Develop Bugs

Need cheap car charger that charges full current

Can anyone recommend a car charger that is cheap and charges the unit like its on AC power? Some of the cheaper ones I've purchased in the past charged my phone like it was on usb power.
TIA!

Just open up one of your cheap chargers and short the middle two pins of the USB jack. A drop of solder worked on mine. There are only four pins, so it should be easy to follow and find a place on the circuit board to do it.
Once you get it done, plug in the phone and it will show that it's charging on AC, which means it's pulling 1 amp.

Plenty different ones available, but I use this one. There are cheaper ones, but this one is a quality build that charges at 1 full amp! Motorola brand for around $6 including shipping.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

i've had android phones since year one. i've always bought my accessories from cellphoneshop.net and never had a problem

Dude, go to wallymart or somewhere and get an AC converter. I bought one with 2 AC outlets and 1 USB for fairly cheap at wallymart. You wont regret it. It charges my laptop, phone, and gf's phone just fine.

Monoprice has a 1a usb charger for $1.33. I was looking at it yesterday but don't have the link handy at the moment. They're also the best place to buy usb cables too.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

mrpickem said:
Plenty different ones available, but I use this one. There are cheaper ones, but this one is a quality build that charges at 1 full amp! Motorola brand for around $6 including shipping.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 I have this Motorola charger and it's great. There was even a whole thread full of people repping it a few forum pages back

$1.40 cheaper, $5.07 right now and Prime shipping.
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehi..._1_2?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1323803924&sr=1-2
Thanks for the original link!

The best car chargers I've found are the Palm chargers for the Pre. For some reason they seem to work much better than any other car charger that I have used. You just need to make sure you get model number 3453WW, because there is also an older model that looks the same but doesn't provide the full 1A charge.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Palm-OEM-Ve...386850?pt=PDA_Accessories&hash=item2eb9e680e2
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

Damn. I was wondering WHY in the world this phone took SO STINKING LONG to charge. I mean OVER NIGHT and still not quite done sometimes (extended battery)
Gonna stalk me some good chargers

so instead of starting my own thread.. thought id bump this up...
any new chargers out there.. for car... can be either the usb one (as i have the cig lighter to usb plug... )..or cig lighter..
just feeling out there if anything has changed..
we went on a LONG drive.. 376miles.. and using gps and my phone in my infuse dock.. it was charging.. but draining more than charging... by 1/2 way it was below 50%.... so the road i needed to take was super long so just turned phone off for a while...
was using the charger from my wifes incognito so i figured maybe that car charger didnt have enough A to it.. so bought a new charger from walmart.. and it didnt do any better...
thanks guys...
p.s. on my way home from work (1hr drive) im going to plug straight into my phone instead of the infuse dock and run the gps and see if it charges any different...

Even if the car charger says it can put out 2A the phone will only draw 500mah unless the two inner pins are shorted. Samsung does their chargers this way to identify to the phone that its plugged into a wall charger instead of a computer. (computers are only rated for 500mah on the USB port, although some can go higher)
You could open up the charger and short the pins, or if the charger is the kind where you plug your own cord in you can modify the cord itself. I have a "charging only cord" for when the phone needs a fast boost.

R1ptide said:
Even if the car charger says it can put out 2A the phone will only draw 500mah unless the two inner pins are shorted. Samsung does their chargers this way to identify to the phone that its plugged into a wall charger instead of a computer. (computers are only rated for 500mah on the USB port, although some can go higher)
You could open up the charger and short the pins, or if the charger is the kind where you plug your own cord in you can modify the cord itself. I have a "charging only cord" for when the phone needs a fast boost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do I short these two pins? Any thing with pics?

Still using my Palm Pre car chargers. Had them since the Pre days back in 2009 and they still work great. Buy.com has them for $6.95 with free shipping.
http://www.buy.com/pr/product.aspx?sku=210687470&ic=1
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

proxy0 said:
How do I short these two pins? Any thing with pics?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
drop of soder in between them, sorry I don't have pics because I do the cord
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2

mrpickem said:
Plenty different ones available, but I use this one. There are cheaper ones, but this one is a quality build that charges at 1 full amp! Motorola brand for around $6 including shipping.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i use same charger. it is call motorolla rapid charger .

Hey, as the only verified genius here I wanted to share a great and cheap way to charge your phone. As i understand it you want the speed and current of AC out of your car's 12 volt dc system. They currently make something that works with ALL phone models. It is called an inverter. You just plug your stock phone charger into it. It will work fine for your phone but it wouldnt be wise to try use this it watch a 42" plasma tv. Here is one for 6 bucks that plugs in your lighter socket.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003C2YE8M/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
By the way, I can't endorse this product. I hope you get the general idea. As always you get what you pay for. Read the reviews and look for the inverter that you think would work best for you.
Sent from Team KC's founding member HTC Evo 4G LTE.

R1ptide said:
drop of soder in between them, sorry I don't have pics because I do the cord
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just want to make sure I'm not going to blow up when I do this.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

supdawg said:
Can anyone recommend a car charger that is cheap and charges the unit like its on AC power? Some of the cheaper ones I've purchased in the past charged my phone like it was on usb power.
TIA!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would recommend getting the AC/usb adapter for an iphone or ipad, because they tend to run on a higher voltage (5v) than many cheap AC/usb adapters you can probably find off-brand one pretty cheap all over. If anything just make sure your adapter runs on about 5v. I just recommened iphone ones because there are more accessory manufacturers for i-products and you can generally find a wider selection of what you are looking for regarding this topic. I would check walmart first if money is an issue.

