Ambrane P1000 power bank (10400mAh) first-impressions and teardown
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(I am in no way affiliated to any company, I was just curious about the guts of this power bank. The model externally looked exactly identical to the FX 608 PCBA kits off ebay/ Aliexpress/ dealextreme, so I thought I'd have a go at prying the power bank open.)
I haven’t tested any of the performance features yet, I just thought I’d post these pics while the Paytm 40% off offer was still going on. I’ll update the performance figures I get, although other dimers have claimed 8000mAH available, in line with the FX 608 PCBA’s claim of 80-85% efficiency.
I’d recommend this power bank at the offer price it’s currently selling for at paytm.
1. Packing
Ambrane seems to have several versions of this powerbank, some packed in a clear plastic box, others, like this one, are packed in a microfibre lined stiff cardboard box, enclosed in a larger corrugated cardboard box.
2. Box contents
The powerbank is accompanied by a proprietary cable (Male USB to female 3.5mm old Nokia-type female) and four adapter tips [Nokia 2mm (new), Apple lightening connector, Apple 30 pin connector and Micro USB]
3.Power bank
The glossy black model I have was covered by a thin plastic adhesive film on both sides to prevent scratches, and the body was entirely scratch-less except for a few minor scratches on the display:
The body is VERY glossy and attracts fingerprints easily, but looks extremely nice when clean:
The back side has standard specifications and certifications along with a sticker with a serial number.
4.Ports
There are two USB A-type female outputs, one rated 1A and one rated 2.1A, with a micro-USB charging port in between. The ports are situated very close to each other and plugging both, the micro USB input as well as the output ports together is either difficult or impossible, depending on the width of your micro USB connector's sleeve. However, the power bank DOES NOT POWER THE OUTPUT PORTS WHILE CHARGING, so keeping all ports plugged is pointless anyway.
5. The Guts
This power bank is merely a FX 608 PCBA clone DIY kit with Samsung SDI Li-ion cells, and although it's quite sturdy, it's easy to pry open. The Li-ion cells are held in place with double-sided tape, removing them without damaging it (I didn't want to replace it with fresh tape) is slightly tricky. Removing the rear panel shows the cells and the rear side of the PCB:
As expected, it's a FX 608 PCBA-type board, secured to the front panel with two tiny screws (In the white circles on the PCB)
The power bank has four 18650 2600mAh Samsung SDI Li-Ion cells in parallel (4 x 2600 mAh = 10400 mAh)
Even the case is identical to the DIY kit available from China via various sources, especially Aliexpress
The front side shows the blue backlit LCD display. Interestingly, the FX 608 PCBA has a display mounted in the opposite direction, and several reviews on Flipkart state that their power bank had ulta-displays too, but this piece, along with the other pieces bought by shoppers recently seem to have the display right-side-up (ulta with respect to the PCB now)
6: The chips
a. Boost converter- This power bank inevitably draws comparisons with the Xiaomi 10400 mAh power bank, which has a Texas Instruments chipset which claims efficiency in excess of 90%. The boost converter on this Power bank is an obscure chip, marked 9926 SI408, which yields no results on an online search. Since this is the component that ultimately decides the efficiency of power conversion from the 3.7V Li-ion cells to the 5V for the USB, finding more about it might give exact efficiency figures.
b. Li-Ion charging-The Li-Ion charging IC is the standard TP4056 chip, which charges the power bank at 1A as opposed to Xiaomi’s 2A charging. This means a rough calculation of 10.4 hours for completely charging the power bank from zero [1 amp (i.e. 1000mA) x 10.4 hrs = 10400mAh]. This theoretical figure, of course, will be lower than reality.
The cells are all in parallel, and they're not balance-charged, although this is a moot point, since I don't think any power bank offers balanced charging, let alone a power bank at the extreme bottom end of the budget spectrum.
c. LCD Driver-The backside has what is most likely the 20 pin LCD driver chip.
7. Performance-As stated, I haven't got time to check the performance yet, I'll update this post when I do so, although other dimers have claimed 8000mAH available, in line with the FX 608 PCBA’s claim of 80-85% efficiency.
8. Warranty- The warranty card specifies “1 year for product, 6 months for battery, USB cable and connectors” with the standard set of disclaimers. 
