PowerCore+ 26800 PD - fails again

#1

I’m really upset at this device failing for a second time. In October last year I bought this device from Amazon and it arrived in a non-responsive state - I couldn’t charge it and there were no lights (I think one light when connected and hitting the button).

I sent that back but Anker contacted me after seeing my feedback and sent me another device. This worked ok but due to the lockdown I’ve not used it much and it’s sat there unused for some month. Today I went needed to use it and to my utter horror the same problem was there again. No response and when connecting the charger one light when pushing the button and no charging.

I’ve tried the reset method of connecting input to output and holding the button down for 30 seconds and it didn’t work nor did it for the original one.

I find it hard to believe that in a few months the batteries have leaked so it appears to be yet again the problem of the “defective by design” controller board.

referring to this video :

I’m sure if I wanted to go through that I could reset it but I really don’t want to mess with Li-on batteries and soldering.

I’m really disappointed, I bought this device for backup purposes and not to use 24/7. If this thing can’t stand being put away for a few months it’s a useless and very expensive bit of kit.

In any case given that I’ve come across many similar problems with the Anker powerbanks I’d think that Anker would have put something in place that would allow us to reset the device.

I now have a useless paperweight that is only a few months old and a complete loss of confidence in this or any other powerbank made by Anker.

#2

Have you tried a different cable and a different charger?

#3

what kind of charger are you trying to use to charge this powerbank? also to charge it no lights can be on when plugging it in otherwise it will output a charge and not accept the charge. You need a power delivery charger and use a USB-C to USB-C cable in order to get a right proper charge. if your using a usb to usb c cable then you must leave it to charge upwards of 20 hours to fully charge it

#4

Really odd, send a video to support showing all the steps you have taken to ensure the problem is not the cable or charger, maybe they can send you another unit

#5

Hi all,

Yes tried different cable and charger. The charger used was the Anker pd 45w. Worked fine and 4 months ago I left it fully charged so it should have been OK.

Sadly they have replied to my emails saying basically I’m on my own. This is because when I returned the first one to Amazon I got a refund and they contacted me to offer a new one in return for me changing my negative review.

In view of that I can’t really complain that they don’t want to replace it but it leaves me deeply concerned about ever buying another of these. There appears to be a flaw with the controller.

I guess I’m going to have to take it apart and see if I can revive it as per video.

I would like to know if others here have had any similar experiences particularly after not using for a while. I do see quite a few reports of these powerbanks refusing to charge

#6

I have 2 of these and never hadn’t issue charging them even after leaving 1 of them uncharged in over a year. Both still charge up and both still work perfectly fine.

1 Like
#7

As far as I can tell you’ve lost nil money and you complain to get free stuff. You complained before and now complaining again to get more free stuff.

You bought, returned for full refund. No money lost.

You complained in negative feedback. You got another for free.

It’s not working and now the item you got free you are complaining again. Why? You want more free stuff again?

4 Likes
#8

Wow! One of those eh?

Firstly regard my quote :
“In view of that I can’t really complain that they don’t want to replace it but it leaves me deeply concerned about ever buying another of these. There appears to be a flaw with the controller.” You did read that right?
Where in my posts does it say “I want more free stuff again”??

Secondly what has voicing my concerns about having 2 catastrophic failures on 2 of these devices got to do with complaining? Was I complaining about losing money? Was I complaining about not getting a replacement?

So you are saying it is ok to complain if I bought it but not to do so if I didn’t ? What has a refund or that I didn’t pay anything to do with the fact that I have concerns about buying this product or the reliability of it.

Give me a break, I came here to find out if there was 1) a solution 2) if anyone had experienced the same to try to get some information on the cause and as I said in my previous post “I CAN’T COMPLAIN about not getting a replacement”.

Whether this was free to me or not I could have paid for both - I could have got a replacement without a refund then you’d say I CAN ask questions or query the reliability of the product (in your terms err …, complaining) and if not NO you CAN’T. Jees!!