JimSmith94 said:
Just open up one of your cheap chargers and short the middle two pins of the USB jack. A drop of solder worked on mine. There are only four pins, so it should be easy to follow and find a place on the circuit board to do it.
Once you get it done, plug in the phone and it will show that it's charging on AC, which means it's pulling 1 amp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 1 amp charger i got from the dollar store already had this in place. I cant say I would have recommended anyone to get one from the dollar store. Ive checked out the components on this one its not too bad.
kc_exactly said:
Hey, as the only verified genius here I wanted to share a great and cheap way to charge your phone. As i understand it you want the speed and current of AC out of your car's 12 volt dc system. They currently make something that works with ALL phone models. It is called an inverter. You just plug your stock phone charger into it. It will work fine for your phone but it wouldnt be wise to try use this it watch a 42" plasma tv. Here is one for 6 bucks that plugs in your lighter socket.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003C2YE8M/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note that most cheap inverters use a modified sine wave to gain efficiencies over 80%. Most phone chargers will work okay you might get a little buzzing. But you will often run into chargers, power supplies etc that will only operate properly on a pure sine wave inverter.

usb cables

hi. I'm noticing big differences in the charge rate depending on the cable i'm using. some cables can't charge the phone even if they have absolutely no issues with other phones, so i was thinking about creating some sort of cables db to help each other if we need to buy spare cables. i'm still looking for a good app to post more accurate tests, but for the moment here's what i've found.
cables (tested with the stock n5 charger)
n5 stock
no problem, charging at more than 1000 mA​
amazon basics (1,8m)
not charging, discharge rate reduced of about 200 mA​
sgs2 stock
very slow charging, about 200 mA​
Premium USB to Micro USB Charge & Sync Cable 6ft- Black (link)
Charges at +1000ma with any of my 2a power supplies.​
all in one chargers:
sgs2 stock
very slow charging, about 300 mA​
i've tested other cables, but i can't remember where i got them, anyway none of them was charging the phone
i've tested the same cables with different chargers (all of them rated 1000mA) without major differences.
the tests were made using battery monitor widget.
if you have cables to test post the results here, i will update the op as soon as i can. please also test already tested cables to confirm what we've found.
i'm also looking for suggestion for better apps or better test methods.

Premium USB to Micro USB Charge & Sync Cable 6ft- Black
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030307&p_id=9762&seq=1&format=2
Charges at +1000ma with any of my 2a power supplies.

I used my Sprint Samsung GSII (E4GT) charging brick and cable last night and under battery stats it showed charging (AC) and it seemed to be charging the phone quickly.
Is there a place to see this on the stock rom or do I have to download an app to see the voltage?

Raistlin1 said:
I used my Sprint Samsung GSII (E4GT) charging brick and cable last night and under battery stats it showed charging (AC) and it seemed to be charging the phone quickly.
Is there a place to see this on the stock rom or do I have to download an app to see the voltage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i used the app because i don't know a better way.

KoRRo89 said:
i used the app because i don't know a better way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what app did you used?
i wanna do this tests too

escape21 said:
what app did you used?
i wanna do this tests too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i used battery monitor widget. play store link. the better option is to let it run and post an average of the graph or you can just post the instant value but it's not so accurate...

Ok, I've made a more accurate test and I've taken some screenshots, for the moment I'm going to upload them here, tomorrow I'll update the op.
OK, this is a charge using stock charger and cable, from around 50% to 100%.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
A bit slower than previous time, but nothing major. At the moment I was sleeping, so as usual for me it was in flight mode and with sleep as Android app running.
This is a partial charge (14% to 55%) with the stock charger and the Amazon basics cable.
much faster than previous test, but still not enough. Tested with very light use, and in flight mode for most of the time.
Inviato dal mio Nexus 5 utilizzando Tapatalk

I have several PortaPow 24AWG fast charge cables, best money I ever spent. My phone actually charges in the car now (and fast) while I'm using gps and streaming music over bluetooth, the cheap ebay cables I had before couldn't charge my devices while in use. When I use the Portapow cables they show up as AC charging in the battery settings instead of usb like the old ones.

green_comet said:
I have several PortaPow 24AWG fast charge cables, best money I ever spent. My phone actually charges in the car now (and fast) while I'm using gps and streaming music over bluetooth, the cheap ebay cables I had before couldn't charge my devices while in use. When I use the Portapow cables they show up as AC charging in the battery settings instead of usb like the old ones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just to clarify, all the cables i've tested are showing up as AC even if the charge is so slow.

Ahh ok, I found my cheap/slow cables would show usb under battery settings. I'm finding the Portapow cables very good though, I've tested them on my cars usb input, a Ventev r2200 4.2A charger, and a Kensington Powerbolt 4.2 and have performed flawlessly so far. I'll have to do a few more test and post the results up here. :good:

I have read reports of some users complaining that their micro usb cables don't fit in certain nexus 5 cases. Does anyone know of any cables (preferably that charge well lol) that are slim around the connector?

unvaluablespace said:
I have read reports of some users complaining that their micro usb cables don't fit in certain nexus 5 cases. Does anyone know of any cables (preferably that charge well lol) that are slim around the connector?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the cable suggested by @gtj0 seems to be slim enough, but better wait for him.

