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I’m not normally away from home long enough to need to charge while on the go but recently I was away for over 7 hours. I tend to use my phone a LOT so I was concerned that my phone’s battery might run low. To deal with that, I went on a search for something I could use to charge my phone while I was out and about. Sure, many places have outlets available so I could bring my charger but that’s not available everywhere. Some places provide platforms with cables of various types so people can charge their devices. But those aren’t available everywhere, either. Besides, I don’t trust using devices and cables that I don’t own to charge my phone. Why? Malware can be lurking at the other end of those cables just waiting to be injected into an unsuspecting user’s device.

I covered power banks back in August of 2023 but technology moves forever forward! This is a bit of a review of previously discussed information along with some new stuff.

Power banks are batteries that you carry with you to recharge your devices. They vary in size, weight, connectivity, and capacity. Connectivity is important to ensure that the power bank can connect with and charge your device. Size and weight are important, too, but, above all else, you should know and understand your power bank’s capacity.

Now this will get a bit technical but it’s important to know these details in order to make sense of power banks. A power bank’s capacity is measured in milliamp-hours, abbreviated mAh and it relates directly to your device’s battery capacity. All devices that can be used while disconnected from a power source, like a wall outlet, have batteries and the battery capacity is noted in the device’s specification (if you can’t find it in your documentation, you can do a quick search for it). Your device will typically show your battery’s capacity in percent. A 5,000 mAh battery at 100% has 5,000 mAh remaining. That same battery at 50% has 2,500 mAh remaining.

If your device has a 5,000 mAh battery, then to fully recharge it from 0, your power bank needs to have a capacity of at least 5,000 mAh. A 5,000 mAh power bank can recharge a device with a 5,000 mAh battery that is at 50% twice. Similarly, a 10,000 mAh power bank can fully recharge a 5,000 mAh device that is completely empty, twice.

Most often, you probably won’t wait for your device to fully discharge, so a smaller power bank will often suffice. A 2,500 mAh power bank can bring a device with a 5,000 mAh battery at 50% back to full capacity.

A power bank needs to connect to your device in order to charge it. If your device can charge wirelessly then a power bank with wireless charging capability will work just fine (example: https://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Ultra-Slim-Portable-Magnetic-Accessories/dp/B0GMV6W6S6) and you don’t need to worry about connections. But if your device can’t charge wirelessly then you’ll need to match your power bank’s connector with your device. Most current devices use the USB C standard but older devices may use Lightning or even MicroUSB so be sure to check!

So, connect your power bank to your device and start charging! Some power banks are really thin and light with a cable that connects to your device. In those cases you can just lay the power bank against the back of your device and carry on using your device normally while it’s charging. Others are small in size and just attach to your device and hang off the bottom, side, or top (example: https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Foldable-Connector-Portable-Charger/dp/B0C6XK77HJ).

There are many more technical details regarding power banks, notably how quickly they can recharge your device. If you care about quick charging then you should pay attention to quoted charging times. You will also probably see things like “fast charging,” “45W,” or “22.5W.” You might also see terms like “PD” and “QC.” These are all terms that can explain how quickly and efficiently the power bank can charge your device (or recharge itself when plugged in to a wall outlet). I covered these as well as many other details back in December of 2022. Go there if you want more details.

Power banks, like most all batteries, lose their charge over time if not used. So if you don’t use your power bank regularly, be sure to check if it’s fully charged the night before you intend to use it. Checking the night before should give you enough time to fully charge it if necessary.

I hope you have a better understanding of power banks and charging. Don't hesitate to write to me if you have questions!

As always, I aim to help you understand the basics and equip you to search for more detailed information.

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