Question about phone and tablet chargers.
Question about phone and tablet chargers.
I have a Samsung phone and tablet, but the charging plugs are different shapes. My wife is in the hospital and the TV above the bed is broken, so she wants to watch catch-up TV on the tablet but there are only a few power outlets above the bed. My question is... does the charging plug control the electricity delivered, or do the devices decide how much power enters it? If I use the phone charger to charge the tablet, could it be damaged?
The adapter is designed to handle the highest current it can provide, and it usually stays within that limit. The device receiving power will take whatever current it requires, with minimal risk of harm.
Using an adapter that offers less current than the device needs can result in slower charging compared to using a standard charger.
There's a chance a device (phone or tablet) might not charge if you use the "wrong" charger. There's also a slight risk of damage.
Modern "intelligent" chargers with USB-C plugs can operate at a number of different power output levels, with different voltage outputs and maximum current ratings.
https://xyultra.com/tech-reviews/phone-c...tts-guide/
Depending on your phone, the dedicated charger it came with might output 5V, 9V or something higher, for typically 5W, 10W, 20W or 30W charging.
When the phone (or tablet) is plugged into its own dedicated charger, the two devices "negotiate" the appropriate voltage, current and power settings for the charging session.
There exist several different charging standards, including Qualcomm Quick Charge (QC).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quick_Charge
Another common standard is Power Delivery (PD).
https://www.trustedreviews.com/explainer...pd-4368197
Some multi-function chargers from third-party supplies support QC and PD, with apprpriately marked outlets.
I tend to play safe and use the charger supplied with my phone or an outlet on a third-party charger that I know is compatible.
With any luck, nothing bad will happen if you connect an incompatible charger to your wife's phone or tablet, because many USB chargers default to 5V before the auto-negotiate process completes.
5V might be enough to charge a phone or tablet, albeit slowly. Alternatively, the phone or tablet might refuse to charge when faced with the wrong charger type.
If you can face diving into the technical details of the phone's and the tablet's charging requirements, check to see if they match the output from both chargers. If they match you might get away with using only one charger.
If you're unlucky, the tablet might not charge from the phone's charger and vice versa, but hopefully no damage will be done.
If you feel brave, try connecting each charger in turn to both devices (phone and tablet) when you're still at home and see if they start charging.
In the worst case scenario, magic smoke might appear from the phone or tablet when an incompatible charger is connected.
As an electronics design engineer I always check the voltage/current rating of mains power bricks. I have 5V, 9V, 12V and 24V DC power bricks for different devices and the wrong voltage can destroy hardware.
Similarly, with devices powered from USB-A and USB-C, I check the device requirements against the charger output, if I'm not using the dedicated charger for that device.
Old QC chargers up to version 3 are not compatible with devices requiring PD chargers. QC version 4 is designed with some inter-operability with PD devices.
https://service.anker.com/article-d...ai...Q-chargers
My personal advice is don't connect a QC charger to a PD device, or a PD charger to a QC device.
TLDR
With the cost of replacing a smartphone or tablet, play safe and use the dedicated charger if in doubt, even if it is awkward in hospital.