Help me understand micro usb cables and slow charging - General Accessories

I have been having trouble recently with my galaxy s3 charging extremely slowly. Every since the OEM cable broke, I have tried to find replacements that charge at 1amp. The only cable that does this is the monoprice premium micro usb cable 6ft, but it breaks quite easily. I have also tried the 28awg 6ft monoprice cables, which were pathetic and charged at 100ma. This was all plugged into the OEM 1a wall charger fyi.
I have heard that the 24awg cables with ferrite core charges at a full 1 amp because the cables are thicker, but what I don't understand is that the OEM and premium monoprice cables both charge at 1100mah but are really thin compared to even the 28awg cable. The OEM and monoprice cables don't have specifications printed on them. I had always thought that generic usb cables were the same as OEM cables, and would charge at the same speed, unless there's something wrong with my micro usb port or phone.
I have tried looking for solutions but the answers on most forums are people asking why their phone charges slow when it is plugged into a usb port, and everyone just replies that the usb port output is limited to 500mah, but I am using the oem ac adapter and it's still slow. Only the premium monoprice cable charges full speed but its very poor in quality, the rubber cable separates from the plastic micro usb head, and it breaks. I have had 3 of these premium cables break in less than a weak and only 1 of them works, for now.
Is it my phone's micro usb port? I tried charging it using CM10.1 as well as Touchwiz 4.1.2, but they all charge slowly from the generic cables so it can't be the rom. I don't remember having any of these problems when I first bought the phone on ICS, and I don't see many posts on slow charging.
Is there a cheap, reliable cable that charges at a full 1 amp out there? Most people I've seen had suggested monoprice cables but their 6 foot micro usb cables have changed recently and are really, really bad. I guess the ferrite core cable might work, but I have yet to try it, and I am not fond of the idea of a thick 24awg cable and a big ferrite core sticking out of my phone.

First of all, do you have Galaxy Charging current app? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.abmantis.galaxychargingcurrent.free - I think it's free for N2 and S4, but you have to pay $0.99 for S3 (I use it for free on my N2, but a buddy of mine had to pay to use it on his S3). That app will give you an idea of what's going on. You can also check out Charging Doctor I reviewed here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2451375
Second, charging speed is a combination of both a charger and a cable. The only way to guarantee full 1A/2A output without high resistance which contributes to a drop of charging speed is to use thick wired cables like 24AWG as you correctly pointed out. But with wall chargers - just because they state 1A you will NOT actually get 1A due to efficiency losses. You know how your charger gets warm? That due to AC/DC conversion inefficiency which results in drop of speed and release of energy in a form of a heat. I personally don't trust labels on cheap chargers and also over the time even an efficiency of a trusted converter will go down. I have reviewed a lot of Anker batteries and chargers (check out review link in my signature), and those are the one I highly recommend.
What I would recommend getting one of these trusted 2A chargers and use 24AWG cable and check it with Charging Current app. If you are still seeing a very slow charging speed it means your micro usb connector is wearing off or loosing a contact with a main printed wiring board (pwb) inside of the phone.

Related

Good quality Micro USB cables

Hi,
Does anyone know of any good quality USB 2.0 Micro USB cables for use for charging the Galaxy S2 and also for connecting it to PCs?
Thanks,
James
Errr I use a variety of micro usb cables for my soon-to-be-expelled-into-space Galaxy (i7500)
- Nokia
- Blackberry
- Generic
and guess what...they all do exactly the same thing. Get the cheapest.
Cool, thanks. I had heard that some don't take a full charge...
I have had quite a few issues with thin, cheap micro usb cables not charging properly. Had issues charging HTC Legend, HTC Desire and LG Optimus 2x. Even when using a 1amp wall socket usb charger, they took forever to charge the devices. Bought a handfull of HTC and LG cables and now no more charging problems.
Loving the Amazon Kindle charger. You can plug in any micro USB cable and it charges just fine.
coincoinlapin said:
Errr I use a variety of micro usb cables for my soon-to-be-expelled-into-space Galaxy (i7500)
- Nokia
- Blackberry
- Generic
and guess what...they all do exactly the same thing. Get the cheapest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to contradict you but this is not entirely true.
Yes, they all get the job done but in terms of charging it can take you up to 4 times longer with a low quality USB cable.
To prove this to myself, after buying a cheap USB cable on Ebay and noticing a much longer charge time, I used a 1 Amp USB wall charger and measured the output current at the micro-USB end of each cable (cheap and original). The oiginal HTC cable gives around 700-800mA whereas the cheap one only gives around 250mA.
Conclusion : It takes 3 times longer to charge the battery using the cheap cable that the original cable.
Get's even worse when connected to a PC cause USB ports usually only give out 500mA. If you divide that by 4 when using a low quality cable, charging takes forever.
They are both USB 2.0 cables so the data transfer is probably the same, but the the cheap cable is much thinner which is probably why there is more loss in current.

