If you’re like me, you no doubt have a cell phone or possibly tablets in your house. Those devices need charging all the time and with that comes cables and chargers. I have a multitude of USB cables lying around, along with manufacturer chargers and chargers I’ve bought from stores. Sometimes those cables and chargers degrade and/or break, leading to longer charge times. It be difficult to find out how good these cables and chargers are performing.
I’ve discovered that downloading a battery monitoring app can really help finding out which of your equipment is busted. These apps can tell you exactly how much current your device is charging at. Some apps will even graph your charging performance. If you’re on Android, I’d take a look at Ampere or Battery Monitor Widget.
Using such apps, I was able to toss out a few wonky cables that weren’t transferring the proper amount of current.