KoRRo89 said:
hi. I'm noticing big differences in the charge rate depending on the cable i'm using. some cables can't charge the phone even if they have absolutely no issues with other phones, so i was thinking about creating some sort of cables db to help each other if we need to buy spare cables.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've noticed the same. Some chargers/cables seem to charge quickly, other slowly, if at all, even though the phone indicates AC charge status. This is a great idea for a thread and DB. Do you think it's more the cable vs the charger?

SykesAT said:
I've noticed the same. Some chargers/cables seem to charge quickly, other slowly, if at all, even though the phone indicates AC charge status. This is a great idea for a thread and DB. Do you think it's more the cable vs the charger?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, from what I've noticed it's more the cable. I only tested the original charger, another LG charger (1000 ma, from my old p990), a choiix (cooler master) 1000 ma charger, and my choiix external power bank. All the 3 1000 ma chargers are charging at almost the she speed, independently from the cable, che stock 1200 ma charger is definitely faster with the stock cable, no major differences with other cables, so I think the problem is definitely the cable.
Inviato dal mio Nexus 5 utilizzando Tapatalk

OK, so I've gone round all of my chargers and cables. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to which option works best. Some cables hardly charge with some chargers, whereas charge much better with other chargers and vice versa. That being said the only comb that I've found that comes close to 1000mA is the LG charger and LG cable which came with the phone. All other combos max out at around 600mA and some combos hardly break 200mA.
Unfortunately I can't say what cables I've tried nor the chargers used. I just don't remember where they I bought them all or what device they came with.

Ok, this is the graph of tonight recharge using my power bank (1a out) and the stock cable WHILE PLAYNG INGRESS!
I can definitely say that (at least for me) the charger is absolutely not a problem
Inviato dal mio Nexus 5 utilizzando Tapatalk

so whats the difference here anyone want to guess? is this a matter of length of cable vs 22 awg vs 27awg type of thing?
did a fast test, my worst cables were the shortest ones oddly.

Ashcunak said:
so whats the difference here anyone want to guess? is this a matter of length of cable vs 22 awg vs 27awg type of thing?
did a fast test, my worst cables were the shortest ones oddly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it's a matter of length. For my cables it's true, the longest are the worst, but the sgs2 cable is just 2 or 3 cm longer than the n5 one and is far worst, just a bit better than the Amazon basics cable that is almost twice the length. Also one of the first replies was about a 1.8m cable that doesn't have any problem.
Regarding the awg I'm not totally sure because I don't know much about it. From what I know it's a measure system for the wires and it works the opposite than the metric system, so with the smallest numbers the cable gets bigger. The only cable with an awg number on it it's the Amazon one and it's a 28 awg. Seems strange that the n5 cable could be a 22 as hinted in your post since the Amazon cable seems to have almost a double external diameter compared to the stock one...
Also, according to a table I've found, a 28awg cable should be able to carry from 0.8 to 1.4 amps, far more than what I get using it.
Inviato dal mio Nexus 5 utilizzando Tapatalk

Monoprice Premium USB Cable Charging Speeds

Hi,
I'm looking at purchasing some monoprice premimum mico usb charging cables but before I spring AUD$26 for shipping plus cables, I'd like to know what sort of charge people that people are getting in mA .
I know the N5 charger maxes out at 1.2A and the N5 is limited to 1.65A itself, however I'd like to know if anyone is getting between these two figures by using a monoprice cable.
I'm getting the following using CurrentWidget
Stock N5 charger and cable - 1,012mA
HP Touchpad charger (5.3V/2A) and cable - 1,015mA
Apple 10W charger (5.1V/2.1A) and 28AWG/2C cable - 930mA
It would be great if people could post what charger they are using with the monoprice premium cable together with the mA they are getting with their N5.
Also, if your using another type of cable that allows for charging between 1.2A and 1.65A that would be great too.
Thanks

I ordered some of the 6ft premium usb cables ,will let you know when i get them. My original usb cable that came with the phone has a bad connection wobbles. Using Battery Monitor Widget the highest i got was
980mA - OEM Nexus charger and cable. Charging from 60%, will test more when battery depletes.

ACHILLES R32 said:
I ordered some of the 6ft premium usb cables ,will let you know when i get them. My original usb cable that came with the phone has a bad connection wobbles. Using Battery Monitor Widget the highest i got was
980mA - OEM Nexus charger and cable. Charging from 60%, will test more when battery depletes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the offer to test the monoprice cables and report back.
In the interim I've ordered some Motorola Ecomoto cables which from a video review on xda showed a charge of around 1,480mA on a N5 using current widget. I'll also report back once I get these.

Was looking to try either Ecomoto or the Monoprice premium cables. Looking forward to hearing both your opinions on them.

