"Certified" cables and chargers

[Impulses]

... I only went to this to point out that no where does Google say that using older cables may damage your phone,

Okay... AFAIK no one here has said differently, charging your phone with an out of spec type A to C cable (or a shoddy C to C cable for that matter) can and definitely will damage it tho... It's happened. Old A to micro B cables with a (safe and in spec) adapter are perfectly fine, just slower as you were told.

 

[hal1]

Okay... AFAIK no one here has said differently, charging your phone with an out of spec type A to C cable (or a shoddy C to C cable for that matter) can and definitely will damage it tho... It's happened. Old A to micro B cables with a (safe and in spec) adapter are perfectly fine, just slower as you were told.

I'm not going to look for it now, but there has definitely been people who have said that using an older cable without the 56 K Ohm resistor could risk damaging your phone. Where Google simply states 'may not work'

 

[Impulses]

I'm not going to look for it now, but there has definitely been people who have said that using an older cable without the 56 K Ohm resistor could risk damaging your phone. Where Google simply states 'may not work'

Well I was talking about this thread, y'know, the one you're posting in... Benson and others have said the same thing all along. Your very last statement is also kinda vague, repurposing an older Type A to micro B cable with an adapter (B to C) is safe because the 56K ohm resistor is then in the adapter itself. If you use an out of spec adapter (like OnePlus'!) then it's definitely not safe.

Either way it'll lead too much slower charging, usually at around 7.5W, not sure what's the point of using adapters in general unless it's for something with a built in cable (like battery packs, gonna be using one with an older pack myself) or you're really pinching pennies. A decent adapter still runs like $7 for a two pack...

 

[JasW]

Google sells one for like $12, a little steep IMO but as I hadn't come across any reviews that vetted an aftermarket OTG I just went with theirs. Your old one + adapter might work but it'd probably be limited to 2.0 speeds... The phone comes with a hard OTG dongle too no?

Turns out the dongle is simply a USB-A to USB-C adapter -- no OTG about it. The Benson-approved micro USB to USB-C adapter didn't work with my old OTG cable either. OTG of course is two-way because allows the device to actively power something external (USB flash drive, etc.) instead of just being passively powered.

Does anyone know for sure whether this $12.99 cable at the Google Store is actually an OTG cable? Or for that matter whether this $6.99 one on Amazon (with a picture identical to the one on the Google Store) is a functioning OTG cable?

 

[Impulses]

Turns out the dongle is simply a USB-A to USB-C adapter -- no OTG about it. The Benson-approved micro USB to USB-C adapter didn't work with my old OTG cable either. OTG of course is two-way because allows the device to actively power something external (USB flash drive, etc.) instead of just being passively powered.

Does anyone know for sure whether this $12.99 cable at the Google Store is actually an OTG cable? Or for that matter whether this $6.99 one on Amazon (with a picture identical to the one on the Google Store) is a functioning OTG cable?

I've got the cable in question, but no Pixel... My SECOND order got cancelled, again, for no freaking reason, I'm fuming and the service reps are useless despite how nice they are... In any case, if anyone else has a Pixel down in sunny Puerto Rico you're welcome to come try my cable out.

Rate I'm going, I won't know until December.... Son of a...

 

[JasW]

I've got the cable in question, but no Pixel... My SECOND order got cancelled, again, for no freaking reason, I'm fuming and the service reps are useless despite how nice they are... In any case, if anyone else has a Pixel down in sunny Puerto Rico you're welcome to come try my cable out.

Rate I'm going, I won't know until December.... Son of a...

Wow, that sucks. I take it this is Claro. Why didn't you just order from the Google Store? Anyway, the $6.99 OTG from Amazon arrives tomorrows, so I'll at least know if that works by then. If end up having to get it from the Google Store, so be it. I have to order their 6 ft. C to C cable anyway -- the 3.3. foot one that comes with the phone is just too short. I have a 6 ft. A to C Benson-approved cable, but of course attaching it to the charger with the C to A dongle doesn't give you rapid charging.

EDIT: The Amazon OTG cable came today and works fine. JasW Approved.

 

[Impulses]

Wow, that sucks. I take it this is Claro. Why didn't you just order from the Google Store? Anyway, the $6.99 OTG from Amazon arrives tomorrows, so I'll at least know if that works by then. If end up having to get it from the Google Store, so be it. I have to order their 6 ft. C to C cable anyway -- the 3.3. foot one that comes with the phone is just too short. I have a 6 ft. A to C Benson-approved cable, but of course attaching it to the charger with the C to A dongle doesn't give you rapid charging.

