USB power bank troubles

[y_p_w]

I'm on my third mophie Powerstation XXL after two warranty returns, and latest started flaking out on me. I guess after one previous return I wasn't going to get a new retail box one and perhaps at this point they don't carry it any more? My first started smelling like it was burning so that was not an option to use any more, lest the battery catches on fire. The second just failed all of a sudden.

But this one is weird. The USB-A ports might work for a split second and then would quit. It stopped taking USB-C input power to charge, but sometimes would take USB-A to USB-C inputs. When I pressed the button to get the indicator lights to show the approximate charge level, it would just flash for a split second, but sometimes it would hold like it's supposed to. I'm wondering if maybe this thing is too complicated and these are some sort of safety mechanism meant to keep it from catching on fire if there's a problem.

Today it seems to be working normally again, but I have no idea what the issue was previously. It seems real finicky but I wasn't looking forward to asking for another warranty replacement after two in less than 3 months.

 

[y_p_w]

This was my previous post on the replacements.

Any idea how to ship a USB-power pack?

I would call the credit card company and tell them to take the charge off.

bobistheoilguy.com

 

[racer12306]

That is crazy.

Plenty of people use nonameium brands and have issues, but Mophie certainly isn't one of them.

Good Luck

 

[y_p_w]

It seems to be working again so I don't know if it reset itself from some failsafe condition.

I'm thinking what I've used over the years. My first was one my wife found sold relatively cheap (some special deal) a few years ago, back when they tended to be really expensive. It was a Lepow Moonstone 6000 mAh rated one.

We got a whole bunch of supposedly 3000 mAh a few years back when I had merchandise credits at a store for getting a new phone plan.

I don't know how many I got (and lost) of Walmart's Onn house brand. My first didn't have a button and might have been rated at 2000 mAh. But I really needed a micro-USB cable (which came in the package) while I was on the road to help a friend charge a phone, and it was cheaper than micro-USB cables alone. I even had one that stopped working and where I managed to fix it. I found out that the internal connection used a spot welded metal strap, and the weld was right at the edge and broke off. That was actually pretty easy to fix although the results look exactly like I pried it open with a flat-head screwdriver. One I even found for $1.50 in the clearance section.

But I've had four of these mophie power banks that have failed. Don't know if it's just my bad luck or not.

 

[JavierH19]

I wouldn't trust it. I still have the same big old anker one i use sparingly that's like 7-8 years old now. Still works perfectly, If i had to guess I've probably put around 30 cycles on it. I make sure to keep it at around 50 percent when stored and charge it before going on trips, or if there might be a storm and power outage. I heard that helps a lot in making the battery cells not get damaged.

 

[racer12306]

I wouldn't trust it. I still have the same big old anker one i use sparingly that's like 7-8 years old now. Still works perfectly, If i had to guess I've probably put around 30 cycles on it. I make sure to keep it at around 50 percent when stored and charge it before going on trips, or if there might be a storm and power outage. I heard that helps a lot in making the battery cells not get damaged.

I have a 3 port USB-A Anker that I bought in 2016 for traveling. It was the largest you could take on an airplane, 26800mAH.

Now it's nice to have and we use it the same way you do. It just takes FOREVER to charge. Good ol single micro usb charging.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Just a sample of one here, but my 15,000 mAh Mophie PowerStation XL is still OK after 3 years, although I haven't really used it much. I've got way too many of these power banks sitting around, all still functional.

 

[y_p_w]

Just a sample of one here, but my 15,000 mAh Mophie PowerStation XL is still OK after 3 years, although I haven't really used it much. I've got way too many of these power banks sitting around, all still functional.

I've got plenty that still work and some that stopped working. I carry around a Mophie Powerstation 8000 that I received as a warranty replacement back in 2020. It looks pretty nasty now as it has this vinyl-ish cover that's flaking off, but it otherwise works perfectly. I use it with a 4-inch Lightning cable for iPhone where I just stack the power bank and phone together. But then again I've had two of those fail. I've got another mophie - a PowerBoost (two USB-A ports plus a micro-B input) that still works fine.

If anything, I'm thinking that USB-C might be more problematic.

 

[JavierH19]

I have a 3 port USB-A Anker that I bought in 2016 for traveling. It was the largest you could take on an airplane, 26800mAH.

Now it's nice to have and we use it the same way you do. It just takes FOREVER to charge. Good ol single micro usb charging.

Just checked and it's exact same one, the old micro USB one. Yeah it takes forever to charge but i plug it in at night when it's used. I only wish it could've charged faster when it was plugged in to the generator during the 2020 winter storm. I may buy a new USB c one if i ever see temps going back down to the +20's on a forecast since that's power outage week down here so it can get fast charge. Don't care about it being able to give a fast charge though. Fast charging on power banks isn't good for efficiency. If they provide power slower less is wasted, so I'd still use the old big USB ports to charge slower.

