USB cable differences in charging speeds?

[Dirtman]

I had no idea where to post this.... computers seemed close enough.

I just got a free Galaxy Tab S 10.5". Its a few years old but in good shape. One problem. It's a pain in the butt to charge. The regular Samsung fast charger & cable I use with my phone (galaxy s7) charges my phone lightning fast but when I plug it into the tablet it goes into slow charging mode. This takes over a day to charge. (Both the wall charger and cable are brand new)

Now here's the weird thing. When I change cables to an old short one it works fine (still using the same wall charger). The tablet doesn't have a fast charging mode but it at least doesn't go into slow mode with the shorter cable.

I thought all USB cables were the same? Why would one cable charge my phone correctly but not my tablet? The cable I'm using to get my tablet charged now is only like a foot long, I need something 6 foot. How do I buy another cable and know it's going to work with my tablet?

 

[Curious Hound]

All I can think is that the long cable you tried has tiny enough conductors that you are experiencing voltage drop issues. Or it has a broken wire causing intermittent problems. The tablet might draw more charging current than the phone. I don’t know how to guarantee that you get a long cable that will work, other than ordering an OEM cable from Samsung for that tablet.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

You could always try your luck buying a "lot" of cables on Ebay for dirt cheap, and hope at least one of them works for the fast charging?

https://blog.banggood.com/your-cable-could-be-slowing-down-your-charging-speed-31493.html

https://lifehacker.com/cables-can-significantly-impact-the-charging-speed-of-y-1532784722

Cheap enough: https://www.amazon.com/Adaptive-Charging-voltages-charging-Packaging-x/dp/B072XYK1M6?tag=959media-20

Some people online were saying they had to have this replaced to fix their issue: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SKW4NRG/?tag=959media-20

Others said it was a software problem..

 

[Dirtman]

I just bought a pack of 5 cables on amazon with the nice braided cover. None of them charge the tablet right. Tested them all on the tablet and each one goes to slow charge. But they all charge my phone and old amazon tablet perfect. But any of my old short cables work fine... and on any wall charger. At this point I just put an extension cord from the wall to the wall charger but I still would love to find a 6 foot cable that works.

 

[Dirtman]

Well after googlizing I found most oem short cables are 24 gauge and most replacements are 28 guage. So I ordered a heavy duty 6 foot 22 gauge cable. I'll see if that works in a couple days when it gets here...

 

[adsm08]

Its a thickness thing I think.

I have an older Tab 4 that refuses to charge at all with the brand new OEM cable and brick from my wife's new Samsung work tablet, it actually says "Cable unrecognized, charging disabled. Try using Samsung charger". I plug it into the no-name generic pieces that came with a Kindle, which has a thicker USB cable, and it charges just fine.

 

[Dirtman]

Its a thickness thing I think.

I have an older Tab 4 that refuses to charge at all with the brand new OEM cable and brick from my wife's new Samsung work tablet, it actually says "Cable unrecognized, charging disabled. Try using Samsung charger". I plug it into the no-name generic pieces that came with a Kindle, which has a thicker USB cable, and it charges just fine.

This is what I was reading a well. 28 gauge is limited to .5 amps or something and the thicker 24+ gauge is needed for higher amp charging. I ordered the thicker cable so let's see if it works.

 

[adsm08]

This is what I was reading a well. 28 gauge is limited to .5 amps or something and the thicker 24+ gauge is needed for higher amp charging. I ordered the thicker cable so let's see if it works.

Yeah, my old phone didn't have an actual "Fast charge" mode, but if you plugged it into a 28 ga cable it took about 3 hours to charge from 15%. If you plugged it into a 24 or bigger (guy I worked next to had a 2 amp cable) it would charge in about an hour.

 

[Ranger850]

i know some are for data only. also my samsung charging station is slow, but if i use the cord plugged into the station directly into my phone, it is 3x faster.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Well after googlizing I found most oem short cables are 24 gauge and most replacements are 28 guage. So I ordered a heavy duty 6 foot 22 gauge cable. I'll see if that works in a couple days when it gets here...

That info was in the links I posted earlier....

 

[Dirtman]

That info was in the links I posted earlier....

But... I'm afraid of clicking....

 

[fastpakr]

Given that it's a few years old, it might be worth hitting the connector with electronics cleaner as well as compressed air.

 

[Dirtman]

I did that, had no affect on how it charges. The port is nice and clean and still holds the plugs secure.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

But... I'm afraid of clicking....

Yet you'll visit backpage that's now owned by the FBI.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Yet you'll visit backpage that's now owned by the FBI.

Lets not bring logic into this!