USB 3 charging: Faster? HOW MUCH FASTER?

[anon8380037]

Correct, the device decides how much of that 2 amp to use, it will generally start out high, and come down as charge comes up, it will taper way off after the battery reaches about 95%, battery temperature also has a hugh effect on charge rate. Also, due to resistance, that 2.0 amp power supply will only be able to deliver approximately 1.8 amp to the phone.

What annoyed me about charging my two GS2 batteries was it would continue to charge apparently, thereby reducing the life of the battery if you left it on.
I found a wall charger displayed in a home chain store here which claimed to have a chip to stop charging when full. Why didn't Samsung give me that for my GS2.
On my N3 will it intelligently reduce or stop the charge do you think when full, or has battery technology moved on and it's no longer an issue.
Thanks.

"All in the Best Possible Taste" via my Note 3 on AC's app

 

[vamp464]

What annoyed me about charging my two GS2 batteries was it would continue to charge apparently, thereby reducing the life of the battery if you left it on.
I found a wall charger displayed in a home chain store here which claimed to have a chip to stop charging when full. Why didn't Samsung give me that for my GS2.
On my N3 will it intelligently reduce or stop the charge do you think when full, or has battery technology moved on and it's no longer an issue.
Thanks.

"All in the Best Possible Taste" via my Note 3 on AC's app

Always look for a "smart" charging device for any batteries. Sad to say a lot of charging devices for my gadgets that can handle multiple batteries are not and continue charging like in your scenario. Cost saving to not include the feature I guess.

 

[rusty502]

What annoyed me about charging my two GS2 batteries was it would continue to charge apparently, thereby reducing the life of the battery if you left it on.
I found a wall charger displayed in a home chain store here which claimed to have a chip to stop charging when full. Why didn't Samsung give me that for my GS2.
On my N3 will it intelligently reduce or stop the charge do you think when full, or has battery technology moved on and it's no longer an issue.
Thanks.

"All in the Best Possible Taste" via my Note 3 on AC's app

The charger is built into the phone circuitry, it is an intelligent charger programed to protect the battery, lithium ion batteries need very accurate monitoring , you can leave it plugged in with no worries, it will not over charge, keep in mind, with lithium ion batteries, it is best not to discharge completely, 2.7 volt is the recommended cut off, and most have a failsafe built into the battery itself to prevent going below 2.4 volts, I try not to go below 15% before recharging, also, lithium ion batteries do not suffer from memory effects like some older battery technology did, so it's fine to plug in and "top" off at any time

 

[anon8380037]

The charger is built into the phone circuitry, it is an intelligent charger programed to protect the battery, lithium ion batteries need very accurate monitoring , you can leave it plugged in with no worries, it will not over charge, keep in mind, with lithium ion batteries, it is best not to discharge completely, 2.7 volt is the recommended cut off, and most have a failsafe built into the battery itself to prevent going below 2.4 volts, I try not to go below 15% before recharging, also, lithium ion batteries do not suffer from memory effects like some older battery technology did, so it's fine to plug in and "top" off at any time

Thank you again.

I noticed a drop to around 60% capacity on both GS2 batteries.
I remembered the warning then to keep the battery between 15% and 95%.

The Note 3 is more intelligent then, but keep it above 15% ideally.
I have let it go to 7% on occasion rather than give it a mid top up, and also once to 1% shutdown to time the charge stupidly.
So topping up at mid or any capacity won't affect the life cycle, below 15% regularly will.
Spare ones are relatively cheap of course, but it's better to have a consistent battery drain you can depend on.

I was hoping I would pick up another thread to find this out, (I hate searching!) so that's really appreciated.

"All in the Best Possible Taste" via my Note 3 on AC's app

 

[rusty502]

Thank you again.

I noticed a drop to around 60% capacity on both GS2 batteries.
I remembered the warning then to keep the battery between 15% and 95%.

The Note 3 is more intelligent then, but keep it above 15% ideally.
I have let it go to 7% on occasion rather than give it a mid top up, and also once to 1% shutdown to time the charge stupidly.
So topping up at mid or any capacity won't affect the life cycle, below 15% regularly will.
Spare ones are relatively cheap of course, but it's better to have a consistent battery drain you can depend on.

