RockStar Lightning to 3.5mm Audio Cable + Audio Charger Splitter, 2-in-1 Aux iPhone Headphone and Charger Adapter - Compatible with iPhone 14, 13, 12, 11, X, and More - White

So, I have been eyeing this item for a long time, but couldn't bring myself to buy it when $10 alternatives littered the Amazon marketplace. Well, this item dropped to less than $30, so it was time to give it a go. I was also fed up with those $10 units working like garbage (that is, not working), save for one or two that actually worked as intended (I suppose it is worth mentioning I have bought many of those $10 units, only to have returned 80% of them). Well folks, this unit is the real deal. I have never encountered one of these units that actually lets me sync my iPhone with my PC until I bought this one. The cheaper units I keep mentioning do allow charging and listening, but I found it very hit or miss to have the microphone/play/pause/volume controls work with those units (almost always being a "miss"). Worse yet, many of those cheaper units claim to support syncing, which has thus far proven to be completely false. On the other hand, this unit worked...with a couple of small hiccups (go two paragraphs down to see my report on this). Regarding audio quality, control, and reliability, this thing is an ace. My 3.5mm stereo headphone/earphones with and without the microphone/play/pause/volume controls all worked. In other words, it seems any of the listening devices with 3 or 4 conductor plugs (a.k.a. TRS and TRRS, respectively) I threw at it worked. The audio quality was perfect (no high-pitched noises, clicks, static, etc.). The controls were flawless. When I pressed a button, the phone reacted as expected. As far as syncing, however, there were some issues. I plugged the unit into one of my PC's USB 2.0 ports. Then I connected the headphones and finally I connected the cable to the phone. It showed up almost instantly, so I was quite ecstatic. But to my dismay, seconds later it disconnected...only to reconnect seconds after that. This happened over and over. So long as it was in any of my USB 2.0 ports, this phenomenon occurred, regardless if I wiggled the cable, reset the phone, or any of the dozen other things I tried. Finally, I move it to a USB 3.0 on my PC and the problem went away. It established an instant connection that never failed! I was able to transfer photos, videos, music, etc. from the phone to my PC via iTunes and via my OS's explorer interface (Win 7, in my case). The plug end of the unit is larger than normal, so it did not fit my Otterbox Commuter case without me scraping a bit of plastic from the bottom. I was a little annoyed by that, but with very minimal effort I rectified that. So, if you are willing to spend a bit of cash for such an item, I would recommend it, especially over the cheaper ones. Be prepared for the sync glitch (as I mentioned above) - if it happens to you, try a different USB port. Heck, you may not even face the problem. I also recommend not handling it like an animal. I have no doubt that these units all come from cheap-labor factories around the world, so don't expect it to handle abuse. Since I use these units for work, they tend to rest comfortably on my desk or workbench, so I never stress them. If you do the same, you will probably be just as happy as I am. Update: 2 more units purchased and they were plug and play. All went as smooth as silk. I'm still in disbelief that they work so well, but for $30, one would hope so. Thus far, they still are the only units I have encountered that do everything as advertised (including flawless synchronization with my PCs/laptops). Other thoughts/notes: I don't know why this item has gotten poor reviews of being "crappy," because my impression of its build and material selection seems to be top notch. It feels sturdy, professional, and can actually take a few hits (I dropped my first one a few times, and guess what - it's perfect). I hate that the first review you see (the top review) was of a poor experience, because if you are like me (wired headphone with controls/mic integration with PC synchronization), then this is the unit you have been searching for. You should also be warned that the lightning port on this unit is NOT for headphones. It is only for powering the unit, charging your connected device, and PC connectivity, all via USB. Finally, many of the negative reviews that are detailed (i.e. not the ones that simply say garbage and end it there) all state that the unit failed them after some time (usually some amount of weeks were mentioned). I will update this review if I fall into that group as well.

