The battery in my cell phone is showing signs of loosing capacity. I see that Walmart and other stores have what appears to be external rechargeable? batteries to recharge the phone battery while away from a charging source. Any comments from those who have used these $8 devices? Ed
Cell Phone battery
- Thread starter Eddie
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What type of cell phone? I am still rocking a iPhone 4S and changed the battery with one from ifixit, took a couple minutes and was really easy to change out.
They are sometimes hit or miss, so be sure it has return policy.
Sometimes the external battery will stop working. Sometimes it's the connectors on that dies, especially if you are rough with it and jamming in the plug the wrong way.
You also want to pay close attention to the form factor and connectors that you want and how you are going to hold it or carry it. Some are lipstick sized, some are flat rectangular sized. Some are big, some are small. Some have the cable built in with a storage are for it, some require you attach the cable (they often provide a cable).
Here are the items I bought. I'm not specifically recommending these, but here are the thought process I went through to choose these specific ones.
Both are affordable for the $.
I have this one from amazon (the 2000mah one):
http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Portable-Power-Bank-000/dp/B00LRK8JDC
-it has the cable built in, it is flat, so I can connect and hold it on to my phone like a deck of cards and still fit both in a pocket. it's if i forget to charge my phone and wake up in the morning with 10% battery, and need to charge on-the go.
I also have this one from ravpower to store in the car, i picked this also because it has built in plugs, and in a pinch I can also stack it with my phone like a deck of cards and hold both with 1 hand.
http://www.amazon.com/Certified-RAVPower...ywords=ravpower
It is more for emergencies where potentially I need multiple charges.
If you know you're going to use it all the time, you may want to consider a case that has an external battery built in
Sometimes the external battery will stop working. Sometimes it's the connectors on that dies, especially if you are rough with it and jamming in the plug the wrong way.
You also want to pay close attention to the form factor and connectors that you want and how you are going to hold it or carry it. Some are lipstick sized, some are flat rectangular sized. Some are big, some are small. Some have the cable built in with a storage are for it, some require you attach the cable (they often provide a cable).
Here are the items I bought. I'm not specifically recommending these, but here are the thought process I went through to choose these specific ones.
Both are affordable for the $.
I have this one from amazon (the 2000mah one):
http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Portable-Power-Bank-000/dp/B00LRK8JDC
-it has the cable built in, it is flat, so I can connect and hold it on to my phone like a deck of cards and still fit both in a pocket. it's if i forget to charge my phone and wake up in the morning with 10% battery, and need to charge on-the go.
I also have this one from ravpower to store in the car, i picked this also because it has built in plugs, and in a pinch I can also stack it with my phone like a deck of cards and hold both with 1 hand.
http://www.amazon.com/Certified-RAVPower...ywords=ravpower
It is more for emergencies where potentially I need multiple charges.
If you know you're going to use it all the time, you may want to consider a case that has an external battery built in
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If you have a popular smart phone you can typically find phone cases with build in extended batters.
Personally tho I typically opt for phones with replaceable battery.
Personally tho I typically opt for phones with replaceable battery.
I have used the external batteries quite successfully. They plug into your phone and charge it like it was plugged into a wall instead of actually adding battery capacity to your phone. I would say it is quite a good option based on my experience.
Motorola cell phone. Walmart has a backup battery with USB cord for $7.50 2,600MA.
2600mAh Portable Mobile USB Power Bank External Battery Charger for Cell Phone backup - Black
Dimensions: 3.75 x 0.75 x 0.75 (H x W x D)*Package Includes: One 2600 mAh power bank and One micro USB charger cable*Portable and lightweight*100%
2600mAh Portable Mobile USB Power Bank External Battery Charger for Cell Phone backup - Black
Dimensions: 3.75 x 0.75 x 0.75 (H x W x D)*Package Includes: One 2600 mAh power bank and One micro USB charger cable*Portable and lightweight*100%
JHZR2
Staff member
I have to question an $8 device. A decent quality 18650 size Li-ion cell is going to cost about that much iteself, let alone any packaging, conversion, etc. So youre likely getting inferior cells, which can be safety hazards.
Id look into one of the better ones for a few bucks more.
Otherwise, I saw a while back an energizer pack that used AA cells... And Id run one wwith rechargeable NiMH cells. And $8 battery pack with Li-ion scares me.
Otherwise youre on the right track, IMO. See if you can find one that can both charge the phone and be charged at the same time, or at least remain connected to the phone and still accept a charge.
Id look into one of the better ones for a few bucks more.
Otherwise, I saw a while back an energizer pack that used AA cells... And Id run one wwith rechargeable NiMH cells. And $8 battery pack with Li-ion scares me.
Otherwise youre on the right track, IMO. See if you can find one that can both charge the phone and be charged at the same time, or at least remain connected to the phone and still accept a charge.
i wouldn't be skeptical of the $8 price based on the reasoningly that good 18650 batteries are more expensive than $8. The logic doesn't really apply because the usage is different.
