Reddit reviews PortaPow 5ft Data Blocker Micro USB Cable Compatible with Android Smartphones etc.

Switching to these cables made the biggest difference for me: http://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-Micro-USB-Cable-Charging/dp/B0088HTYUE

Source: I play Ingress.

Not a really fun fact: https://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-Micro-USB-Cable-Charging/dp/B0088HTYUE

or, for a lot less money, get a charge only cable

Alternatives on Amazon:

This is pretty much exactly what the USB condom is, only it actually has a cover on it, so it won't break super easily. It claims to charge faster as well. Made by PortaPow.

Since the focus is phones anyway, here's a power only microusb cable.

In fact, there's a few good device specific ones on PortaPow's store.

Bulkier, but cool. A USB 3.0 HUB that has two dedicated "power only" ports.

This also addresses /u/bachmac not wanting to use paypal. (I entirely agree, I hate paypal.)

In order for the Galaxy Nexus to charge at the higher AC rate, the DATA wires in the cable need to be shorted. The charger in that came with the phone does this automatically, but if you use a charger that is not intended for this or phones with a similar requirement, then the phone charges at the slower rate. You can get a cable http://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-Micro-USB-Cable-Charging/dp/B0088HTYUE or just an adapter http://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-Fast-Charge-Blackberry-Charging/dp/B00GC4AJOU .

You can also make your own cable in few minutes if you can use a soldering iron and have a spare cable around. There are numerous guides out there.

>CHARGING your smartphone by plugging it into a computer or public charging station is enough to get your hacked, security experts have claimed.

This article is refering to what i was saying about charging stations where sometimes the USB ports in those stations can be used to install or break into your device IF you are using a one of those ports directly but if you use the power adapters you are perfectly fine given that i have never seen a power outlet that transfers data. As for the computer side of things well its a given that: One, Public WiFi is a venerability in it of itself, Two where if you connect to your machine your device would be as secure as the machine itself (IE firewalls, antivirus, ETC). If you really want to be secure use a power adapter OR a power only usb cable Like this

I had experienced the same problem. I advise you to get a new cable specifically for charging. I had bought a cheap one for a pound and it didn't charge at all although it was capable to transfer data.
After reading this I decided to buy this micro usb cable and I am more than satisfied with it.

Then what the fuck is this?

Aside from software, another option would be buying a "charge only" cable, such as this one:

http://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-Micro-USB-Cable-Charging/dp/B0088HTYUE

> that short the data pins

O_o

But I understand what you mean, and here is the first hit when googling for "charge only micro usb."

http://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-Micro-USB-Cable-Charging/dp/B0088HTYUE

You can also make your own:
http://www.podfeet.com/blog/tutorials-5/make-your-own-charge-only-usb-cable-for-the-novatel-mifi/

But:
https://pay.reddit.com/r/tech/comments/2ecwkt/usbcondom/cjyg6xz

Cables do matter.

I bought a Portapow 150cm/5ft USB cable with 28/24AWG specifically for charging with high amps and it doesn't charge as well as the original cable. My powermeter shows that the original cable + original charger are drawing 20W, the original charger + Portapow cable were drawing at around 11W.

Interestingly enough, an Asus tablet charger + the portapow 150cm cable charged my Oneplus at around 16W.

For the fastest charge, take a short cable with 24/28AWG and a 2A charger but to be absolutely sure you will have to measure the power draw on the wall outlet.

I ended up buying a Portapow charger. So far, so good. Thanks for the suggestion!

I used this charger with this USB charging cable to keep it charged up, this parking brake bypass relay, and this SlimPort adapter.

So, it's basically this with a switch to short / unshort the pins? 2 for $49... such a scam >.<

A cable made for data transfer will not charge as fast as a cable made for charging.

A cable made for charging has 2 characteristics that set it apart from regular cables:

• It's short. The total electrical resistance along a cable uses up some of the current sent by the "charger end" and turns it into heat before it reaches the "phone end".
  