PERFORMANCE ISSUE UPDATE:
Old Nokia chargers (non-USB 3.5mm pin and 2mm pin types) apparently have weird charging characteristics not met by USB chargers. Users have faced issued with USB charging before: http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/...
I tried two Nokia phones with this charger, one (Asha 210) charged for a few minutes and then said "Charger not supported", the other (1203) said "Not charging" as soon as I plugged it in. This makes the Nokia pin adapter nearly useless (I'd like to hear if anyone has had any success charging a Nokia-pin phone with USB)
Misc (just nitpicking a few fine points, these shouldn't affect buying decisions):
1) The power bank has a peony little LED set in a reflector which the company advertises as an ultra-bright torch, it's more of an indicator and last-ditch torch for emergencies.
The LED appears less bright in the picture than it actually is, but it's nowhere as bright as any LED torch in the market today.
2) Since the USB ports are soldered to the underside of the PCB, they are ulta with respect to the power bank. This takes a bit of getting used to, I always end up trying to plug in the connector right side up and then getting confused for a second as it gets obstructed, before turning it over. But this isn't a problem in any other sense, just a design peculiarity.
3) All capacitors are SMD components, I'd have preferred to see a few beefy solid state caps smoothening the output ripple, although none of the users have reported any side-effects of the output ripple.
4) The display has just 2 digits, so full charge is displayed as 99%, not 100%
Preliminary Verdict (compared to the Xiaomi power bank):
Pros:
1) The Ambrane P1000 has identical cells as the Xiaomi and better build quality than I expected (It's rock solid even after I took it apart and closed it again, a feature lacking in several Chinese products)
2) Two USB ports, compared to Xiaomi's single port
3) It's an absolute steal at the current price with 50% or even 40% discount
Cons:
1) It's probably marginally less efficient than the Xiaomi 10400 mAh power bank.
2) Does not charge devices while it's charging itself
3) Charges (itself) half as fast as the Xiaomi power bank
4) Does not charge non-USB Nokia Phones although the adapter pin is included
If anyone needs more pics, let me know, I'll upload them.
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bumblefoot wrote:
well presented. karma.
+1:-} …
Krish Avatar wrote:bumblefoot wrote:
well presented. karma.
+1:-} …
+15 KG to OP
bumblefoot wrote:
well presented. karma.
well presented, sirji it can be added in blog & OP be given credits
wow nice explanation. good how to give karma?
Wow..Superb bro ..
What a presentation ..
Claps…:-}
And what was the price this power bank you bought from paytm?
jeswinjoy3453 wrote:
Wow..Superb bro ..
What a presentation ..
Claps…:-}
And what was the price this power bank you bought from paytm?
https://paytm.com/shop/p/ambrane-p-1000-portabl...
1349 for the powerbank, 50% cashback. So the effective price was 675Rs. Right now, with 40% cashback, it’s effectively at 810Rs. At the price I got it, it was a no-brainer compared to Xiaomi’s 1k, added to the fact that I needed a power bank now, and Xiaomi’s Power bank is oos since several days now.
Superrbbbb Presentation dude…
You deserve a 500 karmas for it..
@admin/mods Please do the needful..
I have added the Karma from my side.. 
I have also ordered this with the current 40% off and awaiting delivery..
The AMG (Ahh-h-h-h-h-h My God) Review… One of the best (if not the best) reviews of DD. KG. 
Ran into the first performance issue:
Charging Nokia phones with the Nokia pin adapter failed. I’ll post more details with pics soon, but apparently Nokia non-USB chargers charge at 7-8Volts, not 5V as mentioned on the chargers.
Performance Update:
For the device to be charged, I used my month-old Dell Venue 7 tablet which has a 4100mAh battery. I took the charge level readings every 10 minutes with the tablet switched off.
As is obvious from the graph, the tablet charged once completely and 87% the second time, giving an approximate capacity of 7,700 mAh.
The tablet does not charge at a constant current throughout, so the graph isn’t expected to be a straight line, but it’s obvious that the Power Bank’s display doesn’t indicate the charge level correctly as it displayed 66% while it had obviously supplied more than 50% of its capacity at the end of the tablet’s first charge. I wouldn’t rely on the power bank’s display as an accurate measure of its state of charge.
