USB battery charging technology has greatly evolved over the years to enable the fastest possible charging solutions to portable devices like mobile phones, tablet computers, laptops, game consoles, bluetooth speakers, bluetooth headsets, portable projectors, cameras and virtually any other portable device that relies on a backup battery.
Back in the days when mobile phones first became mainstream in Nigeria, we typically had most phones with chargers rated at 0.5A and 5V output meaning the maximum power they were capable of producing to charge your device was 2.5W
Amperage x Voltage = Wattage
Today what we usually have with most USB chargers in the Nigerian market is a rating of 1A and 5V output meaning you get a maximum of 5W. If you are lucky, your phone, tablet or other mobile device will ship with a charger rated 2A and 5V output meaning you get a maximum of 10W to charge the device.
Fast Charging Simplified
Most fast charging technologies termed as Quick Charge 2.0/3.0, quick charging, fast charging, adaptive fast charging, turbo charging and other similar terms usually fall around the same rating and are able to negotiate around 15-18W output depending on the maximum wattage your device is able to handle.
Some really high end phones currently support up to 30W and higher for charging but usually 30W and above mostly apply to tablets and modern laptops that charge with USB C or Type C charging ports like recent models of Macbooks, Dell XPS 13, Huawei Matebook X, HP EliteBook X360, Lenovo Thinkpad X1, Google Pixelbook, Xiaomi Air, LG Gram, ASUS Chromebook Flip and so many others.
The advent of USB C or Type C has given way for the introduction of Power Delivery (Usually termed as PD) charging protocol which is able to output a maximum of 100W to supporting devices.
The Reasons For Slow Charging
If you are having a frustrating experience charging your device and you want to take advantage of faster charging speeds, we have the solutions you need.
Slow charging is usually as a result of a low rated charger or a compromised charging cable. We will talk about chargers first and later go into cables.
You can start off by auditing the present USB charger(s) in your possession. All properly engineered USB chargers (wall chargers, car chargers, desktop chargers or multiport chargers) always have their specifications and ratings laser printed or inscribed on them in fine print. If your charger does not have it printed on, please throw the charger away and save yourself from possible harm or loss. Chargers that don’t have specifications laser printed or inscribed on them are inferior (or what we popularly call fake in Nigeria) and can pose a serious fire hazard or damage your devices. Same goes for chargers with specifications printed with ink that easily wipes off.
On your charger, you should look closely at the fineprint and check for the Output rating usually specified in Voltage and Amperage e.g. 5V 2A or 5V 1.5A and so on. Multiply the Voltage and Amperage to get the maximum capable output your charger can give you in Wattage.
For most phones, 7.5W is pretty decent enough but if you want faster charging speeds you should go for 10W and higher depending on what your device can handle.
Slow Charging Solutions
All Anker wall chargers, car chargers and power banks are capable of delivering 12W per USB port so essentially they are faster than most chargers currently in the Nigerian market.
High end phones designed to handle fast charging speeds can take 18W upwards for blazing charging speeds.
Anker also has chargers that can deliver as much as 50W and powerbanks that can deliver as much as 45W to supported devices.
Unlike most chargers, which are only optimized for one device, Anker chargers are designed to deliver the fastest possible charging speed to any device according to available charging protocols.
Anker chargers and powerbanks are very safe to use with MultiProtect 11 protection features built into them and come with 18 months warranty.
This is also a good time to point out that most devices are designed with a specific maximum Wattage they can receive from any charger. So in simple terms, if your phone is designed to handle a maximum of 10W to charge, a 30W charger will only deliver 10W to the phone and nothing more; but on the other hand, if you use a 5W charger, you will be experiencing only half the charging speed of what the phone is capable of.
By the way, it is perfectly safe to use a well designed charger with a rating higher than your phone’s rating and that is why iPhones can charge with Macbook chargers without issues.
Your Cable May Be The Problem
Now let’s address the issue of compromised charging cables.
A charging cable can be compromised by design (poor and inferior design) or by wear and tear (after extended usage). A compromised charging cable impedes the flow of current through the cable and limits the amount of power that can be delivered to charge your phone efficiently (much like the effect of low current on your home appliances).
Anker understands such limitations and developed the VoltageBoost™ technology to take care of such. VoltageBoost™ is an Anker-exclusive technology that compensates for cable resistance by smoothing voltage output.
A compromised cable also limits your data transfer speed or makes it impossible to transfer any data over the cable. This is usually the reason your mobile device is not recognised by some computers when connected via the USB port of the computer.
In the event of a faulty cable that is not allowing a charge or data transfer at all, the cable will need to be replaced.
You should consider replacing your cable with our high quality Anker Powerline cables that are engineered to outlast every other cable and provide the fastest charging and data transfer speeds possible.
Conclusion
We hope we have been able to help you shed some light on why your phone, tablet or USB powered computer may be charging slowly and the things to consider when buying a USB charger especially in Nigeria. If you need any help or clarification, you can reach out to us by email or contact us on 09096553079.
This is a simplified guide to help you make an informed decision and guide you in buying the charger that is most suitable for your device. You can do an extensive research online if you need more details on any of the above mentioned charging protocols.
