Pixel Phone charger safe to use? - ZTE Axon 7 Accessories

I just got my Axon 7 recently, and it's my first USB-device - so I don't have any cables for it other than the one (and the adaptor) in the box as of yet. I work at the front desk of a college library, there's a box of all the stuff students leave behind and normally never come back for staring me in the face ever day with a shiny new Pixel Phone charger and cable in it. I could use a charger to keep at work, but thinking it through, would it even be safe to use with the Axon 7? This phone is Quick Charge 3.0, that charger is USB Power Delivery, and we've all heard the horror stories about mixing USB-compliant and Qualcomm compliant hardware... but also that some, like the G5, can handle both with ease. I haven't been able to find any information once way or the other on what the Axon 7 can handle, and I'm a little nervous to try it out. Anyone have any actual facts? I really feel like I should know what is dangerous to my phone, and what isn't.
EDIT: additional info: the in-box ZTE charger says output is 5V3A OR 9V2A OR 12V1.5A. The pixel charger says output is 5V3A, 9V2A. So theoretically safe?

You took the charger out of lost and found? ....
The charger should work as it's standard USB-C. As for how safe it is I believe that has a lot to do with the pinout (not sure if that's the right term) off the charger and how much power it puts out. Am I correct in saying this?

Any modern smartphone (manufactured since the late 2000s when the USB Battery Charging Specification was adopted) should be fine with any charger outputting more than the USB spec of 500mA. Both the charger and phone itself have safeguards in place to prevent your charger or your phone from blowing up, so assuming neither is damaged, they will regulate themselves to maximize the power transfer.
Now, your real concern should be about the cable. Cheap cables cannot necessarily handle the amperage of high-output chargers, so there's a much greater chance of melting your cheap $1 cable. Buy just about any decent brand and you'll be fine.
One note: a lot of folks reference Google's Benson Leung and his reviews of USB-C cables. While I would trust his reviews without a second thought, I would like to remind folks that a cable that supports QC 3.0 very likely doesn't conform to USB-C specifications since QC 3.0 alters the Vbus (12V for QC 3.0, I think) and that breaks the spec. So just because a cable fails Leung's tests doesn't mean it's a "bad" cable.
When it comes down to it, you really shouldn't be quick-charging your phone on a regular basis, anyway. It will significantly and noticeably reduce the life of your battery (your USB-C port, too, but to a lesser extent). Reserve quick-charging for times when you absolutely need it and trickle-charge the rest of the time.

rczrider:
Theoretically, sure. But I'm recalling catastrophic incompatibilities like this one of things that, well, shouldn't be catastrophic. I've come to realize I'm actually quite nervous of something like this happening to my phone.

mtmerrick said:
rczrider:
Theoretically, sure. But I'm recalling catastrophic incompatibilities like this one of things that, well, shouldn't be catastrophic. I've come to realize I'm actually quite nervous of something like this happening to my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then use the included charger. I don't know what to tell you: no one can magically tell you what your phone will do, though it should do something like what the other HTC 10 did in that story: disable charging if there's a problem. It was pointed out in the article that the same model of phone did different things in similar situations, so even if I tell you my Axon 7 charges fine on Pixel charger, who's to say that your phone won't blow up, anyway?
Also, the guy in the article used a Pixel C charger, which is not a USB charger; it's a regular charger with a USB-C connector and is something like 60W. QC 3.0 (what the Axon 7 and HTC 10 both support) is 18W. The Pixel XL uses USB-PD (despite the fact that the 821 supports QC 3.0, I don't think Google allows it) and is limited to 18W (the smaller Pixel is limited to 15W). So yeah, the guy from the article plugged in a charger that was rated more than 3x the max his phone supports. No wonder it nearly blew up his battery.
I stand by my assertion that any modern phone charger will work just fine with any modern phone. And, really, the lesson here is to avoid quick-charging in the first place. It's convenient, but it also damages your phone and the battery. It may not blow up, but it's doing damage nonetheless.
One other note: don't take someone's Pixel charger. I, too, used to work at university lab where kids would leave stuff by accident. If it's there at the end of the semester after the kids have all left, then fine. But it's the middle of a semester (I assume), so give them a chance to come back for it.