I have the 6ft Premium cables and did a quick comparison using Battery Monitor Widget suggested above. Both screenshots are using the OEM wall wart and at ~80% battery.
OEM Cable
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
MonoPrice Cable
Not much of a difference, but a more thorough comparison might show a bigger difference. I'll leave that to the others in the thread.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Thanks Native89.
I heard the best time to do a test is when the battery is between 20% and 70%.
Try that and see if you get better results

I have the 6ft Premium Cable from Monoprice and I see up to 1050 mA using the stock charger.

raptir said:
I have the 6ft Premium Cable from Monoprice and I see up to 1050 mA using the stock charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
raptir, that doesnt seem to be good news.
Are there any markings on the cable to tell whether it has 28AWG/2C or 24AWG/2C power conductors?
From what I've read it appears that you need 24AWG/2C power conductors to be able to handle charging above the 1,000mA mark.
I'm still waiting on delivery of the Motorola Ecomoto cables, but for those who are interested I purchased them from this US based seller on ebay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/360885775315?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
I also purchased this cable from another ebay seller http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/111292267460?var=410287001944&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649. The cable states it supports a 2.1A fast charge and the cross section in the ebay listing shows 24AWG/2C power conductors, so it looks promising.
Its going to be a few weeks until I get these cables and provide a review, so please subscribe to this thread to get updates when I do.

raptir said:
I have the 6ft Premium Cable from Monoprice and I see up to 1050 mA using the stock charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get around 850mA~1,050mA depending on the % i plug the phone into charging.
And i got this one http://amazon.com/gp/product/B003L18S0E/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Rambler76 said:
raptir, that doesnt seem to be good news.
Are there any markings on the cable to tell whether it has 28AWG/2C or 24AWG/2C power conductors?
From what I've read it appears that you need 24AWG/2C power conductors to be able to handle charging above the 1,000mA mark.
I'm still waiting on delivery of the Motorola Ecomoto cables, but for those who are interested I purchased them from this US based seller on ebay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/360885775315?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
I also purchased this cable from another ebay seller http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/111292267460?var=410287001944&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649. The cable states it supports a 2.1A fast charge and the cross section in the ebay listing shows 24AWG/2C power conductors, so it looks promising.
Its going to be a few weeks until I get these cables and provide a review, so please subscribe to this thread to get updates when I do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's "not good news" then it's bad news about the charger, not the cable. You said you get slightly less from your stock cable with the stock charger. A 1.2A charger is never going to actually give you 1.2A charging speed. They're just not 100% efficient.
Edit: Fast charging is also not the best thing for your battery, and that's why they don't just ship every phone with a 2A charger and let you have at it. A higher charging rate leads to increased battery degradation.

Mmmm... Not sure about that... Battery damage?
NEXUS 5

raptir said:
If it's "not good news" then it's bad news about the charger, not the cable. You said you get slightly less from your stock cable with the stock charger. A 1.2A charger is never going to actually give you 1.2A charging speed. They're just not 100% efficient.
Edit: Fast charging is also not the best thing for your battery, and that's why they don't just ship every phone with a 2A charger and let you have at it. A higher charging rate leads to increased battery degradation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have another charger perhaps a 2A one to test the cable with so that we can confirm that it definitely isn't the cable.
I know that the stock charger is limited to 1.2A so even if the charger is 80% efficient you'd be getting just below a 1A charge which probably explains why everyone using a stock charger is getting this.
I don't quite agree with the battery degradation due to fast charges. I've always been of the opinion that it has to do with chargers that have a higher voltage spec, eg higher than 5V rather than the amps they're pushing out.
For instance the 1A Apple charger has been measured to provide a current of 1.79A and the 2A charger provides 3.4A
I really haven't come across any that are way over 5V in my time. Seeing that Apple's 2A charger uses 5.1V and the HP Touchpad charger which is one of the best chargers out there uses 5.3V, I don't think that any of these would be causing accelerated degradation or damage to the battery.

I've had the monoprice cables for over 5 months and they charge fast and great, one problem is that the tips start separating from and you can start seeing the inside. It'll still charged fast and without problems, I have 2 in my car and 4 in my house only 2 don't have this problem. Overall these cables charge fast partnered up with my HP touchpad and nexus 7 chargers.

Noriega813 said:
I've had the monoprice cables for over 5 months and they charge fast and great, one problem is that the tips start separating from and you can start seeing the inside. It'll still charged fast and without problems, I have 2 in my car and 4 in my house only 2 don't have this problem. Overall these cables charge fast partnered up with my HP touchpad and nexus 7 chargers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Noriega813.
Any chance of a test with the cable and the HP touchpad charger using CurrentWidget?
I dont know which N7 charger you have but I do note that the 2013 edition is rated at 1.35A so you be limited to about 1A with it. The 2012 edition should be OK as that outputs 2A.

Rambler76 said:
Thanks Noriega813.
Any chance of a test with the cable and the HP touchpad charger using CurrentWidget?
I dont know which N7 charger you have but I do note that the 2013 edition is rated at 1.35A so you be limited to about 1A with it. The 2012 edition should be OK as that outputs 2A.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, soon as I get home I'll test it out. I have two of them and post results of both to show how they're doing.

Noriega813 said:
Sure, soon as I get home I'll test it out. I have two of them and post results of both to show how they're doing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers. Thanks for the help.

