Professional Documents
Culture Documents
General Considerations
Electric Plugs In Use
Adaptors & Converters
Electric Power Requirements Worldwide
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
If you are going to use, or more specifically charge, your Global Reach Mobile in another country, you need to know what
type of electrical voltage is used in the country you're traveling to and the type(s) of plugs and outlets used there. For a
list of electrical voltages worldwide click here.
The vast majority of modern mobile phones will charge from both a 120 volt electrical outlet and a 240 volt outlet so that
all you need is a plug adaptor. "Converters" and "Transformers" are available to change line voltage from one amount
to another and you may need one of these for different types of appliances, such as hairdryers, that you might travel
with. But you are very unlikely to require such a convertor to charge your mobile phone.
In addition to voltage, the frequency at which the power is generated may also differ, usually from 50 Hz to 60 Hz. Again,
in almost all cases this will not affect your ability to charge your mobile phone, but it is worth confirming this by referring
to your phone's user manual.
Those phones designed for use in any country will have a section on the power charger label that looks something like
this:
This shows that the phone was designed to be used over a wide range of voltage levels and at different electrical
frequencies. In this particular example, the device can accept a "nominal" voltage anywhere from 100 volts to 240 volts
and can operate on either a 50 Hz or 60 Hz system. It is designed for alternating current (AC). (Like most appliances, it
should not be used on a direct current, or DC system -- DC electrical systems are not common, but some may still
exist.) If your phone charger has a label with these parameters, it can be used pretty much anywhere. In that case, all
you need is a plug adaptor.
Note that ALL phones supplied by us can be charged from either a 120v or 240v outlet and can operate on either a 50
Hz or 60 Hz system.
The main types of electrical plugs that are used around the world are listed below. You can click on the illustration to
view a larger picture and a listing of countries where that type of plug is used.
Note: the illustrations below are not to scale. Also, the labels (type A, B, etc.) used are not any type of standard
naming convention.
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A
(North American/Japanese 2-blade)
Flat blade attachment plug
B
(American 3-pin)
Flat blades (same as Type A),
but with round grounding pin
C
(European 2-pin)
Round pin attachment plug
D
(Old British Plug)
Round pins with ground
E
(French 2-pin)
Round pin plug and receptacle
F
("Schuko" plug)
Round pins with
side ground contacts
G
(British 3-pin)
Rectangular blade plug
H
(Israeli 3-pin)
Oblique blades/pins
with ground
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I
(Australian plug)
Oblique flat blades
(inserted V-shape) with ground
J
(Swiss 3-pin)
Round pins with offset ground
K
(Danish 3-pin)
Round pins with spade ground
L
(Italian 3-pin)
Round pins with ground (in-line)
M
(South African plug)
Round pins similar to type D but larger
and with one oversized pin
An adaptor will allow you to plug any appliance, including your mobile phone charger, designed for one type of outlet
into another type of outlet. Despite the fact that more than a dozen different types of plugs are in use, the plug adaptors
that we supply provide around five adaptors, which are capable of dealing with most of the outlets shown here.
Please note that, in certain circumstances, these adaptors may bypass the ground/earth wire. Not all appliances need
to be grounded/earthed and, again, you should check this by referring to your phones user manual.
Remember: a plug adaptor by itself will not change the electrical voltage. You must be sure
that your mobile phone can handle different voltages.
Where found:
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American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil,
Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, China (without holes in blades and slightly shorter blades), Colombia,
Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan, Laos,
Lebanon, Liberia, Maldives, Mexico, Micronesia, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Niger, Okinawa,
Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent, Saudi Arabia, Tahiti, Taiwan, Thailand, United States,
Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands (U.S. & British), Yemen.
Where found:
All of the above noted for Type A except Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cambodia, China, Dominican Republic, Korea,
Liberia, Maldives, Peru, St. Vincent, Tahiti, Thailand, Vietnam, Yemen.
