How to Charge Your iPad / iPhone in Ubuntu 15.10/14.04

Windows and Mac automatically charge an Apple device when it’s plugged via USB pot, but Ubuntu does not have that function out-of-the-box.

An Apple charger utility has been created and made into PPA. Supports for Ubuntu 15.10, Ubuntu 15.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 12.04, Linux Mint 17, Elementary OS Freya, and other derivatives, though the title only says Ubuntu 15.10 and 14.04.

The utility is said to support below devices:

• iPad 1/2/3/4
• iPad Mini
• iTouch 2G/3G/4G
• iPhone 3GS/4/4S/5

I’ve tested on:

• Ubuntu 14.04/15.04
• iPad Mini with iOS 8.1

How to Install:

1. Select download the ipad-charge_x.x+xxx~releasename_i386/amd64.deb package from the link below that matches your OS.

Download ipad charge utility (.deb)

Don’t know which to download? Go to top-right corner gear button (shutdown menu) -> About This Computer and check out your OS edition and type.

• OS type: select i386 for 32-bit and amd64 for 64-bit.
• Release name: Ubuntu 15.10 Wily, 15.04 Vivid, 14.04 Trusty, 12.04 Precise. Linux Mint 17.x and eOS Freya are based on Ubuntu 14.04.

i.e., 64-bit Ubuntu 15.04 users select download ipad-charge_1.1+xxx~vivid_amd64.deb

2. After downloaded the .deb package, click to open it with Ubuntu Software Center (see top pic.) and install it.

Once done, plug / re-plug in your Apple device and it should starts charging automatically.