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I've had a ton of issues with USB power supplies and cables not allowing devices to charge properly (Improper wiring, termination, fake specs, etc) and so I sta

I've had a ton of issues with USB power supplies and cables not allowing devices to charge properly (Improper wiring, termination, fake specs, etc) and so I started testing everything I got using a USB power meter and test load. Anker is the only brand on Amazon that Ive found to reliably meet spec. Their newer USB battery packs in particular are very interesting because they will ignore the line termination and do a TCP-like ramp on amperage until they get a voltage sag, then pull back slightly and sit there. This is especially entertaining because they'll melt really poorly designed USB supplies :)

alphonsegaston 9y ago
Can you recommend a portable USB charger of there's? I sold my wife on getting one when she needed to replace her's because of their solid reputation, only to have it break three months later.
- msmm 9y ago
  Maybe the typical one would have broken down after couple of hours?
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- pdelbarba 9y ago
  How did it fail? I have a few of the PowerCore chargers and have had no issues.
  - alphonsegaston 9y ago
    It stopped charging fully and would no longer power any devices. I just tested it the other day while I was getting ready to recycle some other electronics and it was still doing the same thing.
- stonesam92 9y ago
  Did you contact Anker? Among the many products I've bought from them, I've had a couple of problematic ones, but have found that in these cases their support has been very helpful and sent me a replacement, even a year or so after the original purchase.
  - alphonsegaston 9y ago
    No, but I should have. It broke during a trip out of the country and we needed to replace it then and there. Thankfully, we were in Japan, so we had no shortage of options. I'll keep that in mind if I buy from them again.
    - wapz 9y ago
      You can buy any of theirs that was manufactured in the last 1.5-2 years and you shouldn't have a problem. I wouldn't buy one that was originally made 3-4 years ago just because the cells might have lost a lot of capacity. Like the others said, if you contact them they have great customer support and will often (very anecdotal) send you a free one.
ethbro 9y ago
This is why Anker is successful imho. Not because they offer a better battery / charger / cable. But because they free users from having the think about it. Most people don't want to have to think about USB power delivery handshakes and resistors. And they don't want to research what they need to look for in a USB 3.0 cable vs that USB 2.0 cable they bought years ago. Anker seems to be technologically on the ball, but above and beyond that it's a "we promise not to @$^# up the accessory we sell to you" guarantee. Which the Chinese fly-by-nights seem incapable of grasping.
- hkmurakami 9y ago
  In other words, they've cultivated a brand of trust through their product lineup (what they offer vs what they don't offer), product design, and packaging design.
  - crispyambulance 9y ago
    I have their 6-port USB charger in the mudroom of the house. We plug in our phones, tablets and bike lights upon entry. Excellent performance, and yes, I never have to think about it. It just works (at US and Euro line voltage). I did find the packaging a bit ostentatious for a USB charger. A plain corrugated cardboard box would have been more appropriate for mail-order, though I can see why they might want to "steve-job" the packaging for retail.
    - komali2 9y ago
      What's a mudroom?
      - grzm 9y ago
        > Many suburban American houses have a mud room, a casual, generally secondary entryway intended as an area to remove and store footwear, outerwear, and wet clothing before entering the main house. As well as providing storage space, a mud room serves to increase the cleanliness of a house proper. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entryway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entryway
tmaly 9y ago
My friend was going scuba diving on an island without power. He bought and tested 5 different brands on Amazon. Anker was the best. He had an extra battery, so I bought it from it. It was worked wonders when I am traveling for the day and need to charge my phone.
jacob019 9y ago
"Their newer USB battery packs in particular are very interesting because they will ignore the line termination and do a TCP-like ramp on amperage until they get a voltage sag" This comment doesn't make sense in the context of the battery pack being used as a charger. Are you talking about when the battery pack is charging?
- logicallee 9y ago
  yes, they have to be because they said "This is especially entertaining because they'll melt really poorly designed USB supplies :)"
- xsmasher 9y ago
  I read this as "some devices don't correctly signal what amperage they want, so the anker pack ramps up until it detects some change that indicates the device is charging at full speed."
  - pdelbarba 9y ago
    I'm referring to the charge rate of the packs themselves. Amperage doesn't work the same way voltage does. You could hook your phone up to a 1000 amp supply as long as it's 5V so there's no point in starting lower and ramping up the output since the device will only use what it can take. (for clarification, the principle is V=IR, you could hook a 5V incandescent lightbulb or LED up to that same 1000A supply and it would only draw I=V/R (Current = 5v / series resistance). Yes, there is silicon controlling the battery, but at the most basic level, if the series resistance of all that plus the battery is 5 ohms, it will only draw 1A) Edit: math fail
    - jacob019 9y ago
      The charger could push more current by increasing the voltage, but that would be dangerous and most likely damage the device--unless the charger could somehow sense the resistance of the charging cable and compensate for the voltage drop, then the output would be >5V at the charger, but =5V at the end of the cable. That would take some sorcery I'm not aware of though. LEDs use constant current power supplies with variable voltage, and I've seen some hybrid designs with exotic combinations of constant current / constant voltage regulation.
dclusin 9y ago
Is this you? https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/11/google-engineer-leaves-scathing-reviews-of-dodgy-usb-type-c-cables-on-amazon/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/11/google-engineer-leav...

