Charging speed problems? Use USB-IF certified cables!

[AnotherElk]

Answering to concerns about which chargers and cables to use for the Fairphone 3 because not every piece already in the households of users seemed to work, Fairphone had this to say:

@Monica.Ciovica

The reason some USB-C cables don’t work with FP3 is due to the fact that the manufacturing process and specifications may vary based on who produces them.
We encourage you to check for the chargers you already have - or if you are looking at other ones besides the ones on our website, if they are IF certified. You can read more about the certification here: https://www.usb.org/compliance

That statement is important for cables, too.

I have tested the cooperation of different chargers/cables/magnetic adapters charging the Fairphone 3.

Conclusions:

• It’s the cables that matter, not so much the chargers. Use USB-IF certified cables!
• Magnetic adapters seem to slow down the charging a little compared to not using them, but the effect is not so big that it would outweigh the undeniable benefits of magnetic adapters for me (preventing mechanical strain on the port, easier connecting/disconnecting).

Results for charging were as follows:

Battery charge within 60 minutes	Charger	Cable	Magnetic adapter, cable part → device part
29% (67% → 96%)	Fairphone 3 original Model DBS15Q 5V/3A USB-A	Fairphone 3 original USB-A → USB-C 120 cm	no adapter
23% (74% → 97%)	Fairphone 3 original Model DBS15Q 5V/3A USB-A	Fairphone 3 original USB-A → USB-C 120 cm	NetDot 10th Gen. USB-C → USB-C
31% (64% → 95%)	GPD original Model FC57 5V/3A USB-C	GPD original USB-C → USB-C 120 cm	no adapter
1% (65% → 66%)	Powerbank Anker PowerCore II Slim 10000mAh USB-A	Anker Nylon USB-A → USB-C 180 cm not USB-IF certified	NetDot 10th Gen. USB-C → USB-C
30% (66% - 96%)	Powerbank Anker PowerCore II Slim 10000mAh USB-A	Fairphone 3 original USB-A → USB-C 120 cm	NetDot 10th Gen. USB-C → USB-C
29% (68% - 97%)	Powerbank Anker PowerCore II Slim 10000mAh USB-A	Nokia CA-101D USB-A → micro-USB 15 cm	NetDot 10th Gen. micro-USB → USB-C
2% (65% → 67%)	Hama 00014126 5V/1A USB-A	Uplink Nylon USB-A → micro-USB 300 cm not USB-IF certified	NetDot 5th Gen. micro-USB → USB-C
22% (74% → 96%)	Hama 00014126 5V/1A USB-A	Fairphone 3 original USB-A → USB-C 120 cm	NetDot 10th Gen. USB-C → USB-C
25% (60% → 85%)	Hama 00014095 5V/0.8A USB-A	Fairphone 3 original USB-A → USB-C 120 cm	NetDot 10th Gen. USB-C → USB-C
20% (76% → 96%)	Hama 00014095 5V/0.8A USB-A	Belkin MIXIT USB-A → USB-C 300 cm USB-IF certified	NetDot 10th Gen. USB-C → USB-C
25% (68% → 93%)	Hama 00014095 5V/0.8A USB-A	Belkin MIXIT USB-A → USB-C 300 cm USB-IF certified	no adapter
26% (64% → 90%)	Hama 00014095 5V/0.8A USB-A	Belkin MIXIT USB-A → micro-USB 300 cm USB-IF certified	NetDot 10th Gen. micro-USB → USB-C
(I know testing was a little heavy on my obscure old Hama 0.8A charger, but that’s because I was totally surprised how well that worked with the right cables, thus proving my point about the cables perfectly, and because this is the one charger I have with me on the road as it still charges everything including my old trusty MP3 player which I don’t want to miss anytime soon, chargers with 1A and more just don’t work for this thing.)

[WabbitSeason]

Thank you so much for this post, it convinced me to try an old charger before ordering a new one, and it worked out fine ! As this seems to be the most complete overview on the forum of which charger/cable combinations work, can I just add my result:

Battery charge within 60 minutes	Charger	Cable	Magnetic adapter, cable part -> device part
50% (7% -> 57%)	Samsung ETA-P11JBE 5V/2A USB-A (came with the Galaxy Note 10.1 in 2012)	Fairphone 3 original USB-A -> USB-C 120 cm	no adapter

I have no other USB-C cables, so I can’t verify if that makes a difference, but with the FP3 cable I’m happy with the results. A full charge from 7% took about 2 hours and 30 minutes.

[Laurens]

Found out the charger that came with my girlfriends new Samsung S9 isn’t working for FP3. It says “connected but can’t charges” in the battery settings
Its charger model EP-TA200

I checked the cable by connecting it to actually an older samsung charger and that worked well.

[dwinter]

So remember there’s eco mode that changes how it charges above 85 or 90(?)% to reduce battery wear, so any 60 mins where it goes above that it’ll be less than it would have achieved from a lower charge!

My Fairphone 3 original charger plus compatible fast charge cable (Anker Powerline+) gets like 60% charge in an hour with ‘fast charging’ displayed. Will try and get the actual numbers with a few different chargers at some point, so far:

Battery charge within 60 minutes	Charger	Cable	Magnetic adapter, cable part -> device part	Displays
59% (31% -> 90%)	Fairphone 3 original Model DBS15QB 5V,9V,12V USB-A	Anker Powerline+ USB-A to -C	no adapter	Fast charging
58% (31% -> 89%)	Fairphone 3 original Model DBS15QB 5V,9V,12V USB-A	Anker Powerline II Usb-IF certified USB-A to -C	no adapter	Fast charging
46% (42% -> 88%)	Goji G4MAIN17C 2.4A 5V 4xUSB-A (not QuickCharge)	Anker Powerline II Usb-IF certified USB-A to -C	no adapter	Charging