Does a 3000 mAh portable power bank charge a 3000 mAh phone?

Portable power banks (external battery packs) are a popular accessory for smartphone users. They are basically a big battery in a plastic case with a USB port. You can use them to recharge you smartphone when you aren’t near mains electricity or when you want to charge your phone while on the go. The main characteristics of a portable charger is its capacity, quoted in milliamp hours (mAh). The come in all shapes and sizes from around 2,000 mAh to 20,000 mAh and beyond.

So if you have a device like the Samsung Galaxy S7, which has a 3,000 mAh battery, how much capacity do you need in an external battery pack? 3,000 mAh, right? Wrong! Let me explain.

To see how much capacity is needed to recharge your smartphone we are going to need to do a little bit of experimentation plus some maths! First the experiments. I bought 3 portable power packs from Amazon: A 3,100 mAh Samsung Portable Charger, a 3,350 mAh PowerCore+ lipstick-sized portable charger from Anker, and a 16,100 mAh AmazonBasics portable power bank.

With each of the power packs (for example: SUNJACK HEAT BANK ) fully charged I started charging some completely depleted phones and recorded how much each battery pack was able to deliver. For example I took the 3,100 mAh Samsung power bank and charged a Samsung Galaxy S7 from 0% to… Want to take a guess? The S7 has a 3,000 mAh battery and the 3,100 mAh battery pack can charge it to 71%. That is 2,130 mAh of charge.

I got similar results for the Anker PowerCore+. It managed to charge a phone with a 2,850 mAh battery from 0% to 82%, that is 2,337 mAh of charge from a 3,350 mAh rated portable charger. As for the AmazonBasics power bank, I needed to charge several phones to empty this beast! It managed to charge the Sony Xperia X from zero to full, and then a Moto G from nothing to 100%, and then the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 from 0% to 100%, and then the Samsung Galaxy S7, and finally it charged the Note 5 (which I had drained) from 0 to 43%. In total it managed to output 12,380 mAh.

As you can see, none of the power banks are delivering their full capacity. Doesn’t matter if it is a small power bank or a huge one, none of them hit the advertised mAh capacity. Why is that?


The maths



Each battery pack quotes its capacity in mAh, however most of them also quote a second number, the watt-hours (Wh). You don’t often find it on the website selling the charger, but on all three I did find it on the label of the unit. For example, the 3,100 mAh (that is 3.1 Ah) Samsung Portable Charger has a capacity of 11.78 Wh. Remembering that a Watt is calculated by multiplying Amps by Volts, then how many volts is this battery? 11.78 divided by 3.1 is 3.8 volts. Performing the same calculation on the other power banks gives an answer between 3.6 and 3.8 volts.

Generally the batteries in smartphones and the batteries in power banks run at 3.7 volts. But here is the thing, USB ports and the charging circuits work at 5 volts. When you connect your smartphone to the USB power on the battery pack it is actually working at 5V, not 3.7V. To go from 3.7V to 5V some conversion is needed. Since the Watt capacity is fixed, then going from 3.7V to 5V will decrease the number of amperes that the power bank can supply. That means that a 11.78 Wh battery (3,100 mAh at 3.8V) can deliver 2,356 mAh at 5V.

But, when the electricity reaches the phone it is converted again, from 5V down to probably 4.2V or 4.4V. So a 11.78 Wh battery (3,100 mAh at 3.8V) can deliver 2,804 mAh at 4.2V. Each of these conversions to step up the voltage and then to drop it down again causes power loss, anywhere from between 8% to 25% (depending on the design and quality of the converter).

EasyAcc Monster 20000mAh Power Bank

Charging our devices like smartphones and tablets has become a nuisance of the modern age. It seems like no device, no matter how new it is, needs to be charged every day. The batteries of those devices are simply not strong enough to handle the daily load we put on them.

We expect so much from our smartphones and our devices that we don’t really think about whether or not the battery technology is developed enough to handle it all. We all want the newest features in our devices, but we never stop asking ourselves, how much power those features really consume.

The “EasyAcc Monster 20000mAh Power Bank” model and other portable charger solutions have declared war on empty batteries and unreliable smartphones that need to be charged every day. The biggest problem, however, remains thinking about the power consumption of our devices overall.

