Hardware 3rd Party Chargers

[peteruk]

If you don't mind it charging extremely slowly while playing, sure.

Thank you

 

[jefffisher]

In theory lower voltage is better, because that voltage has to be converted to 3.7V anyway to charge the battery, and a higher difference between input and output voltage means more heat is generated. Which is why AC adapters get warm. However the heat generated from that shouldn't be much. Also, the Switch will never draw more than 2A anyway.

i'm sure you have it backwards having both looked it up and tried it lower voltage definitely leads to more heat.
volt is how strong the electricity is and amp is how fast, batteries and wires can handle how many volts they're designed for but more amps means more is going through so more heat.
it's kinda like when thinner garden hoses are attached to high pressure faucets they get all fat and start to crack.
2amps is still almost twice as much as the switch battery was designed for.

 

[guily6669]

Well the most powerful one just have the advantage that you can use it with the dock which is 15v 2.6A the original AC from Nintendo. I bet the powerfull charger won't barely get hot since it's designed for way more power draw so it will probably even last longer than the original Nintendo one, depending on the quality of its parts inside off course...

However I still don't recommend a fast charger to play and charge at same time since even with the console off and charging with the original charger the battery gets quite hot. Having a charger to keep charging and playing at same time will reduce battery cycles a lot since it's charging high and still discharging a bit at same time, unless the console power management can bypass the battery after it being charged and use only the charger power supplied, but I have no idea if the console can do that like laptops can where you can even remove the battery and use only the charger power...

Ps: just test the chargers with the console off, if it charges around 2hours no problem, if it charges in 1hour, that will be too much for s li-ion battery to be constantly charge at 1C... Lipos on the other hand are recommended to use a 1C charge so it's always around 1hour charge, meaning a 5A lipo should be charged at 5A, but current li-ions are not recommended to be always charged at 1C, they produce more heat which decreases battery life. While lipos are usually cold or little warm when charging.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

i'm sure you have it backwards having both looked it up and tried it lower voltage definitely leads to more heat.
volt is how strong the electricity is and amp is how fast, batteries and wires can handle how many volts they're designed for but more amps means more is going through so more heat.
it's kinda like when thinner garden hoses are attached to high pressure faucets they get all fat and start to crack.
2amps is still almost twice as much as the switch battery was designed for.

It's drawing the same amount of power (watts) or less, and less of it is being lost from heat due to the voltage conversion.
The electronics inside the Switch likely don't run off 15V anyway; the difference is just in where most of that voltage conversion happens, either in the charger or in the Switch itself. A higher voltage drop means more of that current is absorbed by the buck regulator, because they're not 100% efficient.

A lot of those 2 amps are not going to the battery (and any medium/high capacity lipo can handle 2 amps fine so you're wrong there, the Switch battery is 4310 mAh and would have no trouble charging at that speed), realistically it's probably more like 1A going to the battery and the rest is only used when the Switch is on. Someone (Anandtech?) measured the power draw in various states and the numbers were around there from what I recall.
Anyway, it's moot because the charging circuit in the Switch will only draw as much as it's designed to.

 

[jefffisher]

It's drawing the same amount of power (watts) or less, and less of it is being lost from heat due to the voltage conversion.
The electronics inside the Switch likely don't run off 15V anyway; the difference is just in where most of that voltage conversion happens, either in the charger or in the Switch itself. A higher voltage drop means more of that current is absorbed by the buck regulator, because they're not 100% efficient.

A lot of those 2 amps are not going to the battery (and any medium/high capacity lipo can handle 2 amps fine so you're wrong there, the Switch battery is 4310 mAh and would have no trouble charging at that speed), realistically it's probably more like 1A going to the battery and the rest is only used when the Switch is on. Someone (Anandtech?) measured the power draw in various states and the numbers were around there from what I recall.
Anyway, it's moot because the charging circuit in the Switch will only draw as much as it's designed to.

it definitely uses 15v, either way you can test the heat yourself just drain your switch some and play it while plugged into your phone charger instead of the intended cable it will get noticeably hotter. amps cause heat volts don't.

 

[guily6669]

it definitely uses 15v, either way you can test the heat yourself just drain your switch some and play it while plugged into your phone charger instead of the intended cable it will get noticeably hotter. amps cause heat volts don't.

I don't think it uses 15v... Since the original charger as 2 outputs I'm almost sure the 15v will go for the dockstation motherboard to power the console at full clocks + dock motherboard.

The other output is 5v 1.5A which is probably what is used to charge the switch undocked which goes right with the charging time of 3 hours and a few minutes.

