using a laptop in china

[Guest sanfranciscojoe]

i suspect the ac is different in china. anything i need in order to use my laptop?

[king]

It is hard to say, not knowing what you have. I have a Fujitsu and use a Fujitsu brand adapter. I think in general you will need one. I brought a recorder phone from the U.S. with me and forget to use its adapter when I had moved apartments - burnout. The Chinese system is 220V.

[frank1538]

Check your AC adapter. Many are dual 110/220. China's electricity is 220v/50 Hz. I use a Dell, and the adapter will take the input.

[orbitalpunk]

yeah, check your adapter. some will have dual voltages and will work in worldwide. my sony laptop worked in china just fine without an adapter. china uses 220 volts. also IBM laptops work just fine also. if your in luck you laptop adapter will say this

 

INPUT: 100-240V

 

if not, then find an adaptor that converts 220 to 110 and some will say low or high. you need low for a laptop. usually anything under 50 watts. also some area's in china use 3 differenc kinds of plugs. usually its like ours, 2 slits | |, but in some areas i've seen these two as well

 

/ \ and o o

 

also in some cities there's a city wide internet access number. usually a 5 digit number. all you need to do is dial that and it will apply just normal local phone charges to the bill. the local operator should be able to tell you this number for internet access.

 

hope this helps joe

[Jatuke]

Be sure to get one of those ADP laptop surge protectors: it also doubles as a modem surge protector - which is crucial because of the instability of China telecom lines. And depending on the brand of laptop you have, your AC adaptor might and should have automatic international voltage conversion.

 

Also, if you don't have one already get a hard-case notebook case. I had a Targus soft-case, and someone or something sat on my laptop and the monitor cracked.

 

Chinese dial-up is actually far more "advanced" than here in the U.S. You can pretty much connect to the Internet from any telephone jack in China and use 163. That I found amazing.

[skibum]

The ac/dc transformer that came with the computer will probably handle the 220 v but you will probably need a plug adapter for the wall plug. The phone jack may also be different.

[robhon]

I don't evenfind I have to use any adapter anywhere except in HK. In China all the wall outlets are those funky multi purpose things that try to fit every conceivable plug.

 

In fact, I'm using one right now in Chongqing!

[Mick]

I never had to use an adapter during the time I lived in China. However, a surge protector was crucial. Power spikes are common, at least in the areas where I lived.

[AZwolfman]

Since I use it for business, I ALWAYS use a portable surge protector no matter where I go - even in the U.S.

 

You can get adapters at Comp USA if you like. The hotel in Beijing in which I stayed had both types of outlets.

 

Unless you have an antique laptop, the AC-DC converter will accept dual voltage. My laptop actually operates on 20v DC current. Read the documentation on your laptop or your AC-DC converter to be sure. Chances are your laptop was made wholly or partly in China or Taiwan anyway - so it is just like coming home for your pc. B)

[beishan4]

Aloha from Hawaii,

A Dell laptop from China works here. I think the reverse will work from here with the international power settings built in.

Myles