Belkin dual USB charger very slow

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33coupe

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#179250 1-Sep-2015 22:28

Hope this is the right place.

After getting slightly concerned that the charger that came with my phone sparked a couple of times (due to being an import and coming with an generic adapter), I bought the below product.

http://m.belkin.com/au/F8J003/p/P-F8J003/

5v/2.1a per port.

The charger that came with my phone:
5v/1.8a

Can someone please explain to me why the belkin is a lot slower at charging my phone than the one that came with my phone?

Feel like I've just wasted $40.

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#1377957 1-Sep-2015 22:33

Using the same charge cable as before?

Edit: that's a question not an answer.

33coupe

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#1377958 1-Sep-2015 22:34

Yep. Is that the problem?

gzt

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#1377961 1-Sep-2015 22:37

I don't know, but it eliminates a change in cable as a source of the problem. Timmmay has a good post up on geekzone about how charging cable affects charge rate.

But there is also some kind of rate selection algorithm in the phone, and potentially the charger iirc.

gzt

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#1377963 1-Sep-2015 22:38

Found it: http://m.geekzone.co.nz/Forums/97/Topic/171851

33coupe

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#1377973 1-Sep-2015 23:26

Thanks for that. Just had as quick read, didn't seem to help me tho.

I know these apps aren't accurate, but it still shows a difference.

Belkin:

My phone charger:

sbiddle

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#1378010 2-Sep-2015 07:27

I'll answer this as briefly as I can.. You just have wasted $40. Those Belkin chargers are total rubbish. Take it back to the retailer you got it from and tell them it's not fit for purpose and ask for a refund. I would never ever contemplate buying a USB battery pack or charger from a bricks and mortar retailer in NZ, browsing the selection the other day at one they wanted insanely inflated prices for rubbish.

In the old days the type of charger you had didn't matter. USB devices all only accepted 500mA from chargers which was the standard rate. Along came newer high capacity batteries and fast charging which saw newer devices that require an appropriate charger to charge at full speed which is between 1A - 2A depending on the device.

To charge at full speed you either need to have a "smart" charger to fast charge a device. A basic charger that isn't aware of fast charge devices will only charge at a maximum 500mA, and often less. For this very reason I still don't understand why people get excited about USB ports on planes and airport lounges, because these are all dumb devices that will also only charge at 500mA

You need a smart charger of some sort, and there are plenty of brands out there that are great. You can buy an Anker (there is a big thread on here discussing Anker products and I'm a big fan of them) for around the same price paid for your Belkin. You can also buy adapters for a few $ off the usual cheap Chinese shopping sites that short the data pins on a USB cable to trick a charger (that has no smarts) but is capable of outputting 2.1A to fast charge a device. This will work with many, but not all, newer devices.

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#1378011 2-Sep-2015 07:33

Just as an addon to that cables can also affect charging performance if they are cheap and nasty low AWG 3rd party cables.

surfisup1000

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#1378017 2-Sep-2015 08:02

sbiddle is spot on -- I don't know why NZ is so badly served when it comes to finding USB chargers. I shudder when I look at the chargers in places like DSE/HN/NL etc.

Anyway, this is what you could look at...

For the car....

http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-USBC242M-Charger-Android-Devices/dp/B00E1UWA4O/ref=sr_1_1?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1441137124&sr=1-1&keywords=Scosche+revolt+dual&pebp=1441137129906&perid=0NZMJV8PQ6YGT8H8C2YA

For the house ....

http://www.amazon.com/Desktop-Charger-Adapter-Samsung-Tablets/dp/B00V33RCTU/ref=sr_1_44?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1441137501&sr=1-44&keywords=usb+charger

sbiddle

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#1378021 2-Sep-2015 08:08

I actually started writing a blog post a few months ago about why many chargers are crap, and with my Anker fanboi t-shirt on wrote about how good their products were.

Looking around on Amazon now there are certainly plenty of companies who have coped Anker and have some great products which I've read reviews of lately. It'll be interesting to see how they can innovate and what they can come out with to stay ahead.

With QC2.0 devices now out the charging performance of some devices will be even more noticeable if you're not using a QC2.0 compatible charger.

33coupe

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#1378549 2-Sep-2015 21:10

Thanks for the replies, really appreciated.

It turns out that it is only compatible with Apple devices, not that this was ever mentioned on the website.

I took it to a store for a refund, which took 30 mins due to shop clerk having to go through the process with head office (as I bought online). Was refunded later that afternoon.

Now time to find the correct one!

I only heart amazing things about anker. The only issue is none are for sale over here. Id rather not buy something that needs a travel adapter.

gzt

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#1378581 2-Sep-2015 21:38

I have a couple of these because I like the form factor for travel when i need fast charge and they are light for carry and good fit for storage. They have worked with everything so far. 2A.

Edit: Not tried Apple.

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timmmay

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#1378585 2-Sep-2015 21:43

I wrote that charging thread that was linked to. I use a Belkin Dual charger I got from DSE, with a good charge cable it supplies 1800mah to my S4.

It could be yours is a rubbish charger, a rubbish cable, some kind of incompatibility between charger and phone (I guess it's possible), or just plain bad luck. Get one of the cables I suggested - Amazon have them, shipping from the manufacturer is really expensive. But if you're doing a cable order might as well get the charger SB recommends.

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#1378588 2-Sep-2015 21:48

33coupe: Thanks for the replies, really appreciated.

It turns out that it is only compatible with Apple devices, not that this was ever mentioned on the website.

I took it to a store for a refund, which took 30 mins due to shop clerk having to go through the process with head office (as I bought online). Was refunded later that afternoon.

Now time to find the correct one!

I only heart amazing things about anker. The only issue is none are for sale over here. Id rather not buy something that needs a travel adapter.

Anker chargers don't need travel adapters. They're a figure of 8 connector so you just need a $3 cable

33coupe

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#1378623 2-Sep-2015 22:37

Yeah you could be right. Ive read other reviews (different product) that worked for Samsung owners, I also read a couple of times that these wont work on android due to the tech inside them designed for apple only. Ive got a refund now so will look at those ankers.

Re: Figure 8 connector

Well I didnt know that! Thanks very much, I'll start looking at them. Cheers

Niel

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#1380766 6-Sep-2015 20:49

Samsung (and virtually all other) phones use the USB charging standard. Apple uses their own standard. It comes down to a resistor divider on the data lines, but Apple in their wisdom decided not to follow the standard that is now required for phones in Europe. Somehow, Apple got an exemption from that one.

Don't ever use generic chargers that come with imported (or refurbished) phones. Unless you know what to look for. The number 1 give away of a lethal power adapter is when the mains pins do not have insulation on them (hope someone post a picture, I'm too tired now). Just a couple of weeks ago I've opened one of them (I'm an electronic engineer) and found there were not a single one of the safety requirement implemented. The things that were not done:
* creepage clearance between low voltage and mains (actually the 5V wire was pressing against the mains terminal solder joint)
* Y-capacitor across the creepage clearance (well, there was no clearance to begin with)
* mains wires retained in 2 ways (e.g. solder and glue or cable tie)
* transformer with sufficient insulation to withstand 1500V for 1 minute (or something like that, can't remember exactly now)
And that is where I stopped looking. It was the worst I've ever seen. The outside looked like a proper Apple charger, except that it is apparently made by "Abble".

You can never have enough Volvos!

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