**Update** I updated my ipad to iOS 26.0.1 & the adapter started working again. So the adapter is in fact, working just fine after more than a year of use. 5 stars. Original Review: Worked for about a year, then it stopped working - my ipad wouldn’t charge when using the adapter (said “not charging” next to battery icon). Lasted longer than some cheaper models, but for thirty dollars I had hoped it would hold up longer (I only use it a few times a month).

Apple took away the headphone port, but sold me a lightning to 3.5 adapter so I could use my wired buds with my iPhone 13 Pro. Imagine my disappointment when my battery ran low while I was listening to a favorite playlist and I needed to unplug my buds to re-juice the phone! I checked Amazon for a solution and found several adapters that split from lightning to a 3.5 and a lightning charge port, most of them quite similar, pledging that they were MFI certified and compatible with my phone. All around 10 bucks each; I selected three different vendors and bought one from each. Despite slight differences in their pictures on Amazon, all of them were the same when they arrived. Two of them failed to work with my earbuds right from the start. The third worked fine with my earbuds until I plugged in the charger at the same time and the audio became very static-y. Thankfully, the next time I tried them the static was gone, but sadly so was the audio. I started to think this golden unicorn adapter I needed was a donkey with a taped on paper horn. Weeks later I’m on a 4 hour drive along country roads and digging the music that I’m playing from my phone, with Apple’s adapter into a double male 3.5mm cable into my truck’s “audio in” port. Good times! Until the phone battery runs low and I’m about to lose my map app. I get home after having to listen to myself sing for 45 minutes. Fortunately no passengers, so I only had to endure myself. Still enough reason to re-approach Amazon to see if they have any of these adapters that will actually work. I spotted this unit from Belkin for just around $35 and thought “so this is what the phrase good money after bad means”. And yet, I couldn’t stop myself. This Belkin adapter arrived in an Amazon bubble mailer promptly (two days) after ordering. Inside the mailer was a sealed plastic bag with the adapter, but no commercial packaging. The adapter itself had a black greasy smudge (repackaged defective return?), but looked otherwise new and I’m happy to report it performed exactly as I’d hoped when I tested it. Good clear sound through the truck’s sound system while charging at what seems to be a normal rate. This is the one that works! Update- It’s now April 2024 and this adapter is still working great after daily use.

I initially got two cheaper adapters as I didn't expect there would be too many ways that could go wrong for what seemed to be a basic adapter but after those two proved to be unreliable, I decided to play it safe and go with the belkin instead. These work every time as they should, plug them in and every time the audio and power is there. No static noise when charging and listening at the same time, no fiddling with the audio jack to slide one in and no to a couple other issues that a reliable adapter can address. My issue with it though is the bulkiness. It is good quality but the wire is about 3x stiffer than the OEM one from apple. Combine this with the additional bulkiness of it to the OEM adapter that came with the iPhone, I can't confidently state that I see myself carrying this around on my phone all the time/often as I would with the OEM one from Apple. The picture is a comparison of the one from Apple to the one from Belkin. This one is 3x+ the size. Bigger is expected to have both power and audio but they could have severely cut the wire length and/or make the wire softer so that you can tuck it into your pocket because when you have this connected to your phone, the phone length plus the adapter length does stick out by an unsightly amount out of your pocket while you're walking with it and the bulkiness on the end really draws yours eyes to it. It's something worth nothing if you're on the verge of buying just another OEM basic adapter from Apple or upgrading to one that comes included with a charging port since such an upgrade does come with it's own downside. Overall though, the technical reliability of this adapter beats such an issue.

It performed its tasks well. Unfortunately I have upgraded to an incompatible device, but in the years I used this product, it holds up well. Doing one’s best not to flex it frequently so that it lasts even longer, it had lasted us a long time & still does, albeit now in a drawer. It can allow you to use an external audio device, charge, & data transfer all at the same time. Should this be a product you need despite the slightly high price, we can confidently recommend it to you.

