Hello there,

i was looking for a car charger for my cell and i see that many of them as well as wall chargers have a very high current output, from around 2 amps to around 5 amps, and that makes me wonder. My current wall charger is only 0.7 amps and it works good.

So my concern is will the phone be able to handle the higher current model chargers (wall or car) ?

Please only reply if you actually did this already.

Thanks a bunch.

 

The rating of the charger is maximum capacity. In particular, USB chargers "negotiate" with devices plugged into the to determine which voltage they should provide.

Any reputable brand will work perfectly, providing the maximum your device can handle, since the consumption of current is entirely a matter on the device side, and is dependent on the voltage which will be correct.

But a good quality brand, I prefer and have had great success with Anker, but there are many good choices.

[EDIT: I know you know Ohm's Law, just mentioning the voltage/current relationship for posterity, and those who might find this post via search.]

 

The rating of the charger is maximum capacity. In particular, USB chargers "negotiate" with devices plugged into the to determine which voltage they should provide.

Any reputable brand will work perfectly, providing the maximum your device can handle, since the consumption of current is entirely a matter on the device side, and is dependent on the voltage which will be correct.

But a good quality brand, I prefer and have had great success with Anker, but there are many good choices.

[EDIT: I know you know Ohm's Law, just mentioning the voltage/current relationship for posterity, and those who might find this post via search.]

Hi,

Oh great thanks. I had a feeling it might be something like that but did not want to find out otherwise the hard way
Not sure if i have heard of Anker but i'll look around. I am hoping Amazon has it.
So i guess even a 5 amp device would be ok then?
The manual of course says only use Samsung genuine but they dont seem to even have one on their web site.

 

Hi,

Oh great thanks. I had a feeling it might be something like that but did not want to find out otherwise the hard way
Not sure if i have heard of Anker but i'll look around. I am hoping Amazon has it.
So i guess even a 5 amp device would be ok then?
The manual of course says only use Samsung genuine but they dont seem to even have one on their web site.

Amazon carries the Anker range, even sold by Anker direct. Great stuff, not the cheapest but in my opinion, the best value.

Yes, 5A simply means it can do the max for quick charge schemes, your phone will just draw ~1.2A max, if it can, but if not, it will happily charge at whatever rate it's battery management considers good.

 

Amazon carries the Anker range, even sold by Anker direct. Great stuff, not the cheapest but in my opinion, the best value.

Yes, 5A simply means it can do the max for quick charge schemes, your phone will just draw ~1.2A max, if it can, but if not, it will happily charge at whatever rate it's battery management considers good.

Hi,

Sounds good thanks.

Have you ever tried one of those battery pack devices that have the USB to charge cell phones? They come in small and big sizes now.
I suppose you charge them with USB and then use them for phone when needed.

 

Hi,

Sounds good thanks.

Have you ever tried one of those battery pack devices that have the USB to charge cell phones? They come in small and big sizes now.
I suppose you charge them with USB and then use them for phone when needed.

Oh yes, I have several. Anker is my brand there too.

 

Oh yes, I have several. Anker is my brand there too.

Hi,

Oh ok thanks, so i'll try that brand first.

Now with the car charger, i found some Anker's on Amazon (say that 20 times over again) and they were not that expensive. Less than 15 dollars.

I bought one a long time ago dont remember the brand but when i took it apart the circuit looked so cheap i was afraid to use it, so i left it apart and never got back to it ha ha. Dont want to ruin an expensive phone with a cheap charger.

 

Hi,

Oh ok thanks, so i'll try that brand first.

Now with the car charger, i found some Anker's on Amazon (say that 20 times over again) and they were not that expensive. Less than 15 dollars.

I bought one a long time ago dont remember the brand but when i took it apart the circuit looked so cheap i was afraid to use it, so i left it apart and never got back to it ha ha. Dont want to ruin an expensive phone with a cheap charger.

Anker's range is all good stuff. It's a "trusted brand", so they've got a reputation to uphold, and their customer service is tops. I had to deal with them on a laptop battery replacement and they were stellar.

So, even their lower priced stuff will be good, while the more expensive will be even better.

I have one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MY9ZGHH/ which provides charging to rear seat passengers, and one of these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VH84L5E/ that powers the dash cam up front.

Both have been great.

 

Have you ever tried one of those battery pack devices that have the USB to charge cell phones? They come in small and big sizes now.

I have one, a RavPower 15000 mAh unit with two USB outlets, one rated at 2.4 amps and the other 2.1 amps. It and my iPhone get along well with no problems. I haven't noticed any difference in charging time between it and the original 1 amp Apple "little white cube" phone charger, so I assume it must be the phone that's regulating its own current draw, rather than the current being determined by the ampere rating of whatever charger is being used.

 

Anker's range is all good stuff. It's a "trusted brand", so they've got a reputation to uphold, and their customer service is tops. I had to deal with them on a laptop battery replacement and they were stellar.

So, even their lower priced stuff will be good, while the more expensive will be even better.

I have one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MY9ZGHH/ which provides charging to rear seat passengers, and one of these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VH84L5E/ that powers the dash cam up front.

Both have been great.

Hi,

Sounds good, i am interested in high reliability and of course guaranteed fault free operation. I wonder if any replace the phone if damaged.

