Read this before you choose a power bank for your phone

Power Bank, comes in all shapes and sizes, smaller sizes for an essential smartphone boost in your pocket, or bigger sizes for multiple charges or to charge a tablet. 

Meanwhile, you’ll notice some power banks with cables included, or some with multiple ports to charge more than one device at a time. 

Why to choose power bank for your phone?

Mobile Devices like smartphones and tablets make life so much easier. That is , until they run our of battery power when there’s nowhere to plug in. 

What you will benefit while choosing a perfect power bank for your phone?

Well, a lightweight power bank you can carry anywhere. Simply charge it up at home, throw it in your bag or your pocket, and connect it to your phone whenever it needs a quick battery boost. You’ll never suffer from “low battery anxiety” again. 

How to choose power bank for your phone?

How to choose power bank for your phone and tablet? Surely, it could be easy for you as you could just follow these tips below one by one; while it would be a little hard as you have to read and check the tips carefully, covering up to eight aspects in total, the size/capacity of power bank, power output, number of USB ports, cables included, power input, safety, quality and certification. 

Let’s start by choosing the size of your power bank.

This is not about which one will fit in your pocket or your purse. The size of the battery is about the power inside. Most power banks will feature a number on the front that tells you the number of mAh or “milliamp-hour”.

Common sizes range from 2,000mAh up to 10,000mAh or even 26,000mAh. Bigger numbers mean more power and more recharges for your smartphone, or charging for bigger devices that need more power, like a tablet. 

We’ve used smartphones and tablets to compare battery sizes, but most power banks will charge any device that charges via USB, such as a GoPro camera, Kindle reader or Bluetooth headset. Bigger devices that draw more power will need bigger batteries – more mAh – to charge them fully.

Then, we should consider POWER OUTPUT, a key point that’s to ensure fast charging for your phone/tablet. 

Technically the standard USB port on your power bank will fit any standard USB cable. However, the amount of power it can provide may vary. 

Question: Power Banks: How many times can a 5000mAh rated power bank charge an iPhone 6?

Thirdly, it falls on NUMBER OF USB PORTS, a mattter of how many devices you need to charge.

Generally, bigger batteries with more mAh, sometimes have more than one USB port. If so, that can be useful to charge two smartphones at the same time – maybe to give a battery boost to a friend. 

Or you can charge your smartphone and your GoPro at the same time.

Or your smartphone and your Bluetooth headset.

Or even a smartphone and a tablet, if you choose a battery with enough mAh to provide all that power.

With multiple ports, simultaneous charging is super-easy.

Fourth: your power bank will come with a cable.

A cable to charge the battery: YES

Every power bank should come with one cable (usually a standrad USB to Micro-USB cable) to charge the power bank itself, which you use to connect the power bank input port (usually Micro-USB) to a standard USB wall charger.

A cable to charge your phone/tablet: MAYBE

If your phone or tablet connects via Micro-USB, you can use the supplied cable to charge it.

If your phone or tablet connects via a Lightning or USB-C connector, you will need to use an additional cable to charge it. Some power banks come with multiple cables and you could check the packaging to see what’s included.

Some power banks provide cables that are detachable, which makes it easy to switch between cables for your iPad, your Samsung phone, your Kindle or another device. 

Some have cables that’re hard-wired to the battery that they cannot be detached, making them easier to find in a low battery emergency, but may make them less versatile overall.

Some even have clever storage solution: a detachable cable you can switch out for other cable, plus a way to keep the cable close so it’s always close at hand. 

power bank usage-1

power bank usage-2

  

 Fifthly, it’s about charging the power bank itself. 

Unfortunately, no power bank has been invented that magically recharges itself when it’s empty. But on the whole, they are pretty simple to charge: plug the supplied cable into the input port on the power bank and a standard USB on the other end into a wall charger or other power source. 

Power Bank input ranges from 1Amp up to 2.4Amps (short for ampere and it’s a unit of current). Put simply, the bigger the input number, the faster it will recharge.

Some power banks have an LED indicator, which tells you how much power the power bank has left and on the other side will tell you when you need to recharge the battery. 

charging power bank

What’s more? Here’s something about how to choose a safe power bank.

It’s easy to avoid counterfeit and dangerous ones by following these simple steps:

Register Your Device   some power banks require you to register your purchase, by providing the serial number either online or via a helpline. This is a good way to activate your returns policy and to ensure your product is not a counterfeit. 

Check the Warranty   manufacturer, country of origin and the type of battery may mean differences in the type or duration of the warranty. If you are unsure, check the small print on the package or the instructions provided. 

power bank maintenance

Something else? Surely. The Importance of Quality.

Safe power banks should have undergone the following testing.

Efficiency   more efficient power bank is, a lower operating temperature it will have, which wastes less energy for a longer life expectancy.

Over Current Protection   it prevents too much power going into the battery pack and the power going out to the connected equipment, protecting the delicate circuitry of both devices. 

Over Voltage Protection   it protects both the power bank and the connected device by keeping the voltage within recommended safety parameters to avoid damage. 

Over Discharge/Charge Protection   some power banks consistently monitor charge states to prevent this from happening.

Heat Tests at Extreme Temperatures   While using batteries in extreme temperatures isn’t advised anywhere. 

power bank test

Last but least, it’s CERTIFICATION.

These logos or marks, usually found on the packaging, will indicate that they have passed the necessary industry standard regulations, to comply with and achieve the following certifications.

power bank certification