At 1.5A 3 hours would charge around 4.5Amps, but remember nothing is 100% efficient and all portable devices will reduce charge power when the battery is almost full so near the end the charger and the battery will be less hot since the device drops the charge rate so that the battery makes more cycles and make sure to actually fully charge it.

Even when I charge my RC lipos, even if I chose 5Amps, near the end the battery is already charging at 0.1A so it takes a bit more time. Only if I use the fast charge option it will stay at 5a and end faster but won't fully charge it.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I don't think it uses 15v... Since the original charger as 2 outputs I'm almost sure the 15v will go for the dockstation motherboard to power the console at full clocks + dock motherboard.

The other output is 5v 1.5A which is probably what is used to charge the switch undocked which goes right with the charging time of 3 hours and a few minutes.

At 1.5A 3 hours would charge around 4.5Amps, but remember nothing is 100% efficient and all portable devices will reduce charge power when the battery is almost full so near the end the charger and the battery will be less hot since the device drops the charge rate so that the battery makes more cycles and make sure to actually fully charge it.

Even when I charge my RC lipos, even if I chose 5Amps, near the end the battery is already charging at 0.1A so it takes a bit more time. Only if I use the fast charge option it will stay at 5a and end faster but won't fully charge it.

I think the 5V output is only used if you use it to charge other devices such as the pro controller. The power draw tests I saw didn't say anything about the 5V on the official PSU ever being used to charge the Switch.

it definitely uses 15v, either way you can test the heat yourself just drain your switch some and play it while plugged into your phone charger instead of the intended cable it will get noticeably hotter. amps cause heat volts don't.

And how do you know that exactly? Did you look up the spec sheet for the Tegra X1 SoC?

 

[guily6669]

I don't see why it would use 15v just to charge the portable console... Even powerful laptops use 12v with 100+ watts of power.

But on the switch it self it actually says 15V input, but I have no idea if it's on the dock or the console exactly.

And I also don't even know why do they even use 15V in first place since all consoles or PCs use 12v and lower.

If I had a USB to USB C cable I would try my Nvidia shield tablet 5v 2.1A charger to see if it would charge and how much time.

 

[jefffisher]

I don't think it uses 15v... Since the original charger as 2 outputs I'm almost sure the 15v will go for the dockstation motherboard to power the console at full clocks + dock motherboard.

The other output is 5v 1.5A which is probably what is used to charge the switch undocked which goes right with the charging time of 3 hours and a few minutes.

At 1.5A 3 hours would charge around 4.5Amps, but remember nothing is 100% efficient and all portable devices will reduce charge power when the battery is almost full so near the end the charger and the battery will be less hot since the device drops the charge rate so that the battery makes more cycles and make sure to actually fully charge it.

Even when I charge my RC lipos, even if I chose 5Amps, near the end the battery is already charging at 0.1A so it takes a bit more time. Only if I use the fast charge option it will stay at 5a and end faster but won't fully charge it.

the switch uses 15v %100 of the time unless plugged into the wrong charger
5v 1.5A is not enough power to charge the switch, it would need at least 1.8amps just to keep it running
if nintendo could have safely included a 5v charger instead of a 15v they would have done it they love skimping out on the little things to save themselves money.
that's probably at least a $8 difference even on the manufacturing level.

I think the 5V output is only used if you use it to charge other devices such as the pro controller. The power draw tests I saw didn't say anything about the 5V on the official PSU ever being used to charge the Switch.

And how do you know that exactly? Did you look up the spec sheet for the Tegra X1 SoC?

because that's how all electricity works all the time, you learn this stuff in high school. it's not specific to the switch.

i'm not saying it's going to kill his switch it wont. but it will take longer to charge and charge at a higher temperature and will cause the battery to wear out slightly faster.
those are inarguable facts, amps convert to heat; both the longer charge cycles and increased temperature will take it's toll on the batteries lifespan.
it's not going to be a huge difference but if his switch battery was going to last 5 years til it holds a charge noticeably less long with the right charger one charged with a phone charger might last 4.
if he cared enough about his new console to make a thread about which charger to use might as well give him the best answer.

