Power bank not working what to do. Problems charging the phone from an external battery

A power bank is a device used to charge gadgets in the absence of an electrical outlet. They are connected via a wire connected via the built-in USB port. However, in order to give charge to other devices, the Power Bank itself must first be charged.

The main ways to charge the Power Bank

If you are going to purchase this device, you should ask how to charge this particular model and how to use it correctly. Despite the ease of operation, any model may have some differences and nuances. In order for the device to last for a long time, you need to find out how to properly charge the Power Bank portable charger by looking at the instructions.

From a 220V socket

The main question that interests buyers is whether it is possible to charge a power bank from electricity, because this charging method is the most convenient and familiar. To do this, you will need to purchase a network adapter - you need to buy it separately, it is not included in the Power Bank package.

Since the external battery is designed for smartphones, it is logical to use a phone charger to charge from the network. Given that the standard charge time for an external battery with a capacity of 4000 mah - 5000 mah is 4-5 hours, it is most convenient to turn it on at night. Charging from the network is much faster than through the USB port.

From computer via usb

The easiest option, from which it is convenient for each user to charge the Power Bank, is a computer. To do this, you just need to connect it to a working device using a cable via a usb connector. Charging occurs during its operation unnoticed by the owner.

From the energy of the sun

Many users are interested in whether it is possible to charge a power bank in the sun. This is the most economical and not expensive way - you just need to put the device in the sun. However, it is only suitable for those external batteries that have a solar battery.

From car cigarette lighter and other devices

Users are interested in the question of whether it is possible to charge from a socket in the car. Car enthusiasts who have a cigarette lighter in the car can charge the Power Bank while the car is moving. Another way to charge is from a mobile phone. Mobile gadgets have appeared on the market, performing the role, including an external battery.

How to know if the external battery is charged?

How to understand that the Power bank is charged? The standard device has 4 divisions indicating the amount of charge - 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%. A full battery charge is indicated by a flashing in the last indicator. However, the simplest budget models may have one or two indicators. When fully charged, the system will turn off the device automatically - there is no need to monitor the charge.

How long does it take to charge the Power Bank?

Time directly depends on two factors: battery capacity and charging method. The standard capacity of 5000 mAh when connected to the network will take 5 hours to fully saturate. If the capacity is twice as large, the time required for charging will also increase in the same way. Other methods are much longer, you can only find out how much you need to charge a power bank from a computer or a car cigarette lighter by experience. The device takes the longest energy "from the air" for solar panels.

Power Bank Charging Features

You need to charge the device to a full, 100% charge. However, when this indicator is reached, one should not rush to turn it off - experts recommend leaving it on for about an hour. At this time, “drip charging” with a weak current takes place, allowing you to maintain the maximum battery capacity for as long as possible.

You can track drip charging if you install an application specially created for this - for Android and Apple.

Fully charge after purchase

There are different opinions on how best to charge a power bank after purchase. Some users argue that the moment does not matter. Manufacturers recommend that the purchased external charger, regardless of the level of its charge upon purchase, charge up to 100%. It is important not to ignore drip charging.

Several charge / discharge cycles at the beginning of operation

When buying a Power Bank, you need to "rock" the battery - completely discharge and charge the battery. The same technique can be used if there is a faster than usual discharge.

3 or 4 complete discharge and charge cycles can rewrite battery statistics.

Always charge the external battery to 100%

Users and manufacturers unanimously claim that modern Li-Ion batteries do not have the disadvantage of the previous ones - the memory effect. Nevertheless, experience shows that this effect is still there, although it is less pronounced than with other types of batteries. Therefore, charging an external battery can be interrupted only in the most extreme case, and in others - wait for a full 100% charge and endure the drip charging period.

Why can't the battery be fully discharged?

However, it is not recommended to completely discharge the device to zero all the time - this will shorten the battery life.

You need to charge the battery when the charge level drops to the mark of 10-20% charge.

Depending on the model, you can find out by the indicators, see it on the screen, or determine it by eye using the LED indication.

Sometimes it needs to be deflated

If you do not use the battery for a long time, then ...

If the external charger is not going to be used for a long time, it should be left to "rest" half charged. Fully charging and discharging will negatively affect the service life.

Use original spare parts

What charge to charge the Power bank - any or special? For this device it is extremely important to use original chargers!

If this is not possible, it is important to choose those that match the characteristics of the Power Bank. Buying cheap accessories can end up with expensive gadget repairs.

