‘3 in 1’ charging cables - any of them any good? Plus recommendations for wall charger?

Forums › Mobile handsets › ‘3 in 1’ charging cables - any of them any good? Plus recommendations for wall charger?

jonathan18

7413 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#284395 19-Apr-2021 14:54

I’m finding it irritating needing to carry multiple charging cables, just to ensure I can charge different devices that may use USB C, micro USB or lightning, so am drawn towards the practicality offered by three-in-one style cables, ideally those that have the three heads attached as opposed to interchangeable heads (worried about losing the heads).

Ie something like this https://1-day.co.nz/products/charge-sync-3-in-1-cable-1

as opposed to https://1-day.co.nz/products/xipin-lx31-universal-3-in-1-1.2m-data-charging-micro-usb-usb-c-lightning-cable-4654-1757113874

Does anyone have personal experience with these types of cables, and could recommend ones that are of decent quality and can provide a fast(ish) charge? In particular, my concern is with the lightning component, given how many after-market cables seem to not be MFI compatible (and work’s just got me an iPad Pro, so this is important).

Or are they best to totally avoid?

Similarly, what would be be the best options for an affordable and compact charging adapter that can charge at decent speeds for both Apple and Android devices, and charge two (or even three) devices at the same time?

I'm assuming trying to charge more than one device at a time using a ‘three in one’ cable is a joke in terms of charge speeds, despite what the photos of such listings show?!

Thanks for any advice.

1 | 2

3332 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2694818 19-Apr-2021 14:57

From my experience they charge ssssllllloooowwwllly. Good for having by the bed for charging stuff that may need to be charged overnight but not to be relied on if you need a quick top up quickly.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

rp1790

738 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2694823 19-Apr-2021 15:06

I use quite a number of those 3 in 1 cables that you've linked to, same reasons as you, convenience. They aren't super fast but charge at about 5 watts which is ok.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#2695013 19-Apr-2021 20:43

Cables like that are typically a joke and non compliant with standards.

Your choice of charger is really going to depend on your devices - what fast charging specs do you devices support?

If you're primarily after PD support these are probably the best option for a NZ sourced charger right now that meets your requirements. There are cheaper options if you don't want GaN technology but you then have something that's a lot bigger and heavier.

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/ADPSAC3003/SATECHI-USB-C-Charger-100W-USB-C-PD-GaN-Compact-Ch

hairy1

3332 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2695059 19-Apr-2021 21:59

sbiddle:
Cables like that are typically a joke and non compliant with standards.

Your choice of charger is really going to depend on your devices - what fast charging specs do you devices support?

If you're primarily after PD support these are probably the best option for a NZ sourced charger right now that meets your requirements. There are cheaper options if you don't want GaN technology but you then have something that's a lot bigger and heavier.

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/ADPSAC3003/SATECHI-USB-C-Charger-100W-USB-C-PD-GaN-Compact-Ch

Wow. That would be awesome plugging one of those three way charging cables into that Satechi!

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
8876 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#2695083 20-Apr-2021 04:42

jonathan18:

I'm assuming trying to charge more than one device at a time using a ‘three in one’ cable is a joke in terms of charge speeds, despite what the photos of such listings show?!

There’s something wrong with the ad you linked. The first photo shows the separate leads to the three end plugs as being about 5 cm long. In the second photo, where three devices are charging at the same time, they’re about 30 cm long.

Apart from the idea of charging three devices at the same time being almost certainly a joke as you say in electronic terms, it may also be physically impossible depending on the cable’s construction.

Very often you get what you pay for - what’s your gut feeling on a $9.99 cable with dodgy photos in its ad?

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#2695094 20-Apr-2021 07:10

hairy1:
sbiddle:

Cables like that are typically a joke and non compliant with standards.

Your choice of charger is really going to depend on your devices - what fast charging specs do you devices support?

If you're primarily after PD support these are probably the best option for a NZ sourced charger right now that meets your requirements. There are cheaper options if you don't want GaN technology but you then have something that's a lot bigger and heavier.

