110VAC USB Adapters - Am I just unlucky, are they all junk, or should I change a setting?

Brainstorming
1

So are all USB adapters junk? Anyone have a good recommendation to a good supplier in bulk? Every year my #1 question/issue is why does my device not charge. It is almost always a bad USB adapter. I've tried 3-4 different versions already (mostly low cost from Amazon made in China) and I continue to have bad luck.

I assume many many particle products out there are powered the same way... using a USB cable to a wall adapter. Has others had similar issues? Anything you'd recommend? I either need to find a better/more reliable supplier or change something.

My current powerSourceMaxCurrent is set to 900 mA. I would think that isn't too high for most USB wall adapters. I could reduce that I suppose but then just takes longer to charge a battery.

Has anyone else struggled with this in their design. Any tips or recommended USB adapters you can purchase in bulk?

Thanks!

2

I've personally found SJÖSS 30W 1-port USB-C charger, fast charging - IKEA and SJÖSS 45W 2-port USB-C charger, fast charging - IKEA to be both cheap and reliable, easy to source, and they've served me well.

The other options for me are Ugreen with their 30/45W options offering similar/better specs, and priced accordingly.

1 Like
3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIk8dE5cA7E has a good teardown if you want to see what the internals are up to.

1 Like
4

Also, which device? The Muon and Tachyon have additional requirements for their USB C PD adapter to be able to successfully charge. On these devices, the USB C is switched from the default 5V to 9V using the PD protocol, and without this being allowed by the adapter charging won't enable. This is also why you can't use a USB-A to USB-C adapter cable, because USB-2 and USB-3 can't change voltage.

The Muon USB power page has pictures of two different CanaKit USB-C adapter for Raspberry Pi, and one works because it has PD and the other doesn't. It's confusing!