So say one of my usb c cables inevitably poops the bed and everytime I plug it in my phone it says “slow charging”. Does it damage my phone at all to continue using that cable for long stretches of slow charging?
So say one of my usb c cables inevitably poops the bed and everytime I plug it in my phone it says “slow charging”. Does it damage my phone at all to continue using that cable for long stretches of slow charging?
So the fluctuation would be bad for my battery?
No one here can tell you for sure what’s wrong with your cable. So no one can answer if it will be good or bad over time. Slow (normal) charging is better for your battery than fast charging. A wobbly wire might stop and restart the charging process, which might be detrimental to the battery over time.
But it could also be that your port is so clogged up with pocket lint that the contact in your phone is affected and that’s why fast charging no longer works. Something could be broken in the brick you use and that’s why it won’t work any more. It could be that the cable was bent so many times it’s broken. It’s probably that.
You could try to narrow down where the error lies. If you use a friend’s cable does the same thing happen? Friend’s fine-working cable in your power brick? If you got a phone repair kiosk in your neighborhood, maybe ask them if they could clean your port. If they’re friendly, they can probably help you narrow down this problem also.
Ok so it’s more dependent on what actually is malfunctioning. It’s just my cable that’s messed up, I bought a new one that works fine but I was wondering If I left it plugged into an old phone 24/7 as like a digital picture frame/alarm or something if that would be bad in the long run
Your biggest worry would be the battery, they don’t like to be at 100% all the time. If the phone charging limit can be adjusted you should be good to go. But I’d watch the battery closely for any swelling.
I’ve been observing the voltage and current of a bunch of chargers, cables and phones with a handy little power meter that plugs in between the charger and the cable. I still have no idea whether a bad cable hurts the battery or not, but it can result in fluctuations though.
For example an iPhone just loves to crank up the current every few seconds. If the power supply or cable can’t handle it, the voltage will crash below some tolerable limits set by the phone. In response, the phone will lower the current back to a level where the voltage remains high enough and then the cycle repeats. Interestingly, an iPad or an Android phone I tested don’t do that sort of aggressive current ramping. Those two just figure out a sustainable low current in the beginning, and let it be, whereas the iPhone is never satisfied if the current is a bit lower than you would normally get from a good power supply and cable. Either way, I suspect that’s just the Battery Management System (BMS) doing its thing, and every device seems to have a different BMS.
Will the BMS be able to provide a stable current and voltage to the cell even when the power draw is far from stable? Sounds unlikely to me, but ask an electrical engineer to make sure.
Will an unstable charging power hurt the cell in the long run? Ask a battery scientist. I just know that extreme temperatures definitely hurt it. Also high C-rates are harmful as well.