8ware 5 Port USB Wall Charger

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  scrimshaw on 14/01/2015 - 23:22

  Did I just buy a faulty charger?

  You bought a low quality charger. I'll bet if you measure the noise and ripple of these chargers, you'll detect quite a lot of voltage spikes and high frequency noise which is can be particularly dangerous and may in the long term ruin your mobile phone battery.

  Stick with quality branded stuff when you buy a charger. Anker for instance, consistently gets good reviews and they are rated highly on Amazon.

  Another one you could consider is the Antec 4 port USB charger which unlike the Anker is commercially available in Australia and from Amazon reviews it does appear to be a quality product.

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  Ramrunner on 15/01/2015 - 09:05

  The 8ware supplies a total of 3A over the 5 ports BUT!!!!

  If you plug in more than one device it SHARES that 3A.

  So 2 devices - 1.5A each, 3 - 1A each etc.

  It actually DOES say that in the instructions (I have two of these).

  Mine works fine though on my Nexus 9 tablet for example. So if you experience slow charging with only one device, yes it may be faulty.

  Don't pay too much attention to scrimshaw regarding the low quality though. 8ware is actually a decent brand brought into Australia and quality controlled and tested through arguably the biggest distributor of computer accessories - Anyware. I very seriously doubt it's THAT bad otherwise those guys wouldn't touch it.

  My company has yet to return a single 8ware product. We've been reselling them for about two years so I doubt they're that bad.

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  netsurfer on 17/01/2015 - 22:40

  I actually agree with scrimshaw. The mobile devices are able to tolerate the fluctuation in voltage and current in most cases so you could use cheaper / inferior chargers (doesn't mean they are good for the phones / tablets). The chargers provided by the manufacturers for the phones and tablets are better quality.

  The charger you bought can only output 2A maximum, so when all 4 ports are used, it can only output at most 0.5A per port.

  At the end of the day, it depends on how you feel about those phones / tablets. Do you see them as devices which need replacing every two years (due to advancement in technology)? Do you see using better chargers being a way to prolong the battery life? For devices which I paid $300 or more, I only use chargers and cables from original manufacturers (though I do use tablet chargers for phones). Anything less than $300, I still try to use original charger if possible, but I might use cheapy cable.

  I have cheapy cables and wall chargers failed before. One of my mates used a cheap phone charger and that killed his HTC phone while he was travelling (driving interstate).

  • 

    Ramrunner on 22/01/2015 - 12:02

    Let me just say only that Anyware's data on that unit are incorrect. We actually resell that unit and it is rated as 3A in the manual and on the unit itself, not 2A. It also has 5 ports not 4.

    Also please show me a review that says the unit is inferior, or some data that the voltage fluctuates.

    Like I said having sold these units for a while now and not having a single complaint or return, PLUS having used two of these units myself both here and overseas without slow charging or issues, in my opinion based on actual experience with them is good at this stage.

    If there is a problem with the units I would absolutely like to know myself obviously to prevent issues with my own gear and all the customers who have purchased these units.

    I'm glad you agree with scrimshaw about this "inferior" product but where are you guys getting your data from please? At he moment you guys are both throwing a general blanket over chargers which I think is inaccurate.

    • 

      netsurfer on 22/01/2015 - 12:16

      scrimshaw already provided the link. Click on the low quality charger link in his comment and there is another link in that page or the link below:

      http://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-ap…

      The Anyware one looks a bit like KMS. Also, it is science / electrical engineering + common sense. There are multiple ways to step down from 240V to 5V. Some methods are really cheap and nasty. It comes down to cost as well. Unless you look at the voltage and current wave, just using a multi-meter does not really tell you the real story.

      Let me just say only that Anyware's data on that unit are incorrect

      What does that say about Anyware? Perhaps not all items made by Anyware are of the same quality.

      I don't have one of those adapters (because I don't want one), but if someone is willing to send me one, I can have my electrical engineering friend opening it up, have a look, and tell you the inferior electronic components used.

      Way back, I bought a 3rd party charger (2 ports) from Harvey Norman, it broke after 1.5 years. I did not bother returning it or complain. These inferior chargers will work for a while (or even a few years), but it is your smartphones, tablets and other devices having the ability to cope with flucatuation of current / voltage.

      Also, as more ports are added to the charger, it becomes harder to regulate the voltage and current. That's a common weakness of multi ports chargers.

      • 

        Ramrunner on 22/01/2015 - 12:32

        Look, went through the lot and could not find 8ware in the main article or the links.

        Unless you can provide a direct link to the 8ware performing bad in tests this is all just "guessing". It LOOKS like a KMS so I'll just base my opinion on that. The 8ware has 5 ports not 4 and supplies 3A not 2A. Hey my Nexus 9 looks a lot like an iPad so we'll just call them the same????

        Data being incorrect does not mean low quality - how do you make that inference? So if a bigger name brand let's say Panasonic update their shaver charger to provide more volts or amps, but don't update their web site to match it is not the same quality as the previous charger?

        C'MON NOW! You really do sound like and intelligent person, and you seem to know what you're talking about but that sounds more like you're just trying to make a point you do not really have any support for.

        I AM NOT SAYING YOU ARE INCORRECT. Please understand. If 8ware is crap, I really do want to know.

