Samsung S4's Micro USB to Standard USB cable

[NoMod]

Here's the lowdown on cables and charging the S4.
Not all cables are made alike, but for the most part, they can be interchanged, as long as you understand a few things. The facts are
-micro USB plugs are standard in size and shape. But the wiring from one to another is not entirely standard. Some conductors are deliberately crossed or shorted. Some phones use this to recognize proprietary charging systems and to know the current and quality of the charge, and how to handle it.
Furthermore, it's not just the quality of the cable. It's the combination of cable and charger. You will get different results by swapping wires and wall- and car-chargers.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 comes with a 2-amp charger and its "original brand" high-quality cable. This combination will provide optimum charging time. Most other combinations will work, up to a point. But just as a lower powered charger will take longer to power up a drained battery, so too will a different or inferior cable, which is simply not capable of carrying the full 2 amps of power, even if plugged into the Samsung charger. It has to do with pin configuration, shielding, quality of construction, etc. The length and thinness of the wire has absolutely no effect, unless we're comparing a 2-foot wire to a 200-foot one.
There are plenty of apps that measure and display charging current. It's easy enough to see what I'm talking about. And there are lots of technical articles inn the subject omg the 'Net.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Waldo Where]

The panoply of user experience here is proof that standards would be a good thing?if properly implemented. Many manufacturers with a penchant to preserve and increase profits love corrupting standards to their own ends. Apple, HTC, Nokia are only a few of those who have taken the USB standard and then twisted it to their own purpose?usually by creating a non standard device connector. Apple did this on the 4 but on the 5 used its own version of the new Thunderbolt standard which it calls Lightning (how clever.)

Samsung is using standard USB 1.0/2.0 connectors, The standard 'A' end for connecting to a PC USB 1, 2 or 3.0 port providing 500 mA of 5V+ DC for charging. It will also fit the new Charging Downstream Port (CDP) or Dedicated Charging Port (DCP) which are high current USB 1/2 ports providing 1.5A (1500mA) of current for charging device batteries or powering high current peripherals such as HDDs and DVDs. And the standard 'B' end with a micro connector. USB device connectors can be Mini B, Micro B, Micro A or Micro A/B. (There are others)

The difference between CDP and DCP is that the dedicated port, only charges (think wall warts) and the CDP also carries data.

USB A connectors (1.0/2.0) have only 4 connections while the Mini B and Micro B have 5. You do the math. Some proprietary cables can implement that other connection by duplicating one of the other signals. Their device can then check for this. For what purpose I can't imagine because there can be no added functionality. Since Samsung removes the connector from its cable (permitted in the specification) there is no way it can have any significance.

As for charging the phone standard USB ports provide 500 mA. Unless you have a new PC that provides DCP or CDP ports at 1.5A, that's all you get. Samsung also provides a wall charger which technically has a DCP but provides 2A instead of 1.5A. Therefore it can charge the phone 4 times faster (theoretically) than a PC. I have several of these chargers and most are 1 or 1.5A.

Then why all the differing experiences? There can be only one reasonable answer: quality control. Basically you get what you pay for.

Now all this goes out the window if you are using a cable provided by another device manufacturer. There's not much they can do with the charger if they say the cable can also be used in a PC USB port. But there as a lot they can do to the other end, including swapping the power and data connections. You don't want to plug a cable into your phone that delivers current to the data circuits.

One good piece of news. The International Telecommunications Union has agreed to a standard for charging mobile phones. Manufacturers have agreed to standardize on the Micro USB 'B' connector for a universal charging specification. This includes energy efficient chargers. It also means we will never see USB 3.0 data transfer speeds.

So what does this all contribute to the discussion:

1. The Samsung S4 charging/data cable appears to be standard USB 1.0/2.0
2. The standard battery can be charged with a current at least up to 2A.
3. Bargain cables may not be such a bargain. (If it doesn't fit you must acquit.)
4. It is possible that cables and chargers from other manufactures may not work and could cause damage.
5. If a manufacturer calls their cable a data/charging cable and not a USB cable, it *may not* be a USB cable.