So get off your schoolyard high horse and read my post carefully before jumping to conclusions and understand the difference between complaining, expressing concern and asking questions. If you have nothing useful to add to this post please don’t contribute your “opinion” which I couldn’t care less about and is not everyone’s opinion. Expressing what you did is totally rude,unfair and inaccurate!

#9

Thanks Tank,

This is the kind of thing I need to hear. If I got 2 rogues or there is an issue with leaving them to either leak or sit around. The video I linked above was quite interesting in that he thought it was to do with charging with his solar gear and the controller got confused. I’m not entirely convinced mind you.

#10

That guy in the video I an idiot, any time a battery is fully discharged it will take more than a few seconds if it being plugged in in order for it to start charging again. Sometimes in extreme cases it can take a longer time of just being plugged in in order for it to start to charge, sometimes it also takes a slight power increase in charging ability to kick start the charge. More over he had the lights on in the video or at least it looked that way when he plugged it in, and this battery pack will NOT charge if plugged in when the lights are on as it will try to output a charge instead of accepting a charge.

1 Like
#11

Good luck! Let us know if it works

1 Like
#12

Interesting although I didn’t think it was fully discharged. When he finally kicked the controller board into life it showed about 40% charged.

I’m also thinking the same, ie. that my cells are holding a charge but it’s the controller. I can but try to unsolder the connections and apply power and see what happens.

There needs to be some kind of external reset for this possible situation if it works as connecting the output to the input doesn’t seem to work. This may have been something that worked on previous powerbanks as I’ve seen a lot of people suggest it.

Let’s see - I managed to figure out how to prise off the front and back panels but didn’t have time to go further, so I’ll give it a go when I’ve got more time.

BTW Tank, what kind of leakage did you see after 1 year just out of curiosity?

#13

Sadly it didn’t. After disconnecting everything the controller board displayed the same thing.
Voltage measurement show the batteries are well charged. Looks like the controller is faulty.

#14

Such a shame, time to get a new one I guess

#15

I’ll Try a cheaper Rav power model … see how that goes

1 Like
#16

It happened to me too, but the second time the product worked amazing, it happens a lot that you do not use the product.

#17

Well having been in a long conversation with Anker support they seem to acknowledge that their boards do have some kind of issue which shouldn’t happen when the unit is not used.

Their recommendation is that if storing for 3-4 months it should be discharged and recharged but they agree when I point out this is only a maintenance issue and is designed to get the best capacity and longevity from the batteries and not doing this shouldn’t result in catastrophic failure.

I’ve agreed with them to give it another try so I’ve ordered the same unit. I will deliberately store it for 3 months without using it after a few charge and discharge cycles and as the warranty is 18 months we can see what happens and I should be covered.

They claim their engineers are looking into the issue although I’d be happier if they asked me to return the item so they can investigate it (they say they have some samples though) and I also suggested that they set up a service center for people that don’t have a warranty but want their unit fixed - to avoid unnecessary discarding materials.

#18

Never happened to me, though I forgot one in the drawer.
Charged perfectly.
Slow because USB-A -> USB-C

Some kind of a strange story is told here.
Could be believed in, or not.:roll_eyes:

#19

The 6 18650 cell models have a voltage balancer which can cause confusion. As the larger 26800 got popular they moved to two Lithium Poly cells which avoids the need for the balancer
That’s at least what the teardown videos suggest.

#20

Honestly it appears that it’s as situation that can happen but from what I can see not necessarily. This is what I’m hoping Anker will investigate. I would also hope that if there is some kind of confusion for the controller that some kind of reset will be provided for the user (if of course the controller can be kicked out of the mode).

In my case - although I’m no expert, I think the batteries are in good conditions (why wouldn’t they be) with a full charge.

The last thing I think I did was check the power delivery mode on my Fuji XT-3 - it worked perfectly and then it was put away in a place with cool temperatures (nothing extreme).