TimothyH

Are there any solutions for charging multiple USB devices simultaneously?

I would prefer something that plugs into a wall outlet for power source rather than the PC's USB port.

I already have a four port USB hub. Some devices use proprietary connectors and it is a bit cumbersome to have to swap cables around in the USB hub. There are recommendations not to use a USB hub attached to a PC for some devices anyway.

It would be extremely rare to have to charge that many devices at once but the ability to plug in eight cables and not have to swap them would be most welcome.


-Tim-

PaulRivers

If they're fairly standard connectors of a usb-compatible variety, what I do is buy an adapter. Like this is a Lightning (apple) adapter: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0183SA0R8/

It also comes with an attachment to the hook it to the cable.

I don't have a charger for 8 devices, but this is what I use with 1 micro usb cable and charger at home and when travelling to handle the annoyance of several slightly different charger ports.

njkayaker

How hard is it to do a search?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P936188?keywords=anker%20charger&qid=1458225257&ref_=sr_1_8&sr=8-8

It's only 6.

https://www.amazon.com/Volmate-Family...=usb+charger+8

Here's one with 8.

Note that these have power limits.

rifraf

I've read of lots of positive reviews of the Anker products like:

https://www.anker.com/products/A2061111

A couple of my local (Aussie) bike forum members swear by them.

unterhausen

I have a couple of leviton usb charger outlets. They are really convenient, but it requires an electrician and/or the willingness to do it yourself.

Shimagnolo

+1
I have one of their 4-port units, and it charges iPad/iPhone/Garmin/cameras fast!
Anker sells on eBay with username "ankerdirect": ankerdirect on eBay

ItsJustMe

Anker charger. It's awesome.

In general, if I'm looking for something and one of the choices is made by Anker, that's what I buy.

I have two of their 5 port chargers (bought before they made the 6 port), one of their 2 port ones at work, and a 2 port 12 volt one in my car.

They all are well built and charge faster than any other that I've used.

Be super careful when buying chargers - cheap chargers can be extremely dangerous, even deadly. An Australian woman was killed a couple of years ago by a cheap knock-off phone charger.

When chargers used to cost $30+ for a one port charger, I bought no-name cheapies. Now that I can buy an Anker 2 port for < $10, there's simply no excuse for using junk chargers anymore. Once I got a couple of Ankers, I took all my old junk $5 chargers, whacked them with a hammer to make sure nobody would try to use them again and junked them.

John_V 

Also check Mobstub.com. They have several multiport USB chargers that are all less expensive than the ones from Amazon. I have one that I ordered from them about a year ago, that I paid around $18.00 for, and it's still charging all of my devices on a daily basis.

Seattle Forrest

I've been using an Anker for more than a year. I've charged my Edge while riding before, and I've used it to charge my Fenix on backpacking trips.

njkayaker

That was painful. It seems like a crapshoot to be able to find what you want there. You also have no idea what you are buying.

DrIsotope

I remember not so long ago when Anker was basically a knock-off of other name-brand devices, now they think they're a name brand and are charging accordingly. Save the money, buy genuinely unbranded from Monoprice, my preferred source for anything USB, as well as every other kind of cable. Three foot USB A to micro for charging a Garmin? How's 79¢ sound. 4-port USB chargers as low as $5, or a 5-port 8A (2.4A per port) charger for $18.

njkayaker

The Monoprice stuff is well-regarded.

The equivalent 5-port 40 watt Anker is $20.39.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VH8ZW02/..._t1_B00P936188

Here are the equivalent Monoprice and Anker 6 plug charger. Both have one Qualcom Quickcharge port.

Monoprice

Obsidian Series 6-Port 8A USB Smart Charger with Qualcomm® Quick Charge? 2.0 Technology - Monoprice.com

$25.00 8 amps/40 watts.

Anker

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

$30.59 12 amps/60 watts.

Amazon Basics

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...d_i=B00P936188

$25 12 amps/60 watts. No Quickcharge.

The Anker and Amazon ones can support more higher-power devices.

Like nearly every Japanese brand in the '60's!

Shimagnolo

Everyone needs to be aware that not all USB chargers are the same. There are an assortment of specs, and a single charger likely won't support all of them. Check out the Anker chargers and you will find the different models depending on if you want to charge an Apple iPad versus an Android with Qualcomms "Quick Charge". Any charger will support the standard 100/500mA mode. BTW 500mA is not enough to charge an iPad unless it is sleeping.