I was hoping I would pick up another thread to find this out, (I hate searching!) so that's really appreciated.

"All in the Best Possible Taste" via my Note 3 on AC's app

going below 15% will not hurt anything, older lithium ion batteries were a lot more finicky, but you should not get in the habit of running it down to the point that it shuts down, topping it up is good as the battery generates very little heat with this type charging, these batteries have roughly a 500 cycle life, a cycle is a complete charge and discharge, so if you plug in at 50% and charge to 100%, that is 1/2 of a cycle, the good thing is you would really have to abuse it hard to make much of a difference in life, and it's easily and cheaply replaceable when the time comes

 

[anon8380037]

going below 15% will not hurt anything, older lithium ion batteries were a lot more finicky, but you should not get in the habit of running it down to the point that it shuts down, topping it up is good as the battery generates very little heat with this type charging, these batteries have roughly a 500 cycle life, a cycle is a complete charge and discharge, so if you plug in at 50% and charge to 100%, that is 1/2 of a cycle, the good thing is you would really have to abuse it hard to make much of a difference in life, and it's easily and cheaply replaceable when the time comes

I can now do mid top ups without guilt. It was always in the back of my mind that this was a bad thing. So no longer. Less heat generated and counts as half a cycle.
I'm less keen to constantly switch spare batteries on my white N3, as the back clips seem fragile, though probably aren't, and the faux chrome band will chip on my Terrapin case's plastic inner frame. As it gets older I will be less bothered.
A lot of useful pointers in those posts which I will digest again.

"All in the Best Possible Taste" via my Note 3 on AC's app

 

[dss2000]

I've found I only get fast charging using the USB 3.0 cable with the original AC adapter that came with the phone. If I connect it to another 2.1A rated adapter AC or car type it doesn't charge as fast.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Moni Mihailov]

Hi everyone, I recently bought a S5 which also comes with USB 3.0 support. Now I'm using my 2.0 original charger and it charges from around 5% to 100% in about 2 hours. I think this is awesome timing, but I'm still gonna ask - should I buy a USB 3.0 cable or there won't be any difference in charging times?
PS : My USB 2.0 draws 1200mA without Fast Charge enabled (using Ktoonzes kernel).

 

[Joey1021]

so true. To be honest it's very negligible difference. maybe 10-15 minute difference and that's exactly because like he said ^ depends on the cable if it's of good quality. The samsung seems of higher gauge and that's probably why it seems to charge faster. I believe the extra connection is just for data transfers. And for those doing test, remember if you drain a battery and start charging it right away it's going to take longer 'cause it's hot. so i think if you do the test it should be with a battery that's been cool down to the same temperature. Just mho and also remember that you need to use a 2.0 A charger

 

[andrew_sc_syd]

There is an app named Galaxy Charging Current Free. It shows the current charging intensity, in milliamps. It is surprisingly accurate on my Note3, in a sense that it correlates well with tge charging time. Takes out the guesswork from using various chargers and cables.

Another observation relevant to this thread. It is worth charging past 100%. After charging overnight, my Note3 seems to last twice as long, compared to a quick 4-hour charge. But both show 100% at end of charging.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Richard Friel]

2.5x faster with USB3.0 vs USB2.0, 2A vs 1A, i design cell phone chargers, 3.0 is 2x the current of 2.0, its in the design. i wont ever go back to USB 2.0 charging, its the dino age compared to 3.0.

 

[recDNA]

There is an app named Galaxy Charging Current Free. It shows the current charging intensity, in milliamps. It is surprisingly accurate on my Note3, in a sense that it correlates well with tge charging time. Takes out the guesswork from using various chargers and cables.

Another observation relevant to this thread. It is worth charging past 100%. After charging overnight, my Note3 seems to last twice as long, compared to a quick 4-hour charge. But both show 100% at end of charging.

Posted via the Android Central App

I notice the same current with generic charger with micro plug and stock note 3 plug with sammy charger. Usually 1200 mA. Never goes higher than 1800 mA. Strangely amp draw increases as battery gets closer to full.

