A Humble Librem 5 Daily User Review

[Hristo]

Today I received the AENZR docking station from Quarnero.
I got excellent results. I tested it with 5 different power supplies and got 3 times 5V 2A negotiated and measured in all 3 cases above 1A consumption.

I get 5V 2A with:

1. Power bank when using USB-A to USB-C. (when using USB-C to USB-C with the same power bank I get 5V 0,5A)
2. With the power supply of Raspberry Pi 4.
3. With a Samsung smartphone charger 5V 2A USB-A to USB-C.

I get 5V 0,5 A with:

1. Sony smartphone charger 5V 3A 9V 2A 12V 1,5A.
2. The original Librem 5 charger.

So we have a pattern here. The 2 newer and more high tech power supplies deliver worse performance than the good old USB-A to USB-C when having an USB-Hub/Docking station of this class in between the charger and Librem 5.

As a last test before clicking on the reply button, I decided to use the Librem 5 power supply with a small USB-C to USB-A adapter and USB-A to USB-C cable to the docking station. And wow 5V 2A.
The idea behind is, that if you are on the go, you might not want to carry several different power supplies with you. This way a tiny adapter and a second cable are sufficient and you can go with the Librem 5 power supply.

[Quarnero]

@amosbatto

Yes, any charger can be dangerous, if the L5 tries to pull more amps from the charger than it is designed to output, so people who are experimenting with other chargers should be monitoring the amperage to make sure that the L5 is negotiating the correct amperage limits with the charger. In my tests with other chargers, I watched the amps using a USB multimeter and checked the surface temperature of the charger to make sure it wasn’t overheating. I tried several different chargers with the L5 that were limited to a max of 0.5A, 2.0A and 3.0A at 5V, and they all stayed inside their limits. I didn’t try any chargers that supported higher amperage, because I was afraid that the L5 wouldn’t correctly negotiate to use lower amperage.

I need to admit that I was partially wrong as below AC power adapter to 5.2V/1.5A doesn’t overheat at all (when charging my Librem 5):

P.S. Also, no matter what amperage you see above, just trust me that it is 5.2V/1.5A power supply while it won’t boot Librem 5 without having its battery inserted (especially if USB-C to USB-C cable not as short as mine ). And, I’ve already tested Canon PD power supply with my Librem 5 but do not want to overheat this post (although my Librem 5 in with it, and just don’t want that I share Canon PD power supply with any other device, as I actually did yesterday evening). As well, I’m mentioning Canon PD-E1 here while it doesn’t provide higher amperage to the Librem 5 than it actually requests (it is just pure joy watching them playing together).