Powerfull car charger

[Girevik]

I'm looking for a car charger to provide maximum power to my phone for when I'm using GPS. I've found some that have a 2.1A and 1A port that I'm considering.

This is probably a stupid question, but does the usb cable I would plug into this matter? Do some cables have less power capability than others, or are they all the same?

 

[hatredg0d]

Just because the charger can output 2.1 amps does not mean your phone can draw 2.1 amps. I would assume most cables can handle 2.1 amps, but I cant say for sure.

 

[storageman]

I'm looking for a car charger to provide maximum power to my phone for when I'm using GPS. I've found some that have a 2.1A and 1A port that I'm considering.

This is probably a stupid question, but does the usb cable I would plug into this matter? Do some cables have less power capability than others, or are they all the same?

That is a lot of amps for a car charger. DO you have a link to who MFG's it ? Most are only about 1.1A.

Thanks

 

[Girevik]

Just because the charger can output 2.1 amps does not mean your phone can draw 2.1 amps.

True, but the 1A should be plenty for the phone, and the 2.1 for a tablet if needed. And if I do plug it into the 2.1 at least I'd know the phone was getting all it could take, right? That wouldn't damage the phone would it?

That is a lot of amps for a car charger. DO you have a link to who MFG's it ? Most are only about 1.1A.

Thanks

There are a ton of them on Amazon. Here's a link to one: Amazon.com: EZOPower 3.1A 15W 2-Port USB Car Charger Adapter For Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Note Edge, Note 3, Galaxy S 5 / S 4 / S 3 / S 2 Android Jellybean Smartphone - White: Cell Phones & Accessories

 

[svim]

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; } >> That wouldn't damage the phone would it?



Those higher amp-rated chargers won't damage your phone, it has its own regulation built into it.
– The factory battery that came in our S3 phones is rated at 3.8V, 2100mAh. The stock charger is rated at 5V, 1A. The battery itself can take up to 2.1A (1x capacity) but the phone hardware limits the amperage down according to what it 'auto-senses' whichever cable gets plugged into it.
– When you're charging off your computer and/or laptop, keep in mind that the USB ports only supply a limited amount of amps. USB 2.0 is 500mA (0.5 amps) and USB 3.0 is 900mA (ignoring the soon to come revisions to 3.x being able to supply much more voltage and amperage). Charging off your computer/laptop is OK but you'll get slightly faster charging times using a dedicated power adapter. (Also keep in mind that depending on the make and model of computer/laptop, some USB ports are always supplying power but most get powered down when the computer/laptop is turned off or sleeping.)
– Not all USB cables are the same. Leaving out wire gauge issues, there's the matter of a more common 'data' cable or a 'power-only' cable. Of the four contacts in each plug end, two are for power (the outer two) and two are for data (the inner two). When the S3 senses a data cable it generally limits itself to 500mA or 900mA because it's assuming that it's plugged into a computer/laptop so it will be charging along with transferring data. When it senses a power-only cable, where the two inner ports are shorted so the two corresponding wires are inert, then the phone will pull in as much amperage as it's rated to accept.
– The above applies to the majority, but Apple has opted to use the two inner 'data only' contact pins as indicator signals for their various iDevices. So any chargers tagged to work with Apple products also supply a small voltage amount to what should be 'data only' contacts. Our Android devices don't correctly interpret that Apple-only signal voltage so in essence are fooled into thinking they're being plugged into computer/laptop, only accepting the lower amperage when charging. If you want to get optimal use from any Apple rated charger, it's important to use a power-only USB cable so those two data wires are non-functional.

 

[Girevik]

Cool, I didn't know there was such a thing as a "power only" usb cable. I'll have to order one if I get the charger.

Is there any way to tell if any of the cables I currently have are power only? It's probably unlikely, but maybe worth a shot.

 

[Girevik]

Ok, now I'm a litle confused. I was looking at a power only usb on Amazon and it said you could tell by checking the phone status when it's charging. It will either show "Charging (AC)" or "Charging (usb)". I checked a couple of cables that I have and they both said "Charging (AC)". But I was able to connect to my PC with it and transfer data. I wish there was a way to see how much juice it was pulling....I really want to get back to where I phone will charge while I'm using navigation (which I could do up until a couple weeks ago).

 

[svim]

Yeah, it's kind of a mess as far as manufacturers following standards and actually looking at consumers as anything except sources income. Most USB cables, especially those off-brand ones, are very poorly labeled or even mis-labeled and made to fill contracts based on the lowest bidder.
If you want to see amperage amounts your phone is drawing in while charging, there are several apps for that, lately I've been using 'Battery Current' as it isn't one of those expansive battery management utilities, it just gives you charging info.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.tntapp.battery_current&hl=en

 

[Girevik]

That link doesn't work, and I'm not seeing anything called "Batter Current". I did download another one that shows "mA flow", but I'm not sure of what I'm seeing. It started out at +369mA when plugged into AC, but after letting it set for a while it's +801mA. So I'm guess that's telling me that it's pulling minus what is being used, right?

Bottom line is that I use a navigation ap that I used to be able to charge my phone while using, but now even when plugged into my 1000mA charger it drains. I'm trying to determine if Kit Kat is causing that, or if maybe the charger is going bad.