Gauge of HTC USB cable

Anyone know what it is? The reason I ask is that I thought I was doing something wrong with my SBC kernels since charging wasn't always at the high mA I saw on some of my chargers. I noticed that when using the HTC cable I got the full strength of the charge, compared to the cable I chose from monoprice. I just want to make sure I buy the right one next time since I don't plan on buying all HTC cables.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
The wire gauge has nothing to do with it. The power supply in the charger needs to be designed for that kind of output. The HTC charger has a 1000mah power supply. Most of the cheap chargers you can buy a much much less.
I'm going to have to disagree with you. I know how to read chargers and I know how to measure their output. Hell, I can put one together with components from radio shack. And it's totally the cable.
I have a few chargers that are all 5v outputs. But the mA's are all different. I have a 1.5A, two 1.0As, and a 800 mA. I tested the HTC cable vs the monoprice cable on each one and the HTC cable consistently gets higher draw.
I know this seems like a nitpick for a USB cable, but there are times when I literally have 10 minutes to charge my phone and with the HTC cable I can charge up to 30% faster. I'm going to try my luck with another cable that monoprice has; a 28/24AWG cable. If that doesn't cut it, I'll just go ahead and keep using my cables; in the end that extra 30% isn't going to kill me.
Actually, the wire gauge and the length very likely do have something to do with it, and I've been having similar issues with my monoprice cables. Your point about the charger needing to support it is true, but on a given charger, I've seen quite a big difference between the OEM cable and the monoprice cables of various lengths. The phone sees them all as AC chargers, but I can unplug one cable and switch to another and see a big change.
As a rough made up example, I might get 750mA using the OEM 4ft cable. Monoprice's 6ft cable might only be able to pull 600mA, and their 10ft cable might only pull 400mA. Sometimes it's even more drastic than that.
Either wire gauge or length could affect the ability of the cable to transfer higher current. Monoprice does have a higher gauge of cable, and I've considered trying it out. However, they have a ferrite core on the end, which I'm not a big fan of. I may try one out to see though. I'm also not sure whether it's really a wire gauge issue or if it's more a factor of the longer length.
Are you talking about using the same power supply with a different piece of USB cable between it and the phone? Or the power supplies with the integrated usb cable?
If you're using the same power supply (wall wart with a USB port), then ya the cable just sucks.
MCL1981 said:
Are you talking about using the same power supply with a different piece of USB cable between it and the phone? Or the power supplies with the integrated usb cable?
If you're using the same power supply (wall wart with a USB port), then ya the cable just sucks.
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Click to collapse
Same power supply, different cables. I've always had good luck with monoprice cables, and these do technically work. But I'd like to get faster charging. I'll either pick up one of their higher gauge ones (hate the ferrite cores) or try another brand.

Which USB cables will allow "fast" charging?