Today’s batteries may be a lot stronger and more sophisticated than the ones of the first mobile phone era, but they’re still not limitless sources of energy. Every battery has its limits; that’s why thinking outside the box with a portable charger is the way to go.

Another reason why batteries cannot hold more power is because their capacity highly depends on their size. Since we’ve all become accustomed to thinner smartphones and tablets, the question of battery life has been unlinked to the thickness of the smartphone. Because of that, having a portable charger becomes a stylistic necessity as well.

Taking all of this into account, we wanted to see if the “EasyAcc Monster 20000mAh Power Bank” model is able to deliver on as many fronts as possible. Furthermore, we wanted to see if the device could handle the workload in comparison to other similar portable chargers.


Features
Dimension: 167*80*22 mm
Output: 4.8 A
Capacity: 20800 mAh
Input: 4 A
Weight: 445 g
Port: 4

PROS:
Super-efficient input and output
Exclusive Smart Technology
Lithium-Ion battery cell
Chargers really fast

CONS:
Pricey
Verdict

The “EasyAcc Monster 20000mAh Power Bank” portable charger was designed with a basic feature in mind, giving you the opportunity to charg your smart devices in the least amount of hours as possible. The trick here is that the enormous capacity of this portable charger is only surpassed by the incredible, lighting speed charging time for specific devices.

It is possible to charg a variety of devices with this portable charger, but the ones that are most common among users (Apple and Android devices) are fully charged in up to 50% less time than the average portable charger can accomplish.
Comparison

In comparison with other portable chargers, it is rather obvious that the “EasyAcc Monster 20000mAh Power Bank” has the upper hand. The “Letv Super Power Bank 13400mah” portable charger ( for example GOAL ZERO GUIDE 10 PLUS)  is a fairly fast charger and the devices you charge with it are going to be ready in a matter of hours, just like with the EasyAcc model.

However, the capacity leaves so much to be desired with this portable charger.

The other model we compared the EasyAcc with is the “MAXOAK Portable Charger Power Bank” model. This rather unique looking portable charger does a lot of things right. The Capacity is a bit small, but with incredible charging speeds, it makes up for most of it.

However, when compared to the “EasyAcc Monster 20000mAh Power Bank” portable charger we tested here, it is more than clear which product has the upper hand.

VERDICT

The “EasyAcc Monster 20000mAh Power Bank” portable charger is simply an all-around incredible portable charger and does things other chargers can only dream about.

The main problem with most portable chargers is their capacity to charging speed ratio. Cheaper chargers often don’t deliver on both ends. High capacity values can be deceiving and sell you a product that has poor charging speeds. If it takes 8 hours to charge a smartphone to 50%, then that portable charger is the opposite of practical and convenient, no matter how much power you can store in it.

In the end, the “EasyAcc Monster 20000mAh Power Bank” portable charger balances those two values evenly and delivers an experience that’s not only easy to use, but also as reliable as it gets.

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Only use your surplus

First of all, getting into black with your finances is a significant achievement for any startup business. It can take a year or two for things to reach this stage, but you should be wary of what you do with your spare cash. While it can be tempting to look at investing those profits somewhere, you still have a little work to do. Your first goal should be to set up a safety net in the form of an emergency fund.

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1) Invest in a good website

Gone are the days when companies could get away with a single homepage with static content. When a consumer comes across your advertising or hears your name, they will instantly search for you online before making any action to get in touch with you. Your website today is a symbol of you as a company, so if it’s out of date, they’ll think the same about you, your ideas and your products. Seen as well-functioning and bespoke websites can be created even on the smallest budget these days, there really is no excuse for you losing out to the competition.

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Often when looking to expand your business going international is the best way to do it. Globalization has enabled businesses of all style and size to go after customers they were not able to before. Reaching to new markets and a different selection of customers overseas can be hugely beneficial for your business and literally open up a whole new world of clients. However, it is worth remembering that international expansion does not come without its own risks. There are a few essential things to consider before expanding abroad. Here’s the top three:

1. Language barriers

Language barriers can sometimes be a difficult obstacle when expanding abroad. It’s a good idea to start by expanding to countries in Europe which are usually quite used to doing business with each other and work on the very similar time zones. If you are looking to seriously do business with a certain country it’s advisable to think of hiring a person who speaks that language in order to make communication smoother and iron out any potential difficulties, especially in the beginning stages.