EDIT: The Amazon OTG cable came today and works fine. JasW Approved.

No, all my order issues have happened while ordering directly from the Play Store, it's a clusterf...

I wouldn't bother whining about an issue with a carrier around here (not very relevant for one), I'd just go into the store and either have my issue resolved or rip someone a new one. Never been on Claro either, spent the last five years on Sprint and if I switch soon it'll be to Project Fi (once I have my Pixel) or back to AT&T.

Anyway, I thought the phone came with the very same 6ft Type C to C cable that they sell separately with the OEM 18W charger, it doesn't? It comes with a shorter A to C cable, but that one is rated for USB 3.1 data speeds (whereas the longer charge cable is only USB 2.0, I thought)...

Glad that OTG adapter worked! What are you using to access external media thru it? Seems some people were having issues related to 7.0 and apps that need to be updated to see anything mounted externally:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...ries/737742-meenova-usb-c-microsd-reader.html

 

[JasW]

I thought the phone came with the very same 6ft Type C to C cable that they sell separately with the OEM 18W charger, it doesn't? It comes with a shorter A to C cable, but that one is rated for USB 3.1 data speeds (whereas the longer charge cable is only USB 2.0, I thought)...

Glad that OTG adapter worked! What are you using to access external media thru it? Seems some people were having issues related to 7.0 and apps that need to be updated to see anything mounted externally:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...ries/737742-meenova-usb-c-microsd-reader.html

Nope, it comes with a 3.3 ft. C to C cable, the A to C dongle, and a 3.3 ft. A to C cable, plus the charger block with a C input. So to leave my phone on top of my dresser to charge, I have to use an extension cord.

We have a "device place" in a corner of our kitchen to accommodate the charging needs of our family of four, each of whom has a phone and a tablet. We have a 10 x USB-A block that's plugged into the wall there. I'm the only one who needs C chargers, both for my Pixel XL and Pixel C. Currently, I have the Pixel C charger plugged in independently there and use it to charge my Pixel XL, while the Pixel C itself is charged by a (way too long) Benson-approved A to C cable (I use the Pixel XL charger/cable in my bedroom as I mentioned).

I was thinking about getting the dual port USB-C charger from the Google Store to accommodate both the Pixel XL and Pixel C. It puts out 22.5W combined when both ports are used, and 15W when only a single port is used. The Pixel C charger is 15W, but Anandtech tested the charger as fast charging the Pixel C at around 11W. The XL charger is 18W, of course, but Anandtech was unable to run its usual charge time test because of some Nougat file system idiosyncrasy, so I have no idea the wattage at which the XL fast charges. Do you or does anyone else know? If it is 11W, the 22.5W dual port charger would seem like a good solution for dual fast charging both devices. But I have a feeling that because the XL charger is 3W higher than the Pixel C charger, it needs more wattage to fast charge than the Pixel C does.

I use the OTG adapter for a specialized application -- flashing the ECU on my car with a custom tune. The new OTG C cable didn't work at first -- the app on my phone didn't recognize it was connected to the car -- so I then plugged a USB flash drive into the cable to see if it would work with a more usual application. Solid Explorer showed that the flash drive was connected, but when I tried to play an mp3 file in a folder on the drive, it said I'd have to select the drive itself in the Solid Explorer left and menu and select it to enable root access. I did that and was able to play the mp3 file. I then reconnected to the car and the app I use for flashing the ECU then recognized it was connected to the car.

 

[hal1]

So do we know if it will work with something like ASTRO File Explorer?

 

[Jeremy8000]

So do we know if it will work with something like ASTRO File Explorer?

ASTRO doesn't work, but ES File Explorer does.

 

[Impulses]

Nope, it comes with a 3.3 ft. C to C cable, the A to C dongle, and a 3.3 ft. A to C cable, plus the charger block with a C input. So to leave my phone on top of my dresser to charge, I have to use an extension cord.

We have a "device place" in a corner of our kitchen to accommodate the charging needs of our family of four, each of whom has a phone and a tablet. We have a 10 x USB-A block that's plugged into the wall there. I'm the only one who needs C chargers, both for my Pixel XL and Pixel C. Currently, I have the Pixel C charger plugged in independently there and use it to charge my Pixel XL, while the Pixel C itself is charged by a (way too long) Benson-approved A to C cable (I use the Pixel XL charger/cable in my bedroom as I mentioned).

