yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 5 Accessories] raichur0xx0rz:
So with the standard monoprice cable, it was rather inconsistent and kept jumping around. Max value in the 600mAh range but again, not consistently. The premium monoprice cable was consistently in the 10XXmAh range. This is using an ASUS 2A charger, from the Nexus 7 (2012). Premium cable+Samsung Qi Pad gave me mid 600s range.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] floepie:
Wait, mAh is not a rate, folks. It's a capacity. Amps is not a rate either. It's a quantity of current. I find it almost hard to believe that cable differences can play such a part in determining how fast something charges. But, most likely what is happening is that there is a voltage drop over the length of the cable from 5V to something lower resulting in a current, and hence, a current rate drop. Any significant rate drops in charging rates then are probably attributable to an overly sensitive port at the phone end. So, a slight drop in voltage results in a disproportionately smaller charging rate. It would be neat if someone could actually measure voltages at the phone end of the cable with a multimeter, if that's at all possible.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] bradputt:
i have given up hope on finding one good USB cable on ebay.

so today i went to buy a micro USB connector and DIY my printer cable to become a micro USB cable.

those who are feeling adventurous can go and try yourself.

not bad for a 2m cable that can charge @ 1A
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Mr. Sprinkles:
I'm close to doing this. I can't find a decent microUSB cable anywhere. The mono-price ones looked the most promising, but every single one failed me within a few months. Either the metal teeth would stop biting making it very loose, or a wire would break inside.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] PTetu:
Sale on decent cables - $5.47 for 6.5ft Micro USB on Amazon

Apparently, I can't post links yet but it's the iSmooth micro usb cable on Amazon for $5.47. ASIN: B00E5O1GKU (Amazon id number)

These cables may not be the absolute best build quality, but they are the only ones I've found that come with a 10-year replacement warranty. You don't even have to send them the broken cable or register or anything. Once I wear one out, I just email or call them up and get a new one. I don't think there's a limit...

These cables are pretty good. Lots of reviews on Amazon (like 2,000) and on sale for $5.47 a pop for a 6.5-footer. Fulfilled by Amazon so you can get free 2-day shipping with Prime.

So far, so good.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] mmmmBACON:
Okay, so that pretty much confirms what I've been reading. The monoprice premium cables can support the higher amp charge rate which the standard cables can't. Which is good to know. I can get all of my 1A Qi chargers fully juiced using the premium cables I ordered connected to my 2A adapters.

If you read the entire thread, you would see that we are talking about mA charge rate, in terms of increasing the amount of current provided. Higher current (Amps) = higher charging speed = faster rate of charge. The terminology does not need to be so cut and dry. So yes, you can use Amps in association with rate. A higher Amp current provides a faster "rate" in which the battery can be filled (decrease in time needed). Rate in this case is speed/progression.

Also, it's easy to make the mistype at times and throw in that h when speaking about mA. People talk about the capacity of batteries all the time, so it's easy to always associate mA in any form with the h at the end. It's an oversight that many people make. I understood what he was talking about, I didn't need to go armchair professor on him.

If you do a search here at XDA, or even just a Google search you will easily find that the quality of the USB cable plays a large part in the rate at which a battery will charge. Both the amp output of the adapter and the quality of the cable are very important. Even my results (post #23) show that the quality of a cable can in fact more than halve/double the provided current. You can doubt the cables if you like, but I'll take the test results over your beliefs :p thanks.

Whether it is the type of metal used for the contacts, the shielding, the quality of the wires, external interference, or if the 2nd/3rd contacts of the USB cable are shorted to recognize the cable only as "charge mode" vs "USB" does not really matter to me. The point is, if you want faster charging, you need good cables to go along with the adapter.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] raichur0xx0rz:
Well I still appreciate the clarification, as I don't want to be the kind of person who pretends to know what he is talking about by throwing around words. I work next to a bunch of S/W and electrical engineers but I, myself, am not one so I'll take all the knowledge I can get from people that know what they are talking about :highfive:

I believe they have at least a year warranty, but I suppose if they do keep failing, getting replacements may be a hassle. Though monoprice has very excellent customer service when it comes to returns/exchanges.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] mmmmBACON:
My apologies then, to both yourself and Mr Pie. :angel:

Also, monoprice has a lifetime warranty for their cables. 1 year on electronics. But yeah it would be annoying to continue to have to get replacement cables. Hopefully mine will be fine. I don't plan to unplug them often. 2A adapter → MicroUSB cable → Qi Charger, then never touch it again hahah.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] raichur0xx0rz:
Yeah, I've had the premium ones for a while and haven't had any failures. Compare that to the standard ones I had bought a long time ago, of which some died within less than 24 hours (partially user error). You really can't go wrong with them, though. I mean, either you go for Monoprice's cables or you get some other cheap Chinese ones. I trust Monoprice =\
[Nexus 5 Accessories] mmmmBACON:
I've decided to supplement my monoprice micro USB cables with more Motorola Ecomoto micro USB cables! :laugh:

I just realized that I keep using this specific Motorola Ecomoto cable (originally from my Atrix) to replace any other one I'm disappointed with using. I also use it for all of my tests for 2A wall adapters and Qi chargers because it is so reliable and consistent. It is such a good well built cable. It supports fast charging, and is built like a damn tank! This cable deserves a medal for what I've put it through over the years and it's still kickin around as if I've been treating it like an angel. :highfive: The only downside, is it's only 3' long, but I just figured it out that I only need 1 cable longer than 3' (and I've got 5x 6' monoprice premium ones to choose from).

This is definitely a cable you don't have to worry about. It's rugged and it's fast. It's treated me well for years!
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Znamir81:
Any decent micro usb cables with free/cheap shipping to Europe (Poland specifically)?

Went for monoprice, but they don't ship to my country. Still if they did it would be around $35 no matter how many you order (shipping cost to neighboring Germany). Motorola Ecomoto cable shipping from Amazon is $10 per cable. At first I thought that combined shipping of few cables wouldn't be much more but shipping for 5 cables is $50 :|
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kaboose786:
i need one too
[Nexus 5 Accessories] raichur0xx0rz:
I agree - Moto's cables are amazing. Aren't Moto's cables also used for their repairs? I recall a long time ago that there was something built into the cable to access a certain "recovery" partition of the phone if needed (this was back in Moto Photon days).

I've resold a lot of Motorola phones in the past and always just threw in a cheapy cable and kept the Motorola one for myself =x

I use them whenever I do any root-ery.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] addonelam:
A-HA! I FOUND YOU ON XDA! Why I outta...

Just kidding :)

But yes, coming from an Atrix the Moto cable is a dream!
[Nexus 5 Accessories] mmmmBACON:
I have no idea about the cables being for repairs and programming, but it wouldn't surprise me if they were. This cable is fantastic.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] timtlm:
I would be interested, but your luck may be hit or miss when buying from 3rd party sellers. The 2nd review mentions they are knockoff/fake versions.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] mmmmBACON:
I'll be the guinea pig and test them out if you want to wait on it. I've ordered 6, so we'll see.

They shipped right away using USPS, so it's not coming from overseas. Should get them here in Canada in probably a week or so.

I'll give picture comparisons and performance differences if there are any.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] mmmmBACON:
So I decided to do a little video showing the speed differences in charging you can get with just changing your USB cable to something better!

I used my trusty Motorola Ecomoto cable, and the cable that came with one of my Qi chargers...

The results speak for themselves!!

http://youtu.be/wGYkt4CeYuk :laugh:

[YOUTUBE]wGYkt4CeYuk[/YOUTUBE]
[Nexus 5 Accessories] timtlm:
Where did the regular cable come from, ebay? I assume it isn't the LG cable that came with it.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] mmmmBACON:
I didn't buy it individually, it was just a cable that came included with one of my Qi chargers (not the Nexus 5 wireless charger).

Switching the cable and using the same Qi charger doubled the speed.

It isn't the official Nexus 5 LG cable. While that cable is thin too, it does a good job.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Quickfire:
Thanks for this. Can I know what app did you use to measure the charge rate? Been looking for one...

Also, did you test the cable provided with the Nexus 5? How does that fare?
[Nexus 5 Accessories] mmmmBACON:
The application I was using is CurrentWidget, it's free on the Play Store. It was set to update every 1 second.