alphonsegaston 9y ago

Can you recommend a portable USB charger of there's? I sold my wife on getting one when she needed to replace her's because of their solid reputation, only to have it break three months later.

msmm 9y ago
Maybe the typical one would have broken down after couple of hours?
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
pdelbarba 9y ago
How did it fail? I have a few of the PowerCore chargers and have had no issues.
- alphonsegaston 9y ago
  It stopped charging fully and would no longer power any devices. I just tested it the other day while I was getting ready to recycle some other electronics and it was still doing the same thing.
stonesam92 9y ago
Did you contact Anker? Among the many products I've bought from them, I've had a couple of problematic ones, but have found that in these cases their support has been very helpful and sent me a replacement, even a year or so after the original purchase.
- alphonsegaston 9y ago
  No, but I should have. It broke during a trip out of the country and we needed to replace it then and there. Thankfully, we were in Japan, so we had no shortage of options. I'll keep that in mind if I buy from them again.
  - wapz 9y ago
    You can buy any of theirs that was manufactured in the last 1.5-2 years and you shouldn't have a problem. I wouldn't buy one that was originally made 3-4 years ago just because the cells might have lost a lot of capacity. Like the others said, if you contact them they have great customer support and will often (very anecdotal) send you a free one.

ethbro 9y ago

This is why Anker is successful imho. Not because they offer a better battery / charger / cable. But because they free users from having the think about it. Most people don't want to have to think about USB power delivery handshakes and resistors. And they don't want to research what they need to look for in a USB 3.0 cable vs that USB 2.0 cable they bought years ago. Anker seems to be technologically on the ball, but above and beyond that it's a "we promise not to @$^# up the accessory we sell to you" guarantee. Which the Chinese fly-by-nights seem incapable of grasping.

hkmurakami 9y ago
In other words, they've cultivated a brand of trust through their product lineup (what they offer vs what they don't offer), product design, and packaging design.
- crispyambulance 9y ago
  I have their 6-port USB charger in the mudroom of the house. We plug in our phones, tablets and bike lights upon entry. Excellent performance, and yes, I never have to think about it. It just works (at US and Euro line voltage). I did find the packaging a bit ostentatious for a USB charger. A plain corrugated cardboard box would have been more appropriate for mail-order, though I can see why they might want to "steve-job" the packaging for retail.
  - komali2 9y ago
    What's a mudroom?
    - grzm 9y ago
      > Many suburban American houses have a mud room, a casual, generally secondary entryway intended as an area to remove and store footwear, outerwear, and wet clothing before entering the main house. As well as providing storage space, a mud room serves to increase the cleanliness of a house proper. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entryway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entryway

tmaly 9y ago

My friend was going scuba diving on an island without power. He bought and tested 5 different brands on Amazon. Anker was the best. He had an extra battery, so I bought it from it. It was worked wonders when I am traveling for the day and need to charge my phone.

jacob019 9y ago

"Their newer USB battery packs in particular are very interesting because they will ignore the line termination and do a TCP-like ramp on amperage until they get a voltage sag" This comment doesn't make sense in the context of the battery pack being used as a charger. Are you talking about when the battery pack is charging?

logicallee 9y ago
yes, they have to be because they said "This is especially entertaining because they'll melt really poorly designed USB supplies :)"
xsmasher 9y ago
I read this as "some devices don't correctly signal what amperage they want, so the anker pack ramps up until it detects some change that indicates the device is charging at full speed."
- pdelbarba 9y ago
  I'm referring to the charge rate of the packs themselves. Amperage doesn't work the same way voltage does. You could hook your phone up to a 1000 amp supply as long as it's 5V so there's no point in starting lower and ramping up the output since the device will only use what it can take. (for clarification, the principle is V=IR, you could hook a 5V incandescent lightbulb or LED up to that same 1000A supply and it would only draw I=V/R (Current = 5v / series resistance). Yes, there is silicon controlling the battery, but at the most basic level, if the series resistance of all that plus the battery is 5 ohms, it will only draw 1A) Edit: math fail
  - jacob019 9y ago
    The charger could push more current by increasing the voltage, but that would be dangerous and most likely damage the device--unless the charger could somehow sense the resistance of the charging cable and compensate for the voltage drop, then the output would be >5V at the charger, but =5V at the end of the cable. That would take some sorcery I'm not aware of though. LEDs use constant current power supplies with variable voltage, and I've seen some hybrid designs with exotic combinations of constant current / constant voltage regulation.

dclusin 9y ago

Is this you? https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/11/google-engineer-leaves-scathing-reviews-of-dodgy-usb-type-c-cables-on-amazon/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/11/google-engineer-leav...