I was thinking about getting the dual port USB-C charger from the Google Store to accommodate both the Pixel XL and Pixel C. It puts out 22.5W combined when both ports are used, and 15W when only a single port is used. The Pixel C charger is 15W, but Anandtech tested the charger as fast charging the Pixel C at around 11W. The XL charger is 18W, of course, but Anandtech was unable to run its usual charge time test because of some Nougat file system idiosyncrasy, so I have no idea the wattage at which the XL fast charges. Do you or does anyone else know? If it is 11W, the 22.5W dual port charger would seem like a good solution for dual fast charging both devices. But I have a feeling that because the XL charger is 3W higher than the Pixel C charger, it needs more wattage to fast charge than the Pixel C does.

I use the OTG adapter for a specialized application -- flashing the ECU on my car with a custom tune. The new OTG C cable didn't work at first -- the app on my phone didn't recognize it was connected to the car -- so I then plugged a USB flash drive into the cable to see if it would work with a more usual application. Solid Explorer showed that the flash drive was connected, but when I tried to play an mp3 file in a folder on the drive, it said I'd have to select the drive itself in the Solid Explorer left and menu and select it to enable root access. I did that and was able to play the mp3 file. I then reconnected to the car and the app I use for flashing the ECU then recognized it was connected to the car.

Interesting, Solid Explorer would be my choice too, finally got fed up with the ES File Explorer bloat not too long ago. Glad to know it works... Good thing I didn't count on the length of the Type C cable that comes with the phone either, guess I'll use that one for travel and the 6ft one that comes with the spare charger I ordered for my desk (3ft just won't do to go from UPS on floor to a usable spot on my Galant/Bekant).

As to charge speed, Nathan K who has collaborated with Benson (the Goog engineer) tested this, you can find his evaluations on G+. The phone will in all likelihood report it's "charging rapidly" on the lock screen even at 8-10W~, Google programmed that kinda sloppy. The smaller Pixel will only ever go up to 15W and the specs were actually revised after Google tested it (5V at 3A).

The larger Pixel XL will absolutely go up to 18W (9V at 2A) when it's really low on battery (well under 50%)... Neither stays at the fastest rate for very long or if they get too hot tho, should probably just Google his findings as I'm going off memory. If you don't need to charge as fast as absolutely possible the dual port Google charger should be fine IMO.

I might have actually bought that dual charger instead of the 18W had I known in time that the smaller Pixel is capped at 15W, since it'll still do that much with only a single device connected. From what I remember of an old eval it also auto balances the load so at worst you end up with 11W per, somewhat slower on the phone but still faster than if you were to use say a Type A to C cable (think it defaults to BC1.2 then, or 7.5W)... And the tablet probably pulls well under 10W once it's charged up some.

AFAIK it isn't a binary thing where it'll charge fast or not as if there's only two modes, and with PD chargers the phone is able to negotiate a couple different profiles as the charger advertises what it's capable of (part of the spec). I can link the Nathan K evals later if you can't find them, AC mobile forum UI starting to get on my nerves right now.

 

[JasW]

Interesting, Solid Explorer would be my choice too, finally got fed up with the ES File Explorer bloat not too long ago. Glad to know it works... Good thing I didn't count on the length of the Type C cable that comes with the phone either, guess I'll use that one for travel and the 6ft one that comes with the spare charger I ordered for my desk (3ft just won't do to go from UPS on floor to a usable spot on my Galant/Bekant).

As to charge speed, Nathan K who has collaborated with Benson (the Goog engineer) tested this, you can find his evaluations on G+. The phone will in all likelihood report it's "charging rapidly" on the lock screen even at 8-10W~, Google programmed that kinda sloppy. The smaller Pixel will only ever go up to 15W and the specs were actually revised after Google tested it (5V at 3A).

The larger Pixel XL will absolutely go up to 18W (9V at 2A) when it's really low on battery (well under 50%)... Neither stays at the fastest rate for very long or if they get too hot tho, should probably just Google his findings as I'm going off memory. If you don't need to charge as fast as absolutely possible the dual port Google charger should be fine IMO.

I might have actually bought that dual charger instead of the 18W had I known in time that the smaller Pixel is capped at 15W, since it'll still do that much with only a single device connected. From what I remember of an old eval it also auto balances the load so at worst you end up with 11W per, somewhat slower on the phone but still faster than if you were to use say a Type A to C cable (think it defaults to BC1.2 then, or 7.5W)... And the tablet probably pulls well under 10W once it's charged up some.

