[heading4tomorrow]

I have a bunch of USB cables at home, most of them from various BB devices I bought, BB OS7, BB10 and Android. For some reason the cables that came with BB10 feels like they are charging the fastest, using the 3rd party chargers. I can't really tell because I can't find an accurate voltage reader app.

Does the charging time or amount of amp each cable can deliver change by the type of USB cable it is?

[Asdic Ping]

Yes I believe so. It all depends on the wire guage of the cable. Most USB charging cables are 28/28 AWG whereas some are 28/24 AWG which can deliver more amps. I use an old usb cable from my 9810 connected to my priv charger and it probably delivers a slower charge to my priv than the one that came with the priv, but I'm not overly bothered as I tend to charge overnight anyway.

[Troy Tiscareno]

It's possible for the cable itself to matter, yes, but it's much more likely to be the charger itself.

Older, pre-smartphone chargers were usually following the USB standard, meaning 5V and a max of 0.5 Amps (500 mA). That was fine for a flip-phone, but can't keep up with a smartphone, so newer chargers support faster charging.

At the basic level, there are 5V chargers that support higher amperage. 1 Amp chargers are common and cheap, but still struggle to keep up with a smartphone. There are basic chargers with as much as 2.4 Amps at 5V.

Then there are "smart" fast/quick-charge technologies. These chargers, when connected to phones that are compatible with them, will "talk" to the phone, and the phone can request higher voltage power (9V or 12V) when the battery is nearly empty, and will charge it up to 75-80% at the higher voltage before backing off to lower voltage and current to finish topping it off.

The cable really only affects all of this if the wires inside are too thin to transfer this power efficiently. A thinner wire will have more resistance, and more of the power will be lost to heat as a result, and your phone will charge more slowly. Better cables will use thicker wires for the power, minimizing resistance and allowing the phone and charger to work as well as they can together (again, limited by the LOWEST "best" voltage/amperage/signaling standard that both the phone and charger supports).

[heading4tomorrow]

Thanks.
I bought this 3 port charger, supposed to have 2.1A on each but I don't think I am getting that much power because of the cables.
I will try each when my phone is near dead to see how quickly each cable charges, and will start getting rid of the slow ones, sounds like no other way to tell. The cables are all similar gauge.

[p1800nut]

You might consider an inexpensive online volt/amp meter designed for USB cables. I got sick of chasing bad cables and power sources and picked one up on Amazon for less than $10, as I recall.

Posted via CB10

[ummie4]

I have one of these to test my cables
http://www.qoopow.com
All cables are not created equal that's for sure and you can't always go by how thick or thin the cable feels. It also can test your charger out put and whether or not it has "smart charge" compatibility.

[salujakbs]

There are many factors deciding the same.
Like, there comes the wire quality, length of the cable, ports. This is why there is price difference between cables, you can get some for few pennies while others for some dollars (premium ones).

Also, the cheaper ones get torn of quite early.

[Troy Tiscareno]

I have one of these to test my cables
USB Cable & Charger Quality Tester, Smart Meter, - QooPow™ qualMeter

Good find! Thanks for the heads up!

[DrBoomBotz]

And... Monster cable discovers a new line of business.

[Troy Tiscareno]

Monoprice makes excellent USB cables at a tiny fraction of the prices of Monster anything.

[littlebuff]

Isn't there a small little board with some tiny chips or electronic thingy in each cable which regulates what can go through it?

Posted from my  Passport

[Troy Tiscareno]

Not in a standard USB cable, no. That's all in the charger and in the device. The cable is just wire and connectors.