How to charge an external battery (Power Bank)?

External batteries seem to have appeared on sale quite recently, 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.

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.