 2:45 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Steve

Or you could, you know....plug it into the wall.

May 31 2010 at 9:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to Steve's comment
uncola

my ipad charges great on my Gigabyte P55A-UD3 once I installed the on/off charge utility. it will even keep charging after I turn my pc off as long as it was charging when it was still on.

May 31 2010 at 8:16 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Andrmgic

Got my PC with a Gigabyte (X58A-UD3R rev. 1.0) board updated and seems to be working fine.

The additional power is in the USB specification of recently manufactured boards.. it just was not enabled because most devices don't require that much power.

charging works perfectly now. At first it says "Not charging" but then it clicks over to charging and shows the appropriate lightning bolt.

May 31 2010 at 8:04 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Andrmgic's comment
artifex

Another Gigabyte user here: my board's a GA-890GPA-UD3H and it actually is now part of the marketing text on the box and online:

" 3x USB Power Boost
GIGABYTE motherboards feature a 3x USB power boost, delivering greater compatibility and extra power for USB devices. GIGABYTE’s unique USB power design is also able to efficiently regulate output over the full voltage range, which greatly enhances USB device compatibility. In addition, dedicated lower resistance fuses ensure lower voltage drops, and provide more stable and plentiful power delivery. "

So yeah, at least for their new top boards, they've designed for this deliberately.

This will also keep powering USB while the main system is off. It's software selectable, in case you don't want that.

Other Gigabyte owners, you can find the driver and whether your board is supported at their April 12 press release:

http://www.gigabyte.com/press-center/news-page.aspx?nid=872

May 31 2010 at 8:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tom

Works fine on my MacBook 13" Unibody (the very first model). Contrary to what many sites say, my iPad also charges when connected to my iPhone power adapter. It's slow, but it charges. But you're right, it doesn't charge on some older Macs.

May 31 2010 at 7:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Doug

It does not charge on my MacBook pro 17 Santa Rosa model.

May 31 2010 at 7:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
pika2000

Is this wise? I mean when they made/ship those motherboards, did they test the USB ports to give the higher current?

May 31 2010 at 7:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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