USB cables for charging phones

StewartR

StewartR

Messages
11,513
Name
Stewart
Edit My Images
Yes
Can anyone tell me how to identify a USB cable which would be good for charging phones, before actually buying it?

My wife was complaining that her charger at home is rubbish - very slow - and the one in her office is much better. She brought the office one home and I tested them with the widget I have on my phone that measures the charging current. Sure enough, the office charger delivered 1200mA and the home one delivered only 400mA. But then I swapped the cables around and re-tested. This time the office one was down to only 400mA but the home one was up to 1200mA.

So it's obviously the cable that makes the difference, not the charger. I want to replace the cable with one that will allow the phone to charge faster. But how do I do that?
 
Make and model of phone?

Is there a makers mark anywhere on the work one?
 
I've bought Volutz cables from Amazon (my last order was these ones - http://amzn.to/2p7fQv7 - not currently in stock) and they work very well, give fast charge times with compatible chargers and have good quality pins that fit devices well. A five-pack matches an Anker 5-way USB charger nicely.

The cable and the charger make a difference, charging will always be capped at the speed of the slowest component. Or capped at the capacity of the device taking the charge. Whichever is the lowest amperage.
 
Over simplified quick thought, is the cable that 'reads' higher different in any way?

Such as thicker and/or shorter?
 
I'm the same as Alistair above. Volutz cables but with a volutz 6 way charger block. Upton 2 meter length they supply 2A if the device or phone can take it. A 3m length cable drops that down to 1.5A max. It means I can use the device and charge it at the same time [emoji6]
 
Bladerunner said:
I'm the same as Alistair above. Volutz cables but with a volutz 6 way charger block. Upton 2 meter length they supply 2A if the device or phone can take it. A 3m length cable drops that down to 1.5A max. It means I can use the device and charge it at the same time [emoji6]
Click to expand...

Re: Volutz charger block ~ I could only find two slightly different Volutz ones on Amazon but both 2 ports only. 3 or 4 ports might be quite useful???

Where did you see/find a 6 port version?
 
USB1.0 and USB2.0 spec is 5v to 500ma, USB 3.0 supports 900ma and USB3.1 the spec is upto3a on the 5v bus. USB-C is generally delivered the same as USB3.1 currently
 
Box Brownie said:
Re: Volutz charger block ~ I could only find two slightly different Volutz ones on Amazon but both 2 ports only. 3 or 4 ports might be quite useful???

Where did you see/find a 6 port version?
Click to expand...
Volutz 60w 6 port usb charger does indeed seem to be unavailable! And the cables are out of stock more often these days too! I do still break probably 6 cables a year but I do seem to run most of my life from Lipo battery equipment these days!! Volutz gear comes with 24 month warranty but I've never made a claim
 
Anker are also good, but I found the colour-coded Volutz 5-packs of cable to be fantastic when you're tracking which phone/tablet/battery is actually plugged into the charger!
 
As others have said - Anker cables and chargers from amazon are brilliant, absolutely reccommended. Their kevlar braided cables especially
 
StewartR said:
I tested them with the widget I have on my phone that measures the charging current
Click to expand...


What is the widget called - I was talking about this to some friends who thought I was talking tosh, so I'd love to be able to prove them wrong..!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top