The stock cable that comes with the Nexus 5 is a good cable. It's not as thick as the Motorola Ecomoto cable, but it provides just as much current. I'd say it won't last as many years as the Motorola cable, as it's just not as tanky, but in terms of performance, it's just as good.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Quickfire:
Ah thanks. I used another app and the using the stock charger + cable gave me about 1,000mA. Pretty good I guess.

Now I have to try the cable at my office which my friend gave to me and which he says is a original Samsung OEM cable.

I want to buy those motorola cables, but Amazon doesn't usually ship to my country, and if they do it's usually expensive. No luck with eBay too...
[Nexus 5 Accessories] mmmmBACON:
Remember it's not just the cable, you need to have a good power adapter as well. If you just switched from the stock cable to the Moto cable and used the same charger, you would still get the same charge speed. The stock cable and the Moto cable perform the same. I just really like the Moto cable because it's built very well, doesn't cost too much, and you can actually buy it. It's a good replacement for any cable that comes included with a charger, as the included cables generally are not up to snuff.

I don't think you can buy the stock Nexus 5 cable anywhere anyway. And I probably wouldn't buy it because I'm not a fan of the big teeth/hooks it has on the micro USB side to secure it. If you keep plugging it into the bottom of the Nexus 5 it eventually scrapes away 2 chunks of plastic around the port on the phone....
[Nexus 5 Accessories] nic.hitchins:
No issues? I need to get a few more.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] camperkc:
http://voyager8.blogspot.hk/2013/04/how-to-choose-good-usb-data-and.html

this is an article I recently read about how to choose to a good usb cable

when look at the stock cable, it marked 24AWG/2C. Referring to the blogpost, the smaller number before AWG is better. It means the wire is thicker
[Nexus 5 Accessories] bradputt:
Good luck finding a 24 AWG cable. Even 28 awg is quite rare.

so far i only see monoprice cables with 24/28 Awg.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] timtlm:
Interesting. For reference, the blackberry OEM cable is listed as 28AWG/1P 28AWG/2C. I believe the first mark is for data and the second for power.

The Asus Nexus 7 charger and cable that I have on hand isn't marked, though. It charges faster than the blackberry even though it is visibly thinner. The wires on the inside can obviously differ from the insulation.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] gwertheim:
I've done a bit of testing, the Google qi charger maxes out at around 700ma when I charge it, when I plug it in using the charger I got with my n5, I max out at 1600ma
[Nexus 5 Accessories] mmmmBACON:
So far, what you have been describing to me, doesn't show that there is anything wrong with your cables.

Your Qi charger numbers seem to be correct. Qi chargers will never charge as quickly as wired charging. It is really for convenience over speed.

A Qi charger with a rated 1A (1000mA) output (most Qi chargers and the Nexus 5 wireless charger), will charge at 70 - 75% efficiency. That is the efficiency of all Qi chargers. So your 700mA speed, is on the bottom end of the efficiency table, but still within spec. I don't have the Nexus 5 wireless charger, but if the cable is the same as the one that came with the Nexus 5, there's nothing wrong with it.

Most 1A Output rated Qi chargers will charge around 700 - 750mA max. This should charge the Nexus 5 in just under 2.5 hours.

Ones rated lower than 1A, will charge slower than that, because they still charge at 70 - 75% efficiency.

The Nokia DT-900 for example, a popular Qi charger, is rated at 750mA output. The max charge speed it will charge at will be around 525 - 565mA. This should charge the Nexus 5 in around 3 hours.

The stock Nexus 5 cable + charger (1.2A) charges the Nexus 5 at around 1050mA (you'll never have 100% efficiency), which charges the Nexus 5 in under 2 hours.

A question for you, what charger and cable are you using to get 1600mA?
[Nexus 5 Accessories] jason.912:
http://www.portablepowersupplies.co.uk/portapow-fast-charge-micro-usb-cable/
[Nexus 5 Accessories] lifeisfun:
You must have test it with Rob Ford around to get 1600mA from 1.2A (1200mA) charger :)
[Nexus 5 Accessories] gwertheim:
the charger that came with my phone, used the same app you used in the youtube video to monitor the flow
[Nexus 5 Accessories] mmmmBACON:
:p

---------- Post added at 01:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:09 PM ----------