Where found:
Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Austria, Azores, Balearic Islands, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil,
Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Channel
Islands, Chile, Comoros, Congo, Croatia, Dem. Rep. of Congo (Zaire), Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Cyprus,
Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Faeroe Islands, Finland, French Guiana, Gabon,
Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Guadeloupe, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia,
Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia,
Madagascar, Madeira, Mali, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique,
Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Russia, Rwanda, St. Vincent, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden,
Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, Vietnam, Zambia.
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Where found:
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Dem. Rep. of Congo (Zaire), Dominica, Ecuador, El
Salvador, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Ghana, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Iraq, Jerusalem,
Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Macao, Madagascar, Maldives, Martinique, Monaco, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia,
Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, St. Kitts-Nevis, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, United
Arab Emirates, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Type E
Round pin plug and receptacle with male grounding pin
Where found:
Belgium, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canary Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo,
Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Czech Republic, Djibouti, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, France, French Guiana,
Greece, Guadeloupe, Ireland, Indonesia, Italy, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Madagascar, Mali, Martinique, Monaco,
Morocco, Niger, Poland, St. Vincent, Senegal, Slovakia, Syria, Tahiti, Tunisia.
Type F
"Schuko" plug and receptacle with side grounding contacts
Where found:
Algeria, American Samoa, Aruba, Austria, Azores, Balearic Islands, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Chad, Croatia,
El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Korea, Laos,
Luxembourg, Madeira, Monaco, Montenegro, Mozambique, Myanmar, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Niger,
Norway, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Turkey, Uruguay.
Type G
British 3-pin rectangular blade plug
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Where found:
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Cameroon, Channel Islands, China, Cyprus, Dominica, El
Salvador, Gambia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong, Iraq, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jordan,
Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macau, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, St.
Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Tanzania, Uganda, United
Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Older flat-blade Type H plug on left with post-1989 plug and receptacle.
Where found:
Gaza, Israel
This plug is unique to Israel and is incompatible with other sockets. It has three flat pins to form a Y-shape. The
Type H plug is rated at 16 A but, in practice, the thin flat pins cause the plug to overheat when connecting large
appliances. In 1989, the SI 32 was revised to use three round 4 mm pins in the same locations as the older
standard. Sockets made since 1989 accept both flat and round pins in order to be compatible with both old and
new plugs. This also allows the Type H socket to accommodate type C plugs which are used in Israel for non-
grounded appliances. Older sockets, from about the 1970s, have both flat and round holes for "Live" and "Neutral"
in order to accept both Type C and Type H plugs. As of 2008, older Type H sockets (which accept only old standard
Type H plugs) were very rare in Israel.
Type I
Oblique flat blades with ground (inverted V)
Where found:
American Samoa, Argentina*, Australia, China, El Salvador, Fiji, Guatemala, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand,
Okinawa, Panama, Papua New Guinea, St. Vincent, Tajikistan, Tonga, Uruguay*.
* In Argentina and Uruguay, the neutral and active w ires are reversed from w hat is used in other countries.
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Where found:
Type K
Round pins with spade grounding pin
Where found:
Bangladesh, Denmark, Faeroe Islands, Greenland, Guinea, Madagascar, Maldives, St. Vincent, Senegal, Tunisia.
Type L
Round pins with round grounding pin (in-line)
Where found:
Chile, Cuba, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Italy, Libya, Maldives, Syria, Tunisia, Uruguay.
Type M
"South African" Plug
Where found:
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Hong Kong, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland.
The voltages listed here are the "nominal" figures reported to be in use at most residential or commercial sites in the
country or area named. Most electrical power systems are prone to slight variations in voltage due to demand or other
factors. Many former 220 V countries have converted or are in the process of converting to the EU standard of 230 V.
Generally, this difference is inconsequential, as most mobile phone chargers will cover voltages between 100v and
240v.
Belarus 220 V Hong Kong S.A.R. of China 220 V Puerto Rico 120 V
Botswana 231 V Isle of Man 240 V St. Vincent (Winward Is.) 230 V
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Brunei 240 V Italy 230 V Senegal 230 V
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Fiji 240 V Myanmar/Burma 230 V Zambia 230 V
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