Related

Charging the E4GT with non oem adapter

The original Samsung charger outputs 5V---1000ma, I have an extra blackberry micro usb charger that outputs 5V---750ma.
I want to use my old blackberry charger in my office, will this different current output affect my battery long term or short term?
edlivian said:
The original Samsung charger outputs 5V---1000ma, I have an extra blackberry micro usb charger that outputs 5V---750ma.
I want to use my old blackberry charger in my office, will this different current output affect my battery long term or short term?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One of the immediate side effects will be that your phone will take a longer time to fully charge your battery.
If I helped you out in any way please thank me. Thanks.
Not sure how the blackberry chargers are. I know some of the Motorola chargers are accepted by the phone for high current charging (any charger that doesn't puts the phone in low current mode).
I charge my phone every night on my old 700mah Samsung charger and while it does take longer youd hardly notice unless you were trying to get as much charge in say an hour as possible. So as long as the phone doesn't limit it you should be good. <500mah is very noticeable.
I know it will take longer to charge. But Im not as familiar with appropriate charging output for li-ion as i am for ni-mh Sanyo eneloops for example that ideally should be charged at 220ma to maximize cell life.
edlivian said:
I know it will take longer to charge. But Im not as familiar with appropriate charging output for li-ion as i am for ni-mh Sanyo eneloops for example that ideally should be charged at 220ma to maximize cell life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The rule still applies the less current used to charge the better the lifespan. The phone was paired with a battery with the intention of using a 1 amp charger. The phone will only allow high current charging mode if it thinks the charger is Samsung. Shorting the data pins is a way to fool it and many aftermarket chargers already do this.
With your phone on and the phone in low current mode (320 mah i believe) you will have a hard time charging the phone if anything is wake locking the phone even screen off. You will even have trouble charging and using the phone at 500mah depending on whats going on.
The phone will be eating some amount of power from the charger, the battery is not always seeing as much current as you might think. I always stick by the practice of not deep discharging it, LiION would rather be topped off then not charged (geeze remember NiCad laptop batteries.... lol). I feel this battery will be the shortest lifespan of any phone or laptop I have ever had. Just due to how much use it sees.
Charger
Any micro usb charger should work. I've had a dozen or so different gadgets that all use micro usb from Blue Tooth headsets, to speakers. I use all chargers interchangeably with one noteable exception. My wife's Nook Tablet will only charge using the provided Nook charger. Found that out the hard way.
I have also found that not all micro usb cables will provide data transfer for all phones. I'm guessing different pin-outs? For instance when I was trying to root my ET4G, I forgot my OEM cable at home so I tried to use my EVO cable. That dind't work well at all.
My old blackberry chargers seemed to work fine but I started seeing some strange jumping around of the battery while using. For instance it would all of a sudden jump up to 100% charged then if I unplugged and plugged back in it would go back to 70% or whatever. I went back to only samsung or just charging off usb. I use my pc, printer, cable box etc to charge my phone.
I charge mine with either the stock charger that came with my E4GT, or an old 700MAh charger that came with my old Samsung Rant. Occasionally I use the charger that came with my HTC Evo 4G. I really can never tell a difference. Although, like someone above said, it seems as if non-Samsung usb cables will not charge when plugged into a computer. That's how it is with the HTC cable, and I've also tried an LG usb cable and got the same results.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
BBJon said:
I have also found that not all micro usb cables will provide data transfer for all phones. I'm guessing different pin-outs? For instance when I was trying to root my ET4G, I forgot my OEM cable at home so I tried to use my EVO cable. That dind't work well at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? I rooted and always use Odin using an HTC cable...
EggosEvo said:
I charge mine with either the stock charger that came with my E4GT, or an old 700MAh charger that came with my old Samsung Rant. Occasionally I use the charger that came with my HTC Evo 4G. I really can never tell a difference. Although, like someone above said, it seems as if non-Samsung usb cables will not charge when plugged into a computer. That's how it is with the HTC cable, and I've also tried an LG usb cable and got the same results.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the exclaim, the replacement to the rant and thats where my 700mah charger came from.