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/ADPSAC3003/SATECHI-USB-C-Charger-100W-USB-C-PD-GaN-Compact-Ch

Wow. That would be awesome plugging one of those three way charging cables into that Satechi!

Little bit of smoke never did any harm..

rp1790

738 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2695097 20-Apr-2021 07:20

Guys, if you haven't used one of these cables why the negativity. I use those exact cables all the time and for a number of family members. Charging three devices at a time is not the primary use, having 3 cables in one with you is the use case here. And yes they do work and work fine.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

xpd

Geek @ Coastguard NZ
13771 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2695106 20-Apr-2021 07:32

(crawls into a fireproof safe)

I've used similar, and yeah, while they do work, don't expect great performance from them.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

LinkTree

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#2695113 20-Apr-2021 07:50

eracode:

Apart from the idea of charging three devices at the same time being almost certainly a joke as you say in electronic terms, it may also be physically impossible depending on the cable’s construction.

Charging on any modern device is a two way process involving negotiation of charging rates between the charger and device. This can't work if you can't have multiple devices plugged into the same port with a splitter cable.

The first and most obvious problem with this cable is that it's USB-A so any modern Android or Apple device that supports PD or any fast charge standard is going to immediately have it's charging speed limited.

Quality cables and quality chargers are essential.

eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
8876 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#2695117 20-Apr-2021 08:01

rp1790:

Guys, if you haven't used one of these cables why the negativity. I use those exact cables all the time and for a number of family members. Charging three devices at a time is not the primary use, having 3 cables in one with you is the use case here. And yes they do work and work fine.

So if you do need to charge more than one device at the same time, this cable brings nothing to the party.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

rp1790

738 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2695118 20-Apr-2021 08:05

eracode:

rp1790:

Guys, if you haven't used one of these cables why the negativity. I use those exact cables all the time and for a number of family members. Charging three devices at a time is not the primary use, having 3 cables in one with you is the use case here. And yes they do work and work fine.

So if you do need to charge more than one device at the same time, this cable brings nothing to the party.

You can charge more than one device at at time but you're missing the major point, the convenience of carrying one cable vs 2 or 3. And these cables will charge two devices at about 5 watts each if you want to, the same as a normal wall charger from Apple for example. Yes, not fast charging, but it's the convenience.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#2695120 20-Apr-2021 08:16

rp1790:

You can charge more than one device at at time but you're missing the major point, the convenience of carrying one cable vs 2 or 3. And these cables will charge two devices at about 5 watts each if you want to, the same as a normal wall charger from Apple for example. Yes, not fast charging, but it's the convenience.

A standard Apple wall charger for any modern iPhone is 18V PD via USB-C

eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
8876 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#2695121 20-Apr-2021 08:20

rp1790:

eracode:

So if you do need to charge more than one device at the same time, this cable brings nothing to the party.

You can charge more than one device at at time but you're missing the major point, the convenience of carrying one cable vs 2 or 3. And these cables will charge two devices at about 5 watts each if you want to, the same as a normal wall charger from Apple for example. Yes, not fast charging, but it's the convenience.

I do get that - but if you want to charge, say, two things at once (let alone three) and use one of the devices while it's being charged (as you can with a single cable), it's not going to be convenient having the second device dangling around. I would rather have the other type of convenience and flexibility given by two or three cables.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

rp1790

738 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2695138 20-Apr-2021 08:40

Yep, that's a personal choice and a single cable matched to a good charger is always best but the OP was asking "I’m finding it irritating needing to carry multiple charging cables" and I seem to be one of the few one here that uses these cables also for that purpose, carrying one cable instead of three.

So, to answer the OP's question "Yes, the cables work", they are convenient and will charge an iPhone (for example) at about the same speed as the cable provided prior to the iPhone 11. That cable "can" theoretically actually charge one device at up to 12 watts given the right charger and conditions.

timmmay

20591 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2695147 20-Apr-2021 08:48

I find the Orico 4 port charger at PBTech quite good. It's not a super fast charger, but it does a good job with our phones / tablets / running general USB devices. I prefer other brands when I buy from Amazon, like this 6 port Ravpower.

1 | 2