I bought one of these 15Ah backup batteries:
tinyurl.com/q6nypwl (links to Amazon)
A great piece of kit that will indeed charge about 6-8 iPhones.
What it won't charge is one of these.
tinyurl.com/nffpj9s (links to Chinese computer shop)
(Which I must say is a great piece of kit for 25% of the cost of an iPad. Looks like an iPad, behaves like an iPad but no need to battle with the arcane Appleishness of it. There's the odd thing that flashes up in Chinese for updates of pre-installed software that I can't (be bothered to work out how to) remove. My iPad-addicted colleagues think it's nice.)
Why won't it charge it?
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>> Why won't it charge it?
Because its not an iPad.
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does the charging indicator appear on your iPad looky likey?
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>>does the charging indicator appear on your iPad looky likey?
No, nothing. It completely ignores it. I can charge it from a computer, but it's (obviously) very slow, and I haven't found a US-UK adaptor yet in order to use the supplied charger/been out to buy another one.
But surely a USB power source is a USB power source?!
And of course, linked battery source isn't a Apple-only device.
Last edited by: Mapmaker on Mon 26 Jan 15 at 11:29
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>> >>does the charging indicator appear on your iPad looky likey?
>>
>> No, nothing. It completely ignores it. I can charge it from a computer, but it's
>> (obviously) very slow, and I haven't found a US-UK adaptor yet in order to use
>> the supplied charger/been out to buy another one.
>>
>> But surely a USB power source is a USB power source?!
Nope. Sure they are all 5volts, (or they should be) but they vary in current capacity from 800ma to 2.4 amps, Some of them are smart and will manage current, some of them aint and wont. Ditto your pad, some of them will manage the current they draw, some of them wont.
Have you tried a different cable?
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I'll give different cable a go. It works on the computer (0.5A, I believe?) but not on the 2.4A port. The supplied charger is rated at 2.5A, but I haven't managed to plug it in to anything yet...
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>> I'll give different cable a go. It works on the computer (0.5A, I believe?) but
>> not on the 2.4A port. The supplied charger is rated at 2.5A, but I haven't
>> managed to plug it in to anything yet...
We've found leads to be the weakest link amongst the paraphernalia for USB charging. Several have failed altogether but others seem to work with some PSU/device combinations but not others.
Device and/or charger too smart for their own good?
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Mapmaker,
You mention a US>UK adapter.
I'm sure you know this but US voltage is 120 rather than UK 240. Adapter my simply convert plug type and not step voltage down. Check the spec of your Apple looky likes PSU before connecting it to UK mains.
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Could it be the tablet needs both the data and power pins connected and the battery pack doesn't support this?
I know with our Galaxy Note 10.1 it has a proprietary data/charging cable. If you plug this into a USB socket of a computer it will charge it slowly. If you plug it into another 2A USB charger it does not work. I had to get an adapter for the end of a normal micro USB cable which must connect some pins that aren't connected up in the USB charger. Which might be similar to the problem you have.
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Some devices look for a specific resistance across the data pins of the cable before they'll charge correctly. You can get adapters that fix this, but TBH I'd be trying another cable first.
Also, I really wouldn't leave anything of dubious Chinese manufacture that has a lithium ion battery unattended while charging. If do you charge it out-of-sight, I strongly recommend a biscuit tin or similar for it to sit inside and a smoke alarm nearby.
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If it's the same one as this on Amazon then hopefully it's not too dodgy:
www.amazon.co.uk/Cube-TALK9X-U65GT-Octa-core-Bluetooth/dp/B00LUHS9TG
Gets good reviews.
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Slight drift but these seem to work www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00GC4AJOU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00 in that I have an Xperia Z which is very picky about cables and charger, ans using this means I can charge it properly on a wall charger which otherwise wouldn't do it (though teh cable has to be the right one). No idea how it works...
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>> If it's the same one as this on Amazon then hopefully it's not too dodgy:
>> www.amazon.co.uk/Cube-TALK9X-U65GT-Octa-core-Bluetooth/dp/B00LUHS9TG
>>
>> Gets good reviews.
>>
It's £129. It's good value but I wouldn't trust it an inch. A lithium ion fire cannot be extinguished by conventional means.
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>>Could it be the tablet needs both the data and power pins connected and the battery pack doesn't support this?
I've tried three USB cables now. All fine with the computer, not fine with the battery pack. That said I've not tried the USB cable that came with the pad, and looking at it now it's a much thicker cable than a phone/gadget charger.
Fusty, thanks. I think both items are of sufficiently reputable make for me to be happy.
Last edited by: Mapmaker on Tue 27 Jan 15 at 09:56
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And the cable supplied with the pad doesn't work with the battery pack either.
Brompton, thanks for the 110V reminder; I thought I'd checked and it works with anything from 100-240V - that's quite a bit of magic inside a small box.
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As I said higher up, the cable that came with my Samsung Galaxy Note will not work with any USB charger other than the Samsung one or it will charge slowly from a computer's USB port. It must be checking for resistance across pins or something with the charger.
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I have an S5 which uses USB 3 cables. Using its own cable, which is a pretty beefy thing, I have yet to find a charger that it will not charge from.
However, if I use a USB 2 cable with it, then it becomes sensitive and the cable is important.
With its own Samsung charger it works, with the computer it works, with anything else its not reliable - with some of them it keeps connecting and disconnecting - I can't work out a pattern or any consistency.
I have one USB 2 cable which is reliable, and then it works with all the chargers.
I think these cables must be like SCART cables and frequently be partially wired and/or wired with very low quality wire.
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>>I think these cables must be like SCART cables and frequently be partially wired and/or wired with very low quality wire.<<
I think we have had this thread before - I can remember some time trying to analyse exactly what worked ok with what and coming to no obvious solid conclusion.
From a charging point of view I dont think that will be 'a wrong sort of wire' :)
You seem to have come up with the answer - use USB3 cables only. I suspect thta the interconnection spec is more accurately defined with the passage of time.
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And the answer is... dodgy 2.4A USB port. The other (2.1A) port works just fine.
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The wrong sort of electricity - Zero