I've been using a mix of old and new USB cables for charging and have noticed that some micro USBs from my Blackberry days will charge the TB but VERY slowly, even using the wall charger.
I want to order some more fast charging USB cables, but how do I identify the difference? What IS the actual difference between the cables?
Thanks!
Usb charging is normally slower than AC wall charging. Most cables are designed exactly the same but some chargers are suited for more amperage per hour. I'd recommend downloading the app -"battery monitor widget" and plugging in your charger and seeing what type of miliamp per hour rating you're getting off of that particular usb port. If the port is in front of the computer, normally those get slightly less voltage than the main ones in the back. Also If you're rooted make sure you aren't on an old outdated kernel that has trickle charge coding thats messed up. I normally get 500-800ma/h based off the AC wall chargers, and anywhere depending on what computer (Work vs Home) USB ports anywhere from like 150-350ma/h. Hope that little tidbit helps.
It is a bit complicted.
When you simply apply power, the Thunderbolt (and most micro USB phone) charges at a slow rate. I have measured this at around 350ma max on the Bolt. This is mainly because the USB port power standard on a PC is 500ma max. They need to stay under that.
By the micro USB standard, if you tie the two USB data lines (D- and D+) together, then the Thunderbolt goes into a fast charge mode. I have seen around 850ma max. You can place a piece of aluminum foil on the charger end (large USB) to short out the two center pins only and switch it to high rate.
Some cables tie the two wires together. Those are fast charge only cables that you can't used for a USB connection. Some chargers tie the two wires together. So they fast charge with any USB cable.
What gets complicated is that of course the charger needs to be capable of about 1 amp for the fast charge to work. AND, some cables use such small wire diameter, that they can't carry the high current rate. I have a couple of cheap cables that even on the fast rate, only carry around 300ma.
AND, if you have time, charge at the low rate. The battery and phone will run cooler, and the battery will last longer. My overnight charger is the lowest rate that I can get by with. But I need to use a super high rate when using the GPS on my motorcycle to keep up with the bright screen and such.
worwig said:
It is a bit complicted.
By the micro USB standard, if you tie the two USB data lines (D- and D+) together, then the Thunderbolt goes into a fast charge mode. I have seen around 850ma max. You can place a piece of aluminum foil on the charger end (large USB) to short out the two center pins only and switch it to high rate.
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Click to collapse
I did this for my CaseMate battery backup and was able to get 800ma charging from it...
If you are just looking for a good car charger, i highly recommend the Motorola Rapid Charger from amazon, they are about $5 shipped. Those charge at the AC "Fast Charge" rate.
converting usb standard to fast-charging
Basically, the cable that came with my tablet, which allowed fast-charging, crapped out. I bought what I thought was the same cable and it still didn't work the right way. In searching through the forums, a a phrase hit me... two-pin fast charging cable. Seeing that, I took a small knife and a pair of needle-nose pliers and extracted the two inner pins( data pins) from he USB side of my cable. The cable, without the data pins, became a dedicated fast-charging cable. I have done this process with three cables so far to see if it was a fluke and every one is capable of fast-charging. I hope anybody that has been hitting the wall on this, reads this, because I was getting very frustrated with the convulated answers some people were giving to address this (especially from Munich!). Try it out, you can bury me in ashes if it doesn't work for you!!!
It's not the cable, it's the brick you're using. My nexus 7 charging brick has a higher output than my tbolt brick, so I use my n7's to charge it in a fraction of the time. Never rely on your computer's usb port to charge your device especially if it's your daily driver

I'm Having Charging Issues - Are All Micro USB Cables Created Equally?

