Do USB drives work the same overseas?

Question

I'm going on a trip to Germany over the summer. I know that the wall outlets have different voltages or watts or something so I need to get a converter for that. However, my camera charges through the computer USB drive and I would also like to have a USB flash drive with me. Will these properly connect to the computers in Germany or do I need another type of converter plug?

Answer 1

Speaking of the wall outlets:

The standard voltage throughout Europe is 230 Volts (compared to 110 Volts in North America). The acceptable voltage range is printed on every electrical device.

Quite a few devices today are capable of running on 110 Volts as well as 230 Volts. For these, you only need a plug adapter.

Note that you _cannot_ run a 110-Volt-only device using such an inexpensive adapter! For these, you need a voltage converter, however, these are expensive, heavy and not meant for traveling.

All in all: Don't take any device to Germany that doesn't clearly state "110 to 230 Volts" - you won't be able to use it, it'll just go down in flames.

Apart from that, the wattage is uninteresting, it just says how much power the device sucks from the outlet.

Answer 2

No extra plug needed, all USB stuff is standardized worldwide.

The only other thing that's complicated are movie DVDs. They have "regional codes" (RCs) that prevent U.S. DVDs from playing in Europe (RC1 vs. RC2). That's part of the motion picture industry's marketing strategy. Most computer savvy people have players that will play them nonetheless, but on standard players, they might fail. Audio CDs, however, will work. (If you want to bring movies, make a copy and remove the code.)

Answer 3

Yep. USB drives are standard worldwide and you can use them the same at any country.

Answer 4

USB is universal (The U does stand for Universal, as well). Just plug it into a computer and you're good.

Listen up, this is important so you dont destroy your equipment... check the WATTS on your equipment. Ensure your "converter" does allow for enough watts. You can purchase, fairly cheaply, a wall transformer that does about enough to convert a light bulb (60 watts).

Normal transformers are typically too heavy for you to take with you on your travel. Thankfully most laptop power supplies are dual voltage. Ensure that it says 110-220w on the back of the power supply or something to that effect. If there is a ~ then that means you have to manually convert it yourself (ie. a switch on the device).

Good luck!

Answer 5

Most likely because they do not run off the internet or anything so i would imagine so!!!!!!!!!1