If true then it will lower the life of the product.
The most efficient buck-boost is double the voltage so it’s more efficient to make 140W 28V from around 14V. So even 3s2p would get you to 12.6V nearer to 14V.
You do have to buck boost 21.6V to 28V and it’s not more efficient to get to 28V from 21V it’s better from 14V.
I just didn’t expect they’d worsen product reliability doing it that way.
My old PowerCore Speed 20000 PD from 5 years ago when USB PD was still in its infancy still works perfectly. Someone else in the family has a PowerCore III Elite 26K 87W and an old PowerCore 20100 that also work perfectly. Besides, isn’t it more efficient the closer the nominal voltage is to the output voltage? When AllThingsOnePlace tested this unit he got 84% discharge efficiency compared to the 82% he got from the Baseus Blade 100W (1 series circuit of 4 cells, 14.8V). According to your chart it was getting 87% discharge efficiency at 20V. It also had 76% charge efficiency compared to the Baseus’ 71%. For it to be more efficient at 15V than at 20V is really odd. Also, 2 series circuits of 3 cells would yield 11.1V.
Good unboxing video
Anker doesn’t advertise this but the PowerCore 24K has full-spectrum (3.3-21V) variable voltage (aka PPS) at 5A. This means that it conforms to the specifications of Qualcomm Quick Charge 5. In the video from ChargerLAB shown in an above post, the POWER-Z KM002C device mentions “QC5” in the “PD3.1” section.
This video from ChargerLAB features a nubia REDMAGIC 7S, a phone with a QC5 power setup, charging from various USB PD AC adapters (no portable units were tested.) The phone can be seen taking over 90W from the adapters that have up to 20-21V variable voltage at 5A. With the adapters that either do not have variable voltage or do have it but only up to 11V or 16V, the phone simply sets the adapters to 9V⎓3A.
With the adapters that have the high variable voltage, the POWER-Z device shows that the adapters are set to 19.5V⎓5A, but according to it, the phone is taking ~17V⎓5.4A. There is nothing wrong with the voltage, but that current is over USB PD’s official maximum of 5A from power sources and cables other than the ones that come with the phone. Has anyone tried plugging this or any other QC5-equipped device into the PowerCore 24K using a 5A cable? I would not want to plug one of these phones in only for it to constantly trip the overload protection, or even worse, damage the power bank and/or cable!!!
FYI these still work
Still works but even so I could see the direct of my currency and grabbed another earlier this year
It’s voltage and current is compatible with all my devices including my laptop I got this year
It’s got 12% more stored energy than this priced item
Admittedly I got lucky, my laptop will take any voltage, it works off 5V, if it didn’t I’d be forced up to items which by today’s standards are probably not worthwhile getting
Tried an ASUS ROG Strix G15. That computer wouldn’t work reliably with the PowerCore 24K. It would start taking power from it and then the power bank would reset. It would keep doing the same thing over and over until I unplugged it. Someone on r/anker has the same problem with this combination of device and power source. When they try an Anker USB PD AC adapter, it works fine. The computer seems to set the power bank to the correct setting (20V⎓5A), but I wonder if there is a bug in ASUS’ firmware that makes it start taking power in a way that trips the power bank’s overload protection. Does anyone here with an ROG Strix G15 have the same problem and is there a firmware update on ASUS’ end?
I wanted this powerbank, but now I really want one, just because of how excited you are lol. This was great 
The PowerCore 24K has an easter egg! Read one of the latest reviews on Amazon to see it.
Link? You don’t state which country. USA most likely.
Review says need special cable.
It comes with the required cable doesn’t it?
True you do need to buy a charger. Personally I’d be ok with a 100W charger to save a few $
Mine came with a cable. It says “MAX 140W” but ChargerLAB connected it to the POWER-Z device and the E-Marker chip reported 50V⎓5A, implying it is a 240W cable. Hopefully future 36V and 48V sources and devices will not fry it.
If it’s saying it can handle 50V 5A then it should. Higher voltage is much harder to fry something than rated than a higher current than rated as the pins width of the USB standard can handle 48V but the guage of the wire determines what current it handle.
I don’t see the use of USB for higher Wattage as a good trend as it’s actually increasing costs. A “dumb” 240W charger is lower cost, much simpler electronics. I do like the removal of proprietary barrel connectors but I’m perfectly happy with my current maximum device USB at 45W (my Chromebook).
Maybe E-Marker chips only come in either 50V or 20V varieties, and Anker is simply warning the consumer not to use a device that runs at more than 28V.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrJOirxxf
ChargerLAB actually posted a video of the PowerCore 24K powering different devices! This is the first portable unit they have ever featured in such a video. The nubia REDMAGIC 7S I had mentioned earlier for some reason sets this power bank to 9V⎓3A. Maybe the phone either decides not to enter QC5 mode because it is already charged beyond a certain amount or only enters QC5 mode if you use the 6A cable that comes with the phone. However, the Xiaomi Black Shark 5 Pro DOES enter QC5 mode and take over 90W from the PowerCore 24K, and just like with the nubia and the high-end AC adapters from the earlier video, the POWER-Z device shows the power bank is set to 19.5V⎓5A, but according to it, the phone is taking ~17V⎓5.4A. This is with the 5A cable that comes with the power bank. After seeing ChargerLAB’s video featuring the Xiaomi 12S Pro, I thought that Xiaomi restricted its QC5 mode to only its own AC adapters as that phone does not enter QC5 mode with even the high-end adapters. It appears this “charger DRM” is not present on the Black Shark 5 Pro or the Redmi Note 10 Pro which also enters QC5 mode and takes almost 90W from the PowerCore 24K. I still would like to hear some input from any owners of both one of these phones and the PowerCore 24K to make sure that when I plug one of these phones in I don’t fry anything after a period of time.
Something this complex is inevitably going to have devices which don’t charge properly.
They should have allowed firmware updates.
I didn’t, and won’t, buy this product, but I did buy a Powerhouse for specific devices, had my testplan, it failed it, so returned having checked there’s no firmware update coming.
Yeah I am fairly disappointed the neither of the powerhouses that I bought will ever seem to get any firmware updates. I got the 521 and the 757. I wish there was at least a way to turn down the input wattage for AC charging. Because I would love to use the 757 while traveling in my car with my 1000w inverter but the 757 maxes out the inverter and there is no way to use it other than to charge it with the 12v 120w car charger. Which takes over 10 hours. 3
Make sure you have thorough readable reviews in all the places so those behind you can find.
For everyone with an interest they either live in a country with free return and so put in the effort to buy, test, review, keep/return, or a searching for reviews as they don’t get free return
It has worked with every USB PD device I have plugged into it thus far except for that ASUS computer I mentioned earlier. I wish more users would post their experiences with different devices on this thread.
Good.
I agree.
But threads are skewed towards negative as unhappy users shouter louder. More “flat” straight factual reviews helps everyone.
So not the Amazon affiliate ridiculously positive bias, and not the ridiculously negative venting sore owner.