 

[irk hayner]

We've been using the S2 and S4 and have been experiencing similar problems. Some cables work, some do not. Longer cables are more problematic and that could be a voltage drop issue. On both phones we have experienced a bizarre charging/docking situation in which the phone constantly re-alerts us to it's charging status, announces that it is docked over and over again, and fails to charge then seems to discharge at an alarming rate. Overheating accompanies this phenomena as well. Clean the terminal port of fuzz-crud? It does help sometimes. Replace the battery? That helped with the S2. Try different cables and blocks? Sometimes this worked-for a while. Remove recent apps? Yes that worked for a while too.
My S4 was working like a champ until 3 days ago, the all of a sudden it started doing what my s2 did last year. My wife uses the S2 no problem, but now I have to use and external charger to stoke up the battery, and it still drains much faster than before. Here's what may be happening:
Samsung S4 Not Charging, Not Syncing, Repair - Fix - YouTube

 

[Bill Anon]

Not to say those of you commenting on this thread are not helpful (and it appears this is my first time commenting here, but I was here reading and researching this same question) but I would be willing to bet many of you commenting did not do your homework.
The "MicroUSB" connector Samsung put on the Galaxy S4 is an 11 pin connector, not 5 pin. Look closely, the other pins are in there.
The short answer here is:
ANY MicroUSB cable (that fits) can be used for charging the S4 (although as many of you report, quite poorly).
The long answer is:
The problem can be explained by reading the content of the thread at How to Connect Samsung Galaxy S4 to TV with HDMI.
Appearances can be deceiving.

 

[baribal_cristian]

Samsung S4 mini Duos_ Micro USB issues

I bought an MHL 2.0 HDTV adapter (original Samsung, made in Korea) and the micro USB connector is fitting only half in my S4 mini Duos. Cannot be used.
On Samsung site they are saying that these two things are compatible, but are not.
As you see in the photo, the 2 connectors are slightly different.
Does anybody else have this problem?

 

[motor162]

The S4 requires a 2 amp charging circuit and will actually show an error message if you use the standard black Samsung S3 charger and cable which runs at 1 amp or less. Some of the Samsung chargers actually say .750a output. Definitely a big difference on charging time using the 2a white charger. Most of the early USB chargers were all 1a rated output. The will work, it just takes a long time to charge.

 

[LenC01]

You can use a standard non Samsung micro USB cable. I have an S4 and I use my charger from blackberry to charge. No problem!

 

[DavidE1]

I probably should have looked for this kind of thread first, but I ordered some Samsung APCBU10BBE Micro-USB Charge & Sync Data Cable OEM cables on Ebay (eBay item number: 140926650275) since I figured they'd be decent quality over generic and that USB to micro usb would be standard..... Maybe not. I don't own a Samsung device and bought them mainly to use with a Google Nexus 7 (2013), ASUS MeMo Pad HD7, blue tooth ear sets, maybe to hook up a TomTom GPS to my computer etc....

No big loss at $2.79 for two shipped, but anyone know if these could harm any of my listed devices?

Thanks

 

[newuser234]

I tried these steps mentioned by "shertan" with a micro usb that wasn't working. After powering off the phone, the Samsung Galaxy S4 recognized the cord as a charging device. The phone also charged fine with the original samsung charger.

 

[Mark M 3000]

I've always just used standard cables and a generic multiport charger that I've had for some years with my S4. Don't think I've even unpacked the original charger and cable, it's still in the box the phone came in.

My attitude is, if it says "USB" on the box, then it better be USB or it goes back to shop for not being what was advertised. At least in this country (Australia) it's a legal right to return something for a refund if it doesn't do what was advertised when it was sold, and I'm happy to be quite pedantic about that.

 

[sousabone3]

Ive done many tests with charging blocks and cables. Ive found it to be true that "functionally identical" (in theory) cable do not charge at the same rate as the stock white cable. Without being an expert or engineer on the project its hard for me to know facts. I for one take care of my gadgets I love and use.