All of my other Micro USB cables except the one are non samsung and I use them all for charging, data and they charge while connected to pc. But none of them are from other phone manufacturers or anything. The Micro USB spec is what these phones are using there is no difference.
The difference that matters most of the time is tolerances. Its easy to end up with cables that will work well in one port but not another. The rest of the cable may also be out of spec and not work well or at all for certain purposes.
I've ruined two batteries because of non-OEM chargers on the ET4G. (Actually, ruined two, and made a third battery just render terrible performance.) I definitely don't have the problem with other devices I own, and it's definitely happened with two separate ET4G's I've owned.
So, "be very careful using alternate chargers" is all I would advise.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Please correct me if I'm wrong but isn't electricity the same no matter the source?
If the phone is looking to pull 1A and your charger is rated for .7A I'd be worried about the charger not the battery, which technically is a cell not a battery.
Tolerances were mentioned before and I think that is most of the problem with certain cables working fine for some people and not others. All connectors and cabling are supposed to meet the USB spec and many cheap ones don't. Also the supposed 10,000 insertion rating for micro USB is a bit optimistic imo. I replace cables after a couple months max because of loose connections.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
dberend said:
Please correct me if I'm wrong but isn't electricity the same no matter the source?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really because these chargers are doing AC to DC conversion and voltage regulation is a huge factor in its job. With a bad charger design not only can charging be affected, possibly even hurt the battery. Since the phone will consumer charger power to run while on the charger the phone can become unstable. Not talking a defective charger, just bad and cheap designs.
dberend said:
If the phone is looking to pull 1A and your charger is rated for .7A I'd be worried about the charger not the battery, which technically is a cell not a battery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think about that alot actually. Coming from PC power supplies you never want to overload the unit. But I know for a fact I have devices that demand more from chargers than can be given, and do not have the low current and high current modes like this phone.
I am no electrical engineer and am only familiar with AC to DC and DC to AC circuits and various voltage regulation techiniques. But it is possible to current limit as well right? You design a half amp charger, with the data pin short to put the Samsung into high current. You limit the current to 500 mah but over build the components just a little to increase lifespan.
Anyways, I bought a 2.1 Amp RCA wall charger from walmart last night on a wim. 9 bucks, might come in handy when i get a tablet. Has a 1 Amp side and a 2.1 Amp thats shared with the 1 Amp. Phone didn't show any ill will to it and I had my Schosche GoBatt on the 1 amp end. If the phones drawing too much current could be bad in the long run but its working so far. Charged at the normal speed of the stock charger.
RainMotorsports said:
Not really because these chargers are doing AC to DC conversion and voltage regulation is a huge factor in its job. With a bad charger design not only can charging be affected, possibly even hurt the battery. Since the phone will consumer charger power to run while on the charger the phone can become unstable. Not talking a defective charger, just bad and cheap designs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you on bad and cheap designs. How many tv's and other electronics have been rendered useless by a few substandard capacitors that saved the manufacturer $.02 per unit?
I try not to use any charger that doesn't have HTC, Samsung, etc on the label. I figure if they were willing to back it warranty wise for the original device it should put out clean enough power.
I'm far from being engineer but I do quite a bit of hardware hacking and learned a little bit about electronics when I was at Ft Gordon. So I'm not completely lost around a multimeter
I would imagine that there is some protection built into the charging circuit of the phone itself. How effective or what kind of tolerance Idk suppose I could look for datasheets if anybody really cares.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA

