Quick Look: Ugreen Nexode 140W GaN Wall Charger

[VSG]

Ugreen adds to its popular charging accessories portfolio with the Nexode 140W wall charger. This is a GaN charger that promises faster charging from a smaller footprint compared to silicon-based OEM offerings, to where you can now charge 2-3 devices providing up to 140 W!

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[human_error]

I have one of their silicon based chargers and can't use it for my phones as every time one device finishes charging and is left plugged in, the charger seems to reconfigure the power sent to the other ports. Then the device which was full takes a small charge, causing the charger to reconfigure again. What this effectively does is act as if I am unplugging and replugging every device out then in each time it reconfigures itself so you end up with 3 devices all buzzing or beeping with the plugged in to charge sounds. I can only seem to use it for either charging devices that don't have an audible notification when charging (eg laptop) or only charging one device at a time.

Amazon reviews show it isn't just me that has this issue - did you notice this behavior with this charger?

 

[VSG]

I have one of their silicon based chargers and can't use it for my phones as every time one device finishes charging and is left plugged in, the charger seems to reconfigure the power sent to the other ports. Then the device which was full takes a small charge, causing the charger to reconfigure again. What this effectively does is act as if I am unplugging and replugging every device out then in each time it reconfigures itself so you end up with 3 devices all buzzing or beeping with the plugged in to charge sounds. I can only seem to use it for either charging devices that don't have an audible notification when charging (eg laptop) or only charging one device at a time.

Amazon reviews show it isn't just me that has this issue - did you notice this behavior with this charger?

I didn't notice this issue here, but that sounds absolutely terrible.

 

[human_error]

I didn't notice this issue here, but that sounds absolutely terrible.

For a £90 charger it was absolutely shocking - noticed it pretty quickly as the first night I was woken up by my phone, tablet, and watch all buzzing because the watch was fully charged and they were all entering/exiting charge mode. Makes me hesitant to buy any more Ugreen devices (though their ethernet cables are pretty stellar).

 

[b1k3rdude]

So the above 3 posts answered a question I was going to ask, how intellegent is it, and the answer is not at all.

@VSG, it might be worth doing a teardown review to see what internals its has, because Im betting it has dirty power delivery circuits and avg components.

 

[human_error]

So the above 3 posts answered a question I was going to ask, how intelegent is it, and the answer is not at all.

@VSG, it might be worth doing a teardown review to see what internals its has, because Im betting it has dirty power delivery circuits and avg components.

I'll point out my issue was with the older non-GaN version of their charger. Hopefully all the complaints about my version made them fix it for this one.

 

[VSG]

So the above 3 posts answered a question I was going to ask, how intelegent is it, and the answer is not at all.

@VSG, it might be worth doing a teardown review to see what internals its has, because Im betting it has dirty power delivery circuits and avg components.

I didn't have that issue here though and I plan to use this charger haha, so don't hold out on a teardown from me.

 

[Lianna]

I use Unitek's 4 port 100 W GaN chargers in two locations; in reality they are more like 3 port chargers with one (low power) port selectable between USB A and USB C, unless you want them both to be even slower, but that's fine with me.
I usually use the chargers to charge tablet and phone together, AFAIR both capable of at least 45 W input; so when charging both one downgrades to lower power. I rarely use third output at the same time as the first two.
While the charger "reconfigures" power output when plugging in the next device I did not see the effect you (human_error) were talking about after charging (of one device) is finished.

 

[QUANTUMPHYSICS]

I've not seen any gaming laptops with Nvidia 3070 or 3080 that ran on USB-C, although I'm sure they could exist. Thing is, I think I'd be using a regular power adapter (110v) for my gaming laptop while charging my applewatch, iPhone and portable bluetooth speaker on the USB ports.

I like UGREEN's product, but that's a hefty price tag when so many GaN chargers exist for less money. I have a dual USBC port 100W Choetech and recently upgraded my wall sockets to power distributers for 5x 110v, 3 x USBa and 1xUSBc. I am making sure all my sockets are ready for the USBc future - although I won't upgrade my iPhone till they offer 2TB storage.

 

[Wirko]

I have one of their silicon based chargers and can't use it for my phones as every time one device finishes charging and is left plugged in, the charger seems to reconfigure the power sent to the other ports. Then the device which was full takes a small charge, causing the charger to reconfigure again. What this effectively does is act as if I am unplugging and replugging every device out then in each time it reconfigures itself so you end up with 3 devices all buzzing or beeping with the plugged in to charge sounds. I can only seem to use it for either charging devices that don't have an audible notification when charging (eg laptop) or only charging one device at a time.

Amazon reviews show it isn't just me that has this issue - did you notice this behavior with this charger?

Based on your description, I'd say that the charger is doing its part well. It's programmed to deliver as much power as it can at any given moment. So it can't do anything else but reconfigure while charging, possibly often.

It's the devices that don't play nice. Their designers are ignoring the fact that multiple chargers exist, have a total power budget, and aren't able to supply a constant power to each port.

 

[human_error]

Based on your description, I'd say that the charger is doing its part well. It's programmed to deliver as much power as it can at any given moment. So it can't do anything else but reconfigure while charging, possibly often.

It's the devices that don't play nice. Their designers are ignoring the fact that multiple chargers exist, have a total power budget, and aren't able to supply a constant power to each port.

No it is the charger at fault. I don't have this issue with any other high power multi-port chargers, because even if they need to reconfigure they lower the voltage, not stop it completely. The devices can't tell the difference between being unplugged or the charger dropping the power to zero with my Ugreen charger, so there is literally nothing the devices can do. It is 100% on the charger design.

 

[Wirko]

No it is the charger at fault. I don't have this issue with any other high power multi-port chargers, because even if they need to reconfigure they lower the voltage, not stop it completely. The devices can't tell the difference between being unplugged or the charger dropping the power to zero with my Ugreen charger, so there is literally nothing the devices can do. It is 100% on the charger design.

I understand now. The charger's firmware is pretty dumb if it actually cuts power to the ports (if only briefly) when it wouldn't have to.