You might want to check that again. The 1.2A adapter that came with the Nexus 5 can't possibly charge at 1600mA. Unless there is some serious magic going on.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] lifeisfun:
Probably the magic of extra 0 :)
[Nexus 5 Accessories] gwertheim:
It topped out at 1565 and at 25 ‰ charge

---------- Post added at 08:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:19 PM ----------

Logging the charge cycle as we speak
[Nexus 5 Accessories] mmmmBACON:
Well that can't be the AC adapter that came with the Nexus 5. The stock Nexus 5 AC adapter is a 1.2A adapter, and it is impossible to charge higher than what the adapter can provide.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] mancterrier:
Just a quick question. My Stock nexus 5 cable is topping out at around 950 mA with a 2A charger. Will this be due to the difference in the voltage systems between the US and the UK(where I am)?
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Rambler76:
Hi,

Could you please advise whether these cables are 24AWG/2 or 28AWG/2C and what sort of mah charging you are getting with these.

Thanks
[Nexus 5 Accessories] bblzd:
Google offers a high speed charger now for $15.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Rambler76:
I have a couple of good quality 2A chargers, so I'm really just after some good quality cables.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] bradputt:
i have these on order, still waiting for it to arrive.

will do a review on this when i get it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Xpower-2-1A..._PDA_Cables_Adapters&var=&hash=item19ea111265

hope they live up to their claims.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Rambler76:
Looking forward to your review.

From the pic in the ebay listing the cable uses 24AWG/2C for power so it should offer better charging than 28AWG/2C cables, which are limiting me to about 1A on different chargers.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] seeeb:
i think just buying an original cable from any device manufacturer should work for you.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] gd6noob:
Premium USB to Micro USB Charge & Sync Cable 6ft- White

Charges my dead N5 in about 20mins.. really fast....
[Nexus 5 Accessories] scirio:
Look on Amazon or eBay for StarTech brand USB cables. They are great quality and can handle 2A charging. They don't cost much either. About $7 for 10ft cable. They have really nice right and left angled cables too.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...ecialty-aps&field-keywords=startech+micro+usb

EDIT Thanks tmagritte for the update:

The right-angled StarTech cables are noticibly thinner and more flexible that their straight cables. My straight one charges my nexus 10 as fast as the OE cable supplied with it when connected to the OE charger. This led me to believe that it supports 2A. The right-angle cable in my car is connected to a 2A brick i hid behind the dash and charges my phone super fast. So I may have been talking out of my ass there. Thanks for posting

I love monoprice HDMI cables. Their USB cables are **** though. I've broken all of them, even knowing that they need to be treated gingerly, within a week! Terrible MicroUSB cables but good enough in a pinch I suppose. You can see my complaints on their site. They'll of course replace them but what a pain.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] raptir:
Does anyone know where I could buy something similar in the US? I have a car charger that uses the iPhone spec so it only charges at 500mA.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kjjjjshab:
That won't fit the Google "Bumper" case they also offer. Thanks Google.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] kong:
Sorry for OT but I got annoyed every time I see a seller says “left angle” because AFAIK there is no “left angle” in mathematics, however it helps making searching for specific things easier though :silly:
[Nexus 5 Accessories] havi007:
Have you received this yet. I have my finger on the moto cables since I have first hand experience with them but still not sure if I should wait.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] estallings15:
Monoprice Premium cables are amazing, carry higher current than most "cheap" cables, and are low in price. Thank you Android Reddit. They also look nice. I got a 6' black for myself and a 6' white for my wife. $8 and change shipped for both.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Bumchakalaka:
I bought my nexus 5 and the usb cable that came with it was good for a few months but since i noticed the weak and long charging times, i googled for good quality usb cables for charging. Then i bumped into monoprice cables which are used also by blackberry and nokia and i bought this one http://amazon.com/gp/product/B003L18S0E/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 charging is a breeze now. I get around 800mA~1050mA and my cube is rated for 1.2A.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] bradputt:
according to the tracking, it should be delivering these few days.

yes, monoprice looks promising. if only their international shipping rate is reasonable.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] tmagritte:
Don't know about the straight cables, but I have several of the right angle cables (3 foot) and while they are convenient they don't support more than 500 mA. I've tested them with an inline USB current meter. Even before I tested them there was a hint they weren't carrying a good charge as my battery would drain in the car while charging and using navigation and music. I thought it was the charger but turned out to be these cables.

