4 ms·

- Who powers whom is an interesting issue. <...> It's complicated. Yeah... I have a battery bank from Anker with two plugs: USB-A and USB-C. If I connect my Ne

by yurymik 10y ago

- Who powers whom is an interesting issue. <...> It's complicated. Yeah... I have a battery bank from Anker with two plugs: USB-A and USB-C. If I connect my Nexus 6p with USB-C/USB-C cable, everything is good, phone gets power. But if the only cable I have at the moment is USB-A/USB-C, then phone starts to charge the battery bank.

2sk21 10y ago
This is crazy. In all the battery packs I have seen so far, the convention seems to be that the micro USB port is for charging the battery pack itself and the type A port is for delivering power to the device to be charged. Looks like a new set of rules apply to the USB-C ports.
marcosscriven 10y ago
I have the same one - annoyingly I find the USB-C cable, when plugged in, isn't flush with the body of the battery.
Hondor 10y ago
That has to be a spec violation of at least one part of the system. How can a USB-A port possibly ever receive power? Does it actually charge the battery or does the phone just think it's delivering power - perhaps because of a non-compliant cable?
- colejohnson66 10y ago
  That's a problem I've seen with cheap Chinese powered USB hubs. You plug them into the wall and your Raspberry Pi and all of a sudden your Pi turns on (even though its power is unplugged) but doesn't boot.
  - Animats 10y ago
    That may be a Raspberry Pi problem. The Pi's non-power USB ports are "On the go" ports, and potentially bi-directional. But they don't have the proper power circuitry and protection on the power side. The Pi's power USB port doesn't do power negotiation, so if connected to a power source that demands negotiation, it may only get the default per-negotiation 100mA, which isn't enough. (I've been designing a board that gets power from USB, and had to read up on all this. The USB power system is complex but well designed, and if all the devices comply with the standards, immune to user mis-plugging. The problem is that doing it right usually requires an extra IC at each USB port just to manage power.[1] A lot of low-end devices don't do all this right.) [1] http://www.linear.com/product/LTC4085 http://www.linear.com/product/LTC4085
alexland 10y ago
When you plug the phone in, a notification appears in the notification shade allowing you to choose how you want the power to flow. You should be able to choose to charge the phone, rather than use the phone as a charger. I know this option appears when using a Type C to Type C cable, but there's a chance it won't work with a Type C to Type A cable.
tw04 10y ago
Which hub? That doesn't even make sense since the only port the Anker accepts power in on is the USB-C port.

by yurymik 10y ago

2sk21 10y ago

This is crazy. In all the battery packs I have seen so far, the convention seems to be that the micro USB port is for charging the battery pack itself and the type A port is for delivering power to the device to be charged. Looks like a new set of rules apply to the USB-C ports.

marcosscriven 10y ago

I have the same one - annoyingly I find the USB-C cable, when plugged in, isn't flush with the body of the battery.

Hondor 10y ago

That has to be a spec violation of at least one part of the system. How can a USB-A port possibly ever receive power? Does it actually charge the battery or does the phone just think it's delivering power - perhaps because of a non-compliant cable?

colejohnson66 10y ago
That's a problem I've seen with cheap Chinese powered USB hubs. You plug them into the wall and your Raspberry Pi and all of a sudden your Pi turns on (even though its power is unplugged) but doesn't boot.
- Animats 10y ago
  That may be a Raspberry Pi problem. The Pi's non-power USB ports are "On the go" ports, and potentially bi-directional. But they don't have the proper power circuitry and protection on the power side. The Pi's power USB port doesn't do power negotiation, so if connected to a power source that demands negotiation, it may only get the default per-negotiation 100mA, which isn't enough. (I've been designing a board that gets power from USB, and had to read up on all this. The USB power system is complex but well designed, and if all the devices comply with the standards, immune to user mis-plugging. The problem is that doing it right usually requires an extra IC at each USB port just to manage power.[1] A lot of low-end devices don't do all this right.) [1] http://www.linear.com/product/LTC4085 http://www.linear.com/product/LTC4085

alexland 10y ago

When you plug the phone in, a notification appears in the notification shade allowing you to choose how you want the power to flow. You should be able to choose to charge the phone, rather than use the phone as a charger. I know this option appears when using a Type C to Type C cable, but there's a chance it won't work with a Type C to Type A cable.

tw04 10y ago

Which hub? That doesn't even make sense since the only port the Anker accepts power in on is the USB-C port.