 

[peteruk]

I do care..... even though it would be a once in a while option for using in table top mode out of the dock

I am grateful to all the input from the various people, which is what I was hoping for, but must confess I am a little confused now which of the 2 to use..... both are plugged in next to where the Switch would be used in handheld mode so I could use either, I am just not sure which of the 2 to use now (safely)

 

[The Real Jdbye]

the switch uses 15v %100 of the time unless plugged into the wrong charger
5v 1.5A is not enough power to charge the switch, it would need at least 1.8amps just to keep it running
if nintendo could have safely included a 5v charger instead of a 15v they would have done it they love skimping out on the little things to save themselves money.
that's probably at least a $8 difference even on the manufacturing level.

because that's how all electricity works all the time, you learn this stuff in high school. it's not specific to the switch.

i'm not saying it's going to kill his switch it wont. but it will take longer to charge and charge at a higher temperature and will cause the battery to wear out slightly faster.
those are inarguable facts, amps convert to heat; both the longer charge cycles and increased temperature will take it's toll on the batteries lifespan.
it's not going to be a huge difference but if his switch battery was going to last 5 years til it holds a charge noticeably less long with the right charger one charged with a phone charger might last 4.
if he cared enough about his new console to make a thread about which charger to use might as well give him the best answer.

Just because it's being powered off of 15V doesn't mean it's actually using 15V internally, which is what I was trying to say. The internal components are only designed to run off a specific voltage, some of them might be 3.3V, some of them might be 5V, maybe some of them are even 12V like the fan. Likely the voltage coming from the charger is being dropped by an internal buck regulator and going to the main voltage rail, then it's using buck or boost regulators on the main voltage rail to make the voltage lower or higher as needed. That buck regulator will get hotter the more voltage is being dropped. Anywhere else in the system is not going to be affected by different voltages because they're not being fed directly from the input voltage.
The battery charges at the same 4.2V voltage no matter what voltage the charger is, because that's how lipo batteries are designed and if you tried to charge it directly off 15V you'd probably fry the battery. So what you're saying simply doesn't make sense.
There is probably a reason why they use the higher voltage on the charger, but I guarantee you it has nothing to do with the battery heating up, since it's all being converted to the same voltage before going to the battery anyway.

 

[guily6669]

That's the same thing I was thinking, the core it self on the soc and most components inside are probably at low voltage...

I'm thinking it's probably some kind of standard like thunderbolt is also a 15v...

The best for Nintendo switch is probably a 15v USBC to USBC charger with at least 2.6A.


From what I read on other site Nintendo switch car chargers are rated 5v\1.5A.

They claim USB C with PD are the best, but I'm thinking on the nyko dockstation and what if the chip is actually the culprit for killing the switches by not detecting well what power switch is asking?

But I have no idea. Just buy a good USB C charger with PD with 15v, 2.6A or babove.

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

https://gbatemp.net/entry/quick-thoughts-anker-20100mah-usb-c-power-bank-charger.13007/

 

[guily6669]

https://gbatemp.net/entry/quick-thoughts-anker-20100mah-usb-c-power-bank-charger.13007/

When you charge the console with the original charger and gets to 100% battery, when you take it out of the AC charger and play portable connected to that power bank, does the console stay at 100% all the time?

I tested yesterday just a bit of Zelda and the original charger kept the console at 100% all time.

On the other hand on my Nvidia shield tablet using its original charger can't supply enough power to play a game while charging, instead it discharges lol

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

When you charge the console with the original charger and gets to 100% battery, when you take it out of the AC charger and play portable connected to that power bank, does the console stay at 100% all the time?

I tested yesterday just a bit of Zelda and the original charger kept the console at 100% all time.

Yes, it does. It is that good.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

https://gbatemp.net/entry/quick-thoughts-anker-20100mah-usb-c-power-bank-charger.13007/

Doesn't appear to have USB-PD. For the same price, you can get a RAVPower 26800mAh with USB-PD.

 

[peteruk]

Yes, it does. It is that good.

My last couple of questions were over looked so I will try you seeing as you kindly linked us to your blog post

Do you think the Anker charger I own that I linked in the OP will give me the same results as you are achieving OR is the amps / volts / watts etc.. etc.. all totally different ?

 

[guily6669]

Yes, it does. It is that good.

I hope it is good . If Nintendo have done well the console it should stop using battery power after full charge and use the external power to power it up without doing cycles on the battery.

I hate power banks that when you play a game in your device will still drain the device battery and instead of being powering the device is not even enough to power it and still drain the battery...

My last couple of questions were over looked so I will try you seeing as you kindly linked us to your blog post

Do you think the Anker charger I own that I linked in the OP will give me the same results as you are achieving OR is the amps / volts / watts etc.. etc.. all totally different ?

You have info here about power banks:
https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/gadget/best-power-banks-for-nintendo-switch-2018-3655422/

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

Doesn't appear to have USB-PD. For the same price, you can get a RAVPower 26800mAh with USB-PD.

I got a discount from ebay, I did not pay full price. The link was only for people to reference where to buy the product, not reflect my price paid for it. Thank you for the information though, I was looking for one that holds bigger charge.

 

[spotanjo3]

I dont buy accessories from a third party unless you cannot afford it or something.