I'm now using the Monoprice premium USB cables which support at least 1.7A (the max I can test) and under the same conditions in the car my phone now gets recharged rather than drained.

I ended up getting some right angle adapters off eBay for a better fit in my car.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] tmagritte:
Looks like they actually list the wire gauge on their site. The right and left angle cables are 30AWG which is thinner than normal and probably explains why they perform so poorly. These are the ones I have and are a poor choice for charging.

I did notice the straight cables are 28AWG so if they're good quality cables (probably so) they can probably handle 2A. Interestingly, the right angel "up" and "down" cables, which would have the cable coming out the rear or front instead of the side of the phone, are also 28AWG so may be a good choice for right angle cables depending on your needs. You didn't specify which angled cable you're using. If it happens to be the up or down one then it may explain why you're seeing better performance than I did.

They also have a combined micro/mini angled cable which is 26/28AWG, but I don't know what the split at the end would do to the current capacity.

So these might be good cables so long as you don't use the left or right angled ones.

On the other hand even with almost double the price with Canadian shipping, the monoprice cables are about half the price of these. I've only had mine for a couple of weeks so I can't comment on their durability. If they end up breaking I may get the up or down angled startech as replacements.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] bradputt:
Hi all, just received my cable, did a quick test on this (i bought the gold one)

link here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Xpower-2-1A...id=100037&prg=9141&rk=5&rkt=8&sd=111279435753

one thing i found that it support 2.4A (on the box) and not 2.1 as stated on the ebay page. don't know which one is true.

length is 1M, quality looks solid with the braided cable, tight connector.

Using stock charger (rated 1.2 A output)

current widget (right side) - 1084mA

battery monitor widget (left side) - 1076mA

inline current monitor - 1.15~ 1.2 A

i doesn't have a 2A charger, so i could not test the maximum potential of this cable.

but based on a 1.2A stock charger, it looks like it could transfer damn good current without much losses.

Highly recommended !!!
[Nexus 5 Accessories] bydal:
Hi, Sorry my english!!

High quality cables in ebay.

http://stores.ebay.com/yourcharger

This capture, using nexus 5 stock charger plus 3 meter cable!!!!

Awersome quality!!!!!

Enviado desde mi Nexus 5 mediante Tapatalk
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Destrow:
I would like to know a good adapter to put my cables in. I have the decent cables. But only stock charger. If some1 knows some good wall adapters 2A +?
[Nexus 5 Accessories] raptir:
I haven't seen someone put an in-line ammeter before. That's interesting since there can't be current drop across a wire. There must be a circuit in the phone that is leeching some current before it gets to the charging circuitry/wherever the widgets are pulling their numbers.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] bradputt:
these things are cheap.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Charger..._USB_Cables_Hubs_Adapters&hash=item3f326ea4d7

i have them on every one of my chargers.somehow i trust them more than the widgets.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] paradoxiumwind:
Can someone break down the numbers for me?

What are the numbers for the data/charge cable that come with the N5?

Same for the Premium Monoprice ones (they look pretty good).

Is there any truth that a charge-only cable will be better than a charge/sync cable?
[Nexus 5 Accessories] raptir:
A charge-only cable is only effective for chargers that are not set up for the Android spec. Android devices expect the chargers to have the two data pins shorted. This is how the device knows it is a charger ("AC" charging mode) and not a computer ("USB" charging mode). If a charger is designed for the iPhone it doesn't have the data pins shorted, and the android phone will charge in USB mode.

To summarize, if you're getting > 500mA out of your charger with a charge and sync cable, a charge only cable isn't going to change anything.

Edit: As far as comparisons go, I get about 1050mA out of either the stock cable and charger or a monoprice cable with the stock charger. I also get the same speed out of a 1A charger from an older phone, which I found interesting.
[Nexus 5 Accessories] Rambler76:
Like bradputt I too purchased the same cable with silicone ends instead of metal ones.

I used the cable with both a HP Touchpad and Apple charger and recieved the following charges using CurrentWidget:

- HP Touchpad charger (5.3V/2A) - 1,080mA

- Apple 10W charger (5.1V/2.1A) - 1,060mA

I'm still waiting for my inline usb monitor and Motorola Motoeco cables to arrive and will report back.