I bought an OEM Samsung wall charger that charges at 1 Ampere. I started to charge my Zerolemon battery with it yesterday at about 6pm and here it is today and it is only at about 80% charge rate. Something is not right. I contacted the seller and they told me that the charger is from Samsung and it charges at 1 Ampere. It is either the charger is a knock off or my Micro-usb cable that connects into the wall charger is not the right kind.
Are there different variations of micro-usb cables that will work better? Some that allow more current to flow over them than others? My cable says that it is 28awg/2C. I remember when I had a playstation 3 I had problems with syncing the device with my playstation 3 with the USB cables I had bought. After tons of research it was the USB cables that were the issue. They didn't allow enough current to work properly with the PS3. I'm starting to wonder if I'm having the same issue with the Samsung Wall Charger. Is the 28awg wire gauge too thin?
---->[email protected]<---- said:
I bought an OEM Samsung wall charger that charges at 1 Ampere. I started to charge my Zerolemon battery with it yesterday at about 6pm and here it is today and it is only at about 80% charge rate. Something is not right. I contacted the seller and they told me that the charger is from Samsung and it charges at 1 Ampere. It is either the charger is a knock off or my Micro-usb cable that connects into the wall charger is not the right kind.
Are there different variations of micro-usb cables that will work better? Some that allow more current to flow over them than others? My cable says that it is 28awg/2C. I remember when I had a playstation 3 I had problems with syncing the device with my playstation 3 with the USB cables I had bought. After tons of research it was the USB cables that were the issue. They didn't allow enough current to work properly with the PS3. I'm starting to wonder if I'm having the same issue with the Samsung Wall Charger. Is the 28awg wire gauge too thin?
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Click to collapse
- charger is rated 1amp but usually puts out less depending on the quality and efficiency of it. You won't get the fastest charge with a 1amp psu. Get yourself a cheap 2amp and have plenty of headroom.
- also, if voltage in your wall outlet is low (rare) that would affect psu output.
- yes super thin usb cables can be part of the cause.
- of course, if the cable is meant for PC charging, it will be wired in such a way, to not exceed 450ma (or so) whereas a usb cable or charger that is meant and wired for fast charge, will provide...for me...1150ma (Search/Research my past posts for more detailed info)
- also, most kernels, slow down the charge rate as the batter gets closer to 100% charge.
- a bad battery or custom kernel with bad code, could both affect charging speed.

[Q] What should i look for when getting a car charger?Does USB cable make difference?

http://www.flipkart.com/belkin-f8z4...rger&ref=1121df98-c23e-4571-b4a3-5f8776ad5243
I saw this Belkin charger and says 5V and 1A charging capacity. I read that S3 maximum charging is 1A , so will this charger work ? or does 5V is not enough ? or go for 2A ?
Also does USB cable matter in charging ?
the usb cable makes all the difference.. ive used cheap ebay cables and they dont charge quite as good as oem or the mediabridge hi-speed i have.
naveen_reloaded said:
http://www.flipkart.com/belkin-f8z4...rger&ref=1121df98-c23e-4571-b4a3-5f8776ad5243
I saw this Belkin charger and says 5V and 1A charging capacity. I read that S3 maximum charging is 1A , so will this charger work ? or does 5V is not enough ? or go for 2A ?
Also does USB cable matter in charging ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have just bought a couple of these cables:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FAAHT0E/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and one of these chargers:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00D82O68Y/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
as my Belkin 1A wasn't really as adequate as it could have been.
The cables may be a bit over-kill (and a tad pricey, but I took up the 30 day free Amazon Prime trial so got free next day delivery), but as a combo they work admirably and can cope with charging my S3 and my Nexus 7 (which needs 2A) simultaneously.
Can you guys suggest a brand which is available all over world.. both listed items are not available in india. And Cant spend so much too
USB is digital (except for power). Anything a bit pricier than the cheapest cable will do.
Get a cable like this, with a charger that provides 2.1a out of a single port. If you're on a custom kernel that allows you to change incoming amperage, you don't need the dedicated cable.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Where do people get the idea that a USB cable is gonna make a difference for charging your phone??
I've used ebay, dollar store type cables my whole life and have never had a problem other than cheap build quality where the cable doesn't last very long. It still passed the same power or signal as any well known and overpriced branded cable.
I assume these people are the same suckers who buy $100 Monster HDMI cables that work the same as $10 ebay or monoprice stuff.
Be careful with those "mini" car chargers. The cheap price is daunting, but I bought a package that came with 2 with retractable USB cords for only 5 US dollars.
The adapter would not stay firmly in the car and pull out whenever I tried to extend the cord to plug in my phone, and my phone's battery decreased while plugged in...
While this could've been a car issue, I'd just use caution. Instead I purchased a regular sized one with a retractable USB built in for only 8 dollars, I'll link you if you're interested. Good luck!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Also don't forget that the actual charger might suck

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