Ive read to understand there is a difference between charging and charging/data cables.

I need to research more for myself.

Anyone got some facts or relevant experience on this matter?

.

 

[Mahilyow Suchifer]

my data cable got broken because of my little brother & been trying to replace one for S4 phone that i have.
thought only samsung approved ones only works.thank for the heads up

 

[Tony Ryan]

I have an s4 mini.

I dont have the original cord anymore, but i am having a lot of trouble with all USB charging. If i plug into the wall socket, regardless of the cord i use, all is good, charges at 730,000 ma, but if i plug into the usb on my laptop, or the car charger, i get between 500 (almost nothing) and 70,000 ma depending on the device and whether i go through a hub etc. Sometimes the phone shuts down mid call it charges that slowly.
Not sure if that applies to this topic, but it does show that there are other influences on charging that are nothing to do with the cord you use.

 

[WinstonP]

You'd think somebody would have looked at the Official USB standards site and noticed the pinouts on the connectors. Pin 4 is an ID pin. Some tied High, some Low. Many with differing resistor values from pin 4 to identify what type of device is connected.

 

[Breva750]

I've tried two different OE cables and chargers and they are junk. I have to hold the cord at a precise angle for the phone to charge.

 

[mahay29]

Not sure if I'm rehashing this thread, but I've come to a very strange conclusion myself.

First of all, my wife and I both have a Galaxy S3. Her phone stopped charging correctly. It would charge, then not charge, then charge again, and so on. I thought the usb port was bad, so I decided that I would learn to solder and try to replace it. To not be a complete ***** though, I purchased a cracked (brand new) phone on ebay for $50 and swapped the mother boards for her and did a phone swap through our carrier. New phone, new usb port....solved, right? Not quite.

At first it was solved, but her new phone starting acting the same way again after she used it on a generic cord in the car. And now after reading through some forums and experimenting, I've noticed that her phone charges perfectly fine when the usb has 5 pins. If it has 4 pins, it screws up. I've tried it multiple times between three different cords of each variety. It happens every time.

Looks like all the 4-pin micro usb cords from this house are headed to goodwill.

All this, and my phone charges on any Micro USB cord, 4 or 5 pin.

 

[drchimrichalds]

Yeah I have a couple different ones and I think so long as you are getting them from a good 3rd party brand you'll be fine. We have some iphones in the house so I got a generic one recently that charges both, it works just fine. I use the samsung one in my car, but that's it.

This is the one I got iDroid Cable Sale | BoxWave

 

[flaka0612]

I have the belkin cables, and they charge good, but when I plug it to my Mac it won't let me use he masage usb storage to upload music with the android file transfer....I can only use kies and that one doesn't upload everything usually leaves like 5somgs put......any Asia of good cables beside the belkin that would allow me to use the masage usb option to use android file transfer in my Mac

 

[Rogue Momma]

I am having the same problem and also noticed that the depth of plastic is differebt from original micro usb and generic. I have had my samsung galaxy s4 for less than 3 months and online to buy a new battery and getting an extra with a wall charger because my charger and battery have both gone bad. Im using the cord and charger that came with my s4, and everytime i use it to charge my phone, a message pops up on my phone saying "to charge faster, use the original charger that came with your device." ...which I am using the original. My battery dies from 100% to 0% in just 2-3 hours and gets very hot if i use it while it charges. My husband just bought an Asus phone that hooks to a 'tablet'. I used his charger the other day for maybe an hour and my phone was completely charged. I still cant believe how fast it charged. I csn use any micro usb, but it takes FOREVER and even my original charger and cable now have plenty of wiggle room at the port on my phone rather than a snug fit. Point being.. There is definitely a difference in the original cables and generic as far as having a good and quick charge. I think samsung cables go bad very quickly...maybe from using the original charger on a seperate device or by using a seperate charger on your original device.

 

[islandtimeonly]

At least one person is going to laugh. This is my phone: " This device is also known as Samsung SCH-S738, Samsung SCH-S738C"

What's with all these 8pin cords? Will I hate myself if I buy one?