USB Charging with newer devices

Short version: what is the best way to charge a newer device from a USB port that only outputs 0.5a?
Long version:
Been out today in my new car and tried charging my phone from the built in usb... didn't do anything. Makes the charging noise on the phone but no charge.
Obviously I'm guessing it must be only outputting at 0.5a which is very low for today's devices... what can I do? Is there any way to bump up a 0.5a to higher easily (appreciate this might vary by a billion factors, but guess the USB is coming off the car's 12v rails somewhere along the line...)
Another thought that came to me was putting a battery pack that charges slower in the middle, but i don't know if this will work given that i'll probably be drawing more than i'll be getting in to it... and can they even charge as they are outputting?
Any thoughts welcome!!
Cheers
Xperia Z5
Silly question, but have you considered buying a separate phone charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter?
If your device supports Qualcomm QC 1/2/3 there are car chargers that support that protocol. If your device only supports 5V charging, there are chargers that put out up to 2.4 Amps.
I'd recommend purchasing one from a well know brand like Anker (I've only ever purchased 1 charger, it seems to work fine and it was this brand) or several phone manufacturers and cell providers sell their own.
If you absolutely MUST be plugged in over USB (for multimedia?) I don't think there really is a good/safe way to "boost" the output of the port in your car. They provide the USB port so that they can check the box on the features list for "Yes we have a USB port". They're doing this at as low of a cost as possible with little regard for how well it works or if it will charge your device well.
That's what I've ended up going for. It's not ideal as the USB is in the way of the gearstick a bit, but it's all I have. If I come up with a better way then I'll let you know!!

Some questions on charging battery issue

Hey guys. Just wanna ask some question.
My note 10.1 2014 P601 is now running stock 5.1.1 un-rooted. Basically everything stock. I know that our Note need its own charger to work properly. But I lost the original charger long ago, and I've been using only the USB I bought separately to charge my tablet by connecting it to PC.
Now, my mother just bought a new phone (Galaxy A7) and when I try to charge my tablet with her charger, sometime it shows X mark (which means insufficient, exactly like when i connect to pc via USB cable) on the battery icon, but sometime it shows the lightning (which is fine) icon. The speed of the charge depends on that sign, if on lightning sign, from 0 to 100% takes about 4h. But if on the X mark sign, 4h will just get around 40%.
I don't really know what happened, but I have to unplug then re-plug again and again to get the lightning sign to come up. I then bought a new charger (from a legit well-known store and they said it's the best quality) and it does the same thing. I haven't got a chance to borrow anyone's original note charger yet as I found no one using this device. And now I start to think it's the problem with my Note more likely than anything. I haven't tried to reinstall the firmware either as I just updated the firmware like few months ago.
I've been using it for about a year btw. Sorry for my English. And looking forward to hear from you all.
The usb jack or its solder contacts may be damaged. Also, if no case is used and the backside of the Note squeezed when holding it in your hands, the cables for usb and display may work themselves slowly out of their pcb connectors. I don't know if the squeeze theory is right, but definitely there are many loose cables...
A charger must be Qualcomm Quickcharge or Apple iPad compatible, 5v 2A. I haven't used a Sammy Charger for a single time,tho they seem just too good to throw away.
lecorbusier said:
The usb jack or its solder contacts may be damaged. Also, if no case is used and the backside of the Note squeezed when holding it in your hands, the cables for usb and display may work themselves slowly out of their pcb connectors. I don't know if the squeeze theory is right, but definitely there are many loose cables...
A charger must be Qualcomm Quickcharge or Apple iPad compatible, 5v 2A. I haven't used a Sammy Charger for a single time,tho they seem just too good to throw away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure the Qualcomm Quickcharge would work on this P601? I checked the list before and I didn't see the Note 10.1. Not even the Note 3 which was released together. I afraid that being "not compatible" might fry the device.
If you're using one and not having any problem, can you post the link to the product that you're using and working well?
I forgot about the different SoCs. However, all models charge at 5v/2A and the signaling technique used for Quickcharge seems to be borrowed from that of the Apple iPad, the Exynos based models should be just the same. I plugged my Note into an Apple compatible charger, which was from a time when Android smartphones were charging at 0,9A and Android tablets had proprietory connectors, and it was charging at 2A.