Avoid device overheating

It must not be charged in direct sunlight (except for models with a solar battery). You also need to make sure that it does not lie on the battery and working gadgets, close to the heating battery.

In order for the Power Bank to serve for a long time, it is important to ensure that it does not overheat.

Conclusion

It is important not to use the Power Bank in the cold - low temperatures significantly reduce battery capacity. Subject to all operating rules, an external charger can serve its owner for a long time, for example, well-known manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Yoobao, Pineng give a guarantee for 500 cycles, which equates to 7-8 years of active operation.

These Power Banks are quite a handy thing - you can use them for their intended purpose, charging smartphones from them via USB and mobile phones in the absence of a socket nearby. And you can take 5 volts from them and power various flashlights, devices and gadgets, check the operation of any pocket equipment. The Power Bank consists of several lithium batteries combined into one battery, a charge unit, a 3.7-5 V inverter on the TD8208 and a controller that manages all this economy, at the same time showing the state of charge with LEDs.

In general, this device was bought from the Chinese a couple of years ago, I used it for a while, and then it stayed in the garage for a whole year, after which it stopped turning on. Will have to do it.

The plastic box can be (albeit difficult) opened with an ordinary knife, splitting the latches in turn at the ends of the case. This must be done very carefully so that pieces of plastic do not break off, otherwise the presentation will be lost and the joy of the owner of the Power Bank will be somewhat clouded.

Having opened the case, we see several Li-Ion batteries, size 18650 (as in a laptop battery). Each bank, according to the manufacturer's idea, should give 4000 mAh. So in total there will be 6x3500 = 20000 mA. But this is natural in theory. In practice, you will be very lucky if it turns out to be half the declared capacity, but often it is even weaker ...

It depends on the price of the Power Bank and the brand name of the manufacturer. It is naive to assume that a 50-amp device bought cheaply on Ali Express will correspond to the sticker. Choose better when buying golden mean. For example, this copy does not have not only the name of the company, but also the stickers on the batteries. But we digress - back to the repair.

Pressing the button (the only one on the device) for 2 seconds starts the device, as evidenced by the lit LED (or several - depending on the degree of discharge). 5 volts will appear on the USB output sockets. But that doesn't happen. Why? We'll figure out...

First of all, we measure the voltage on the banks themselves. They are all paralleled here, which is not very good, since it will be technically difficult to find the problematic one - everything is welded and it will not work to unsolder. Secondly, with this mode of operation, a bias in the charging current and voltage of the elements is possible, and this also has a bad effect on durability. And if one of the cells shorts inside, everyone will suffer.

Fortunately, this did not happen, but the voltage is only 1.1 volts. This is clearly not enough to start the Power Bank, since I know from experience that at least 3 V is needed. The circuit "does not see" a battery with such a low voltage and cannot start charging it. You will have to do it manually by swinging it from a conventional regulated power supply, setting the current to 1 A and holding them on charge for 10 minutes, to at least 3 volts.

And now it's up and running! Power Bank started up and one blue LED lit up, indicating that the charge is only 25%. The rest will be respectively 50, 75 and 100%. Now we put it on the adapter (or connect it to the computer's USB) and charge it to the maximum (about 8 hours). For a long time because the charging current is limited by the circuit to 0.5 A.

After a successful repair, do not rush to close the case. Let the Power Bank stand open until the end of the day to measure the rate of voltage drop on the battery. Perhaps there is a rapid self-discharge. In my case, in half a day the voltage dropped from 3.76 to 3.74 volts - in principle, this can be attributed to the error of the multimeter itself. If the drop was 0.1 V and higher, this may indicate a problem bank that needs to be found and neutralized, otherwise your Power Bank will shut down again after a couple of weeks.

That's all the work. As you can see, in simple cases, the repair of this thing can be done by hand, unless of course the breakdown does not affect the electronic part. Then it will be easier to replace the entire module, using the instructions.

Every owner of a smartphone or any other portable device is familiar with a power bank charger (“power”, as it is colloquially called). It is very convenient to use it, because the phone can be recharged at any time. However, many people have to face the problem when the power bank does not charge the phone for some reason, even if strictly observed. It may also happen that the device is running very slowly. In any case, do not rush to contact the repair service: it may be possible to eliminate the cause yourself.