AFAIK it isn't a binary thing where it'll charge fast or not as if there's only two modes, and with PD chargers the phone is able to negotiate a couple different profiles as the charger advertises what it's capable of (part of the spec). I can link the Nathan K evals later if you can't find them, AC mobile forum UI starting to get on my nerves right now.

What I'd really like is an app that shows how much current is being drawn. I used to have one called Galaxy Charging Current that worked on my old Note 2 (but not on subsequent phones), and I used it routinely to assess the quality of USB 2.0 micro-USB to micro-USB cables connected between my Note 2 and the then-new 10W (5V at 2.0A) chargers. Good cables would allow the Note 2 to draw 1.8A, charging the phone at 9W. A few mediocre cables I had would only draw 900mA, charging the phone at only 4.5W. Then a few really bad ones obviously not spec'd to USB 2.0 would draw only 500mA, charging the phone at the snail's pace of 2.5W, which is about what you'd get out of the old flip phone chargers or the computer's USB port.

I just downloaded that old app just to check if it still doesn't work, and no it still doesn't. Too bad, I could really use it about now, although the difference in amperage between the chargers -- 15W (5V at 3A) and 18W (9V at 2A) -- might throw me when looking at current being drawn. I presume the Pixel C charger, being tested at 11W by Anandtech, would show 2.2A being drawn, while assuming the stock 18W Pixel XL charger charges at 15W, would show 1.7A? I'm getting a headache thinking about this.

 

[Kangda]

Can the experts here tell me if the following, combined, make for safe charging for my Xl?

I bought this Anker 5 port that was listed as a 3 on the spreadsheet--
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Premium...cUvbUpU5565050?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5565873

I bought this 6 ft Anker for the USB-C PD port above--
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...cUvbUpU5565050?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5565873

Just want to make sure this is a "safe" pairing for my XL. I am not tech literate or tech savvy, so sorry for having to ask. Thanks!

 

[Impulses]

Can the experts here tell me if the following, combined, make for safe charging for my Xl?

I bought this Anker 5 port that was listed as a 3 on the spreadsheet--
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Premium...cUvbUpU5565050?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5567529

I bought this 6 ft Anker for the USB-C PD port above--
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...cUvbUpU5565050?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5567529

Just want to make sure this is a "safe" pairing for my XL. I am not tech literate or tech savvy, so sorry for having to ask. Thanks!

Answered over yonder:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...-quick-charge-3-0-usb-c-pd-3.html#post5567436

 

[Kangda]

Answered over yonder:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...-quick-charge-3-0-usb-c-pd-3.html#post5567436

Thanks so much!

 

[pmendu]

Damn! We have to spend $35-40 for a charger now? I need 3 chargers, so that's 100+ just for chargers.

So only Belkin and Google oem one are recommended now ?Their cable is so thick (laptop like) compared to Samsung Note 7 chargers.

 

[Impulses]

What I'd really like is an app that shows how much current is being drawn. I used to have one called Galaxy Charging Current that worked on my old Note 2 (but not on subsequent phones), and I used it routinely to assess the quality of USB 2.0 micro-USB to micro-USB cables connected between my Note 2 and the then-new 10W (5V at 2.0A) chargers. Good cables would allow the Note 2 to draw 1.8A, charging the phone at 9W. A few mediocre cables I had would only draw 900mA, charging the phone at only 4.5W. Then a few really bad ones obviously not spec'd to USB 2.0 would draw only 500mA, charging the phone at the snail's pace of 2.5W, which is about what you'd get out of the old flip phone chargers or the computer's USB port.

I just downloaded that old app just to check if it still doesn't work, and no it still doesn't. Too bad, I could really use it about now, although the difference in amperage between the chargers -- 15W (5V at 3A) and 18W (9V at 2A) -- might throw me when looking at current being drawn. I presume the Pixel C charger, being tested at 11W by Anandtech, would show 2.2A being drawn, while assuming the stock 18W Pixel XL charger charges at 15W, would show 1.7A? I'm getting a headache thinking about this.

Try Ampere and/or 3c's Battery Monitor Widget (it's an actual app despite tree name)?

I haven't used either in a while, had moved on to these tiny physical USB volt/amp readers (less math involved since I didn't need to add up whatever the phone was using while charging...). 'Course they don't work w/Type C so I'll soon have to re install one of those two apps for one reason or another.