Reddit reviews Satechi USB-C Power Meter Tester Multimeter - Compatible with 2020/2019 MacBook Pro, 2020/2018 MacBook Air, 2020/2018 iPad Pro

Satechi USB-C Power Meter Tester https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MT8MC3N

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In this case: http://amzn.com/B01MT8MC3N or http://amazon.com/dp/B01MT8MC3N

Been looking for one of these, and there aren't many on the market. Thanks for sharing

Amazon Link

Regardless of what you buy I suggest to use the Satechi USB C power meter. I always check any new charger and cable to see what voltage and power the devices draw.

[(https://www.amazon.com/Satechi-Multimeter-Chargers-External-Capacity/dp/B01MT8MC3N/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1502222031&sr=8-16&keywords=satechi+usb+c)]

I appreciate that but I want to plug it into the Switch through the USB-C Power Meter to ensure that the proper voltage and amperage is delivered to the system.

It's $25 on Amazon if anyone wants to save $5

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01MT8MC3N/

The important thing to look at is which USB-C Power Delivery profiles both you device an charger support. Your device will usually fast charge at the highest profile booth devices support, then drop to 5v once the battery is mostly charged. Chargers usually have the supported profiles written in tiny text on them. Devices you usually have to Google around to figure out what they support.

I really like the this Anker charger that will charge my Pixel, Switch, and MacBook pro (though only at 2A@15v):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01D8C6ULO

I would avoid mixing devices and charger that do and don't support Power Delivery, like Nexus 5x/6p era stuff and 2016+ stuff.

If you really want to go down to rabbit hole, you can get one of these devices to see what's going on:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01MT8MC3N/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1497123782&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=usb+c+power+meter&dpPl=1&dpID=31YLC7vMnbL&ref=plSrch

I got this power bank about 3 weeks ago and I really like it. Charges my 2016 MacBook Pro, Switch, and phone just fine. Also seems to follow USB PD protocols pretty well (at least from what I've seen using this). My question has to do with its output. It outputs 14.5v / 3a in handheld and docked mode. I tried using it for a little bit in docked mode and it worked just fine, but should I avoid doing that in the future since it doesn't output the 15v / 2.6a the Switch's original charging brick outputs?

The issue would be internal to the cable itself, basically the problem cables don't use the right amount of resistance which can allow the device too draw too much power and fry it.

The only way to test this really is with a multimeter to measure the flow of electricity compared to what the Switch is designed to draw. (Which we don't know in portable mode)

For now, it's probably best to just browse the ratings on Amazon to see if anyone has tested the resistance in that cable. Good luck, I hope it's a good one for you!

Hi,

Thanks for commenting, really appreciate any help. The battery capacity is 17.85Ah. When I'm measuring using a simple little device the mAh reading ticks up once every couple of seconds. I would say we get about 8 hours life from a full charge.

I have a similar dongle by Anker, and it works for what you describe. I tried with a DualShock 4 and works fine, just make sure to connect the dongle to power before connecting it to the phone. Also, make sure to power the dongle with a USB-PD charger. When I connected a USB-A charger to the dongle via a A-to-C cable, the phone didn't get almost any current, it said "slowly charging" but with my USB-PD meter inline it said about 0.08A was going in, which is practically nothing. The phone wasn't losing battery powering the dongle and DualShock, but it was losing battery just as if there was nothing connected.

This is a lot better dongle, btw, and cheaper with the current $5 coupon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HMLTCPL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It has an extra USB-C port (works with USB-C headphones), and 100W charging capability, among other extra features.

Any USB-A port, or USB-A to USB-C cable will only charge up to 1.5A. Most USB-A computer ports though only support USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 power (500mA or 900mA). For a computer USB-A port to support 1.5A, they usually have a label indicating they are also "charging" ports, or you would just have to test yourself. If you're interested in testing your charging in different scenarios, I recommend buying one of those hardware USB-PD meters. I have the Satechi one but you may find others with more features or cheaper. Apps like Ampere are not accurate, they can only approximate, and especially with USB-PD they are worse because of the different voltages.

Gotta ask, innergie charger has the same specs as ZMI 45W and has same wattage profiles: 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12/3A, 15V/3A (Max wattage), 20V/2.25A, so this should be fine correct? I have used it with zero issues with my switch charging in handheld and docked with the Nintendo OEM and fast snail dock. Power meter shows all in compliance.



Links to for mentioned charger, dock and power meter:

ZMI PowerPlug Turbo 45W Wall Charger USB-C PD Power Adapter, Laptop Charger for new MacBook/Pixelbook, Fast Charging iPhone 8/8 Plus/X, Samsung S8/S8+, Pixel/Pixel 2, Nintendo Switch, GoPro HERO5 / 6 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071911MG5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_4khVAbH4DHA5W

FastSnail HDMI Type C Hub Adapter for Nintendo Switch, HDMI Converter Cable for Nintendo Switch (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074MYLP9C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_64Xd2IDZk6bnl

Satechi USB-C Power Meter Tester Multimeter for New Macbook, Macbook Pro, Test Speed of Chargers, Cables, External Battery Capacity https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MT8MC3N?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

You mean using a meter like this? That's actually not a bad idea at all, I own two different ones of those (the Satechi and a Pluggable, both seem accurate unlike the USB A ones I had where one drifted badly)...

I might give it a go, though I'd still need to do a more traditional and tedious test to compare it vs Bluetooth. Putting a phone in airplane mode and killing extraneous background processes is usually good enough to do some rundown tests like this.

https://smile.amazon.com/Satechi-Multimeter-Chargers-External-Capacity/dp/B01MT8MC3N/