What could have happened

Before you begin to deal directly with the bank, you should understand whether it is the essence of the problem. It is possible that it is the phone that does not work well, and not the device for charging it. First of all, plug your phone into another charger and see what happens.

The USB cable used may also be the reason why the bank does not charge the phone: for example, the cable is damaged or kinked too much . Therefore, you need to carefully inspect it for external damage. If they were found, it remains only to replace the old cable with a new one. Or you can immediately purchase a higher quality USB device.

When the problem is in the device itself

If the power bank was purchased recently or has not been used for a long time, you can try recharge it for 8 hours . The fact is that while the device was in storage and not used, the chemical processes inside it could slow down considerably, which is typical even when they do not work. It is possible that the power bank does not charge the phone for this reason. When it "builds up", the substances that slow down the battery will disintegrate, and the device will issue required amount energy.

It happens that at first the charging process goes on, and then it starts to be interrupted. Since all power bank chargers are offered in China, it is not surprising that the capacity indicated on the charger does not correspond to its real level. Of course, a power bank with a real capacity of 2000 mAh with a little will not be able to fully charge a smartphone whose battery has a capacity of 3000 mAh. To the question of what to do next, there is an extremely simple answer: purchase a charger with a capacity of at least twice the capacity of the phone .

There is another reason why the powerbank first charged and then stopped charging the phone. Often the controller turns off the process - in the presence of overheating or some kind of malfunction. Contacts may also be weak or faulty. In these cases, it is already advisable to contact the repair and service center.

Many owners are forced to charge their smartphones from the power bank only when the devices are turned off: otherwise, they charge very slowly or much longer. Naturally, in this way it is impossible to recharge the phone and search for something on the Internet at the same time, it is very inconvenient.

Slow charging speed can have the following reasons:

• controller is out of order , or it is with an internal defect;
• initial current is insufficient (the power has an output current of 1 A, and the phone has 1.5 A);
• thin cable, poor quality - reduces the voltage indicator;
• Several devices are connected to a phone with a small battery .

First of all, you need to do the following: check the current output on the charger and phone connectors . If the amperage is different, the device should be changed. A thin cable needs to be changed to one whose quality and conductivity will be better - you can buy it in specialized stores or order it online.

In order to know what to start from in the assumptions why the powerbank does not charge the phone, it is advisable know exactly the capacity of both the device and the charger without relying only on the inscriptions of Chinese manufacturers.

What else can interfere with a full charge

Some users like to download high-capacity applications and games from the Web to their devices. This means that the phone will now take much longer to charge. In the early days, this is imperceptible, but later it can greatly affect the charging speed. In addition, if the powerbank charges the smartphone weakly, you can try calibrate the battery for both him and the phone (by discharging to zero and recharging the devices). It is recommended to do so three times and, if there are no other problems, the essence of which was described above, this method will be effective. You do not have to contact the service center.

Sometimes, when the smartphone is actually fully charged, the program incorrectly displays the charging indicators. For a more accurate check, you can independently try to charge the phone simply from a 220 V network.

If the phone does not charge at all

It happens that the purchased power bank is just not compatible with one or another device model.

The main signs of such incompatibility are that the device naturally accumulates energy when it is connected to the network, it starts flashing, but nothing happens to the phone. There is only one way out: try connecting a phone of a different model and check how charging will take place. If the power bank starts charging another device without any problems, you will have to exchange it for another one, having previously clarified the issue of compatibility with consultants.

If earlier everything was fine with the charging process, and suddenly the turn stopped working, the problem may lie in one or the other battery, as well as in the state of the contacts of the connector and the board. Errors in operation and mechanical damage, of course, can also cause a failure in the operation of a device. If the phone is already more than three years old, one should keep in mind such a phenomenon as the natural percentage of battery wear, and then it is not at all surprising that.

Of course, before you get upset and contact the service center about problems with the bank, it will never be superfluous to carry out a few simple and affordable steps on your own. At least in this way it will be possible to find out what could be the cause of the malfunction, and, based on this, already make an appropriate decision.

External batteries seem to have recently appeared on the market, but today they are owned by a lot of users. No wonder: a small “box” allows you to charge a discharged smartphone, phone, tablet or other gadget away from home. In addition, the Power Bank fits easily into any bag, and there are models that can even be carried in your pocket!

But today we are not talking about size. Many users are interested in how to charge an external battery. In fact, everything is very simple, although there are nuances that are worth knowing.

Charging Options

First, let's look at charging options.