        For real though, not just guessing and grasping at air mate.

        If you or your engineering friend can run the same sort of tests as the article you sent me for a direct comparison (not just the components but testing the Spikes Noise and Ripple with unbiased view and open mind) then I'm happy to contact Anyware and see if they can send you a review sample.

      • 

        netsurfer on 22/01/2015 - 12:50

        @Ramrunner:
        Proof: OP is complaining about the adapter. You are coming up with excuses to defend 8ware. If this is an original phone / tablet manufacturer one, a swap or a replacement can be obtained. Are you willing to help the OP to organise a warranty replacement / RMA?

        Expecting someone to review 8ware adapters is not very realistic. It is not that popular to be honest. If 8ware is care about quality so much, they can run the tests and show us the reports or provide full specification or the full circuit diagram.

        It is common sense. 8ware cannot possibly sell you something to make a loss. Also, most likely, they would use a 1 port basic circuit design, boost the current output, then do a simple parallel split to 4-5 ports. You can tell from the report for KMS - its biggest weakness is the way it regulates the 4 ports (and that makes sense). More importantly, based on that report, all the cheap knock-off adapters are no good (even Belkin is so so at best). The odds are really against 8ware.

        It is more that you don't want to accept the facts. I have opened up some cheap adapters, and I can tell how dodgy those circuits are (really minimalist). There is also a reason why some 240-110V step down transformers cost $100+ and some are like $20 or less. My engineering friend told me there are basically 2 ways to step it down, and one way is cheap and nasty (yes, it works, but in the long run, not good for your equipment).

        Funny enough, that engineering friend knew all that, and still bought a cheap and nasty charger, and that charger killed his HTC phone. So, just because you know, doesn't mean you won't buy it because the original chargers are expensive.

        Apple was offering a swap (any counterfit or third party charger for real Apple one at a discounted price) for a few months a year or two ago. Why do you think Apple did that?

        One other thing to note: 8ware may not be the company who made the actual adapter. 8ware have lots of products, they could easily outsource those. For example, CoolerMaster and Corsair don't make PC power supplies. They sell them, but they picked the manufacturers to make them.

        If you really want to prove me wrong, open up one, take a photo, show us the quality components used in the 8ware adapter.

      • 

        Ramrunner on 22/01/2015 - 15:31

        @netsurfer: Look netsurfer. You ask me to prove 8ware is OK, yet you are obviously not going to provide ANY AT ALL that it is crap except that the original poster had a problem with his.Mate, I've returned a HTC Desire, My first Nexus 9, Samsung 55" TV over the years just to give you some examples. Do I then deduct that HTC and Samsung are crap? No I don't. I accept the fact some items are faulty, replace them under warranty and move on.

        You ask me to accept the facts, yet have provided absolutely NOTE except to say your engineering friend told you a bunch of stuff.

        The article provided DOES separate some adapters from others in quality stakes. I do not deny that at all. Some adapters are better than others. No argument.

        In everything that you and I have discussed is there any proof anywhere that 8ware has cheap components?

        Nope. If you took this to a court with the arguments you have given in a case against 8ware - you would lose. If you brought independent articles or expert testimony who had performed the tests and the measured power values indeed are skewed then you would win.

        So, I think we leave it at that. I certainly will even if you feel the need to continue I will not.

        Happy to accept real facts, until then, I guess I'll catch you some time on other disussions.

        All the best.

      • 

        netsurfer on 22/01/2015 - 15:53

        @Ramrunner: Real fact:

        http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1909200

        Search for "8ware". You are going to say bad batches and you never had issue with 8ware products. Or, cables are not adapters.

        The reality is 8ware probably did not make the adapters, nor the network cables. They outsource (or resell them).

        Between you and me, I am actually less biased. You have a conflict of interest. I don't sell 8ware products. I don't have anything against 8ware. As a seller, you need to convince me you are selling good products. I am a potential buyer. I don't understand why as a potential buyer (customer), I have do all the researches, prepare to do testing to prove a product which I have no interest to purchase (as it unfortunately has high chance of being inferior in quality - due to other similar companies offering similar products being proven to be inferior quality).

        If you really want to convince people to buy 8ware, it is you that need to show potential customers your products are not like the other dodgy ones. All I am trying to point out is that these 3rd parties ones can be risky.

      • 

        netsurfer on 23/01/2015 - 11:12

        @Ramrunner: From the specs of the item the OP bought:

        Output: DC 5V, 2000mA (1-USB) / 1000mA (2-USB) / 660mA (3-USB) / 500mA (4-USB)

        1 port - you can use it to charge a tablet (fast charge)
        2 ports - you can use it to charge 2 phones (or 2 tablets - slow charge)
        3 ports - charge 3 phones, but below average
        4 ports - 4 phones - slow charge
        5 ports - ???? no specs, below 500mA per port?

        So it is physically 5 ports, but with more than 3 devices, you start to get slower charge. 2 ports - okay for 2 phones, 2 tablets… again slower charge. It is basically a 2A charger (a standard tablet charger, with a 5 port split).

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  jaxxon on 20/08/2015 - 17:35

  Just got an email from COTD, these chargers have been recalled