Recommendations for Powerbanks / External battery backups that can charge the T100

I think the T100ta supports higher-than-2.1A charging. I say this because I have a HP Touchpad Charger which outputs higher (2.4A) and the device charges fine. In fact, the charger can even keep up with high-load situations (something the factory charger can't do). See: A dozen USB chargers in the lab: Apple is very good, but not quite the best

I caved and bought the Anker to experiment. It's 13000mAh ending up costing the same as the Aukey. Depending on my testing results and my research I may just keep the Aukey. I'm just leery that havnig a battery in simultaneously charging/discharging state is bad for battery longevity...something I haven't been able to verify yet.

Is this the device?

http://www.amazon.com/Aukey-20000mAh.../dp/B00RJQB4IU

Note that (even though it has 2 output charging ports) one port is rated at a fixed max of 1A and the other is rated at a fixed max of 2.1A. When charging/using your T100, are you using the 2.1A port? The 1A port would charge your T100 but take a long time when off but never keep up with an in use situation. Even the 2.1A port would be marginal in use since the stock T100 charger is rated at 2.5A and a not in use condition draws 1.9A.

Here's the charger I got about a year ago...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Notice if only using one port, it'll supply up to 3A. It'll charge 3 devices simultaneously but I'd never expect to use my T100 and charge other devices at the same time.

It's all about reading specs and knowing what's required and how you're going to use the device.

It is that device indeed. But to be honest, losing 8 mWh ever 5 seconds isn't a big deal (unless it's bad for the batt...something I still haven't foudn evidence for or against), especially if I'm getting 7000mAh more capacity for pretty much the same price. I'll have to see how the Anker fares in real-world usage. Specs only go so far...the length of cable, cable rating, etc. all affect charging rates.

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Originally Posted by felixdd

It is that device indeed. But to be honest, losing 8 mWh ever 5 seconds isn't a big deal (unless it's bad for the batt...something I still haven't foudn evidence for or against), especially if I'm getting 7000mAh more capacity for pretty much the same price. I'll have to see how the Anker fares in real-world usage. Specs only go so far...the length of cable, cable rating, etc. all affect charging rates.

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As far as battery health goes. It's probably better than just draining directly. The t100 has charging circuits to make this possible. You need a certain amount of power. You can get most of it directly from the charger and the remaining requirement gets used from the internal battery.

In fact. In this way you are draining the internal battery less quickly so it takes longer to go through a full wear cycle.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

I agree GTanner00. And to further clarify/simplify...

Two like batteries in parallel will last twice as long as one. But they'll take twice as long to charge too.

Felixdd... your point about the current conduit... i.e. wire gauge, length, etc. is correct but you didn't mention the specs on those variables in your #51 post. Generally in my experience, wire gauge under 3ft length is not very critical on current drop but wire gauge over 3ft length becomes more critical as length increases.

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Originally Posted by rickscheller

... you didn't mention the specs on those variables in your #51 post...

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The cable is 3ft, but I know it charges well based on its performance with wall-charging.

Anyways I got the Anker and unfortunately it only barely keeps up with the T100ta under heavy load, and sometimes even lags behind. So really I'm not that much better off than the original Aukey 20,000 mAh. In fact, I'm leaning towards keeping the Aukey -- it's only slightly heavier but much higher capacity for an identical price.

My second plan now is to actually get a USB Y cable. Each port on the Aukey limits output to 2.1A so the T100 can't pull any more. If I tap the other port though I'm hoping the device can pull as much as it needs in parallel.

The cable is coming by Amazon. If this works then it opens up our T100ta to a lot more power bank solutions out there -- basically, as long as the power bank has 2 USB ports with at least one being 2.1, it should be enough to charge the tablet.

UPDATE: my solution works. With the Y cable, if I leave the data end in the 2.1A port and the power end on the 1A port, the tablet is able to siphon slightly more current from the powerbank. I tested this for a few minutes over a few trials, at maximum loads. There didn't seen to be any untoward effects. The tablet did get hot, but likely because of the high load (GRiD Autosport, max brightness, max volume, wifi & bluetooth on).

One thing I learned though is that even at this intensity it was barely charging. This leads me to believe that the load wattage on the battery exerted by the tablet (screen, processor, etc.) is approximately the same as the charge wattage. There's not a lot of overhead.

Anyways, for those who want a high capacity power bank, the Aukey 20000mAh + Y cable is a possible solution. Even without the Y cable, I'd say that it's definitely "good enough"

sorry to resurrect a dead thread, but I just bought a brand new Asus T100TAM and have discovered the charge issue.

I am very interested in more information about using a Y adapter to pull current from 2 USB charging ports. I have an external battery pack with a 2.1A and a 1.0A port...

in other news...

I've been eyeing a USB Docking station that includes it's own 12V power supply, and advertises it has 2 USB 2.1A charging ports on it.

I realize I cannot attach the dock to the tablet charge port AND the USB host on the device at the same time.... but....

I should theoretically be able to NOT attach the dock (as a dock) but charge the tablet off the charge port on the dock...

And if I short the data pins going from charging port on dock to charge port on tablet... shouldn't I be able to charge from the dock AND use the functionality of the dock at the same time? Wouldn't removing/shorting the data pins (so they do not connect to the tablet) trick the tablet into thinking it is on a 'dumb' charger? And the dock side would only see an item charging?

My idea is something along the lines of...

Buy this USB Docking Station. Mod the station to attach to the keyboard (under it). yes, it'll be ugly at first. I have a USB HD I would like to attach, and I would like the extra monitor output available with the Docking Station. In theory, I could have a single plug to the wall (from the docking station), with everything (including the T100 itself) powered via the USB Docking Station.

And I was thinking if the 2.1A port cannot charge while at high use, I could Y-adapter it with a 1A port.