 

I have one, a RavPower 15000 mAh unit with two USB outlets, one rated at 2.4 amps and the other 2.1 amps. It and my iPhone get along well with no problems. I haven't noticed any difference in charging time between it and the original 1 amp Apple "little white cube" phone charger, so I assume it must be the phone that's regulating its own current draw, rather than the current being determined by the ampere rating of whatever charger is being used.

Hi,

Oh yeah thanks for that, that is what i was afraid of. I was hoping the phone would not try to suck up all the current (ha ha) and get too hot. I was seeing 5 amp units out there and that would be nuts charging a flat 2000mAhr Li-ion battery cell.

 

I have one also, " Power Bank", 45,ooo mA h @ 1 A max output which is rejected by a new cell which requires 5A. It still runs a radio.

 

I have one also, " Power Bank", 45,ooo mA h @ 1 A max output which is rejected by a new cell which requires 5A. It still runs a radio.

Hi,

Oh that's interesting, i didnt know there were cell phones out there that required 5 amps, or is that just a battery?

 

Cell phone, I'll find model tonight.

 

A lithium battery is dangerous (Kaboom and/or a fire that is unbelievable). I would never charge one with a cheeeep Chinese no-name-brand charger.

 

OK, my turn.

Bought a 120V/12V input something output charger.
One unlabeled port will support 1.5 A and the other 0.5 A.

The 0.5 A port will charge my GPS *USB mini) and my Cell phone (USB micro).
The 1.5A port will NOT charge the Motorola cell, but will charge the GPS.

Tested with those V/I USB gizmos.

12V chargers that I bought at Staples a 2.1/0.5A would not work. Returned that immediately.

So, I know that the Cell supports 0.5 A and 1A charging rates, but it may be cable dependent. Motorola cables and cell chargers have the resistor signature on them, so they can charge faster.

I would not hold your breath.

(A dual port charger) / (FM hands free device) died after the car was jumped.

Apple devices can get particularly wierd. There is an airplane thread on AAC about charging. the result was that momentary power glitches with some Apple devices may require a plug/deplug of USB to charge.

 

A lithium battery is dangerous (Kaboom and/or a fire that is unbelievable). I would never charge one with a cheeeep Chinese no-name-brand charger.

Hi there ag, nice to hear from you.

Yeah, that's why i ditched the cheap one i bought a long time back. I didnt realize it would have such a cheap circuit inside.

 

OK, my turn.

Bought a 120V/12V input something output charger.
One unlabeled port will support 1.5 A and the other 0.5 A.

The 0.5 A port will charge my GPS *USB mini) and my Cell phone (USB micro).
The 1.5A port will NOT charge the Motorola cell, but will charge the GPS.

Tested with those V/I USB gizmos.

12V chargers that I bought at Staples a 2.1/0.5A would not work. Returned that immediately.

So, I know that the Cell supports 0.5 A and 1A charging rates, but it may be cable dependent. Motorola cables and cell chargers have the resistor signature on them, so they can charge faster.

I would not hold your breath.

(A dual port charger) / (FM hands free device) died after the car was jumped.

Apple devices can get particularly wierd. There is an airplane thread on AAC about charging. the result was that momentary power glitches with some Apple devices may require a plug/deplug of USB to charge.

Hi,

Oh ok thanks, and glad i dont use any rotten Apple devices
Way too overpriced.

 

I had the service manual fro the Motorola Razer (my first phone) and I know it supported 0.5 and 1A. I think the 1.5A wasn't implemented.
So, the charging rate was set by the cable and not the phone, so motorola branded chargers or Motorola data cables charged faster

The USB mini connector has 5 instead of 4 pins and effectively binary selects if it;s charging only.

Another odd thing with the Razor and the Backflip (the phone I talked about) is that I could be online forever using data (when I had an unlimited plan) and be charging at the same time. The Backflip needs to be replaced.

With the Backflip, I would ALWAYS run out of juice. I decided to something really wierd and use a USB isolator in the car so, i could charge from another source. Same issue.

This http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tps2514.pdf link explains a lot of the USB charging modes.

The airplane/apple guy on AAC had an approved device to attach t airplane avionics and worked with Apple a bit (surprisingly) because his issue was when they transferred from shore to airplane power, charging might go away. It was Apple device dependent, so unplugging and re-plugging these devices would be OK.

My opinion is that charging is a real mess. Chargers dont say they support certain charging modes and phones don't either.

While we are talking USB, I bought a magazine archive (all issues to date) sold by the magazine and the USB stick mounted on my laptop about 3 out of 12 times. It would not mount on my router. It would not mount on a public Staples HP PC. it would mount on their copier.
An extension cable worked on my laptop and a hub worked on the router. That's the only combination I tried. I suspect either method would work.

I have Microsoft wireless mouse and the receiver would break periodically. I've had no issues since using a USB pigtail type surge suppressor.

Words of wisdom:

Disconnect all USB devices in the vehicle when doing a jump start.

 

Anker's range is all good stuff. It's a "trusted brand", so they've got a reputation to uphold, and their customer service is tops.

I've been migrating towards Anker products for a while now. I started with a few lightning cables, which have been fine, and this last Christmas I got a cellphone power bank for my brother. I assume it's fine. I studied and read a lot of reviews and it's clear that Anker is doing a good job and delivering a good value. If I have any complaint it's that the product line is bewildering. Sorting out which products have which features can be daunting. That's exacerbated by the march of technology. A two-year old model power bank will be a heck of a bargain compared to this year's models, as long as it has the technologies you're looking for.