I have the monoprice 3 and 6 foot premium cables. I've also got an inline USB current meter so I can test current directly.
According to an email from monoprice they are 28 gauge. I also got some 24 gauge monoprice USB extension cables (3 foot) that i planned to use with some adapters.
For testing I used a 2A Samsung power adapter (belonging to the Note 10.1 tablet) and either my Nexus 5 or my Samsung Note 10.1 tablet. The Note 10.1 when around 50% charge pulls slightly under 1.7A from it's own charger using the OEM cable. I have an adapter to allow me to charge the Note 10.1 using any micro USB cable so it's a better test for the cable as it pulls more current than the Nexus 5. The Nexus 5 with a good cable pulls under 1.3A from the 2A charger.
Interestingly, I had no problem getting full current (up to 1.7A) from any of the Monoprice premium USB cables. I've read good reviews of these cables but was a little skeptical since they are 28 gauge but they do seem to work well for fast charging. I don't have a device that pulls more than 1.7A so I can't test its limits.
In contrast, when I add the 24 gauge extension (3 foot with a 3 foot cable so the total length is the same as a single 6 foot premium cable) I can't get any higher than 1A. I don't understand why it's so limited. I've used a number of additional adapter on the end such as a right angle adapter or the micro usb to Samsung connector without any noticeable loss in current. So either there is something wrong with monoprice's 24 gauge cables or they are using some seriously bad connectors.
I haven't had the premium cables for very long but have been using them happily in the car (3 foot) and at home (6 foot) for when I need to charge while using the phone (otherwise I use a Qi wireless charger). The connectors at the phone end could be a little slimmer - they do fit all the cases I've tried but it's a bit tight for some of them. The fact that the cables aren't too thick is nice for storage and flexibility. Only time will tell how durable they are.
I also have some older monoprice standard 26 gauge USB cables which also seem to be limited to 1A. (Correction: these are 28AWG not 26/28)
I've got some Startech right-angled USB cables which are convenient for my car due to the right angle but can't support currents above 500 mA. These are 30 gauge cables.
In summary:
1. The cable's gauge doesn't tell the whole story.
2. Monoprice premium USB cables do seem to be a good buy.

Rambler76 said:
I don't quite agree with the battery degradation due to fast charges. I've always been of the opinion that it has to do with chargers that have a higher voltage spec, eg higher than 5V rather than the amps they're pushing out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Charging voltage determines that final charge capacity. And yes, overcharging the battery does cause additional degradation. So does keeping the battery in too warm an environment. And charging speed. And discharging speed. And percent charge during storage. It's not just a single factor.
---------- Post added at 12:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:39 PM ----------
tmagritte said:
According to an email from monoprice they are 28 gauge. I also got some 24 gauge monoprice USB extension cables (3 foot) that i planned to use with some adapters.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess it that they didn't give you the whole story on the cable gauge. The data lines are always 28 gauge, only the power lines are 24 vs 28.
That said, a 28 AWG wire can carry 2A without too much of an issue. Your only problem is going to be an increased voltage drop which may lead to incomplete charging of your battery.

I finally received the USB cables from monoprice, shipping was slow took over a week. Here are the results I got with Battery Monitor Widget.
Stock USB Cable 90% charge.
922mA
927mA
953mA
919mA
930mA
Monoprice 6" Premium USB Cable 90% charge.
873mA
710mA
805mA
714mA
863mA
This was just a quick comparison, will do another comparison when the battery discharges more. I'm not sure how accurate the battery monitor apps are. For most accurate results we probably need one of theses USB Volt Meters.

ACHILLES R32 said:
I finally received the USB cables from monoprice, shipping was slow took over a week. Here are the results I got with Battery Monitor Widget.
Stock USB Cable 90% charge.
922mA
927mA
953mA
919mA
930mA
Monoprice 6" Premium USB Cable 90% charge.
873mA
710mA
805mA
714mA
863mA
This was just a quick comparison, will do another comparison when the battery discharges more. I'm not sure how accurate the battery monitor apps are. For most accurate results we probably need one of theses USB Volt Meters.
Sent from my Nexus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am curious if the differences have to do with length of cable. 6 feet is a long way to travel.

Data cables quick charge

Man I bought 5 of the LG wall chargers that charge fast, and every data cable I buy my phone says is slow charging. Does anyone know what or where I can get a good one? These last cable arecawrsome, cloth braided wire, fits great, just slow charging...

big70tom said:
Man I bought 5 of the LG wall chargers that charge fast, and every data cable I buy my phone says is slow charging. Does anyone know what or where I can get a good one? These last cable arecawrsome, cloth braided wire, fits great, just slow charging...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to know too
thanks!

