Phone Charging Cable

[Gabe H Coud]

Can I use a 6A 120 watt cable on a phone which came with a 3.1A 33w cable?

 

I know using less power(2.4a) doesn't work. But wondering if you use a more powerful cable it will just charge the phone at a max of 33w as that all the charger box can handle?? 

 

This is for a Poco x3 nfc(xiaomi). The later models had even faster charging hence the higher specification cables. 

 

Wondering if I could use one albeit not benefit from the full speed. They are more readily and cheaply available than the ones that came with mine originally 

 

Thanks in advance 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2023 by Gabe H Coud

[TravelerEastWest]

Good question!

 

I also would like to now...

[mikebike]

Depends on the phone. Check the max charging capacity. 

[Upnotover]

I do this all the time.  The cable itself does not affect the charging rate, the charger does that and in any case will not charge something faster than it can accept, at least that seems to be the case with my devices.

[Gabe H Coud]

3 minutes ago, Upnotover said:

I do this all the time.  The cable itself does not affect the charging rate, the charger does that and in any case will not charge something faster than it can accept, at least that seems to be the case with my devices.

yes thanks, thats what is was inferring in my OP

 

I just didnt want it blowing my box(so to speak!) as they are expensive

 

i shall now invest in a faster cable but accept original speed which is fast enough for me ( 1 hour a full charge)

 

thanks again

[sometimewoodworker]

As @Upnotover said the charging cable can limit the speed of charging but not increase it.

the charging is a function of 4 things. 
1) the charger

2) the cable

3) the cable connection 

4) the device 

number 4 is the most important and most devices will limit the rate of charge. The charger is the next factor, a low power charger won’t allow a high speed but a high speed (high power) charger won’t force a high speed charge, it just allows it.

The cable is just rated a the maximum it has siblings have been reliably tested to

The USB connector governs the maximum power available AFAIR all versions of USB except USB-C at both ends are limited to 5V 2.1A some less than that USB-C is variable voltage up to 48V and 240W with version 2.1

 

 

[Gabe H Coud]

9 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

As @Upnotover said the charging cable can limit the speed of charging but not increase it.

the charging is a function of 4 things. 
1) the charger

2) the cable

3) the cable connection 

4) the device 

number 4 is the most important and most devices will limit the rate of charge. The charger is the next factor, a low power charger won’t allow a high speed but a high speed (high power) charger won’t force a high speed charge, it just allows it.

The cable is just rated a the maximum it has siblings have been reliably tested to

The USB connector governs the maximum power available AFAIR all versions of USB except USB-C at both ends are limited to 5V 2.1A some less than that USB-C is variable voltage up to 48V and 240W with version 2.1

 

 

That is well put, thanks

 

In my OP i said

 

"Can I use a 6A 120 watt cable on a phone which came with a 3.1A 33w cable?"

 

In fact what i meant it was a 33w charger(box). The phone and charger will support fast charging at up to 33watts

 

So if my understanding is correct now, is that  i can get a cable that supports faster charging than that, but it will only go as fast as the device/charger(33w) its connected to.

 

As long as it functions like that im happy

 

I might add the correct speed (or higher )USB C cables permit the phone to tell you the exact charging rate eg 67.75% and you can then see it rising very rapidly

 

Other generic USB C cables just say eg 68% and do not charge at the correct speed even with same device/charger box

 

Im wondering what exactly it is about the cable that allows my phone to display this 'reassuring' fast charging info

 

That said, on another matter, whenever i 'fast' charge my phone(with original cable) the battery seems to drain quicker than when i 'slow' charge it

 

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Gabe H Coud

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, Gabe H Coud said:

That said, on another matter, whenever i 'fast' charge my phone(with original cable) the battery seems to drain quicker than when i 'slow' charge it

In general you should not use fast charge unless you really need it. Fast charging will heat the battery much more than slow charging. Heat is the death of batteries. So if you usually fast charge you will need to change the battery much sooner that if you slow charge.

[Gabe H Coud]

22 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

In general you should not use fast charge unless you really need it. Fast charging will heat the battery much more than slow charging. Heat is the death of batteries. So if you usually fast charge you will need to change the battery much sooner that if you slow charge.

Totally agree

 

As regards this fast charging fast draining I think it's a sign that my battery needs replacing. What would be the point of fast charging if it just fast drained too?!

 

It's 2.5 yrs old after all. Just need a decent replacement, not easy on Lazada 

[sometimewoodworker]

37 minutes ago, Gabe H Coud said:

Totally agree

 

As regards this fast charging fast draining I think it's a sign that my battery needs replacing. What would be the point of fast charging if it just fast drained too?!