USB Standard downstream port (SDP):
- "Low power" - 100mA
- "High power" - 500mA

USB "Charging downstream port" (CDP) - Up to 1.5A
USB "Dedicated charging port" (DCP) - Up to 1.5A

Apple proprietary (found in iPads) - 2A

Qualcomm proprietary (found in some Android devices):
- Quick Charge
- Quick Charge 2.0
- Quick Charge 3.0

Tech info on the USB charging standards (but not the proprietary): https://www.maximintegrated.com/en/a...ex.mvp/id/4803

njkayaker

The Quick Charge stuff is new. Not many things support it (if you need/want it, then look carefully).

Many chargers support standard USB and higher charging rates and Apple devices (iPhones and iPads) transparently.

The Anker and other models I linked to should have no issues with higher amperage devices (including iPads).

Your concern is likely more appropriate for the "bargain" items.

joeyduck

This is great. Two high amp ports suitable for iDevices. Two low amp ports.

RCA 4-Device Tabletop USB Charger with Mounting Bracket - Black - TUSB4R - London Drugs

njkayaker

Really expensive. You can get a 6 port unit with 6 high amp ports for less. The only advantage of the RCA unit is that you can mount it to a wall.

joeyduck

Welcome to Canada.

https://www.amazon.ca/Qualcomm-Anker...rt+USB+Charger

versus

Amazon.com: Quick Charge 2.0, Anker 60W 6-Port USB Charger PowerPort+ 6 for Galaxy S7/S6/Edge/Plus, Note 4/5, LG G4, HTC One M8/M9, Nexus 6, iPhone, iPad and More: Cell Phones & Accessories

njkayaker

That's a bad/weird example. It's being shipped from NY.

Here's a more reasonable comparison.

Same thing but without the Qualcom quickcharge stuff.

https://www.amazon.ca/Anker-Family-S...=usb+charger+6

CDN$ 39.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...iglink20253-20

US $ 32 which would be CDN$ 42 with an exchange rate of 0.77).

joeyduck

I know and agree there are better options. But I can give a personal recommendation for me. It was purchased for me while I spent time in the hospital.

njkayaker

This is what matters most.

The RCA charger might be OK but it's expensive for what it is. It also doesn't meet the OP's requirement (he already has a 4 plug charger). The 6 plug units don't either but they are fairly common (I linked to one with 8).

The other thing is that these things keep changing.

The RCA charger might have been reasonable some years ago but, compared to current examples, it's under-featured for the price. It's pretty-much obsolete. And it's not like RCA is a premium brand. There isn't anything that makes it preferable over better options.

If there are better options, it's not really helpful to discuss options that are worse.


The Anker unit you linked to isn't representative of prices in Canada either.

ItsJustMe

Really? Which ones? I own 4 Anker chargers. They're all IQ chargers and auto-switch to whatever kind of device is plugged into them. I've plugged in Android phones and tablets, iPads, MP3 players, cameras, bluetooth headsets and all kinds of other stuff. I've had iPads plugged in at the same time as Android phones. The iPads and Android stuff all rapid charge very well at 1.5 to 2.1 amps depending on the device. All the Anker chargers that I have are universal. Not sure about Qualcomm though, I don't think I've tried one of those.

Shimagnolo

Here is an example:

"Compatible with the new 12" MacBook (5 hour recharge time), Apple and Android smartphones, tablets (including the Nexus 7) and other USB-charged devices except for the iPod nano, iPod Classic, iPod Shuffle, HP TouchPad and Asus tablets."

Source: https://www.anker.com/products/A2124111

njkayaker

Ahh. Old devices, it would seem.

My Asus Nexus 2013 7 charges just fine.

John_V 

Yes, their website leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to trying to find something. Even when filtering it by category, nothing is shown in any particular order. But the prices are good and products do work as advertised. While some may not be name brand items, the quality of the items I have purchased are as good if not better than the name brand products. Often, sites like Mobstub have products made for the name brand companies and sell them without the brand at a cheaper price. And sometimes they're just junk.

njkayaker

The website doesn't describe the products well. There isn't really enough information here to be useful to other people. You have no idea whether the products are the same as the brand name or just made to look like them. And then, you end with this.

Most of what I see on that site appears to me just to be mysterious knock-off stuff. There are a few brand-name things.

https://stickystatic.com/tech/is-mobstub-a-scam