I read this article recently about this issue and then ordered one of these to check my USB port outputs. It's weird but the USB 3.0 port on my laptop that is meant to be the one that you can set to be activated for charging stuff when the laptop is off actually has the lowest output compared to the other USB 3.0 & USB/eSATA combo 2.0 ports.
The article recommends The Practical Meter product which does the same thing as the eBay meter but apparently comes with connectors that trick devices into drawing the full 1A/[email protected] USB power. I was trying to find an alternative product (which I would not have to order from the US and be stung with import charges for) but I was not able to. If anyone knows of one please let me know.
Currently, I am charging my G3 through a USB 3.0 port with the eBay meter which states that it's drawing 0.21A/4.80V...I don't really know much about electronics so if someone could tell me if that is good or bad it would be appreciated. Lucky that I saw your post as I am reminded now that I must get a proper wall charger. BTW what is the model number of ur LG charger so I can see the info about it?

big70tom said:
Man I bought 5 of the LG wall chargers that charge fast, and every data cable I buy my phone says is slow charging. Does anyone know what or where I can get a good one? These last cable arecawrsome, cloth braided wire, fits great, just slow charging...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, are these chargers genuine LG? The problem with cheap Chinese copies us that they do not include certain components by which you phone decides to use more power. Its the phone that adjusts how much power it is able to draw. For example using standart usb, which if you do you research on internet, only able to supply 500ma of power (0.5A) so the phone detects that and switches to lo power draw. Another reason sometimes for low power charge is that some cheap cables does not include full 4 cables inside??? I know! Crazy! They will not connect your phone to computer because they only have power cables inside and not data cables. Anyway try your original cable with these chargers and your original charger with your non original cables to work out what is capable of what. [emoji106]
And by the way, don't get fooled with that braiding nonsense, it's only to make it look good, but it does not define the quality. [emoji44]
I have been buying Samsung branded cables for a while now, and the all seem to do the trick, the only downside is their length - I want a long cable ant the are very short, but hey, on wireless charger it makes no difference [emoji6]
---------- Post added at 11:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:01 AM ----------
D0MINO said:
I read this article recently about this issue and then ordered one of these to check my USB port outputs. It's weird but the USB 3.0 port on my laptop that is meant to be the one that you can set to be activated for charging stuff when the laptop is off actually has the lowest output compared to the other USB 3.0 & USB/eSATA combo 2.0 ports.
The article recommends The Practical Meter product which does the same thing as the eBay meter but apparently comes with connectors that trick devices into drawing the full 1A/[email protected] USB power. I was trying to find an alternative product (which I would not have to order from the US and be stung with import charges for) but I was not able to. If anyone knows of one please let me know.
Currently, I am charging my G3 through a USB 3.0 port with the eBay meter which states that it's drawing 0.21A/4.80V...I don't really know much about electronics so if someone could tell me if that is good or bad it would be appreciated. Lucky that I saw your post as I am reminded now that I must get a proper wall charger. BTW what is the model number of ur LG charger so I can see the info about it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, you should not incur any import charges to UK, since tax free allowance is £18 or equivalent in other currency. Also. 0.2a or 200ma is a very low charging current, it should take whole night to charge it. I think the charger does not have certain component to let the phone know that it is capable to supply more that a standard usb?. Why not to use you charger supplied with you phone?

qWantUS said:
Hi, you should not incur any import charges to UK, since tax free allowance is £18 or equivalent in other currency. Also. 0.2a or 200ma is a very low charging current, it should take whole night to charge it. I think the charger does not have certain component to let the phone know that it is capable to supply more that a standard usb?. Why not to use you charger supplied with you phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I know but often the postage takes it above that and then the VAT comes. I don't know why they include the shipping charges in with the cost of the item but I've been stung in the past like that. For international postage it's $8.50 so brings it to $28.49 or about £17.23 (xe.com) which is usually a little more generous than say Paypal so it's a little risky and might go over the boundary. In any case, I notice that they have UK stockists and also in Canada & Russia...but I have just ordered the PortaPow high speed adapter which I think is basically the same thing but cheaper and more practical and allows a 1A draw for charge.
The current cables I use are a 60cm Samsung U2 data cable with my PC or with the USB wall adapter, a 1.5m generic data one I got in Spain which is extremely well built and strong with a thick cable and solid connectors but I will try the one in the box now you mention and see if that makes a difference.
Using the 1.5m cable gives - Wall: 5.32V/0.79-80A & USB: 4.78V/0.27A. - (0.46A with the other USB ports)
Using the G3 supplied cable gives - Wall: 4.80V/0.80-83A & USB: 4.71V/0.49A - so this cable is better all round and on the USB port.
Using the Samsung gives - Wall: 5.20V/0.79-8.2A & USB: 4.80V/0.21A (The other USB 2 & 3 ports: 5.04V/0.47A)
It seems the USB port I always use and that is for charging when the laptop is off is unpredictable and has something possibly defective with it as it gives 0.45-49A with the G3 cable but much lower with the rest so I will keep the Samsung one for the PC but use the other USB 3.0 port and use the 1.5m on the USB wall adapter.
Do you know how much an actual wall adapter (non USB) gives out? Will it be around the same as a wall USB adapter or much more?

If I put the original dat cable on the wall charger units I purchased, no problem, if I use the New cables on the original wall charger I got with the phone, I get the slow charge message, so the problem has to be the cables

big70tom said:
If I put the original dat cable on the wall charger units I purchased, no problem, if I use the New cables on the original wall charger I got with the phone, I get the slow charge message, so the problem has to be the cables
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I just noticed but the LG cable is giving me the charging slowly message too on the other USB 3.0 port...I just plugged it back into the older one that was giving me 0.2A and now it's giving me 0.5A and no slow charge message! WTF is going on?! lol

D0MINO said:
Actually, I just noticed but the LG cable is giving me the charging slowly message too on the other USB 3.0 port...I just plugged it back into the older one that was giving me 0.2A and now it's giving me 0.5A and no slow charge message! WTF is going on?! lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Charging from a PC irrespective of USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 will always give you a slow charge. The factory charger charges at 1.8A compared to the max of 0.5A from a PC.

