Z2 turbo charging <> Qualcomm QuickCharge: 5V 3A+ chargers needed

[KeithLa]

Does anyone understand how Motorola changed turbo charging on the Z2 Force, vs. earlier devices such as Droid Turbo 2?

I've determined my QC 2.0 AC and car chargers do *not* turbo charge my Z2 Force, whereas QC 3.0 chargers do, including an iClever 24W AC adapter, RavPower 36W car charger, and Anker PowerCore 10000 with QC 3.0.

Using a Kill A Watt EZ meter, I've physically measured the Z2 Force turbo charge drawing ~13-15W on the iClever 24W AC adapter, and ~13-16W with the included 15W TurboPower AC adapter. (Measurements taken at <70% battery.)

I'm particularly surprised the Motorola TurboPower 25W adapter bundled with my 2015 Droid Turbo 2 will *not* turbo charge Z2 Force -- no turbo charging notification, and drawing just 10W.

Interestingly, Z2 Force takes longer to negotiate and enter turbo charging than the DT2, on all adapters, incl. the included one.

Does anyone know a software way to determine if the phone is turbo charging? I do not see it in GSam Battery Monitor, Ampere, or any other battery related app.

Bottom line, I'm glad I started purchasing QC 3.0 chargers over a year ago, even though my DT2 only supported QC 2.0.

 

[Aquila]

Re: Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 compatible, but not Quick Charge 2.0?

QC 3.0 is backwards compatible in the sense that QC 3.0 chargers will charge your QC 2.0 devices. The other way doesn't always work because of changes to whether it prefers to overvolt or push amps, etc. QC 2.0 has 4 static modes available, but generally chooses between 5V 2A, 9V 2A and 12V 1.67A for 10, 18 and 20 W with the actual max power being at about 18W regardless of which setting it is choosing. QC 3.0 also has a practical max power of 18W but can vary the voltage dynamically from 3V to 20V with either 2.5A or 4.6A for current.

The short answer of this is, a QC 3.0 device is looking for 2.5A minimum as "quick charging" and a QC 2.0 charger cannot push more than 2A. A non Moto charger that is QC 2.0 i s going to show up as a max of 2A and therefore will never be considered Turbo Charging. The Moto 25 charger is slightly more nuanced, as detailed below.

The TurboPower 25 Charger does things slightly different, allowing for a max of 25W output, with 5V 2.85A, 9V 2.85A and 12V 2.15A modes. Depending on where it is in its steps, it's potentially only delivering 2.15A (with a max of 2.85A) even though it's capable of pushing to 25W, it's still doing so in a way that is recognized by the phone as being at a low voltage. If I recall correctly, the Turbo Chargers only "turbo charge" Moto devices. Otherwise they function as QC chargers for non Moto devices. The newst Moto Devices, which use the Moto TurbPower 30 (USB C) are able to accept 5V with a variable current up to 5.7A and they support USB PD. The TurboPower 30 charger supports that perfectly and will also rapid charge non QC devices that are compatible with PD.

Dumb question, but how are you able to charge the Z phones with the TurboPower 25? I thought that was a hard wired microUSB charger.

 

[KeithLa]

Re: Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 compatible, but not Quick Charge 2.0?

Aquila, thanks much, that's an awesome (and fast!) response. From what you wrote, plus what I'm finding on other forums (seems this question dates back to last year's Z Play), what I'm piecing together is that my Z2 Force is turbo charging on my QC 3.0 chargers not because of the QC 3.0 spec, per se, but rather because those all deliver at least 3A at 5V. My QC 2.0 chargers and Motorola TurboPower 25 all deliver <3A at 5V, insufficient to invoke turbo charging on the Z2 Force.

Is that the right way to look at it?

To answer your question: Belkin USB-C to Micro-USB adapter, Belkin USB-C™ (aka Type-C™) to Micro USB Adapter

(Oh, and here's one more fun power supply tidbit: I discovered the Motorola TurboPower 25 adapter does not work on Alaska Airlines in-seat AC power, but the lower wattage QC chargers do.)

 

[Aquila]

Re: Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 compatible, but not Quick Charge 2.0?

Yes that is right, the lower amperage supplied by QC 2.0 compatible and even the original Turbo Charger 25 is simply too low to be flagged as fastest charge even if the voltage is high enough to be pushing essentially the same total wattage.

 

[Ry]

Re: Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 compatible, but not Quick Charge 2.0?

TurboPower is just a brand name.

MicroUSB Motorola phones with TurboPower Charging use Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0/3.0.

USB C Motorola phones with TurboPower Charging use USB-PD 5V 3A as the minimum for fast charging though the first gen Moto Z Force Droid can also support a faster 5V 5.7A (non-standard?) charging profile via the TurboPower 30 USB-C charger for even faster charging.

 

[KeithLa]

Thanks Ry, also helpful info. Is there any way way to identify third party AC, car, and portable pack chargers that deliver at least 5V 3A for turbo charging? If not then this seems like an unfortunate regression from Qualcomm QC logoed power accessories, which were easy to find. Anything equivalent for USB PD, perhaps?

Also, might there be any benefit to purchasing a higher power USB PD charger than 15W?

 

[RRHMJ23]

Ok so... What adapters should we be buying. For home and the car. Anybody have the links. Thanks

 

[KeithLa]

For car, I just ordered this $9.99 "RAVPower 40W 3A Car Charger Adapter with Dual QC USB Ports": http://a.co/877npKb. (I also own the previous 24W version, turbo charges my Moto Z2 Force properly but only one of the ports supplies 15W).

On AC, this $12.99 "24W iClever BoostCube+ Qualcomm Certified QC 3.0 USB Wall Charger" also turbo charges my Moto Z2 Force properly: http://a.co/feSNBAs

There are probably other compatible 15W chargers that would a bit smaller/lighter.

 

[RRHMJ23]

So basically as long as it's QC 3.0 and at least 15w. It'll work ?

 

[KeithLa]

Doesn't need QC 3.0, just at least 3 amps at 5V. Note, many 18+ watt QC chargers don't output more than 2.4A at 5V, so won't fast charge the Z2 Force despite their power rating (since QC relies on higher voltages).