Why Your USB Cable Can’t Charge Your Android Smartphone
A cable is a cable, right? Not really. While there should n’t be any difference between one USB cable and another – it’s basically a protective cover around the cable and a bunch of marketing material – some have found their Pixel 4 smartphones get fidgety depending on which USB cable you’re using to charge. … their. Choosing the wrong cable may end up with a paperweight instead of a fully charged device when you wake up to start your day.
Android Authority has spent some time connecting the Pixel 4 to various chargers and cables, and here’s what (little) they’ve been able to figure out:
“The Google Pixel series uses USB Power Delivery (PD) as its primary charging technology. This is the technology you’ll find in Google chargers. It works great with a clock speed of around 15W. The Pixel 4 charges great with other chargers that support USB Power Delivery via USB-C to USB-C connectors, including older Pixel chargers and third-party USB PD products.
So USB-C – USB-C works fine. At first, however, I just couldn’t get the Pixel 4 to charge from other USB-A chargers. The fast charging ports, USB BC 1.2 power supplies, and even the standard USB ports on my PC and laptop were not working. It was only when swapping out with a different cable that I was able to get the Pixel 4 to connect to those devices. However, all the other phones I’ve tested, including the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a, work great with this same cable. ”
Senior Feature Editor Robert Triggs ended up testing 18 different USB cables with his Pixel 4, and it looks like he was struggling to get the 5A cables to work with his device. That’s “five amps,” or the maximum current allowed for USB-PDs that these fancier cables (with purple plugs) can allegedly support. A strange thing? These cables seem to be able to charge other smartphones, but not the Pixel 4.
As to why this is the case, Triggs suggests the following:
“What we do know is that some USB-C to USB-A cables do not (and may still not) have the correct 56K pull-up resistor used to correctly identify legacy devices. Google can now block charging with cables that do not meet this specification. This would be a handy safety feature, although I have never had a problem with these cables that I have been using for years. “
I have not experienced this problem with the various cables I use to charge my pixels. However, I noticed that my Chromebook USB-C charger refuses to supply power to my MacBook Pro (or the latter refuses to accept it), even though the MacBook Pro USB-C Charger charges my Chromebook without issue. (I assumed my Chromebook was broken until I figured out the problem and switched to its own charger.)
Here’s my advice to you: When you charge your devices, take a second to make sure they are actually charging. And when you can, check them out. If they seem to charge incredibly slowly, consider swapping out with a different USB cable or adapter to see if it’s better.
This is the simplest form of troubleshooting you can do, but many people (myself included) don’t think about it. We are usually quick to assume that there is a problem with the charger, rather than what you are using to charge it. Try different combinations of cables and adapters and that might be all you need to troubleshoot when you’re looking at something that just won’t turn on.