 

[gyrex]

Is it worth buying one of those fancy USB 3 charging cables for work?

I have a micro usb 2.0 cable there.

Does anyone have comparison times for charging 2.0 vs. 3.0 ??

Thanks,
Mike

Not faster at all if you're charging with a 2.1A wall charger - in fact, my USB 2.0 cables charge faster than the original Samsung USB 3.0 cable. And that's where the difference lies, in the cables. If you buy good quality, large gauge cables, you will maximise your current draw. If you buy cheap, horrible cables you will get minimal current draw due to the increased resistance over the wires which carry power (USB 2 cables have 2 pairs: 1 pair for data and 1 pair for power).

FYI the cables I use are Anker USB 2 cables and they have 21AWG (gauge) power wires (lower the number, the thicker the wire). Stock Samsung cables are probably 24 or 26AWG.

In summary, there is no difference between USB 2/3. The cable itself makes a HUGE difference when it comes to maximising current draw. Use low quality cables (doesn't matter if it's USB2/3/C) and you will suffer long charging times.

Hope this helps.

 

[DeviceUser]

despite all the claims that the cable shouldn't make a difference I routinely get much faster charging times with a USB 3.0 cable than a 2.0 cable using the same wall adapter. so I would take people's claims with a grain of salt and try it for yourself. it may have to do with what the prior poster said in that USB 3.0 cables have to have higher specs and thus can draw more current more reliably.

 

[DeviceUser]

just did a test from zero and with the same wall jack and adapter it takes 4:12 to charge with a Samsung USB 2.0 cable and 1:17 with a Samsung 3.0 cable. it's a HUGE difference.

 

[thisUserNameIsAlreadyTaken]

I just finally ordered a USB 3 cable for my note 3. At first I got a normal Samsung micro USB cable + plug, but when contacting the company they sent me the correct cable. However, I'm only getting 1200 mA, same as with the white and shiny newer (from 2012 or something) Samsung micro USB chargers. So my question is basically, does the USB 3 cable require some special USB 3 plug to charge optimally?

 

[RBEmerson]

The quickest answer to "does 2.0 vs 3.0 matter" is to run an S5 with Waze and BT on a long trip. With 2.0, the S5 discharges. With 3.0 the phone will come to 100% and stay there. In short, 2.0 can't supply enough power to keep the screen on, run Waze, BT, and everything else that's in the background. 3.0 can and does charge in the same setting. (BTW, no "single wide" connector will do fast charging)

But... the reason for my post is I've found that some 3.0 cables will act as 2.0 cables with different sources (wall wart, car charger). The different cables in the same source also do this. That is, unless I have the right combination of cable and source, the phone shows the "you could be charging faster" message, even though the source can handle 2.1A and the cable has a "double wide" connector. Has anyone else seen this? Is there an explanation for this?

 

[RBEmerson]

I referred to 2.1A chargers - that should be 2.4A. The 300 ma difference seems to matter.
I found a comment somewhere about how dirty or clean the S5 power connector is, and how that can confuse the charging process. I squirted some contact cleaner on the power port and followed up with a shot of compressed air. That seemed to remove some degree of uncertainty. I've now tried doing the same process for the USB cable connectors. AFAIK, the phone is happy with the cleaned cables and port. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen. Or not.

 

[Ick Dey]

For the Note 3, most def! My Note 3 seems to fully charge in less than two hours with the 3.0 charger. With the 2.0 charger your looking at double or more the time to charge the phone. Thou, ask yourself, do you drain you battery enough to need that much of a charge? Even though there have been threads about battery life since kitkat update; I'm averaging 6-8hrs of heavy use with a 14-18hr battery charge. So it's efficient enough to get me through the day.

Palm Treo line > BlackBerry line > Samsung Galaxy S line > NOW the awesome & powerful Samsung Galaxy Note 3!

Pretty much it is not about "if you have your phone plugged in all day, do you really need quick charge"

its about being AWAY from you charger for an extended period of time, and not wanting to plug in for 4 hours until you can be away from your charger for 8 hours.