 

[y_p_w]

Just checked and it's exact same one, the old micro USB one. Yeah it takes forever to charge but i plug it in at night when it's used. I only wish it could've charged faster when it was plugged in to the generator during the 2020 winter storm. I may buy a new USB c one if i ever see temps going back down to the +20's on a forecast since that's power outage week down here so it can get fast charge. Don't care about it being able to give a fast charge though. Fast charging on power banks isn't good for efficiency. If they provide power slower less is wasted, so I'd still use the old big USB ports to charge slower.

I've got a few that still have micro-USB. Some of the smaller ones I have are capped at 1A in or out, although there will clearly be losses with a battery. Capacity is for the battery. My mophie ones usually list "cell converted capacity" for 5/9/12V.

I don't think fast charging is really that bad. But how fast? Much of what I have can charge at 2A, even the ones with micro-USB inputs. But even for the bigger ones, I don't see anything more than 15-18W input.

 

[wrcsixeight]

I was gifted a Mophie, whose owner said it didnt seem to be working correctly anymore, it was old, well used, owed him nothing.

I found the usb micro charge port was just packed with lint and dust, and my clean male micro usb charge connector just barely seated and charged so slow, until deOxit D5 and a micro bottle brush cleaned it out, then it woukd charge at 2.1 amps, which was the limit of my USB charge source at the time.
Got a fair amount of use out of it, but gave it to someone whom I thought needed it more.

I have an 8-23vdc in USB-C 15 watt source now.

A 'powerwheels adapter' for my ryobi,Ridgid, or Makita 18v batteries makes for my larger portable USB C source.
I do have a female C to female A adapter, and a USB C female to micro usb male adapter for it, which covers all my bases.

Even more portable is a thrunite C2. Single 18650 cell charger/USB A supply. Micro usb charge input. Greediest USB device I own.

Its charging or discharging performance varies on the cell used within.
Almost all my 18650 loose quality cells are all 8+ years old now, lots of cycles accumulated.
Can't justify acquiring new ones, yet.

Get a USB meter, and some Deoxit D5, and some good magnification.
When the DeOxit'd connector seats with a click , you'll realize you forgot it once did that, when new.

 

[dubber09]

I use one of these: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08K7GHZ3V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
it works very well, even after couple of years of use.

 

[Cujet]

It is not as easy as it used to be, to find a good one, of just the right size. My fav brand, no longer seems to make the 2 or 3 cell 18650 power bank. That was a perfect size. No fluff, just nice output.

 

[meep]

Partsexpress.com sells boards where you can lash together a few li-ion cels and it will provide usb out and handle the charging duties. I keep thinking of building one. But, my favorite is simply the noco jump starter pack, 1000A. Great flashlight, solid current output. The capacity is not crazy, probably 4-5 AH.

 

[y_p_w]

The 20,000 mAh one failed again. I'm not too eager to pay another $10 shipping for a warranty replacement again. I sent a message to ZAGG customer service and I'm hoping maybe there's some sort of reset that can be applied to revive it rather than sending it again. Or maybe since I'm complaining I can get another one gratis without having to pay for shipping (although I have no problem returning the one that doesn't work if they send me a shipping label).

 

[daves87rs]

Just lost and older Anker last week. Might be looking at another soon.

 

[Marcozi]

I've got a LUXTUDE I bought on amazon. Will fully charge 2 iphones. Worx great.

 

[y_p_w]

The 20,000 mAh one failed again. I'm not too eager to pay another $10 shipping for a warranty replacement again. I sent a message to ZAGG customer service and I'm hoping maybe there's some sort of reset that can be applied to revive it rather than sending it again. Or maybe since I'm complaining I can get another one gratis without having to pay for shipping (although I have no problem returning the one that doesn't work if they send me a shipping label).

They kind of split the difference and gave me a code for reduced price shipping. So I'll just return it, but this is the fourth time I've had one replaced, and each one I had for less than a year. And I barely used it, so there's no way that the battery was worn down. I'm starting to wonder what is it where mophie power banks are failing on me at this rate. I was thinking maybe the USB-C might be an issue where it's an input/output. I haven't had an issue with my mophie power bank with a micro-B input-only port.

 

[cptbarkey]

Anker 10k's has been good to me for years and no failures. I just discovered the Milwaukee Top Off, and Ryobi has a similar unit. They make tremendous sense for batteries when they arent sawing, drilling, impacting, or lighting something. Both are on the way.

 

[y_p_w]

I did send a reply asking about the warranty, and ZAGG confirmed that the warranty period starts at the purchase of the original device and the warranty clock doesn't start with any replacements. I've gotten a warranty replacement on a cable from Apple and was told my receipt meant I could have a new warranty starting from the date of the replacement. But other devices replaced during the warranty only have up to the original warranty or 90 days.

However, I gave it another try and just wanted to press in the indicator/start button as a sanity check once more. I had a period on this (my third one) where it stopped working and it started working again. Initially it showed one flashing indicator light without anything connected, which usually means "charge now". But then I briefly plugged a power source for a few seconds where it quickly went up to 3 solid and one flashing light, meaning closer to full than empty and charging. And it's providing power now through USB-A or USB-C.

I'm thinking I'll just take a chance on this since I don't really want to go through shipping this thing and I'm not sure they're going to send me anything other than refurb anyways. At least I'll see if it works over the rest of the weekend and see how it goes.