Making sense of phone charger issue and decrypting watts, amps, and cables

[NobleGamer]

I have a Samsung A32 5G phone, and I've had a travel dual USB charger for several years (Output: 5.2V @ 6A, 31.2W max), but within at least the past year there's some weirdness that seems situational for the travel charger:
Travel charger + Samsung USB A to C cable ~2 ft = Good charge
Travel changer + Anker USB A to C 6 ft = Slow and/or sporadic charging (10+ hours, if at all)
Samsung charger + Samsung USB A to C cable = Fast charge
Samsung charger + Anker USB A to C 6ft (same as earlier) = Fast or good charge

I tried searching these forums for related topics, but didn't find anything relevant.

So there's no obvious problem with my Anker USB cable, nor is there a clear issue with the travel charger, only the combination of the two.

According to this Samsung article, 15W is "standard" for charging its devices (including my model), and superfast charging requires 25W: https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00078994/

In order to make an informed decision about buying a replacement charger, all this leaves me with a bunch of questions that maybe wil lhelp other inquiring minds as well:

So does my testing indicate that my travel charger has an issue with longer cables? Do I need to pick a certain wattage or Amps with longer USB cables? Or does it just mean I need to pick a travel charger that is somehow better quality, but its quality is independent of watt & amp ratings?
Would switching to a fully USB C cable somehow be better for phone charging? Or would that be dependent on the cable quality (e.g. wire gauge) or charger?

Do people have to get wire gauge specs for USB cables just like with 120W power (extension) cords to ensure they can handle certain charging loads & cable lengths? If so, it's stupid that any consumer who cares has to go to such lengths to figure this stuff out. No wonder phone makers can charge a bunch of money to get their charging cables & plugs separately.

I would just buy a charger from Samsung, but it doesn't fit my travel needs. I simply want a smaller travel charger that:
* Has 2 USB A ports
* Can charge a portable battery (via USB A to micro USB cable)
* Is reliable, whether I plug in a short or ~6 ft long cable
* Can charge my phone in a few hours or less, which is what I will call a "good" charge (ideally via USB A to C cable)
* Ideally has a surface area no larger than a single North America 120V/15A outlet

[Nayr438]

55 minutes ago, NobleGamer said:

According to this Samsung article, 15W is "standard" for charging its devices (including my model), and superfast charging requires 25W: https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00078994/

I think your misunderstanding this part. You can use any 15W+ charger and it will charge at up to 15W, however for fast charging you need Qualcom Quick Charge 2.0, and for "superfast charging" up to 25W ( May be unsupported by the A32 5G) you need a charger that supports the USB Power Delivery 3.0 standard with PPS (Programmable Power Supply)

 

So if I had to take a guess, your travel charger probably doesn't support it.

 

Edited October 3, 2022 by Nayr438
QC 2.0

[NobleGamer]

1 hour ago, Nayr438 said:

I think your misunderstanding this part. You can use any 15W+ charger and it will charge at up to 15W, however for fast charging you need Qualcom Quick Charge 2.0, and for "superfast charging" up to 25W ( May be unsupported by the A32 5G) you need a charger that supports the USB Power Delivery 3.0 standard with PPS (Programmable Power Supply)

 

So if I had to take a guess, your travel charger probably doesn't support it.

 

I understand that fast charging requires 20W.

 

My list of things I wrote that I need in a travel charger was not "fast charging", but rather something that charges in mere hours using a longer USB cable (compared to dozen+ hours or not at all), which my current charger has problems with.

 

Given that I can no longer find a travel charger that touts the same small footprint and such high Watts and Amps, and my findings make the issue as clear as mud, I just wanted some validation as to whether my travel charger might be defective, whether I need different cables, and/or what kind of minimum charger specs would meet my needs (15W I think, but I don't know how many Amps).

[NobleGamer]

On 10/4/2022 at 9:34 AM, huilun02 said:

If you want concrete answers, we will need concrete info on exactly what model of travel charger and Samsung charger you have been using. Provide links to the product page. 

 

Otherwise, get a GaN charger that explicitly supports PPS at 25W or higher

I provided the power specs of my travel charger in the OP, but the specific maker & spec is "Fast Travel Wall Charger Syncwire 31W/6A 2 port USB plug..." from Amazon that is no longer sold. So its basically charging 15W @ 3A per USB port.

 

The Samsung charger I mentioned has output specs of 9.0V @ 1.67A or 5.0V @ 2A. It doesn't list output wattage, which is why I'm making an assumption of 15W being needed based on Samsung's article I linked to that specifically sites my phone (A32 5G).

[NobleGamer]

31 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

The travel charger you got is probably of very bad quality or lied about its capability.

Sure, but if its quality was bad, then I'm curious why could it do good or fast charging (I can't remember if it was literally "fast charging") with a shorter cable but not longer?

 

Is there much more power (Amps, volts, or watts) or more reliable power (as in less variance over time) required for longer USB cables like my ~6 foot anker cable?

[NobleGamer]

1 hour ago, huilun02 said:

The only possible hope is to use a lower wire gauge cable (lower gauge means thicker copper) typically presented in the form of dedicated charging cables. When I say possible it does not mean it is gauranteed. I dont know what cable you were using to begin with.

Sure, that was my suspicion as I'm familiar with these concepts from traditional power extension cords.

 

The challenge was that there was nothing I could find online that could confirm this type of USB cable versus charger issue even being a thing, hence me posting here.  For all I knew, nearly all USB C cables use the same gauge of wire, and any differences in cable thickness could be explained by the cable's exterior wrapping/shielding/material that covers the copper inside.

 

But even if I wanted to know the gauge, I have never seen any USB cable disclose its gauge size.  Maybe some do out there?  Even the Amazon Q & A on my specific Anker cable didn't have a definitive answer - One person guessed the gauge based on the stated supported wattage of the cable.  For a brand like Anker, I would tend to trust the brand's stated wattage, but any brand including Anker could overstate their wattage disproportionally higher to the wire gauge.

 

Thanks for the replies.  I guess we're living in a time when the potential for disparities between chargers, cables, and phones don't matter to enough consumers or companies for manufacturers of chargers & cables to provide sufficient information to validate consumer choices for compatible charger & cable combinations.