First and perhaps the most popular - from a computer or laptop via a USB port. Connect the Power Bank with one side of the cable, insert it into the USB port with the other, the device immediately starts charging.

True, charging is not as fast as we would like - it's all about the features of USB technology.

Second option- charging from the network. Have you noticed that external batteries are sold without a charger? It is understood that the user will charge the gadget either from the USB port of the computer, or from the charger that comes with the smartphone or tablet. Note that charging from the network is much faster than from USB.

Third option can be called exotic - charging from the sun's rays. In this case, it is assumed that you are using a special solar-powered Power Bank, which can actually be charged with solar energy. Here's what it looks like:

Fourth option- charge the Power Bank from your phone or smartphone. Think this is a joke? Now mobile gadgets have appeared that can act as a kind of external battery, which means that they can also be used to charge the Power Bank. Like this.

How long does an external battery charge?

It depends on the capacity of the external battery, as well as on the charging method. The fastest way to charge the gadget is from the mains charger. The average charging time for a 5000 mAh battery from a 1A charger is 5 hours. Accordingly, if the battery has a capacity of 10,000 mAh, charging will last about 10 hours - from 0 to 100 percent.

If you charge the Power Bank in other ways, the charging time can seriously increase - even several times. Solar batteries take the longest to charge from the sun.

Power Bank Charge Features

• In order for the external battery to gain full capacity, it must be charged to 100% at least 3-4 times.

• It is believed that Li-Ion batteries do not have the so-called "memory effect", which we are talking about. But there are people who think otherwise, so they recommend charging the Power Bank always up to 100% in order to maintain maximum capacity.

• As for discharging, it is not recommended to discharge the external battery to 0% - no more than 10-20%, after which it must be charged. You can find this out using the display level. If there is none, try to do it by eye with LED indication.

For example, the Xiaomi Power Bank LED indication:

• It is believed that if you discharge the Power Bank "to zero" every 2-3 months, this will allow it to "calibrate".

• Do not charge the Power Bank in direct sunlight (except for external batteries designed for solar charging).

• Always use only original cables and chargers.

A power bank or an external battery is actively coming into our lives so that your favorite gadgets remain in a charged state, but in fact we often get a lot of negative reviews “Power bank slowly charges a smartphone” or “Power bank only charges when it is turned off”, why this happens, let's figure it out in this article.

Power bank (external battery, external battery) began to appear abundantly around the beginning of 2012, after the Android and iOS operating systems became more mature and could offer users full-fledged business and multimedia tools, but alas, the installed batteries in smartphones and tablets left much to be desired better, the devices barely survived until the end of the working day, and with active use before noon.

With the advent of the Power bank, the situation changed qualitatively, the device could be charged at any time without having an outlet at hand, but everything did not go as smoothly as desired, many users of portable chargers They began to complain that the devices were charging extremely slowly, or they were charging only in the off state, or even worse, the charge was kept at the same level as before connecting the external battery.

Why does the power bank charge slowly?

And so, why does the Power bank charge your mobile devices so badly? There can be several reasons for this, we will deal with them in order.

Bad power bank controller and small capacity

If you bought a power bank on the market or on the subway, then it is possible that you were slipped a device with a very bad charge controller and the declared capacity (20,000 mAh is indicated, but in fact 3000 mAh) is much lower than the declared one.

What does this mean for you? This means that with a bad controller, the Power bank cannot deliver all the necessary current, and if more than one device is connected to an external battery, it can even burn out, while the capacity depends on how much you can charge your smartphone or tablet.

Output voltage

In one of the previous articles, we wrote about what you need to know about, and so many phones and tablets have a rather capacious battery of 3500 or more milliamps, if the power bank gives out a current of about 500 mAh or 1A, then you will not be able to fully charge the gadget , you need to purchase an external battery that provides at least 1.5 A output current or more.

Connecting wires

And now about the most important thing, the wire that goes from the Power bank to your smartphone or tablet, with the help of which the charge is supplied to your device, is often very thin and this is very, very bad, if not terrible.

The fact is that a thin wire cuts the power (A) and voltage (V) of the current very much, which negatively affects the charging speed, all you need to do is go to the store and buy another high-quality and thick wire. You will immediately notice that with the new cable, the charging process will go much better than before.

conclusions

1. Do not buy power banks of dubious quality
2. The more the power bank gives out current, mAh or A, the better
3. Poor quality wire can significantly degrade charging speed

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