iPad Isn’t the whole point of the USB-C standard to be able to use the same chargers etc?

[sunking101]

When I charge my iPad Mini 6 with a 25w Samsung charger the iPad only trickle charges and takes forever to reach 100% yet when I use the supplied 20w Apple charger the iPad fast charges to 100% as expected. Why is this as both chargers are USB-C and the Samsung is of a higher wattage?

 

[ChedNasad]

It should fast charge with and PD compliant charger. I think I read somewhere specifically PD 3.0 but I was not able to find that level of granularity on Apple's website. Maybe the charger you have is not PD compliant or if it is maybe it's an older iteration than what the iPad wants? Type C itself is just the connector style. You also have the specs that determines the transfer speed (USB 3.0, 3.1, 4 etc) and various standards for charging speed/capabilities. Just cause something is type C doesnt mean it will have X transfer speed and Y charge rate.

 

[Shirasaki]

Charging is not just about wattage and amps. communication between charger and the device matters too, not to mention all Apple-supplied cables have chips inside to communicate between charger and device to a degree.

Apple 20W charger charges iPad faster because charger knows how to deliver that 20W safely to iPad where Samsung charger is considered generic and iPad just falls back to the safest charging route possible, resulting in slow charging speed, but guarantee to not blow up the battery or sth.

 

[ian87w]

Welcome to the real reality of USB-C, where it's quite fragmented how cables and charges are actually implemented. It's even confusing amongst Android. I cannot fast charge my Samsung phone with my Huawei USB-C cable, for example. It's a total mess, and I'm surprised how many people here really wanted to be in that mess.

I have a feeling it's a failed negotiation between the iPad and the charger. Sometimes it happens even within the same brand. Try reconnecting the cable, or try a different cable. Try a Samsung USB-C cable.

 

[sunking101]

Welcome to the real reality of USB-C, where it's quite fragmented how cables and charges are actually implemented. It's even confusing amongst Android. I cannot fast charge my Samsung phone with my Huawei USB-C cable, for example. It's a total mess, and I'm surprised how many people here really wanted to be in that mess.

I have a feeling it's a failed negotiation between the iPad and the charger. Sometimes it happens even within the same brand. Try reconnecting the cable, or try a different cable. Try a Samsung USB-C cable.

It was the cable. If I use the Samsung charger with the iPad cable I get fast charging. Use the (genuine) Samsung cable and the iPad trickle charges.

I can use the Samsung charger with either cable and still get fast charging when charging my Tab S8.

It looks like saving the environment is going to be annoying…

 

[Shirasaki]

It looks like saving the environment is going to be annoying…

Unless the initiative is pushed by an entity that doesn’t involve human, otherwise money would always be in the way.
What I want to say is it is impossible to save environment like this simply because everyone is not on the exact same page.

 

[Digitalguy]

It was the cable. If I use the Samsung charger with the iPad cable I get fast charging. Use the (genuine) Samsung cable and the iPad trickle charges.

I can use the Samsung charger with either cable and still get fast charging when charging my Tab S8.

It looks like saving the environment is going to be annoying…

It looks like you can blame Apple for that, not USB C. After moving from lighting (where non certified cables just would randomly not work most of the time) Apple seems to have found a way to still make non Apple cables look bad, by not supporting all the voltage & amperage combinations that Power delivery supports with non Apple cables.
I don't have the mini 6 but from my testing (with a power meter) iPad pro supports at least 20w from any samsung charger with any cable. Even my mini 5 does for 18w (but then I can only use Apple's USB C to lightning cable)
All Samung USB C chargers support Power Delivery & Quick charge at this point.
Without a power meter one can only speculate that either one of the higher voltages (9v, 15v) is not supported by the mini or, more likely, that the mini will use a lower amperage at a given voltage if it does not recognise the cable....
Again only a UBS C power meter will tell the true story...

 

[akash.nu]

There’s a whole thread on what a mess USB C is.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/usb-c-iphone-the-ugly-truth.2368173/

 

[minimo3]

Usb-c cables may look the same but some support PD and some don’t, and of those that support power they may are rated at different max delivery levels 5w, 10w, 45w…. 100w. Some cables support video and some don’t, some support data at USB 2.0 speeds while others support USB 3.0 or thunderbolt, some support USB audio and some don’t….. the list goes on. Of course you can’t tell any of this by looking at the cable.

Chargers are different too, some are Power delivery, some use QC (quick charge), some use proprietary methods (Xiaomi?). And if you have a charger with multiple ports the charger might be listed at 65w but that’s only when you use port 1 alone, if you plug into port 2 along it might max out at 20w and if you use both ports the split might be 45w/20w.

It’s all designed to exercise your mental accuity as you try out different cable-charger combos and watch multiple YouTube videos, read multiple forums to try and figure things out.

 

[Abazigal]

You can use the same charger. It doesn't mean you will get the same result throughout. 😉

 

[rui no onna]

It looks like you can blame Apple for that, not USB C. After moving from lighting (where non certified cables just would randomly not work most of the time) Apple seems to have found a way to still make non Apple cables look bad, by not supporting all the voltage & amperage combinations that Power delivery supports with non Apple cables.
I don't have the mini 6 but from my testing (with a power meter) iPad pro supports at least 20w from any samsung charger with any cable. Even my mini 5 does for 18w (but then I can only use Apple's USB C to lightning cable)
All Samung USB C chargers support Power Delivery & Quick charge at this point.
Without a power meter one can only speculate that either one of the higher voltages (9v, 15v) is not supported by the mini or, more likely, that the mini will use a lower amperage at a given voltage if it does not recognise the cable....
Again only a UBS C power meter will tell the true story...

I use non-Apple USB PD chargers and cables all the time (Anker, ESR, Lenovo, etc) and I get ~20W on the mini 6 and ~30W+ on the iPad Pros.

Iirc, Samsung uses PPS. I believe Apple devices are limited to USB PD 2.0.

My guess, the Apple cable is “dumber” than the Samsung one allowing it to fallback on the lesser standard.

 

[ian87w]

I use non-Apple USB PD chargers and cables all the time (Anker, ESR, Lenovo, etc) and I get ~20W on the mini 6 and ~30W+ on the iPad Pros.

Iirc, Samsung uses PPS. I believe Apple devices are limited to USB PD 2.0.

My guess, the Apple cable is “dumber” than the Samsung one allowing it to fallback on the lesser standard.

You are probably right.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

It was the cable. If I use the Samsung charger with the iPad cable I get fast charging. Use the (genuine) Samsung cable and the iPad trickle charges.

I can use the Samsung charger with either cable and still get fast charging when charging my Tab S8.

It looks like saving the environment is going to be annoying…

Some companies weren’t satisfied waiting on USB-C Power Delivery to be formally and officially released, so, in order to get in on fast charging sooner, they went outside the spec in ways that their own devices understand, but other devices won’t. For example, it’s possible you might have run into the same issue using the Samsung charger with a non-Samsung Android device (depending on the chipset used).

That’s why some Qualcomm QuickCharge chargers don’t indicate official USB-C Power Delivery support as the ports supply delivery profiles outside of what USB-C allows. And, for quick chargers that use USB-A ports? WAAAY outside of what USB supports