Compatible chargers

I come from a Nexus 6P that also had a USB C port. Today I needed to charge my phone and the 6P charger was next to me. But, knowing all the issues there are/were with USB C, I decided to search before using the charger and I found this article:
http://www.androidcentral.com/my-htc-10-hates-pixel-c-charger
After reading this article, I found some threads speaking about this and decided that I would stick with the official charger only.
But, I got curious. When this information came out, the phone was pretty new. Were there any new findings regarding this in the meantime? Is it really mandatory that I only use the official charger unless I want my phone to turn into a Note 7?
dastinger said:
I come from a Nexus 6P that also had a USB C port. Today I needed to charge my phone and the 6P charger was next to me. But, knowing all the issues there are/were with USB C, I decided to search before using the charger and I found this article:
http://www.androidcentral.com/my-htc-10-hates-pixel-c-charger
After reading this article, I found some threads speaking about this and decided that I would stick with the official charger only.
But, I got curious. When this information came out, the phone was pretty new. Were there any new findings regarding this in the meantime? Is it really mandatory that I only use the official charger unless I want my phone to turn into a Note 7?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google does not support Quick Charge technology forced by Qualcomm. They go with proprietary USB Power Delivery. So no wonder Google charger does not work with QuickCharge enabled phones.
I think HTC is to blame here though. They should have gone with USB C standards, not Qualcomm's.
So, we should stick with only the official charger I guess?
You can basically use any charger but just to be on the safe side I would stay away from the USB-PD chargers. USB Power Delivery and Qualcomm Quick Charge differ quite a bit.
"Any charger" being anything that's a basic 5V USB charger whether it's a 1A or 1.5A or 1.8A or 2A or 2.4A... Or any Quick Charge 2.0 or Quick Charge 3.0 charger.
And if you want to be extra safe, only buy chargers from reputable brands and in the case of Quick Charge chargers, pick one from the certified list.
https://www.qualcomm.com/documents/quick-charge-device-list (PDF)
If you come across a QC charger that's not on the certified list, you can ask yourself: has the manufacturer certified any other products? If they have, you're pretty much good to go. If they haven't, well ask the manufacturer why they haven't certified any QC products they make. Another good question for a charger manufacturer would be to ask what power controller are they using in that product? If the power controller is certified then, well, that's that. I'd say you're good to go as the power controller is the brains of the whole operation.
I personally have a Tronsmart CC2TF charger in our car, it's not on the certified list but they have certified a dozen different accessories in the past so I'm not even slightly worried. They make good products.
P.S. @cavist Qualcomm doesn't force anything. If an OEM doesn't want to use Quick Charge on their device then they will not use it. Whoopdy doo, big deal.
Also USB-PD is non-proprietary, royalty-free spec in contrast to the proprietary, royalty-free Quick Charge spec.
P.S. @cavist Qualcomm doesn't force anything. If an OEM doesn't want to use Quick Charge on their device then they will not use it. Whoopdy doo, big deal.
Also USB-PD is non-proprietary, royalty-free spec in contrast to the proprietary, royalty-free Quick Charge spec.[/QUOTE]
I mismatched the words and meaning, thanks for correcting this. As for forcing issue, I meant that almost every device with Snapdragon with QC is using that feature and the company is advertising their power delivery standard which anybody would expect opposite to Google which is relying on approved USB PD specification. It is strange that so many big companies choose the QC and not proper USB PD in its place while having a free hand in choosing the charging standard.