The battery cell itself does not need to be expensive, because the output requirements for these packs are usually only 1Amp at 5V, which don't require high end batteries to provide.
It is the same revolution that sd cards went through. If you have a really high end digital camera that is dumping loads of data, then yes you need to buy an expensive SD card that can keep up with the transfer rates.
But if you're just storing mp3s or videos to playback on your smartphone, a $5 SD card will perform fine.
You wouldn't make the blanket statement that a $5 usb thumbdrive is inherently defective , based on the reasoning that good SD cards (meant for high end digital cameras) are all over $20.
But there is truth that corners are cut though is all the circuitry, the ports, etc. that breaks after a couple usages. However, those same corners could be cut on the more expensive products too, so just because something is more expensive doesn't mean it's automatically better.
The battery cell itself does not need to be expensive, because the output requirements for these packs are usually only 1Amp at 5V, which don't require high end batteries to provide.
It is the same revolution that sd cards went through. If you have a really high end digital camera that is dumping loads of data, then yes you need to buy an expensive SD card that can keep up with the transfer rates.
But if you're just storing mp3s or videos to playback on your smartphone, a $5 SD card will perform fine.
You wouldn't make the blanket statement that a $5 usb thumbdrive is inherently defective , based on the reasoning that good SD cards (meant for high end digital cameras) are all over $20.
But there is truth that corners are cut though is all the circuitry, the ports, etc. that breaks after a couple usages. However, those same corners could be cut on the more expensive products too, so just because something is more expensive doesn't mean it's automatically better.
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Originally Posted By: Eddie
The battery in my cell phone is showing signs of loosing capacity. I see that Walmart and other stores have what appears to be external rechargeable? batteries to recharge the phone battery while away from a charging source. Any comments from those who have used these $8 devices? Ed
First of all why not replace the battery in your cell phone ?
As for the power banks, you can buy a good one with 10 amps capacity with 5V/2A (One device), 5V/1A (Two devices) and electrostatic, short-circuit, overcharging, overheating protection for about 25 bucks delivered.
https://oneplus.net/oneplus-power-bank
The battery in my cell phone is showing signs of loosing capacity. I see that Walmart and other stores have what appears to be external rechargeable? batteries to recharge the phone battery while away from a charging source. Any comments from those who have used these $8 devices? Ed
First of all why not replace the battery in your cell phone ?
As for the power banks, you can buy a good one with 10 amps capacity with 5V/2A (One device), 5V/1A (Two devices) and electrostatic, short-circuit, overcharging, overheating protection for about 25 bucks delivered.
https://oneplus.net/oneplus-power-bank
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I just picked this 3350mAh Anker one up from Amazon for $9.99, but I see the price has since doubled...
http://amzn.com/B00EETOTWS
It'll probably go on sale again in a few days.
I also have an older Romoss Sofun 2 with 5200 mAh capacity that has worked well over the few years that I've used it.
http://amzn.com/B00EETOTWS
It'll probably go on sale again in a few days.
I also have an older Romoss Sofun 2 with 5200 mAh capacity that has worked well over the few years that I've used it.
These are back in stock for $9.99. At this price, I'm actually surprised at the quality. Aluminum case, Panasonic cell, and a travel pouch. The battery doesn't really need a pouch, but I can stick my mp3 player in it.
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
These are back in stock for $9.99. At this price, I'm actually surprised at the quality. Aluminum case, Panasonic cell, and a travel pouch. The battery doesn't really need a pouch, but I can stick my mp3 player in it.
Those work great. I have both an Anker and a knock off. The Anker is easily the better of the two.
These are back in stock for $9.99. At this price, I'm actually surprised at the quality. Aluminum case, Panasonic cell, and a travel pouch. The battery doesn't really need a pouch, but I can stick my mp3 player in it.
Those work great. I have both an Anker and a knock off. The Anker is easily the better of the two.
Those external battery is used to charge the internal battery.
So, it can be thought of as a portable electrical outlet.
You can probably talk but you need a longer charging cable so the external battery can be lying on the table or inside your pocket.
You have not mentioned what kind of phone you have.
The older IPhone, you can get a replacement battery but you have to open it up which take a pentalobe screw driver. Most of the time, when you buy a battery, you get that screw driver in the kit. Youtube have a lot of movies on how to do it.
So, it can be thought of as a portable electrical outlet.
You can probably talk but you need a longer charging cable so the external battery can be lying on the table or inside your pocket.
You have not mentioned what kind of phone you have.
The older IPhone, you can get a replacement battery but you have to open it up which take a pentalobe screw driver. Most of the time, when you buy a battery, you get that screw driver in the kit. Youtube have a lot of movies on how to do it.
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My phone is a Motorola Droid RAZR.
Spend the $10-$20 online for a new battery and don't worry about carrying excess junk about.
Those external chargers are very handy though for trips where plug in is not easy. I use my a lot when "working" and skiing where poor reception is that kills my battery along with cold.
Those external chargers are very handy though for trips where plug in is not easy. I use my a lot when "working" and skiing where poor reception is that kills my battery along with cold.
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