We stopped into a college bookstore yesterday and got one for $4.00.

I have had good luck purchasing off brand chargers for Apple and Samsung products from Amazon.

Do you need a charger for travel or for home?

For home use, I find the usb wall receptacle the most convenient way to charge devices.

I used to purchase them on amazon, but i found that off brands did not work after a software upgrade on the phone. Even after it happened twice i couldnt believe that was the reason.....after all, what did one have to do with the other? But after the third chariging cord stopped working.......Google it though and you will find many, many complaints of just that.

Thank you for the replies. I did find a lot of cheap ones around but they had lots of negative comments,

then I found this comment which might explain somethings.

"This is not a design issue by Apple.

The reason why some of your iPhone "works" with the 'Cheap' cable and some don't, is because those cheap or fake Lightning cables do not have the Apple Authentication Chip inside. When the fake cable maker try to "reverse engineering" by copy the code, they can only make it work with the older and current Apple iOS, for example, it work with iOS 9.0, 8.0, 7.3...., when Apple release the software update, the new sw will detect the fake code and won't let it sync or charge any more. So when Apple has update sw for iOS version from 9.0 to 9.1, or to 9.2 for the iPhone, your wife's phone has the new update iOS so it won't work with the cheap cable, while your phone still has the older iOS, so it still "works".

There are reports that some of the cheap cables have a poor contact on the male connector side that cause burn or damage on the female contact inside on the iPhone."

My daughter and her husband have the newest iPhones and charge them on a generic cable plugged into the USB wall outlet. I guess Apple forgot to block theirs.

The same for me Brushworks! I think we have an Apple charger (maybe hubby uses it) but I always use a generic charger and have never, ever had a problem. I keep one at work too so I can charge there if needed.

If you are looking for a cord, we buy the Amazon Basics brand off of Amazon. They are Apple certified and very good quality. Those also come in 6 ft lengths which is more practical if you charge on a nightstand. My chargers, the part the plugs into the wall are the normal Apple ones. If I were replacing one I'd consider the Amazon basic one as well