So does anyone know of cables that allow 1.8

big70tom said:
So does anyone know of cables that allow 1.8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All the stock cables yu get with phones now a days allow it. Just make sure they are the originals

I picked this one off Amazon for the G2 and worked great, sadly not available...
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

I'm trying to get extras...maybe LG has one

I guess I need to be the one that says any manufacturer's USB cable that works at all should be able to do at least 1 amp charging. USB spec is .5 amp, so that isn't surprising. Laptops that don't recognize something plugged into the port may not send the full voltage in order to save power, it depends on the manufacturer. The stock cable should easily handle 2.1 amp.
In short, the problem is much more likely to be the charging adapter or the USB port not putting out enough voltage, not the cable itself.
At least its not Apple which requires you to have iTunes installed to charge iDevices properly off of a USB port.

big70tom said:
I'm trying to get extras...maybe LG has one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My HTC M8 Quick charger's USB cable seems to work fine with the LG 1.8amp charger but at least here in the UK the HTC charger is difficult to get find. So not the best answer to your query, sorry.

Secondary Charger

Is there any charge cables or adapters out there that are not genuine Samsung that will charge the Tab S properly? It seems like the only way I can get a normal charge is using the wall adapter and cable it came with. I have tried 3 different after market cables and 3 different wall adapters that don't seem to work with the Tab S. Are these wall adapter or cables just not putting out enough power?

Not really, I haven't found anything that will charge it properly except it's original charger. The sad thing is, the original charger is not widely sold. Something Samsung has been struggling with.
Sent from my SM-G900FD using XDA Free mobile app

This is MHL compliant. 2Ah, 5,3V. Most newer chargers for tablets do that. Including those cheepo ones from China. I have several of those (some multi USB chargers) which work well on the Tab S.

Staples near me was closing down, I got an original Samsung 2 Amp travel charger for 3 bucks, normally $23.00 marked down to $9.00 and when they rang it up at the register it came up as $3.00. I agree any 2 Amp 5.3 V charger should work to charge the Tab S.

Sorry to bump an old thread but has anyone else had luck with aftermarket chargers?

I have the 10.5" , I have a usb power meter and it shows my original charger charges my tablet at up to 1800ma , not bad for a 2000 ma charger, I have tried a couple of other third-part chargers they are rated at 2000ma + and they only charge my tab at 1000ma , but my Nokia 1020 charger that is 1500ma charges my tab at 1400ma so that is very good for that charger, it`s an Nokia AC60X , I wonder if Nokia does an 2000ma version of this charger.
John.
EDIT: If you are in the UK you get a genuine replacement for only £9.99 and free delivery from the website below, scamadviser says it`s an legit website.
http://www.buytec.co.uk/samsung-galaxy-s5-genuine-charger-mains-adapter-1889-p.asp
http://www.scamadviser.com/check-website/buytec.co.uk
xmilar said:
Sorry to bump an old thread but has anyone else had luck with aftermarket chargers?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I installed 2 110v recepticles, one on each side of the bed, that each have 2 USB connections. The USB plugs on it are rated for 2 amps each. Using the factory charging cable these things work great. Both mine and my wife's charge just fine using them.
Also have a 5v 2 amp USB wall wart that came with an ecig battery and it works fine too.

Do you know the make and model number? , they sound very handy to have.
Thanks
John.
flhthemi said:
I installed 2 110v recepticles, one on each side of the bed, that each have 2 USB connections. The USB plugs on it are rated for 2 amps each. Using the factory charging cable these things work great. Both mine and my wife's charge just fine using them.
Also have a 5v 2 amp USB wall wart that came with an ecig battery and it works fine too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Tinderbox (UK) said:
Do you know the make and model number? , they sound very handy to have.
Thanks
John.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope I sure don't but I did buy them a Lowe's at about 19.00 each. They have one 110V outlet and two USB ports. I have also seen a device you just plug into your existing outlet that will give you 2 USB and 2 110V outlets but I don't know how they are rated for current. Just make sure what you buy is rated at 2Amps for EACH USB port or 4+amps total.
I love mine! Charge the S10.5 and the Galaxy S4 every night on it!

Is this the one, the only one i can find on the site.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_369050-63374-WP2UWF___?productId=50281801&pl=1&Ntt=usb+wall
John.
QUOTE=flhthemi;60653149]Nope I sure don't but I did buy them a Lowe's at about 19.00 each. They have one 110V outlet and two USB ports. I have also seen a device you just plug into your existing outlet that will give you 2 USB and 2 110V outlets but I don't know how they are rated for current. Just make sure what you buy is rated at 2Amps for EACH USB port or 4+amps total.
I love mine! Charge the S10.5 and the Galaxy S4 every night on it![/QUOTE]

