High Output USB Mains Adapter

October 15, 2016

I want to use a 5m USB cable to charge my phone but the charge time on a standard USB mains adapter is slow as hell (its fine with one metre) Yet If I bought a high output mains USB adapter, would that allow me to get a proper charge time with a 5m cable?

Here's the one I'm using - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-Mains-Wall-3-Pin-Plug-Adaptor-Charger-with-4-USB-Ports-for-Phones-Tablets-CE-/161734271307?hash=item25a81d214b:g:ZZgAAOSw4shX3fNJ

Here's the one I take it could help me - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Avantree-Multi-USB-Wall-Charger-Certified-5-ports-48W-smart-Charging-for-Travel-/331874565096?hash=item4d4543fbe8:g:S9YAAOSwMNxXVUs8

My thinking is that because it has a higher output, I will be able to get proper charge times with a long cable?

Thanks.

October 20, 2016

Theoretically that is correct. The longer a copper cable is the less power it supplies because of the natural resistance of the cable. That is why electrical lines have transformers at intervals on the lines to boost the power back up that has been lost due to the lines resistance. The wattage is not the important factor, but the amps are. The formula amps times volts equal watts (I x V = W). So increasing the amps of your current charger would increase the wattage delivered to the phone. Electrical devices will only use the amount of wattage they need. For example a laptop may only require 38 watts, but most power supplies are rated at 90 watts, the extra watts are just unused but available if they are needed.

Most phones have 1 amp chargers as standard and quick chargers rated at 2.1 amps. A 2.1 amp charger may only deliver 1 amp across your long cable. You can find chargers rated at higher amps (3.4 and 4.8) but this is sometimes reported as the total of multiple ports and not the output of any one single port, so you have to read carefully. Some chargers are also rated by watts, such as 10 watts, 18 watts, or 20 watts. You can't compare watts to amps. You are interested in a charger with the higher output from a single port.

There may not be any charger that will suit your need based upon the quality of your cable. Cheap cables use cheap wire and typically have greater resistance, some are really atrocious. (Same is true of audio cables, that is why high quality audio and hdmi cables are very expensive, they have less resistance and therefore carry signals more clearly.)

It might be cheaper to buy a high quality cable with less resistance. A 5M USB cable is at the maximum length of a usb line for any use, for example printers, and I have seen cheap cables that wouldn't work with printers at the length because they were too high in resistance to allow the signal to arrive at the printer at an acceptable level.

There are 100s of chargers available on Amazon, you just need to find the one that seems to fit your need the best, but it can drive you crazy reading through all the specs.

October 21, 2016

In addition to what straycat19 mentioned above, having only the adapter with fast charge will not do. It needs to be supported by, one, your device, which most modern ones do and two, by your cable. I once bought a really expensive, good quality, cable - ordered from a relative who bought it for me, that cable was a long cable. But guess what, that cable was not made for charging. While the max charge that cable could do was 0.5-0.6amps, my phone can reach 1.5amps and most new devices with fast charge can go atleast 2.1amps.

So yes, do confirm the max amps your phone and cable supports, then look at the adapter - which seems good to me. I just checked your current adapter, it says 2.1amps, make sure you are using only one port, the more the ports you use, the more the amps will be shared between the ports. It's also possible your adapter is allowing only 0.5amps per port from start.

You can check your current charging rate by downloading something like this.

October 22, 2016

I'm not an expert about USB cables and adapters but here's my simple knowledge on the matter, I hope it helps.

Go buy a USB data cable rather than a charge-only USB cable;

This might be confusing since it all depends on the quality, specs and how it ask for power.

Early USB charging cables does not use the DATA line to ask for more power so it is limited to 500ma, while modern ones are 500ma up to 1,500ma.

What you call a fast-charging USB cable might be actually a modern USB data cable cable using the DATA line to ask for more power and/or just a USB charging cable with just a bigger wires inside (the smaller the gauge the bigger wire, the bigger power it can handle).

Of course, there are also a USB data cable with bigger wires inside which will surely be more expensive.

Rather than buying the USB charge cable which some of it shorts the DATA+/DATA- lines and if plug in the wrong USB port like USB-C, it will blow up the laptop,

Opt for a USB data cable instead which is printer and laptop friendly, why? Printer needs data, so why buy USB charging cable to do the job? :think:

This is the reason why some USB charging cable does not communicate with the printer since it doesn't use the DATA line so technically there will be no data going to the printer and the printer will not detect the cable as being capable to deliver data.

Also, as what straycat said, the longer the cable the higher resistance, even USB data cables are subjected to that limitations, making it undetectable to the printer as well.

Try to get a 28/24 gauge USB data cable, if available, or the least a 28/24 gauge USB charging cable then. Something like "28AWG/2C and 24AWG/2C" or "28AWG/1P + 24AWG/2C".

I am not opposing what they said above as I am not an expert on these matters,

they did have a lot of things mentioned on their posts that are correct so I elaborate on those matters,

but please read each of every topics I posted to further enhance your knowledge about the types of USB cables:

Fast charging? Why some cables charge faster than others

How to choose a good USB data and charging cable for your mobile phone

Cables Can Significantly Impact the Charging Speed of Your USB Devices

How can I tell charge-only USB cables from USB data cables

How USB charging works, or how to avoid blowing up your smartphone

(except the not-blowing up your laptop part as there is a special case I point above especially when it is chinese made )

5 things you didn’t know about a cheap USB charging cable

USB and Data Cables

Data Cables, Charging Cables, and Adapters for Smartphones and PDAs on eBay