 

It's 2.5 yrs old after all. Just need a decent replacement, not easy on Lazada 

You should be able to find the total charge capacity of the phone and the original charge capacity of the battery, certainly iPhones can give you this information so I suspect that android ones can do the same, if the capacity is under 80% of new then it is time for a new battery, if you go to a competent repair shop they will be able to get a quality battery, just buying on Lazada you have little knowledge of the quality of the battery.

[Gabe H Coud]

22 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

You should be able to find the total charge capacity of the phone and the original charge capacity of the battery, certainly iPhones can give you this information so I suspect that android ones can do the same, if the capacity is under 80% of new then it is time for a new battery, if you go to a competent repair shop they will be able to get a quality battery, just buying on Lazada you have little knowledge of the quality of the battery.

Not seeing that on this device settings/battery 

 

Anyone have an app that  can tell me it..... 

 

TIA 

[Gabe H Coud]

On 5/24/2023 at 8:13 PM, sometimewoodworker said:

You should be able to find the total charge capacity of the phone and the original charge capacity of the battery, certainly iPhones can give you this information so I suspect that android ones can do the same, if the capacity is under 80% of new then it is time for a new battery, if you go to a competent repair shop they will be able to get a quality battery, just buying on Lazada you have little knowledge of the quality of the battery.

 

[Gabe H Coud]

The above screenshot is based on 1 overnight charge only 

 

I suspect it may vary a little after a few charges

 

It's pretty much in line with what I thought... 68% of original power

 

I can cope with this battery for another few months then it's a choice between a new battery or a new poco x5 Pro! 

Edited May 26, 2023 by Gabe H Coud

[ravip]

Fast charging seems to be quite a 'complicated' procedure.

It all depends on the phone, cable and charger design. A higher wattage charger will not necessarily charge faster, if the phone is not designed that way or the cable is not right. Fast charging does not happen continuously - e.g. 0% - 100%.

Some phones stops fast charging around 50% - depends on its design. New Samsung phones have a 'Battery Protect mode' which stops the charging at 85%.

 

Basically, fast charging phones 'speaks' with the charger - hence, all 3 should be compatible

 

I will add some interesting articles about this subject.

 

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/what-is-fast-charging#:~:text=Most phones and other devices,makes faster charging speeds possible.

 

 

Edited May 26, 2023 by ravip

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, Gabe H Coud said:

The above screenshot is based on 1 overnight charge only 

 

I suspect it may vary a little after a few charges

 

It's pretty much in line with what I thought... 68% of original power

 

I can cope with this battery for another few months then it's a choice between a new battery or a new poco x5 Pro! 

I was just checking and a very good battery for one of my iPads was ฿2,000 and for my Samsung A5 was ฿700, they took about an hour for both to be fitted 

[Gabe H Coud]

Back to the cable the 67 watt cable arrived today and it doesn't work! I get error message that it's slow, try to reconnect etc 

 

It's from lazada and yes it could be fake but crikey it looks real! 

 

My 1m original cable works fine 

 

So it begs the question again as to whether a 67w cable is compatible with a 33w charger box? 

 

Thanks 

[Gabe H Coud]

54 minutes ago, Gabe H Coud said:

Back to the cable the 67 watt cable arrived today and it doesn't work! I get error message that it's slow, try to reconnect etc 

 

It's from lazada and yes it could be fake but crikey it looks real! 

 

My 1m original cable works fine 

 

So it begs the question again as to whether a 67w cable is compatible with a 33w charger box? 

 

Thanks 

FWIW.... It's actually 66w cable 

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, Gabe H Coud said:

Back to the cable the 67 watt cable arrived today and it doesn't work! I get error message that it's slow, try to reconnect etc 

 

It's from lazada and yes it could be fake but crikey it looks real! 

 

My 1m original cable works fine 

 

So it begs the question again as to whether a 67w cable is compatible with a 33w charger box? 

 

Thanks 

The cable is absolutely not a fake. It is a real cable with real USB-C ends, however the soldering or just possibly crimping are not necessary correct and the cable itself might rival spider silk for fineness of strands and could be coppered aluminium, the electronics in the cable could be substandard.

 

How much were you charged? and how long is the cable? What brand is the cable?

 

to answer the question, any good quality cable will work perfectly with any good quality charger, so you could use a good 240W cable and it will work, it won’t charge any faster but it will function.

 

Quality makes include; ESSAGER, Baseus, NOHON, Anker, ORICO, Aukey. They all make high quality cables and cheaper ones.

