[joshualebowitz]

Why does the USB-C end of the KEY2LE's charging cable differ from the KEY2? It is much longer. Is this a different type of charging? Thank you.

[conite]

Why does the USB-C end of the KEY2LE's charging cable differ from the KEY2? It is much longer. Is this a different type of charging? Thank you.

Both are the same. Just a different OEM brand probably.

[joshualebowitz]

Thanks. The LE only appears to fast charge with its original cable, as opposed to the one that came with the KEY2.

[the_boon]

Thanks. The LE only appears to fast charge with its original cable, as opposed to the one that came with the KEY2.

I always found the LE to have really fast charging compared to any other BB.

[joshualebowitz]

I always found the LE to have really fast charging compared to any other BB.

Thanks. There's definitely something about the cable that came with it that makes it charge faster than any other.

[the_boon]

Thanks. There's definitely something about the cable that came with it that makes it charge faster than any other.

Could be, but I also found that that phone's battery seems to degrade quickly. I never swapped it on an LE but I can't imagine it would be too difficult.

[Troy Tiscareno]

There's nothing magic about the charging on the Key phones. They support QualComm QuickCharge 2 or 3, so any charger using any decent USB-C cable will give you fast charging. That's more-or-less true for nearly all phones made in the last 3 years that don't have an Apple on them somewhere, except a handful that only support the USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) fast-charging standard. I use several Aukey chargers that support both PD and QC3/4, and I have a bunch of people plugging a variety of phones into those chargers and they all fast-charge.

Most likely, the reason your phone isn't fast-charging is that the USB-C connector on the charging cable has been damaged. If you push on the connector front-to-back while it's plugged into your phone, you'll bend the contacts in the cable's connector and then it won't make a reliable connection anymore. But the fix is simple: just replace the cable. The charging brick won't be affected. Cables do wear out, especially with abuse, but they're also the cheapest thing to replace.

aukey.com is where I get all of my charging stuff. I've been using their gear for 5 or 6 years already and I've never had a failure, other than people stealing them because they're so good. And, no, I have no connection to the company. They used to sell on Amazon, but like a bunch of companies last year, they got kicked off because they were "paying" for reviews (any review, not just good ones) with future discounts, and that violated Amazon's policy. But their gear is so good that they were really just doing it because most of their competition was doing it too, to game Amazon's algorithm. Anker is another good brand, but IMO, Aukey is out in front with regard to designs and capabilities compared to anyone else.

[the_boon]

There's nothing magic about the charging on the Key phones. They support QualComm QuickCharge 2 or 3, so any charger using any decent USB-C cable will give you fast charging. That's more-or-less true for nearly all phones made in the last 3 years that don't have an Apple on them somewhere, except a handful that only support the USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) fast-charging standard. I use several Aukey chargers that support both PD and QC3/4, and I have a bunch of people plugging a variety of phones into those chargers and they all fast-charge.

Most likely, the reason your phone isn't fast-charging is that the USB-C connector on the charging cable has been damaged. If you push on the connector front-to-back while it's plugged into your phone, you'll bend the contacts in the cable's connector and then it won't make a reliable connection anymore. But the fix is simple: just replace the cable. The charging brick won't be affected. Cables do wear out, especially with abuse, but they're also the cheapest thing to replace.

aukey.com is where I get all of my charging stuff. I've been using their gear for 5 or 6 years already and I've never had a failure, other than people stealing them because they're so good. And, no, I have no connection to the company. They used to sell on Amazon, but like a bunch of companies last year, they got kicked off because they were "paying" for reviews (any review, not just good ones) with future discounts, and that violated Amazon's policy. But their gear is so good that they were really just doing it because most of their competition was doing it too, to game Amazon's algorithm. Anker is another good brand, but IMO, Aukey is out in front with regard to designs and capabilities compared to anyone else.

How's Aukey in terms of preserving battery health in the long run?

[Troy Tiscareno]

No different than any other fast charger.

