An accessible power bank please?

By Ramy, 20 December, 2021

Forum
Apple Hardware and Compatible Accessories

I have 2 or 3 power banks, but i do not know if they are charged or not, so, some times, i plug a power bank and i discover that it is empty.
so, is there an accessible power bank that. i can see it's battery status on my Iphone?
Thanks in advance

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Comments

By Holger Fiallo on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 - 01:50

Went to se the link. You can not get it via phone. You have to create account and give email. The only thing I saw was the following. Is this the one?
1ea.- Plugable 2-outlet Travel Power Station with USB Smart Charging
$29.95

By Holger Fiallo on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 - 01:50

They do not have it any more so do not check the link. I got an email from them, I ask the question was told no at this time.

By KE7ZUM on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 - 01:50

I use all the ones from anker. YOu really do not need an accessible power bank, just plug in and go. you can tell what is fast chanrgign and what is not by the phone's battery percentage etc.

Agree. However you can not tell when charging the battery charger. I do have a nice amker but the only issue for me is not knowing if is charge or how much is holding before it needs to be plug.

By Bruce Harrell on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 - 01:50

Have someone read the anchor battery paperwork where it says how long to fully charge it and once fully charged, how many times it can charge your device. Then, pay attention or guesstimate. Also, plug it in whenever possible to keep your anchor battery fully topped off. Even better, buy two or three anchor batteries. Keep them topped off in rotation so whenever you grab one, you will know you're grabbing one that's fully charged.

Or better yet, buy a couple/three battery cases. Plug one in for a couple hours, and it's fully charged. (When your phone battery case is fully charged, charge the next one, or charge all of them at the same time, only unplugging the one you're about to use. In other words, keep them all fully charged all the time. It's really not complicated.

By OldBear on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 - 01:50

I have a few Anker power banks, two huge ones and a smaller one. If I put the spot where the little LED lights are against my ear and push the button on the side, they make a very slight, high-pitched noise. The same if they are plugged in and charging.
The smaller power bank is starting to hold less charge or draining without anything plugged in over several days and it also has a lower pitch than the giant ones. The pitch might be irrelevant, but I will listen over the next couple of days or until it no longer gives power to find out what happens to that noise. If each of those light circuits makes noise, there should be some sort of change in the noise level as the capacity goes down. It's a very, very slight sound, so it might be difficult for some to hear.

By OldBear on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 - 01:50

I ran down the smaller Anker power bank. It turns out it has lost much of its capacity. When it is charged up, the LED Lights emit a nearly, inaudible sound that, after a time, switches to a quieter sound, then stops.
When the power bank can no longer charge a device, the sound is blinking in pitch, and only stays on for a short time.
If you can't hear it, put it next to a radio, tuned to empty static on the AM band when the power bank is charged, and it will transmit interference, and you can turn it up to what ever volume you need. It doesn't seem to do anything when it is not charged up.

By KE7ZUM on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 - 01:50

I can tell when it's charging by the amount of heat it's putting out. and I know that bassed on the number of amps I know how long I have to wait in-between charges, or I plug it in at night.

By KE7ZUM on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 - 01:50

I used to be able to hear those actually. I can't anymore but I wonder if I build a dynamic coil and amp, I might be able to hear those sounds again, at least for the battery.

In my second post I gave a solution if you can't hear it. Put it against a radio tuned to static at your choice of volume, especially on the AM band, and it will be very audible when it has charge. My power bank that seems to have lost most of its capacity to hold a charge does almost nothing. All kinds of electronic devices cause interference with the radios in my house, sometimes even the neighbors arc welder...

By KE7ZUM on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 - 01:50

I don't own a radio of any kind except for my ham radio so that's not going to work. We don't really own any radios in this house for what ever reason. so yeah I prrobably might build this just because I can. and I might find other uses for this thing as well.

Go for it. Just about any electrical device throws off some sort of hum or chirp when in operation. I'd guess you could also find where the electrical wiring is in the wall with such a detector by plugging in something on that circuit. Never thought about someone not having any common radios in the house.

By Kevan on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 - 01:50

If you have a bit of vision, you can just look at the lights on the device. I can't see well enough to read, but the lights are far enough apart on mine that I can just slowly move the device in front of my face and see which are on whe I press the button on the side of it. This doesn't work when you're totally blind, though.
As for owning a radio I have more than one, you can find cheap ones with headphone jacks on Amazon for less than $20.

By Missy Hoppe on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 - 01:50

I still have a talking power bank. It's really old, though. No lightning connecter. Just micro USB and the old 30 pin connector that Apple used to use. I wish there was an updated model as it tells me when things are charging and how much power the charger itself has left in it. I'm going to keep using my talking powerbank as long as it lasts, but I'm sad that it doesn't seem to exist any more. Just got a pretty cool power bank for Christmas which is supposedly solar powered and contains a flash light, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be particularly accessible. I will be watching this thread to see if anything might come up pertaining to an updated version of the talking power bank.