 

My preference is to use AliExpress for electronics.

 

 

Edited May 26, 2023 by sometimewoodworker

[ravip]

3 hours ago, Gabe H Coud said:

FWIW.... It's actually 66w cable 

Can you please post a pic of it's packing with the printed details on it.

 

Or the link to the online product. 

Edited May 26, 2023 by ravip

[Gabe H Coud]

13 hours ago, ravip said:

Can you please post a pic of it's packing with the printed details on it.

 

Or the link to the online product. 

[Gabe H Coud]

I would like to say again that when I'm charging my phone with the 1m cable that came with the device(33w) then the battery charging clock is very accurate to two decimal places(67.77%) and you can see the battery charging very fast. You also get a notification that it's turbo charging. 

When I used the 2 m long cable I just bought(66w) i get no decimal places and I don't get a turbo message. I then get an error message saying "the cable is not connected properly Please try to connect again"

Trying to understand what the difference is between the two cables that makes the device react differently. 

[Gabe H Coud]

13 hours ago, ravip said:

Can you please post a pic of it's packing with the printed details on it.

 

Or the link to the online product. 

https://s.lazada.co.th/s.jLvDi

[ravip]

I hope the following would be of some help for you to figure out the issue.

 

Thank you for posting the pics. From what I observed, your cable is one side USB-C and the other side (charger side) is USB-A. If this is confirmed the following may be the reasons you are querying.

 

1. Can I use a 6A 120 watt cable on a phone which came with a 3.1A 33w cable?

>>> if the other specs are the same e.g. PD versions, USB versions this should not be a problem. But vice versa, the charging will be degraded.

 

2. i get no decimal places and I don't get a turbo message. I then get an error message saying "the cable is not connected properly Please try to connect again"

>>> This most probably might be due to the difference in the PD versions  - on the above posted video, at 0.55 minutes PD (Power Delivery) is explained.

 

 

The following pics, taken from the same video above, explains the charging currentsof different USB cable types. Can you see which exactly is your cable from these pics?

 

@8.08

 

@9.:45

 

@10:25

 

@10:30

 

What's the Difference: USB PD 2.0 vs. USB PD 3.0 > Link

 

[Gabe H Coud]

Thanks for help 

 

Pic 1 is the black cable that I use for overnight charging. It says it's turbo charging but I'm not sure it is?? And it doesn't give the 2 decimal point reading. I think this is USB 1.0 

 

Pic 2 is the 1m cable that came with the phone so I assume it's 33w. It certainly fast charges, displays a message that it does and gives 2 decimal place reading. The only drawback is that the battery seems to drain fast too when using this. Maybe I should test this theory more thoroughly. I think this is USB 3.0 

 

Pic 3 is the new 2m cable that I'm sending back. It doesn't fast charge and gives an error message. And no 2 decimal place reading either. It's USB 3.0 I think.

 Not sure why it doesn't work as looks identical to the 1m white cable. The only difference is that its 66w so that making think it's not compatible? 

[sometimewoodworker]

3 hours ago, Gabe H Coud said:

Thanks for help 

 

Pic 1 is the black cable that I use for overnight charging. It says it's turbo charging but I'm not sure it is?? And it doesn't give the 2 decimal point reading. I think this is USB 1.0 

 

Pic 2 is the 1m cable that came with the phone so I assume it's 33w. It certainly fast charges, displays a message that it does and gives 2 decimal place reading. The only drawback is that the battery seems to drain fast too when using this. Maybe I should test this theory more thoroughly. I think this is USB 3.0 

 

Pic 3 is the new 2m cable that I'm sending back. It doesn't fast charge and gives an error message. And no 2 decimal place reading either. It's USB 3.0 I think.

 Not sure why it doesn't work as looks identical to the 1m white cable. The only difference is that its 66w so that making think it's not compatible? 

• You have a USB A charger, so the maximum voltage is limited,
• you have a cheap cable, so the quality may not be great
• you have a long charging lead (2 meters for a cheap cable = probable voltage drop)
• the quality of the cable is not as good as the brands I listed earlier 

[OneMoreFarang]

I didn't read all the posts until now, maybe that was mentioned already:

 

You can buy a USB voltage and current meter, something like this:

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/aideepen-usb-12-led-i1657546591-s4614678191.html

 

That will show you with which voltage and current your phone is charged.

It depends on the adapter, cable and phone.

And sometimes the adapters and cables don't deliver what they promise.

 

The above link is just a sample, I never used that specific device.