USB cable for connecting to PC

I have a fairly old laptop, and it only has the USB A connector on it
Any idea which USB C to USB A data cable I can use to connect Moto Z Play to Windows 7 laptop?
thanks!
animefans said:
I have a fairly old laptop, and it only has the USB A connector on it
Any idea which USB C to USB A data cable I can use to connect Moto Z Play to Windows 7 laptop?
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't received mine yet but I assume an A to micro plugged into a Micro female to C male adapter will work just fine for charge and xfers. But again, I haven't tested it yet. Both can be had for cheap on ebay.
KrisM22 said:
I haven't received mine yet but I assume an A to mini plugged into a mini to C adapter will work just fine for charge and xfers. But again, I haven't tested it yet. Both can be had for cheap on ebay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is my first time dealing with USB C cable, but I have read (headline mostly) that USB C cable is pretty picky, and some can even fried the device
If you don't mind, can you let me know your experience with the adapter?
Thanks!
animefans said:
This is my first time dealing with USB C cable, but I have read (headline mostly) that USB C cable is pretty picky, and some can even fried the device
If you don't mind, can you let me know your experience with the adapter?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, my first time with USB-C connector.
1. important change in my first answer - change "mini" to "micro". (I keep confusing the 2 in my speak! I have tons of "A to micro" cables lying around to charge things like my cell phones etc. So I got and ordered adapters which go micro female to C male. I have no idea if they will be problematic.
2. been lazy so finally ordered a couple cables on ebay with description "USB-C 3.1 Type C Male to 3.0 Type A Male Sync Data Charger Fast Charging Cable" - the important thing for me being the 3.0 type A. Even though realistically, I believe we are only using 4 conductors on a regular-speed power charge or data xfer. But the high speed charge probably uses more, but that's a separate cable attached to the wall wart charger.
3. as to them frying things , i googled and found many many many reports about that one incident. I actually expected more. What you could do to minimize this is eyeball connectors before you plug them in, and possibly shut phone off (and unplug charger) and plug C connector in to phone just to make sure it slides in easily. I believe the only USB connectors I have ever had problems with were very recent: micro male attached to the end of some cheap 10-20$ "endoscopes". Really had problem getting them in to my Moto G3, but no shorts.
Lightening can strike anywhere and anytime. We can just do our best to be careful!
Certainly I'll let you know my experience though I have yet to see the phone hit the post office.
KrisM22 said:
Yes, my first time with USB-C connector.
1. important change in my first answer - change "mini" to "micro". (I keep confusing the 2 in my speak! I have tons of "A to micro" cables lying around to charge things like my cell phones etc. So I got and ordered adapters which go micro female to C male. I have no idea if they will be problematic.
2. been lazy so finally ordered a couple cables on ebay with description "USB-C 3.1 Type C Male to 3.0 Type A Male Sync Data Charger Fast Charging Cable" - the important thing for me being the 3.0 type A. Even though realistically, I believe we are only using 4 conductors on a regular-speed power charge or data xfer. But the high speed charge probably uses more, but that's a separate cable attached to the wall wart charger.
3. as to them frying things , i googled and found many many many reports about that one incident. I actually expected more. What you could do to minimize this is eyeball connectors before you plug them in, and possibly shut phone off (and unplug charger) and plug C connector in to phone just to make sure it slides in easily. I believe the only USB connectors I have ever had problems with were very recent: micro male attached to the end of some cheap 10-20$ "endoscopes". Really had problem getting them in to my Moto G3, but no shorts.
Lightening can strike anywhere and anytime. We can just do our best to be careful!
Certainly I'll let you know my experience though I have yet to see the phone hit the post office.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing your perspective on this topic!
I will also do my own research as well, and see what I learn
It might not be as bad as I think/perceive!
animefans said:
Thanks for sharing your perspective on this topic!
I will also do my own research as well, and see what I learn
It might not be as bad as I think/perceive!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the unit and have done a ton of plugging/un- and though I notice the connection is slightly stiff, I have noticed no problems with the USB-C.
KrisM22 said:
I have the unit and have done a ton of plugging/un- and though I notice the connection is slightly stiff, I have noticed no problems with the USB-C.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not do very thorough reading, but from what I gather, the issue with USB-C is the potential for USB-C device (maybe 3 amps) to pull more current than the USB-A port can supply (most likely 2 amps), thus frying the USB-A port
