Field Testing and Power Concerns
about 7 years ago
– Thu, Apr 06, 2017 at 12:34:05 PM
I got into my first testing situation in the field yesterday. I was travelling all day, flying out to the west coast. I used up my battery exploring the Gerudo valley, working on my second Divine Beast quest.
During the flight, I pulled out my Anker 20100 battery pack, attached my PocketStand, and set it on the tray. With the Switch in place, it started charging, but very slowly. The power supply works great for my smartphone, but not for Switch. Unfortunately, my battery back did not put out enough power to charge and play. It turns out the Nintendo Switch needs more amperage than my pack supplies, needing 2.6A when my Anker 20100 pack only supplied 2.4.
I didn't notice this while testing and shooting the video because I was working with a console that was already full power. This test was the first real conditions experience I had with it when I actually ran completely out of power. It was still charging, but not fast enough, because the Switch was using more power than it was receiving.
I've found a few articles about this here:
https://venturebeat.com/2017/03/01/nintendo-switch-struggles-to-get-a-charge-from-a-lot-of-battery-packs/
http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/2/23/14715566/nintendo-switch-best-battery-pack-charging-cables
http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/best-nintendo-switch-external-battery-packs/2/
But have no fear, there are some power packs out there that meet the charging requirements!
So which one should I get?
Well I haven't tested any yet; I'm just doing research online so take this as "some guy on the Internet said..."
Basically, you need 2.6A or more, so the 3A chargers will work. Since I'm upgrading, I wanted to see what else we can get, and the newer packs all take USB-C to charge, instead of the older USB micro, which means you have to carry one less cable. I like this because my phone takes USB-C to charge too!
Here's the cheapest one: Jackery Titan which is $44. There's two other models listed at that link. The cheaper $34 ones don't have USB-C for charging the unit, so if carrying one less cable isn't important to you, or if you need USB-micro anyway, feel free to take the $34 one.
My old Anker 20100 can only charge on USB micro and puts out 2.4Amps. Anker has a 20100+ which has the 3.0 amp power delivery which is fast enough speed needed to charge Switch, and uses USB-C to charge itself, and costs a little more at about $66. The "+" after the model number is the difference. You can grab this new Anker 20100+ here
This one called the RAVpower also is fast enough and costs $75. There's a different RAVpower one that's $57. I'm not sure the difference.
I'm still going to make stands for the power banks you have, but I'd suggest grabbing one of the newer battery packs listed here to be sure you can actually use it how you want... charging while playing.
I'm also reading about some issues where you can potentially overcharge devices or cables and they break, so since I've not tested any of these power supplies, I've gotta tell ya again, don't take my word for it and do your own research too. I'm just good at making plastic stands ;) The ones I linked do say Nintendo Switch in their descriptions though.
Thanks again!
Todd