I just got a Samsung S5 and it has this weird special plug for charging! I never even thought to ask about that. I just assumed it would be the usual USB charger. In the past I could always borrow a charger if I didn’t have one with me.
They must do it so you have to buy their charger cords. I thought only Apple pulled this crap. :mad:
I have a note 3 which has a goofy plug. It’s a mini (or micro?) USB with an extra bit on the side for no apparent reason. (I’m sure there’s a reason, it’s just not apparent to me.) I bought appropriate standard USB cables and plug them in the correct half and it charges fine.
My BiL has a Sony tablet that uses a special magnetic connector and their wall wart. It has a usb port but can’t charge through it. When he travels he has to take their charger assembly.
Are you sure that’s not a USB 3.0 Micro B connector?
I think you’re confused in your pitting here. An S5 can take both the charger it comes with and a standard USB charger.
The standard USB fits in one side of the port.
It does charge faster with the double plug thingy and it will charge at a normal rate with a standard USB
I’m not sure at all. It’s a goofy wide plug, the standard plug fits one half and I get all the functionality out if it that I need. The factory cable charges only this phone, the standard cable charges everything including this phone.
I highly suspect the OP has the same plug.
I tried that. It doesn’t go in.
ETA: Never mind. It just suddenly slipped in. I tried several times and it didn’t seem to go in, and I did not have it upside down. It must just be a tight fit.
Try again. I have an S5. It’s a Micro USB 3.0 as mentioned up thread.
This video features a note 3. it has the same port. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfCeq22TuRE
I have an s5. The chargers, both the ones that come with it and a Micro USB are a pain to get in, but they both work.
Yes. See my edit in post 7. It finally did go in. It’s just a tight fit.
TWSS.
I just got a FitBit. It’s got a proprietary connector. And the cable that comes with it is only about 6 inches long.
Plus when you get it, the instruction is “Go to our website,” the website says “Download the app,” when I download the app, it starts to sync and then says “Hey, it’s not charged, plug it in” but doesn’t even bother to show where the connector is or how it’s supposed to go. Not like it’s rocket science, but it would be nice to have some sort of information.
Just saying I love how fast my SG5 charges with the extra wide connector. I can still use the regular kind, and regular usb plug. I bought a couple of extra charger cables off someone on Craigslist. I never have a dead battery anymore.
It’s a USB 3 connection. You can plug a USB 2 into the right half and it will charge very nicely, although slower than using the USB 3.
I, too, have an S5, and I love that it has a fast-charging socket that’ll still take a normal micro cord if that’s all you’ve got.
Still, they’ve got far too many types of plugs for something that’s called, “universal.” And, yes, I know why it’s called that.
With the introduction of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Note 4, Samsung went back to the universal USB 2.0 connector.
I went from the Note II to the Note 4, skipping the Note 3, so I didn’t have to deal with the new connector, thank goodness. My wife on the other hand has the S5, so yeah, complaints.
On another note, if the S7 or the Note 6 don’t come with the ability to swap batteries or add SD storage (the S6 and Note 5 don’t), we may have to look at another brand or model when we are ready to upgrade again.
My little one’s Nabi Tablet baffles me. Someone, somewhere, decided that instead of having it charge with a standard micro-USB, it should charge with a stiletto style connector. Because a thin piece of metal is a great idea for something designed for toddlers. Even stranger is that the tablet HAS a micro-USB slot but it’s only used to transfer files and can’t be used to power the tablet.
I would have guessed that this was a scheme to milk people for replacements but, when our charger started getting flaky, I got a free replacement through the website. The replacement is actually better than the original since the original had a wall plug on the other end and the replacement has a (full sized) USB plug on the other end so we can charge it in the car or off one of the umpteen USB charging hubs we own.
What’s interesting is that EU, which is a pretty big market for any maker of mobile devices, has passed legislation enforcing the use of a standard charging port (micro-USB). The idea is reduce waste caused by people ditching chargers when they upgrade devices, and also to reduce handset costs by not including a charger in every box.
This link is a year old, and I haven’t heard much about it since, but if the plan is on track it will be interesting to see what effect it has.
If the U in USB stands for “universal,” why are there so damned many USB connectors? I mean, it started out with the A and the B for no particularly good reason. Sure, if the B was limited to only carrying power it would make more sense, but it is not. Then the plethora of minis and micros will drive you nuts. In this photo, from left to right, it’s my phone, one of my cameras, most of my cameras and my MP3 player, what’s in most computers, connecting to most computers, and my printer (not for power, but for 2-way data).
A and B refer to the two ends of the cable. A goes to your computer or a plug. There is only one type of A that I am aware of, excluding motherboard headers. B is the end that goes to the device. Standard is the square one. Then micro is a trapezoid and mini is the little curved one. USB 1,1.1 and 2 all used the same connectors. 3 gives you bigger plugs.
Besides the wide mini, there is also the standard square which now has a top hat looking extra connection stacked up. I have not seen any micro USB 3.0 connections.