A USB-C to USB-A cable that has 56 ohm resistor will avoid this issue by forcing the client (usb C device) to draw as much power as the host (usb A port) can supply
Here are the pages that I read on this topic
https://www.androidauthority.com/best-usb-type-c-cables-682801/
https://www.extremetech.com/computi...-and-other-usb-devices-as-quickly-as-possible
https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/how-to-find-safe-usb-type-c-cables
animefans said:
I have not do very thorough reading, but from what I gather, the issue with USB-C is the potential for USB-C device (maybe 3 amps) to pull more current than the USB-A port can supply (most likely 2 amps), thus frying the USB-A port
A USB-C to USB-A cable that has 56 ohm resistor will avoid this issue by forcing the client (usb C device) to draw as much power as the host (usb A port) can supply
Here are the pages that I read on this topic
https://www.androidauthority.com/best-usb-type-c-cables-682801/
https://www.extremetech.com/computi...-and-other-usb-devices-as-quickly-as-possible
https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/how-to-find-safe-usb-type-c-cables
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. A close read of that indicates to me that there is going to be a ton of arguing over what is safe, and some burnt out 5v power rails in some, especially older, computers.
The mention of 56Kohm resister in cables has caused some cable sellers to advertise that, but having that, in and of itself, I believe doesn't do anything - you need load balancing circuitry in both the phone AND the charger to utilize it.
I read this quote with amusement "A good cable uses a deep-draw extrusion method that produces a Type C plug that is a single piece of metal and does not have a visible seam on one side of the plug,". My phone came with a factory Motorola hi speed charger that is rated for 5v 3a (15w), and it's C plug has just such a "bad" seam. So many people make such blanket statements that simply are not true.
I looked at one of my wall-wart chargers(this particular one is stamped Samsung) and it is rated at 5v, 0.7a (3.5w), so it's a good bet that if I plug my old A to micro to micro-to-C adapter to phone, that nothing bad will happen. Another one (Moto) rated at .8a. A 3rd one that came with my Moto G3 is rated .55a .
1)So if one goes to ebay and buys a wall wart rated at 5a and uses old cables and adapter to plug it to a Moto Z, what will happen? Dunno!
2) I have had my Moto z plugged very often to my computer with just such an arrangement and have not noticed any "fast charging".
I have a huge 850w PSU in my computer, but that does not mean that all that amperage available on the rail is permitted through the USB connection. Intel offers some ideas and I would bet that most current mobos have such limiting circuitry: I am sure older (than 10 yrs?) do not, or at least not as effective.
http://www.usb.org/developers/docs/whitepapers/power_delivery_motherboards.pdf
The phone also has smart limiting circuitry, but of course I don't know what it is.
Am I more in jeopardy with an old A to micro cable with C adapter, or a new A to C cable. Dunno. Certainly any wall wart should be from the/a phone mfgr, or rated below an amp or so. I don't know if you can make this phone fast charge for 30 min if it's rated for 3a, without an official charger. The remainder of the charge time is governed by the phone to be at a much slower rate.
With this new phone, I have yet to connect it to a wall wart other than for 5 min to the official one just to make sure it worked, and I don't recall any high speed message. It winds up getting a 100% charge just by being plugged into my computer since I am doing file transfers and the like.
As to the plugs themselves, you can run much more amperage through an A (few wide conductors) than a C (many very thin conductors).
A very great deal is being made of this one incident. It is hard for me to understand how a different cable can burn out a computer. You can run 10 amps through any cable (though it will get more than a tad warm!), but amps in a cable is not a problem. It's the governor, or lack thereof, in the source (wall wart or computer) and the target (phone or another computer). If the computer presents a short circuit to the cable, something will surely fry, but no device, these days, should ever do that.
A cable (they all are made in China, but there are many factorys there with widely varying QC), with an M stamp on it or not, is still just 4 wires in a sheath. If it is poorly made, or the connectors at the ends are poorly made or poorly attached, there will be trouble.
Okay, that's enough words for this post, but, for sure, this topic will be around forever!
EDIT: C type connectors have been in use on phones for years now. Why have we not heard of any phones destroyed???????
KrisM22 said:
Thanks for this. A close read of that indicates to me that there is going to be a ton of arguing over what is safe, and some burnt out 5v power rails in some, especially older, computers.