While there are different rules for certain specific types of SINGLE-CELL batteries (such as single-cell NiCad batteries), the rule for ALL multi-cell batteries - which includes all cell phone batteries and really any battery pack above 1.5V - is that you should NEVER run the battery to zero - ideally you should never let it fall below about 15%. Draining a LI battery to single-digits (or zero) is the fastest way to wear the battery out more quickly. I could explain why, but that's beyond the scope here.

Other than that, the only way to harm a battery would be with a charger that was cheap junk and didn't work with the intelligent charging circuit in the phone. Aukey (and Anker) chargers are very highly regarded and have been for years, and have been tested independently by dozens of sophisticated reviewers and given glowing remarks. That's also been my experience.

When charging a multi-cell battery, the charging must go slowly when the battery is completely drained (the lower "danger zone"), until you get 10-15% power full. At that point, you can start dumping power into the battery pretty rapidly, and this is what fast chargers do: they actually charge at a higher voltage (up to 9V) even though it's a 5V battery. And you can do this until you get to about 85% full, at which case you have to start throttling back the power and ease down to fill it the rest of the say up. Both the original Qualcomm QuickCharge and the newer USB-PD standards communicate between the charger and the phone so the charger knows the state of the battery as well as the temperature of the battery, and it adjusts output voltage and current accordingly, ultimately dropping down to trickle charging once the battery is full. If you were to graph the power intake of a phone with a dead battery on a fast charger, it would be a bell curve - very low at the start to about 10%, then rising quickly to around 20% full, and charging at full voltage and amperage (as temperature allows) between 20% and 80% full, then dropping back down in voltage and amperage between 80% and 90% or so, and finally charging the last 10% at 5V and between 1.5-2A until full.

This isn't new technology - higher-end car battery chargers have done exactly this for decades - but miniaturizing that circuitry to fit into a tiny charging block and setting standards so that phones and chargers could work together was the breakthrough. Initially this was Qualcomm - though some companies "rebranded" this tech with their own name (I'm looking at you, Samsung and Motorola), but they were QuickCharge compatible. But everyone is moving to USB Power Delivery as the new standard, as PD can output far more power for things like laptops, and the idea is to have one charger that can charge everything at whatever its optimal power charge rate is. Currently, PD can output up to 90 watts (9V at 10A) for high-current devices like a MacBook Pro, but is perfectly safe for your phone. If you are buying a new phone today, it likely either uses PD only, or a combo of PD and QuickCharge so that older fast-chargers will also work.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

There's nothing magic about the charging on the Key phones. They support QualComm QuickCharge 2 or 3, so any charger using any decent USB-C cable will give you fast charging. That's more-or-less true for nearly all phones made in the last 3 years that don't have an Apple on them somewhere, except a handful that only support the USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) fast-charging standard. I use several Aukey chargers that support both PD and QC3/4, and I have a bunch of people plugging a variety of phones into those chargers and they all fast-charge.

Most likely, the reason your phone isn't fast-charging is that the USB-C connector on the charging cable has been damaged. If you push on the connector front-to-back while it's plugged into your phone, you'll bend the contacts in the cable's connector and then it won't make a reliable connection anymore. But the fix is simple: just replace the cable. The charging brick won't be affected. Cables do wear out, especially with abuse, but they're also the cheapest thing to replace.

aukey.com is where I get all of my charging stuff. I've been using their gear for 5 or 6 years already and I've never had a failure, other than people stealing them because they're so good. And, no, I have no connection to the company. They used to sell on Amazon, but like a bunch of companies last year, they got kicked off because they were "paying" for reviews (any review, not just good ones) with future discounts, and that violated Amazon's policy. But their gear is so good that they were really just doing it because most of their competition was doing it too, to game Amazon's algorithm. Anker is another good brand, but IMO, Aukey is out in front with regard to designs and capabilities compared to anyone else.

Yeah a few months ago I needed a new Power Block for my iPad Pro and couldn't find Aukey on Amazon... took some searching to find them online, and order direct. Took a few more days, but they really are great chargers.

[joshualebowitz]

Found someone who knew the difference and was extremely helpful. Thought I would follow-up here. The KEY2 works with regular Quick Charge while the KEY2LE works with Fast Charge with PD. This also explains why the USB-C end of the cable on the KEY2LE was much larger than the one on the KEY2. The KEY2, with USB-C, can support 5 volt at 3 amps, while the KEY2LE, with USB-C PD, can support up to 20 volts at 5 amps. Appreciate everyone's time.

