I drive a ten-year-old Subaru Forester, and I can attest to the ‘Subarus last forever’ tagline. Short of one electrical issue (that was probably my fault), my little midsized SUV has transported me safely across the Southeast well over two dozen times since I bought it.
The only downside to a car that seemingly lasts forever is getting left in the dust by tech upgrades. I don’t care much about not having CarPlay or Android Auto, but something that genuinely affects my driving experience is the inability to charge my phone from the center console. After upgrading to the iPhone 16 Pro last year, I realized my ancient USB-to-Lightning charging cable wasn’t going to cut it anymore — which posed a huge problem for long road trips to visit family.
At one point, I used a portable power bank as a workaround. Another time, I relied on my laptop riding shotgun to keep my iPhone’s navigation running. It wasn’t until I got a snappy Car Power Kit from Ohsnap that I decided to bite the bullet and upgrade my car’s power situation. But listen, I’m not talking about ripping out the center console or buying a whole new car — I found a $3 gadget that updated my car’s USB ports and made it feel as new as the day I drove it off the lot.
This adapter lets you turn any USB-A port into a USB-C one. 
With so many types of cables and their respective ports in the world (developed over the last decade), it’s unrealistic to assume every electronics user will have the latest version of any gadget — and that includes the wires that power them. I have a friend still rocking an iPhone 6s, and he’s adamant about using it till the day it explodes. I feel the same way about my Subaru, but I’m hoping it doesn’t experience that particular phenomenon.
I figured that if there are adapters for headphone jacks, regional outlets, and myriad other things, there had to be a simple solution for folks still stuck in the USB-A era. Luckily, there was. I found a pack of three USB-C (female) to USB-A (male) adapters and was able to convert all the USB-A ports in my center console to USB-C ports. Now I can finally charge my phone in the car, plus my passengers’ phones, too.
The Basesailor converters come in a variety of colors, but I opted for the grey versions since they were the cheapest. A pack of three is $8, which puts the adapters at just under $3 each. They’re designed for USB 2.0 charging and syncing, supporting data transfers of up to 480 Mbps. Charging speed depends on the USB-A power source, but they’re compatible with charging up to 5V/2A. They’re aluminum and sturdy enough that I don’t think I’ll break one short of running it over — and even if I do, $3 a pop isn’t too painful of a replacement cost.
I plan on leaving two of the adapters plugged into my car, where they’re compact enough to look like they belong there, and keeping one inside my house in case I have a guest who needs it. It lives in my miscellaneous drawer of wires and cables, and like all those ‘just in case’ power sources, I’m positive it’ll come in handy when I least expect it.
This adapter lets you turn any USB-A port into a USB-C one. 
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