If your power bank has this port, it's probably time for a replacement

Tutorials

If your power bank has this port, it’s probably time for a replacement

Power banks are the easiest gadget to neglect. You charge them, stick them in a drawer and then only pull them out when you need to travel or when the power’s out. Which is why it’s easy to miss when your power banks are outdated or no longer suitable to have your back when you need them most.

The easiest way to tell is of your power bank still has this one little port—micro USB.

Why an outdated charging port is a problem

Micro-USB was a good solution in its time. We needed a low-profile port that could work for devices like phones and that made it perfect for power banks. It made perfect sense when your phone was also using micro-USB, which meant chargers were plentiful, but right now the only reason I still even have micro-USB cables is that my Ring doorbell uses one.

If your power bank relies on an outdated connector, that’s not just a sign that you’ll have a hard time charging it. It also means that everything else inside that shell is from a legacy era in technology.

Micro-USB is the clearest sign it’s time to retire your power bank

Closeup of an old power bank with micro-usb connector.

If it charges over micro-USB it’s already old. Potentially ancient. Manufacturers moved away from micro-USB years ago, so even a “new” power bank with this connector has aging components. The bigger problem, however, is that micro-USB can’t carry much power. The standard specification for micro-USB is 2A at 5V at most, which is about 10W. Try charging a 20,000 mAh or larger power bank using that, and you’ll be waiting all night, and possibly all day too.

Not only that, but micro-USB is notoriously fragile, something which my own personal experience confirms. It was one of the many reasons that USB-C took over.

Why micro-USB power banks are likely degraded by now

If your power bank still uses micro-USB, then its age means that the batteries inside are no longer at their best. Lithium batteries are a chemical energy storage system just like any battery. Although lithium chemistry is the most volatile of the current mainstream battery types.

There are a few things that degrade a lithium battery, the main culprits being heat and charge cycles. Storing lithium batteries at 100% charge is another factor, which is why you should store lithium batteries long term, between around 30% and 70%, which is something I learned from the RC hobby.

The thing is, the one type of lithium battery you want to store at full charge long-term is a power bank. If you’re diligent, you’ve probably topped them all up every few months just in case, which is the right thing to do with power banks, but not great from a longevity perspective.

Even if the lithium cells are still A-OK, these power banks usually have old low-ouput USB ports, and much more primitive electronics. So they’re not much use when charging modern phones, tablets, or laptops with large batteries—if they’ll charge them at all.

What modern USB-C ports give you instead

The USB-C and USB-A ports of the Belkin BoostCharge Power Bank 20K.

Switching to a modern power bank that charges using USB-C is about more than just having compatibility with a modern connector standard. The specifications of USB-C (although it can vary and be confusing) are light-years ahead of micro-USB. Modern USB-C power banks generally support USB-C PD (Power Delivery) that can provide far more wattage and not only charge your device, but power them while you do so.

When upgrading makes sense

I don’t want to advocate for the creation of e-waste, so I would never suggest that you throw away a working power bank, even if it uses a mini-USB connection to charge. However, if that’s your primary power bank, it’s certainly time to move it to lighter duty, like being part of a blackout kit paired with an LED USB light, for example.

However, you should give your old power banks an honest appraisal. Does that power bank give as many full charges for your phone or other device as it did when it was new? Does it hold a charge or is it always empty when you leave it for a few days? Do you actually carry a micro-USB cable around with you when you travel just so you can charge your power bank?

Modern power banks also offer new lithium battery chemistries (e.g. LiFePo4) that charge faster, have longer lifespans, and pack far more power into the same size enclosures. So, honestly, there’s no end to the reasons you should replace your mini-USB power banks.