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What kind of charger is needed for 840?

samcek
over 1 year ago

So the Edge 840 comes without a charger, only with USB cable.

When I connect it to one of my multi-port chargers having specification of 2.1A output per slot (with nothing else connected to it), it does NOT charge the Edge 840. It doesn't even make a beep when connecting the cable.

When I connect it to another multi-port charger with 2.4A output per slot, it does charge the Edge 840.

When I connect it to my Samsung Galaxy phone charger (with QuickCharge 3.0) having 3.0A output, it also charges the Edge 840.

Given that the Garmin Edge 840 doesn't come with a charger, I think it would be most useful to at least officially specify what kind of a charger it needs. I looked through the manual but couldn't find the charging power specification. If there is one, please enlighten me.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to samcek

    My 840 arrived and it's charging at 5V and 500mA, just like yours.

    I did a little google on DCP1.5A, turns out a lot of chargers support it.  I couldn't find the spec, so I'm claiming it as "Dave's Charging Protocol 1.5 ampere".  It's interesting that your meter thinks the 840 asked for DCP1.5A.  Could be a charger firmware bug that preventing the charger and the 840 from agreeing on charging parameters.  Could be a bug in the meter firmware just throwing us off the trail.

    I did see one post where the charger did not switch to DCP1.5A and therefore didn't charge the device as expected.  That's the same experience you have.  Unlikely we will ever know exactly the problem.

    Taking a stab at answering the question in the title of the post, in my opinion pretty much any USB charger will work.  The higher amperage or PD chargers will not charge the 840 any faster than the cheap dollar store chargers. 

    Keep in mind that cheap cables may perform poorly and can reduce a charger's effectiveness.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Pastries

    Interesting - that it is Ravpower charger which is giving you a headache. In my case, it is the other way around... it is Ravpower charger (the black one) that actually works. It's the SBS charger (the white one) that doesn't charge the Edge 840. So, it looks like it doesn't simply come down to the brand, but it may be more complicated.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Dave

    Thanks for sharing. Ok, now we at least know that 0.5A is the normal/expected charging current for the 840.

    What we still don't know is the charging standard (if there is one) for the 840. What seems fishy to me is that the older Edge 820 communicates with QC2.0 protocol (and charges okay), and that the newer Edge 840 does not.

    And from the experience of other people, it seems that 840 doesn't talk properly to SOME chargers. It may be a comm firmware bug in the 840 for all we know. I wish some Garmin engineer would comment on this.