Super Cheap eBay Powerbanks a Fraud?

CouponCrazy on 20/11/2018 - 18:04

Hey,

I wanted to ask a question because I'm in the market for a power bank to charge my phone. One Amazon trusted brands like Xiaomi and Anker generally sell power banks with 10000-20000mAh.

However when I go to ebay I see products like the link below that SAY they hold 10 times more for the same price.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Portable-Slim-100000mAh-Powerban…

What's going on? Do the no brand ebay brands use old technology which holds more but good brands sacrifice battery for faster charging technology? Are ebay sellers just grossly overstating their rating by up to 10 times? Would love to hear from someone who has some insight.

Electrical & Electronics Power Bank

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Comments

  • Clear on 20/11/2018 - 18:12
    +1

    100000% fake! If they can fit something that big in such a small capacity then why are there no phones with it? At that size it's not going to exceed 10,000mAh and even then you'd be incredibly lucky as it's probably going to be <8000 or even <5000.

    The other issue is reliability and protection. How reliable are the battery cells? Are they recycled? They'll probably fail to hold charge, discharge quickly and charge very slowly. The other risk is that the circuit boards inside are basic and have little to no protection against short circuits, overload, overcharging etc etc. Is it worth plugging in your expensive phone to save a few bucks on a power bank? Nope.

    Go for a brand like Xiaomi where there is a proven track record of quality and reliability. For not much more many of them include Quick Charge, USB-C, USB-PD and other fast charge tech. As you can see here reliable brands including Xiaomi are on sale frequently.

    • CouponCrazy on 20/11/2018 - 18:32

      Thanks for the response. I bought a cheap ass car charger, but it started humming when I plugged it in… Yeah threw that one straight in the bin

  • HighAndDry on 20/11/2018 - 18:14

    Lol. Found it on AliExpress here (in case it needs to be said, don't buy it). In description, it says:

    Kindly Note Before you order:Dear friend,the factory mark this power bank 20000mah.But power banks have a conversion rate,and we test it for iphone 4s,honestly tell you,finally it can be charged about 2.5-3 times.Power banks in the market are same:marking high capacity.We try to tell you all the fact,we dont want to cheat you,also want you can support us,thanks very much.

    So uh, probably just a 20,000mAh power bank.

    • Clear on 20/11/2018 - 18:33

      You won't fit 20,000mAh in something that small.

      • D C on 21/11/2018 - 21:23

        OP's link are about 5,000mAh at best.

        Maximum possible would be about about 10,000Mah in those cases, eg by using similar to: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/9-6V-2400mAh-Remote-Control-…

        As an aside, I've found sellers of lithium polymer batteries to be be rather honest with stating battery capacities, so that listing would be what it claims to be.

        • Clear on 21/11/2018 - 21:33

          Yep I said similar above. 10000mah is the absolute maximum you'll get in this size.

    • CouponCrazy on 20/11/2018 - 18:34

      OMG HighAndDry. I didn't think anybody would respond and look at this searching. I bet your great at stalking that chick from the party

      • HighAndDry on 20/11/2018 - 18:45

        Hahaha, no lol! If you watch enough tech review videos on Youtube, you realise that anything that's generic (or even branded but from China) are sourced from China and can be found on AliExpress. So you can go there to look up more details, wholesale-ish prices, etc.

        What phone do you have? Depending on that, and other devices you might want to charge, you should look for powerbanks that cater to its particular flavour of fast charging, whether it be USB-PD (Google Pixel phones, Nintendo Switches, MacBooks, etc), QC(number) (many Android phones incl. Samsung ones), or brand specific Huawei, OPPO, etc proprietary fast charging varieties.

        Generally, a 20,000mAh powerbank with any decent fast charging from a reputable brand will go about between $30 (for older models) to $100 (for newer ones with USB-PD charging). For example this deal or this deal. The one you've linked to below is only $24.55 for the 10,000mAh model, but honestly 10,000mAh is enough for almost anyone unless you're really out in the wild (e.g. a relatively large mobile battery capacity is 4,000mAh).

        • CouponCrazy on 20/11/2018 - 19:05

          I will buy my new phone this Friday but probably the OnePlus 6, or maybe Xiaomi Mix2S. I travel rural Australia for work, and spend time inside big buildings in the city so I can get pretty frustrated at lack of B28. My phone is always dropping to 3g. I watch my fair share of Linus Tech Tips, but he's far from focused on value. Thanks for the advise on the fast charging tech, I knew there was new technology out there but didn't realise it was proprietary. I will hold off on the power bank until I know for sure.
          Are you familiar with my previous comment that some people advertise Xiaomi as Ximaomi?

          • HighAndDry on 20/11/2018 - 19:34

            @CouponCrazy:

            Are you familiar with my previous comment that some people advertise Xiaomi as Ximaomi?

            That's either a terrible typo, or a knock off. That would make absolutely no sense lol.

            Buy from one of the bigger eBay outlets if you're buying a Xiaomi (because they're too popular and have lots of counterfeits). The ones linked in the expired deals are fairly solid.

  • CouponCrazy on 20/11/2018 - 18:31

    Thanks to both of you for your response. I'm tempted to go off brand but having a good phone I will always be careful about how I look after it!

    So onto a decent brand… However I found this power bank lol. The photo has Ximaomi, but it says in the description Xiaomi. A big red flag for another dodgy ebay seller, or in some countries is it sold under this name?

    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Xiaomi-2C-QC-3-0-Power-Bank-Dual…

    • Clear on 20/11/2018 - 18:37

      Those power banks are also commonly faked as this guy found out. It's best to stick to the reliable sellers that I listed above. With how many eBay sales there are it won't be long until there will be another.

      In the early days before Xiaomi did power banks I had a lot of the generics and they were horrible. Overstated capacities and very slow to charge.

  • Davo1111 on 20/11/2018 - 19:59

    comeone , you knew the answer already ;)

    unless you buy physically in store - just go xiaomi. safe, reliable, and well priced

  • altomic on 20/11/2018 - 23:07
    +2

    if you have an old laptop battery hanging around then bust it open for its sweet succulent 18650 cells and whack them in this $6 delivered - DIY battery Pack with LCD screen

    helps if you have smart charger than can measure capacity so you know what each battery is rated.

    I've bought 6 of these cases to make battery packs. and with recycled 18650 cells from laptop batteries I usually end up with a battery pack rated between 12,000mAh and 15,000mAh

    • CouponCrazy on 22/11/2018 - 18:42

      Wow, never heard of that. What a great idea and helps to reduce ewaste

  • bargaino on 22/11/2018 - 01:36

    Next question"
    are those 10,000 lumen torches with one AA battery legit?

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