  
• It contains thicker wiring on the power lines than on the data lines. Most cables have 28 AWG wires on both lines, and those can carry 0.5 ampere of current; charging cables use 28 AWG wires for data and 24 or even 20 AWG for power, which carry 2 amperes or more of current. (sources: 1 (/r/LifeProTips), 2 (blog.banggood.com), 3 (www.amazon.com))

Take a terrible picture in HDR mode and post it here, gushing about how good the camera is.

Check for updates first before anything else. It may or may not have the 44S update when you get it or something even newer could have been released. Get it all updated then do bootloader/root.


Order your screen protector and case now so they're ready to go when your OPO arrives.

The charging cable that comes with it, while very nice looking, is next to useless, it's too short and stiff. Get a nice charging cable that will actually reach from your outlet to your nightstand or someplace useful.

Do not plug your device into random USB outlets unless you have a cable that is for charging only and has no pins for data, like this http://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-Micro-USB-Cable-Charging/dp/B0088HTYUE

You don't know anything about that port, who has access to it, what they may have done to it, or where it runs to. Someone will use these to get access to devices.

I am quite happy with this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0088HTYUE

I've ordered these cables from Amazon and they work really well. I've had 1 since July that I keep in my bag along with a portable battery that I use when i'm out on a job so I really only use it once every 2-4 weeks maybe. But it still connects very solidly. I've gone through a good amount of cheaper ones i've tried ordering online like monoprice.

I also ordered this usb multimeter to see which cables I have that were charging really slowly. The portapow cables i ordered from amazon measure at 0.9A (same with my OEM cables) while some other shitty cables I have that are like 6-10ft long measure at 0.09A and as the number suggests, take a long fucking time to charge my phone. I'm definitely not an expert at this kind of stuff, but hope this helps

This is the best cable for fast charging that I have: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0088HTYUE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Choose the 5ft length. It's a "charging cable", which has two pairs of wires spliced together for greater wire ampacity. It is also designed with a larger gauge wire than most USB cables, and combined with a shorter cable length, it keeps the wire resistance down.

Mine still grips perfectly after a month but if you're in need of a new cable for charging purposes only, I'd recommend these cables:


http://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-Micro-USB-Cable-Charging/dp/B0088HTYUE


I found them after shifting through a ton of cables on amazon that gave me a slow charge. They charge faster than the OEM cable and work 100% without fail. I've measured the charging rate using the Galaxy Charger Current app on my old Note 2 (which doesn't even have quick charge 2.0!) and it blows all the other cables out of the water (1600-1800 mA vs 500-1000 mA on most cables). The only downside is that they are charge-only so you won't be able to transfer data with them.

As many have said, (1) is yes and (2) isn't a risk as things are today. If you want to be super safe you can get a USB cable that doesn't have data transfer lines and only is capable of charging. They're not too expensive if this is something that you have any worries about.

http://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-Micro-USB-Cable-Charging/dp/B0088HTYUE

Try using a charge only (no data) cable like this one http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0088HTYUE/ref=pe_385040_121528360_TE_dp_1

https://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-Micro-USB-Cable-Charging/dp/B0088HTYUE
I use these, they are great. But they are "Charge Only".

here's what I've been happily using & recommend:

• this car charger. It will fully charge your phone while using navi with the screen-on at all times, if the charging cable is plugged in the NA-marked port and no other device is being charged at the same time. I've been wanting to experiment with a charging-only cable such as this one to see if it would help with better/faster charging and the possibility of charging a second device at the same time.
  
  
• kenu airframe car mount. very simple, small, well-made, and works pretty much universally on all types of air vents. i frequently rent a variety of cars and have yet to stumble upon a model where the kenu wouldn't mount properly. holds the phone perfectly and takes a couple of seconds to mount.
  
  as far as actual navi, GMaps has been unreliable for me during the last couple of roadtrips. I only used it because I knew I had a backup (standalone navi). it would crash silently and I'd have to pull over, and set it up again (and hope there is data/coverage because if there isn't, i'm SOL). this happened at least 4 times during a 6-7 hour drive. for this reason, have either a standalone navi backup, or another app that you can rely on, such as nav free or CoPilot, both of which i've heard good things about.
  
  have fun!