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Re:Anker PowerPort PD 1 USB-C Wall Charger Teardown by inferiorhuman on Monday January 07, 2019 @02:22PM (#18848947)
> Not sure I could call this "well made" which is a disappointment for me with regards to Anker.

Does Anker have a good reputation? I bought an Anker cigarette lighter - USB charger a couple years ago. One of the reviewers pointed out it fit poorly, took it apart, and made suggestions to Anker on how to improve the product (and got feedback from Anker). I figured it was safe to assume the improvements made it into the product. Turns out that a year later no improvement had been made and the damn thing would disconnect every time I hit a bump or looked at it funny.

From my POV Anker is 7-11 quality stuff.

Edit: I'm loving the downvotes from the brand loyalists who've nothing to contribute.

Re:Anker PowerPort PD 1 USB-C Wall Charger Teardown by foxyv on Monday January 07, 2019 @02:36PM (#18849102)
Generally my experience with Anker in the past 5 years has been solid products. Then again I don't buy their cheapest stuff and they are being compared to some truly garbage competitors. I have like 5 of their charging hubs, 3 of their batteries, and one of their car chargers and I've never had a problem with any of them.

Every time I buy non-Anker USB charging stuff I end up regretting it. Although I have had problems with their USB cables, the micro-USB ends always get loose after a year or so. But this is kind of a microUSB thing anyways.

Re:Anker PowerPort PD 1 USB-C Wall Charger Teardown by AdmiralAsshat on Monday January 07, 2019 @04:52PM (#18850553)
From my experience with power banks, Anker makes the most reliable. RAVPower and Aukey will offer similar capacity or form factor for less, but from my years of use, the Anker ones maintain quality over a long period of time much better than the other brands. The cheaper ones tend to charge more slowly or seem to lose capacity as they age. I have one in my commuter bag that's a few years old and only supports QC2, but I see no reason to upgrade it because it's in great shape and charges quickly enough for my needs.

If you're always chasing the latest hotness and need a power bank that does QC4/USB-PD right now, then Aukey and RAVPower will probably work well enough. But I've started pushing my family to get Anker (or buying for them as stocking stuffers) simply so that they all have something they can hold onto without having to worry about having to rotate out every year.

Re:Anker PowerPort PD 1 USB-C Wall Charger Teardown by kup0 on Monday January 07, 2019 @04:13PM (#18850153)
I have owned multiple cables, a 4-port wall charger, a car charger, and a bluetooth speaker, and I have not had a single issue with any of them.

In fact, the Anker car charger I got was specifically to replace a cheapo-brand one that kept disconnecting at the slightest of bumps or being aligned a certain way in the cigarette lighter port. The Anker one works consistently and does not lose connection for me at all.

I guess you could call me a "brand loyalist" but they've given me no reason not to be at this point. That's not to say I disbelieve others' experiences that aren't so great, but compared to much of their competition at their price points, their quality stands out IMHO

Re:Anker PowerPort PD 1 USB-C Wall Charger Teardown by sleepybrett on Monday January 07, 2019 @04:29PM (#18850330)
It seems like the apple ipad charger is the gold standard for usb charging (at least based on the things I've read around the internets). Anker may not reach those heights but it seems to be moderately better than the non-name ones that short and catch fire.
Re:Anker PowerPort PD 1 USB-C Wall Charger Teardown by inferiorhuman on Monday January 07, 2019 @05:54PM (#18851113)
I was looking at a teardown[1] of USB wall chargers. Surprisingly the Touchpad charger was rated quite well. I guess that Touchpad was good for something after all.

1: http://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-ap...

Re:Anker PowerPort PD 1 USB-C Wall Charger Teardown by kup0 on Tuesday January 08, 2019 @11:45AM (#18856935)
Yeah, even simple no-name usb cables can be dangerous. A friend had purchased a pack of cheap microUSB cables on eBay, and was charging his phone in my car with one of them.

The cable itself started getting uncomfortably warm to the touch. Glad we noticed before things got worse.

Re:Anker PowerPort PD 1 USB-C Wall Charger Teardown by AquaLineSpirit on Monday January 07, 2019 @02:37PM (#18849117)
There are two different sizes of cigarette lighter sockets, maybe that's why it fit badly?
Re:Anker PowerPort PD 1 USB-C Wall Charger Teardown by jefftk on Monday January 07, 2019 @03:11PM (#18849478)
Specifically:

* Size A: inside diameter ~21.0mm (mainly American cars)

* Size B: inside diameter ~21.5mm (mainly European cars)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette_lighter_receptacle

Re:Anker PowerPort PD 1 USB-C Wall Charger Teardown by inferiorhuman on Monday January 07, 2019 @03:05PM (#18849405)
Huh it looks like European cars often use larger sockets (learn something new every day). Meanwhile I found the original review that stuck with me. By design the charger uses a center spring that's too strong and forces it out of the socket a little bit.

There are a variety of other critiques (e.g. came apart in the receptacle and "All of this could have been avoided if Anker would have angled the leading edge of the side electrical connections more.", "The catches on the side of the charger won't release like the traditional spring ones do.", lack of fuse) as well.

Re:Anker PowerPort PD 1 USB-C Wall Charger Teardown by kazen44 on Monday January 07, 2019 @02:31PM (#18849048)
maybe you got "old" stock? it's not uncommon for products like this to sit in a warehouse for over a year.

Anker has been fine in terms of quality in my opinion, never had an issue with any of their products. Although i must say there are better on the market. especially in terms of powerbanks.

Re:Anker PowerPort PD 1 USB-C Wall Charger Teardown by inferiorhuman on Monday January 07, 2019 @02:42PM (#18849178)
> maybe you got "old" stock? it's not uncommon for products like this to sit in a warehouse for over a year.

Potentially, but I'd hope that Anker would exercise a bit more control over their Amazon inventory. From the looks of it there are still plenty of (premature failure, fire) complaints in addition to the no return policy. It screams fly by night to me, but it's interesting to see they've a better reputation with other products.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VH84L5E

Here's the review (about eighteen months before I bought mine): https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R4F5INKA6PO2I/

Re:Anker PowerPort PD 1 USB-C Wall Charger Teardown by kazen44 on Monday January 07, 2019 @05:03PM (#18850647)
what about a no return policy?

I was able to return anker products just fine. (i might add im not in the US though)

Re:Anker PowerPort PD 1 USB-C Wall Charger Teardown by inferiorhuman on Friday January 11, 2019 @06:36PM (#18888269)
What about it? This may have changed but when I bought the damn thing Anker clearly stated they wouldn't take returns.