The mention of 56Kohm resister in cables has caused some cable sellers to advertise that, but having that, in and of itself, I believe doesn't do anything - you need load balancing circuitry in both the phone AND the charger to utilize it.
I read this quote with amusement "A good cable uses a deep-draw extrusion method that produces a Type C plug that is a single piece of metal and does not have a visible seam on one side of the plug,". My phone came with a factory Motorola hi speed charger that is rated for 5v 3a (15w), and it's C plug has just such a "bad" seam. So many people make such blanket statements that simply are not true.
I looked at one of my wall-wart chargers(this particular one is stamped Samsung) and it is rated at 5v, 0.7a (3.5w), so it's a good bet that if I plug my old A to micro to micro-to-C adapter to phone, that nothing bad will happen. Another one (Moto) rated at .8a. A 3rd one that came with my Moto G3 is rated .55a .
1)So if one goes to ebay and buys a wall wart rated at 5a and uses old cables and adapter to plug it to a Moto Z, what will happen? Dunno!
2) I have had my Moto z plugged very often to my computer with just such an arrangement and have not noticed any "fast charging".
I have a huge 850w PSU in my computer, but that does not mean that all that amperage available on the rail is permitted through the USB connection. Intel offers some ideas and I would bet that most current mobos have such limiting circuitry: I am sure older (than 10 yrs?) do not, or at least not as effective.
http://www.usb.org/developers/docs/whitepapers/power_delivery_motherboards.pdf
The phone also has smart limiting circuitry, but of course I don't know what it is.
Am I more in jeopardy with an old A to micro cable with C adapter, or a new A to C cable. Dunno. Certainly any wall wart should be from the/a phone mfgr, or rated below an amp or so. I don't know if you can make this phone fast charge for 30 min if it's rated for 3a, without an official charger. The remainder of the charge time is governed by the phone to be at a much slower rate.
With this new phone, I have yet to connect it to a wall wart other than for 5 min to the official one just to make sure it worked, and I don't recall any high speed message. It winds up getting a 100% charge just by being plugged into my computer since I am doing file transfers and the like.
As to the plugs themselves, you can run much more amperage through an A (few wide conductors) than a C (many very thin conductors).
A very great deal is being made of this one incident. It is hard for me to understand how a different cable can burn out a computer. You can run 10 amps through any cable (though it will get more than a tad warm!), but amps in a cable is not a problem. It's the governor, or lack thereof, in the source (wall wart or computer) and the target (phone or another computer). If the computer presents a short circuit to the cable, something will surely fry, but no device, these days, should ever do that.
A cable (they all are made in China, but there are many factorys there with widely varying QC), with an M stamp on it or not, is still just 4 wires in a sheath. If it is poorly made, or the connectors at the ends are poorly made or poorly attached, there will be trouble.
Okay, that's enough words for this post, but, for sure, this topic will be around forever!
EDIT: C type connectors have been in use on phones for years now. Why have we not heard of any phones destroyed???????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Certainly a good read, and another perspective on this matter!
I can't argue with anything you said
I am also in no position to offer any additional opinion, since I don't know squat on this topic. My first USB C device
But you do touch on an excellent point: not a whole lot of reported issue with damage related to USB C.
As statistics goes, 1 sample is not representitive
It is a data point, and that's a fact, but you can't draw solid conclusion from 1 incident
animefans said:
Certainly a good read, and another perspective on this matter!
I can't argue with anything you said
I am also in no position to offer any additional opinion, since I don't know squat on this topic. My first USB C device
But you do touch on an excellent point: not a whole lot of reported issue with damage related to USB C.
As statistics goes, 1 sample is not representitive
It is a data point, and that's a fact, but you can't draw solid conclusion from 1 incident
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the other hand I will try to get a 4-5' cable that supposedly has 56Kohm resisters in it...
KrisM22 said:
On the other hand I will try to get a 4-5' cable that supposedly has 56Kohm resisters in it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For science?
animefans said:
For science?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually for possible protection of my old wall warts. If I understand correctly, using a 56Kohm cable keeps current low (slow charge). I'd hate to think what my wall wart would look like it my Moto z tried to pull 3 amps out of it!!!
EDIT - It also just seems a prudent thing to do...
Do you have any preferences?
I just ordered these on ebay: "USB C Cable (2-Pack 6ft) Anker PowerLine USB C to USB 3.0 Cable with 56k Ohm Pul"

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