Doesn't do what it is was advertised to do. Maybe I have a defective one? I can't seem to find any reviews with my exact symptoms. The unit plays out the headphone jack wonderfully! Sound quality is very good. The unit will allow my phone to charge just fine. Charge function works each and every time I plug it in. The issue? It won't do both at the same time. When I plug in the charge cable while playing audio, the audio continues to play for maybe 1 second, then goes away completely. I have looked on my phone for a setting to switch the audio playback device, and can't find anything relevant to switch to to get the audio back. It doesn't matter what order I plug the cables in: headphone first, charge cable first, etc. Whenever the adapter's charge port is hooked up, I get silence from the headphone jack. I bought this to listen to music in my older car that although has a USB jack, will not stream audio from it, only phone audio. Car does have an Aux input, which is how I am attempting to use this device. But I can stream music, and let my phone battery run down on the drive to work, or charge my phone on the way to work in silence. -EDIT- I found the issue & solution: In order to use both at the same time, you must use a 'charge only' usb port. My car has a USB port for playing media from a thumb drive. My car also has bluetooth for phone calls, but it won't stream audio, so I am stuck with using the Aux-input. The issue is when I plug the Belkin into the car USB port, it is a data port, so it most likely kills the headphone audio. I have tested this with my home PC as well. Plug into a PC USB port, audio from the headphone jack gets turned off. However, if you plug the usb cord into a charge cube it works fine, since there is no 'data' path with just a charger. For the car I bought one of those cigarette lighter to USB adapters, and since it provides charge only and no data services, the Belkin works perfectly now. 3.5mm "headphone" audio + simultaneous charging.

I just received this adapter, it wasn't the cheapest adapter out there but I wanted quality. I wasn't sure about some features, so thought I'd clarify some things here. Yes, you can use it with a wired headset to make and receive phone calls. This was the main reason I was buying this because the built in headphone port in my phone is damaged, so instead of a new phone I figured I can limp along for some time with this adapter. It also provides the benefit of allowing me to use a wired headset with my waterproof phone case without the headset adapter that came with the case. I've found the case adapter to be unreliable, but this Belkin adapter completely by-passes that problem. The male side of the Belkin adapter is a bit thick, but it still works with my waterproof case, so that's even more bonus. If you have a case with a very tight port though, this may not fit. I tested making and receiving calls with and without the phone locked, and with and without the charge cable plugged in at the same time. worked flawlessly in all conditions. It feels well made, which is also why I was certain to get one that was Apple certified. I'm using this with my iPhone 6. Well worth the money in my opinion. If I find flaws over time, I'll update this review.

It stopped working after about 10 months. I used this daily for hours, gaming, streaming videos/music ect. Not only that, but I use this at night to watch YouTube videos that help me fall asleep. So I have wired headphones on for many hours a day and Bluetooth is not an option. Mind you, I keep this in the house and take excellent care of my things. It wasn’t even exposed to any outdoor wear/tear elements. While it was working it did the job and sounded great. However, it can become uncomfortable to hold horizontally while gaming: 1) The cord will likely sit between your index and middle finger. The lighting plug has a sharp transition from hard plastic to rubber. The edge of the plastic continually rubs against the inside of your index finger and I’ve developed some hard red lump on my skin. I don’t know if it’s a callus or blister, but it’s there permanently and hasn’t gone away. Wrapping that transitioning area of the cord with tape has provided the cushion/support you need, but it’s aesthetically unappealing. Amazon has created way more comfortable lightning cables but they don’t create this type of cable unfortunately. 2) The headphone/lightning connection can be heavy/annoying when hanging to the side while gaming but tolerable. #1 above is way worse to deal with. It looks to be made of quality at first, but the reason it breaks so easily is because the cord has a cheap rubber cover and not sturdy nylon(likely intentional). It’s just not built/designed to withstand natural movement and practical use(likely intentional). Apple can be so blissfully unaware of gamer’s needs with their hardware despite the fact when opening the App Store, that’s primarily what you see. Their dongles and accessories have increasingly become a nightmare to manage while the quality has greatly degraded. That all said, buy this product. It’s the best one out there. You have no other choice. Get ready to drop $35 every 10 months just for a basic fn headphone connector.