Tinderbox (UK) said:
Is this the one, the only one i can find on the site.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_369050-63374-WP2UWF___?productId=50281801&pl=1&Ntt=usb+wall
John.
QUOTE=flhthemi;60653149]Nope I sure don't but I did buy them a Lowe's at about 19.00 each. They have one 110V outlet and two USB ports. I have also seen a device you just plug into your existing outlet that will give you 2 USB and 2 110V outlets but I don't know how they are rated for current. Just make sure what you buy is rated at 2Amps for EACH USB port or 4+amps total.
I love mine! Charge the S10.5 and the Galaxy S4 every night on it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[/QUOTE]
Nope that is a plug into the existing outlet type of thing. Mine was a replacement receptacle. I looked at Lowe's and Home Depot sites and could not find one that was rated at 2 amps for each USB port. 3.6 Amps was the best I could do. I know the one I bought is rated for 4.2 amps overall as this was the very reason I bought it! Pretty sure it came from Lowe's or Home Depot they're the only two places in town. I do know that I didn't find it online. I remember being in the store and looking at every one they had and reading the specs on each box and I found the ones I have so I scarfed them up as soon as I saw they were rated for 4.2 amps.
BUT - That one you found should be fine and save you from having to hard wire it. Just remember, only one port is optimized for 2.1 amps! I have to go to Lowe's today so I might pick one up for the kitchen as my wife uses an old Toshiba tablet for recipes and that would be convenient for her.

I am in the UK so i would have to buy a UK version, but a lot of company's make products for more than one country, sometimes under a different name, but getting a charge that charges at full speed is not easy to find, they are a lot of brands that do not work.
Maybe i should look for iPad compatibility as apple products are notoriously hard to charge at full speed using third-party chargers.
Try the app below, and see what kind of charging speed you get, remember you will only get the fastest charge to around 80% then the tablet slows the current down lower and lower till it hits 100%
You have to manually presw the refresh the free version, the full version is only 50p in UK money.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.abmantis.galaxychargingcurrent.free&hl=en
Nope that is a plug into the existing outlet type of thing. Mine was a replacement receptacle. I looked at Lowe's and Home Depot sites and could not find one that was rated at 2 amps for each USB port. 3.6 Amps was the best I could do. I know the one I bought is rated for 4.2 amps overall as this was the very reason I bought it! Pretty sure it came from Lowe's or Home Depot they're the only two places in town. I do know that I didn't find it online. I remember being in the store and looking at every one they had and reading the specs on each box and I found the ones I have so I scarfed them up as soon as I saw they were rated for 4.2 amps.
BUT - That one you found should be fine and save you from having to hard wire it. Just remember, only one port is optimized for 2.1 amps! I have to go to Lowe's today so I might pick one up for the kitchen as my wife uses an old Toshiba tablet for recipes and that would be convenient for her.[/QUOTE]

Tinderbox (UK) said:
I am in the UK so i would have to buy a UK version, but a lot of company's make products for more than one country, sometimes under a different name, but getting a charge that charges at full speed is not easy to find, they are a lot of brands that do not work.
Maybe i should look for iPad compatibility as apple products are notoriously hard to charge at full speed using third-party chargers.
Try the app below, and see what kind of charging speed you get, remember you will only get the fastest charge to around 80% then the tablet slows the current down lower and lower till it hits 100%
You have to manually presw the refresh the free version, the full version is only 50p in UK money.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.abmantis.galaxychargingcurrent.free&hl=en
Nope that is a plug into the existing outlet type of thing. Mine was a replacement receptacle. I looked at Lowe's and Home Depot sites and could not find one that was rated at 2 amps for each USB port. 3.6 Amps was the best I could do. I know the one I bought is rated for 4.2 amps overall as this was the very reason I bought it! Pretty sure it came from Lowe's or Home Depot they're the only two places in town. I do know that I didn't find it online. I remember being in the store and looking at every one they had and reading the specs on each box and I found the ones I have so I scarfed them up as soon as I saw they were rated for 4.2 amps.
BUT - That one you found should be fine and save you from having to hard wire it. Just remember, only one port is optimized for 2.1 amps! I have to go to Lowe's today so I might pick one up for the kitchen as my wife uses an old Toshiba tablet for recipes and that would be convenient for her.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[/QUOTE]
Screenshot: Getting the same rate from each port on the receptacle.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

1625ma is a good charge rate using that free app, that usb charger is working great, I just bought the pro version of the app, a whole 50p
John.

Tinderbox (UK) said:
1625ma is a good charge rate using that free app, that usb charger is working great, I just bought the pro version of the app, a whole 50p
John.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info on the app! I went through flashing about 6 ROMs this weekend trying to find one that didn't cause such slow charging. Using this app, I discovered it was the cable I was using. I have two original Samsung chargers, and with good cables, they both change the tab at 1800ma. The old cable I had only showed 500ma.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BlackBerry-...1434981326&sr=8-5&keywords=blackberry+charger
This is what I use, it was reduced to £1.95 so I got 4 of them. I will check it later with the app but it charges a little faster than the one that came in the box.

This is what I get from the charger I linked above.

GTCC, so you get 1108mah not that good, did you give long enough for the average to build-up.
John.

This maybe just a side comment but prior to buying a SM-T00 I owned a Nexus 10. I was going to buy a second charger for my Tab S but tried my Nexus 10 charger and it charges just as fast as the charger that my Tab S comes with. Maybe Nexus 10 OEM chargers are a cheaper alternative on ebay.
Sent from my SM-T800 using XDA Premium HD app