Comments on: Are Mobile Car Chargers Good for Phone Batteries?

By: Juliet Waugh

Juliet Waugh — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 05:30:51 +0000

Yeah.This is a very convenient and safe way to charge your mobile by your mobile charger.I think to charge mobile by a car charger will not be as safe as mobile charger.

By: Gadget Mobile Lover

Gadget Mobile Lover — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 06:02:46 +0000

Well, the most safe to charge cell phone by it original charger. No others. Why we have to bring our cell phone to car and charge it with car charger? Make it easy, don’t make it difficult.

By: G unit

G unit — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:19:40 +0000

all I can say is bullshit just charge the phone however and whenever you like it’ll be fine

By: DLL

DLL — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 06:11:36 +0000

Certain car phone chargers whether they were bought through oem providers or aftermarket, did not regulate voltage, and therefore shortened the life of the cell battery.
Whether this was by design (to sell more batteries) or just shortsightedness, is immaterial. Most newer cell phones come with just a car charger, which makes one wonder why cell phone providers find it more convenient to supply just a car charger. My personal phone charger broke after 4 months, as I change cars often. I now have both a car charger, and purchased the appropriate home charger as a backup and have had no problems with either, although I suspect the home charger will last considerably longer.

By: andy mackay

andy mackay — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:38:08 +0000

I have to agree with those poo pooing the idea that car chargers are bad. Were did you get this from? did you just make it up on the spot? What a load of rubbish, it’s funny because I was just looking @ my car charger yesterday, cuz I am going into running stuff in car @ the moment in a big way(that’;s another story), the one I use is a Nokia branded one for my Nokia phone and it actually came in the package when I got the phone. It says on it 5v, so as the car is 12v it is obviously regulated. My work is 30 mins away from were I stay so the phone gets 60 mins a day on the car charger, it has never even been attached to the mains charger I couldn’t even tell you what it looks like, my phone (N95 gr8 phone BTW) is ~18 mnths old and work perfectly.

By: Beware of Using Mobile Car Chargers with Your Phone

Beware of Using Mobile Car Chargers with Your Phone — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:24:41 +0000

[...] be doing more harm than good to the device’s battery. Tech blogger Chris Pirillo published an e-mail from Chris Levo of Nteract Solutions discusses how the unregulated power supply in your car can cause damage to [...]

By: Andy Lane

Andy Lane — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:25:27 +0000

Having used car chargers (and I mean the cheap ones from convenience stores) almost exclusively for the past 10 years I have to say this guy doesn’t know Jack!

By: sharky

sharky — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:19:20 +0000

I would think that charging the batteries often just to keep them full, triggers the “memory effect” which is common in any type of battery.

By: Frank Schnyder

Frank Schnyder — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:57:26 +0000

What difference does it make if you replace your phone every two years? With my last phone, I used the car charger probably as much as the indoor one and the device is still OK.

I disagree with the part about emptying my pockets before bed. I think most people empty their pockets when getting home then go to bed hours later. This is the best time to charge the phone. I’ve heard differing opinions over the years about possible over-charging, but if you plug it in when you get home, you can check to see when it’s at 100%. I’m not too comfortable leaving it plugged in for 8 hours while I’m asleep.

Levo must be some kinda workaholic.

By: David Ball

David Ball — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:45:11 +0000

Exactly what is he basing his information on? Is it the simple fact he feels the power is unregulated? If so, he should see my APC UPS log file…. Ninety percent of the logged outages are due to low voltage levels and cycle drops, not actual power outages. Charging exclusively in your hoome is no guarentee, especially in central PA.

By: Adam Outler

Adam Outler — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:57:47 +0000

This is false information. Most car charges use voltage regulators such as diodes or voltage regulator chips. I don’t know of any 12V cellular telephone. Most run on 3-5V. Also, when a cell phone charger manufacturer makes a charger they have to account for the fact that when the car is off the car provides 12VDC and when the car is running the car will provide as much as 15.5V in some cases.

As an electronics tech, I see alot of false information which is written by those whom know just enough to be dangerous. Did you know that 50 years ago people actually put covers on their electrical sockets so that the power didn’t leak out?

By: johnnybond

johnnybond — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:06:02 +0000

What about external batteries? Also what about car to home converters? Are they bad for batteries?

By: Ralph Brewster

Ralph Brewster — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:05:47 +0000

I use my home charger, but plug it into an inverter in my car…wouldn’t that be as good as home charging? Mr. Levo’s comment, “…because the power is not regulated like in your home ” would only apply if you were not using the home charger (which I assume is the regulator that he is referring to) but I do, just plugged into my high-end aftermarket inverter.

By: tomawesome

tomawesome — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:52:01 +0000

I’d like to hear more evidence why car chargers are bad. what does he mean “the power is not regulated”? of course it is! car batteries put out about 12.5 volts give or take some. is that “give or take” really so bad? if so, why?

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:50:16 +0000

Perhaps you should poll someone with a some degree of technical knowledge. The closest this article comes to providing any basis for his warning is “the power is not regulated like in your home”. News Flash: the power in your home is not regulated. In the US the voltage range allowed is almost 40 volts and in practice exceeds that. Any “regulation” is done in the charger by a voltage regulator chip. Is he saying that _no_ vehicle chargers use such a chip? And that that is the difference between the “$10″ and the “$30″ chargers? Sensationalistic, unsupported, “Chicken Little” warnings like this provide no service at all beyond entertainment value. In fact, you do yourself a disservice by promoting it without validation.