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Lower amperage for phone charging |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 228
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Lower amperage for phone charging
Would it be better for the longevity of the phone battery to use a lower amperage charger? I don't always need my phone charged in 2 hours (overnight).
I've heard that a lower amperage could be better. Is there truth in this? I have a Nexus 6P, which uses a quite high ampage for fast charge. |
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Posts: 8,175
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This is something that I've wondered about too.
My guess is that as the phone charging circuitry must monitor the temperature as well as voltage level of the lithium cell as it is being charged, and gradually reduces the current as the cell approaches becoming fully charged, that it will never charge the cell at a rate which is harmful to it, regardless of how much current is available for charging. That said, I personally would never plug my phone (which came with a 1A charger) into the 2A charger which came with my Hudl2 tablet, even if it might (I don't know if it would) be able to charge a bit faster towards the start of the charge-cycle using it. I'm never in that much of a hurry, and I really don't want to risk reducing the overall longevity of the battery. |
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 14,541
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The circuitry in the phone will draw the current at whatever amperage it decides, just like when you plug an iron in to a socket or a small lamp - it won't blow up your small lamp because they'll be resisters which stop the circuit from pushing too much current in to the lamp and circuitry which regulates the current.
Obviously the above sentence is an example based on mains devices. However with DC power supplies the design of course is set by the designer of the device and what voltage etc it was designed to support. The USB spec is 5 volts as standard, but the Amps is decided by the circuit, better phone designs support different current depending on what the charger supports, and they have signaling methods to control the current using resisters. In general, slower charging is less harmful to batteries as heading does degrade batteries, but these smart chargers monitor the temperature of the device and adjust as needed, so in theory a well designed phone should prevent battery damage. They also slow charging once they reach 80% or so, which helps protect the battery. So I'd say just don't worry about it, the device will take care of it and it shouldn't matter. USB is USB and will default to 5V @ 500mA on most power supplies unless the device calls for more current and the power supply supports it. That's how I understand it, happy for anyone to elaborate more on that. |
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Midlands
Posts: 502
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I have a Lumia 1020, and I tend to charge it as standard on the 1.2A charger that came with it. I have a charger of the same rate in my various vehicles. I've also got a 2.4A Anker mains charger I use in a rush, but I tend to stick with the steadier one for the reasons you mention. It probably makes no difference, but most of the time speed isn't an issue, so why bugger the battery a bit,
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