Is a 1 amp charger bad for my phone?

[PacoRaco]

I got the galaxy s8+ on launch day from Samsung and the battery life is amazing on it. So far there has been no degradation of battery life or anything else but I haven't had it that long. I'd like to keep it running good for as long as possible. Recently I've learned of 1 amp chargers or trickle chargers, as I've heard them called. They're supposed to increase the amount of time your battery will hold a charge throughout the day and over the life of the battery itself. I figured it might be true since I know a fast charger will allow you to charge at a much faster rate but it doesn't last as long. Does anyone out there know for sure one way or another? Or what amp charger I should be using or anything else?

 

[bigmo555]

AFAIK, the only problem is that a 1 amp charger may not charge your phone very quickly (or at all) if the phone is on while it's charging.

This is just an anecdotal opinion; I have no hard evidence.

 

[anon(238680)]

The charger that comes with the S8 is rated at 2 amps, I would see no benefit is using something smaller as it may not be sufficient. If 2 amps wasn't necessary then Samsung would save 5 cents a phone and give us a 1 amp. As far as the trickle charger thing, IMO that's totally unwarranted for batteries used in cellphones, have no idea where you got that from. Also, I don't know where you got that a faster charge wouldn't last as long. 100% is 100%, doesn't matter much how you got there. That being said, I never use fast/quick charge as it puts stress on the non-removable battery that I feel is unnecessary - I can do without my phone for a couple hours.

 

[PacoRaco]

Thank you red. That makes sense. I'll stick with my 2 amp. And I heard the trickle charge thing from a worker in a best buy so I thought it might be legit but most likely was just trying to make a sale. Luckily, I hadn't heard that term before so didn't buy. Thanks again

 

[Mooncatt]

1 amp isn't a trickle charger. Phones use to charge at 1 amp or less before we all became power hungry. Many cheap chargers nowadays still max out at 1 amp. Yes it would work, but as others pointed out, it'll charge much slower, if at all. It also may put more stress on the charger itself by being run right at maximum output all the time, and cause it to fail quicker. I don't know that this would happen for sure, but something to consider.

Should you worry about charge speeds on a phone? Not really. They have safeguards built in to limit the charge rates if needed. I.e. if it gets too hot. Batteries also have a "columb," or C rating. This is the amount of energy transfer compared to overall capacity. Li-ion batteries are safe to charge up to 1C, meaning the charge current can equal the overall capacity. For example, my LG V20 has a 3,400 mAh capacity. At 1C, I could charge it safely up to 3,400 mA, or 3.4A, without risking any damage. Even when quick charging, it maxes out the charge rate at about 3A, so it's safe to do. There are other Li-ion applications where the batteries can be charged much quicker, but they are specially designed to handle the higher C ratings and not something we deal with when it comes to charging our phones.

Heat is one of the biggest killers of the batteries, but even then they are generally good up to roughly 150°F. The other big killers are draining it completely and holding it at high charge levels over an extended period of time.

My usual advise is get the strongest charger available if possible. This not only ensures adequate power for your current device, but also gives more flexibility so you can use it longer and over multiple devices as the technology advances.