[conite]

Found someone who knew the difference and was extremely helpful. Thought I would follow-up here. The KEY2 works with regular Quick Charge while the KEY2LE works with Fast Charge with PD. This also explains why the USB-C end of the cable on the KEY2LE was much larger than the one on the KEY2. The KEY2, with USB-C, can support 5 volt at 3 amps, while the KEY2LE, with USB-C PD, can support up to 20 volts at 5 amps. Appreciate everyone's time.

That has nothing to do with the shape of the USB cable. Both use standard USB-C charging ports.

[joshualebowitz]

That has nothing to do with the shape of the USB cable. Both are just standard USB-C.

The KEY2LE's USB-C cable is a PD version, which is, apparently, the difference and why the USB-C end of it is longer.

[conite]

The KEY2LE's USB-C cable is a PD version, which is, apparently, the difference and why the USB-C end of it is longer.

No. USB-C is USB-C. There is only one Type-C connector.

[joshualebowitz]

No. USB-C is USB-C. There is only one Type-C connector.

It was explained to me that not all USB-Cs are the same. The KEY2LE uses USB-C PD, whereas the KEY2 uses regular USB-C with Quick Charge.

[conite]

It was explained to me that not all USB-Cs are the same. The KEY2LE uses USB-C PD, whereas the KEY2 uses regular USB-C with Quick Charge.

You were given incorrect information. The connector is identical. The charging system is irrelevant.

[joshualebowitz]

You were given incorrect information. The connector is identical. The charging system is irrelevant.

The actual connector itself, in terms of pins and such, might be identical, but the KEY2LE and KEY2 have different charging speeds.

[conite]

... but the KEY2LE and KEY2 have different charging speeds.

Don't think so, but that's not what this is about, is it?

USB-PD is a standard by which USB cables and connectors carry power - it's not a specific charging system.

USB-PD Rev 2.0 is specific to USB-C connectors.

Quick Charge is a proprietary charging system. All KEY devices support QC3.

[joshualebowitz]

Don't think so, but that's not what this is about, is it?

USB-PD is the standard by which USB cables and connectors carry power - it's not a charging system.

USB-PD Rev 2.0 is specific to USB-C connectors.

Quick Charge is a proprietary charging system. All KEY devices support QC3.

The question was why the KEY2 and KEY2LE came with different charging cables. The answer was that they charge at different speeds, hence the different cables. It is, apparently, why one can't use the cable that came with the KEY2, or any other similar non-PD USB-C cable, to get fast charging on the KEY2LE.

[conite]

The question was why the KEY2 and KEY2LE came with different charging cables. The answer was that they charge at different speeds, hence the different cables. It is, apparently, why one can't use the cable that came with the KEY2, or any other similar non-PD USB-C cable, to get fast charging on the KEY2LE.

That information is incorrect. Even if they were different charging systems, they'd use the same cable.

[joshualebowitz]

That is incorrect. Even if they were different charging systems, which they aren't (both are QC3), they'd use the same cable.

USB-PD is the ONLY standard by which power is carried over USB.

Sorry, but they do not. The KEY2LE only charges at a fast pace with the cable that came with it, as opposed to the generic USB cable that came with the KEY2. Have tried multiple different cables with the same result. Anyway, appreciate your time.

[conite]

Sorry, but they do not. The KEY2LE only charges at a fast pace with the cable that came with it, as opposed to the generic USB cable that came with the KEY2. Have tried multiple different cables with the same result. Anyway, appreciate your time.

I'm sorry, but that's completely impossible unless you have a faulty/substandard cable.

Pin for pin, every USB-C cable is the same. USB 3.1 (which USB-C adheres to as a minimum) has a bandwidth of 10Gbps and can carry up to 20V/5A/100W of power.

The USB-PD 2.0 spec does not exceed 5A.

There are reports of some non-compliant cables that can only carry 20V/3A/60W.

But QC3 operates at 3A max. So you can just get a QC3 charging block if they sent you a crappy cord. The LE can do either.