The display starts flashing when it reaches 3% and the power bank automatically shuts itself at 0%, preventing over-discharge
Charging the power bank:
I Charged the power bank with a 2.1A charger just in case it could draw more than 1A, but it charged from 0% to 99% in about 11 hours, indicating that the power bank does limit charging current to 1A.
As opposed to my previous post, it does charge to 100%, but it took nearly an hour to go from 99% to 100%. However, trickle charging this final 1% for this last hour is very important, not doing so gave just 7300mAh, a deficit of over 5% of the capacity.
Thanks for update.
Very good review man…..you deserve a thumbsup (y)
Krish Avatar wrote:bumblefoot wrote:
well presented. karma.
+1:-} …
+2
Karma for presentation
Please help me which should I buy xiaomi 10k mahbpower bank for 1k or ambrane 10400mah power bank for 675 rs which is of worth , xiaomi is better than ambrane but it lacks 1ampere output to charge phone slow and safe . please reply soon .
goyal.dkg wrote:
Please help me which should I buy xiaomi 10k mahbpower bank for 1k or ambrane 10400mah power bank for 675 rs which is of worth , xiaomi is better than ambrane but it lacks 1ampere output to charge phone slow and safe . please reply soon .
Xiaomi, without question, is much, much better than the Ambrane power bank.
First, about your power concerns:
You could plug your phone into a 1000A 5V source (if one exists) and it would still be safe. The phone only draws as much current as it requires, the charger can NEVER force more current as long as the voltage is constant (Ohms law) at 5V.
HOWEVER, as for value for money, Ambrane on paytm’s sale beats the Xiaomi power bank. You get about 8000mAH usable charge (tested my own power bank) from the Ambrane at Rs. 675 whereas about 9500mAh (Not tested myself, but in line with Xiaomi’s claim of 93% efficiency) from the Xiaomi for Rs. 999
If you have a 2A USB wall charger, the Mi power bank charges twice as fast as the Ambrane. It also has far less potential to fail (better circuit design, components and build). Whereas, with the Ambrane, you get the advantage of being able to charge two devices at once.
Both power banks come without wall chargers. If you only have a 1A wall charger, Xiaomi’s faster charging rate makes no difference. That’s one less pro for you.
well presented.. KG
Hi all,
i have got xiaomi 10400 from Flipkart. I bought that for my LG optimus G E970 and Moto e.
My issue is: Lg optimus G has a charger with output rating 5V and 1A. and Moto e has 5V and 550ma
1) is it ok to use this xiaomi powerbank with output 5V and 2A current to charge these devices designed with low charging current circuit?
2.If yes, as one dimer said the phone can not draw more current, then why do the companies make charger of low output ( 5v 550ma in moto e) where they could have easily gone for 2a charger and charge the device faster. I dont think pricing of 5v 2a charger and 5v 550 ma charger to be too different.
3.Why would they mention the current in the output rating if voltage is fixed at 5V? that means the power ratings are different (p = VI)
Request Knowledgeible dimers to please clarify.. Thx in advance
1.
gyanr wrote:
Hi all,
i have got xiaomi 10400 from Flipkart. I bought that for my LG optimus G E970 and Moto e.
My issue is: Lg optimus G has a charger with output rating 5V and 1A. and Moto e has 5V and 550ma
1) is it ok to use this xiaomi powerbank with output 5V and 2A current to charge these devices designed with low charging current circuit?
2.If yes, as one dimer said the phone can not draw more current, then why do the companies make charger of low output ( 5v 550ma in moto e) where they could have easily gone for 2a charger and charge the device faster. I dont think pricing of 5v 2a charger and 5v 550 ma charger to be too different.
3.Why would they mention the current in the output rating if voltage is fixed at 5V? that means the power ratings are different (p = VI)
Request Knowledgeible dimers to please clarify.. Thx in advance
1) Yes, it’s ok to use power banks with any USB powered device. For example: http://www.sony.co.in/productcategory/sto-batte… (see the last point: Universal usage)
2) Companies don’t include 2A chargers with all products because:
- Chargers of low output cost less. Check out pricing details of 2A vs 1A chargers from any one company to verify this if you want. (Don’t compare the price of a 2A brandless ‘chinese’ charger with Apple’s 1A charger)
- For most phones shipped with 550mA or 1A chargers, the phone can’t charge itself at 2A, so it won’t charge at 4x/ 2x the speed if you plug it into a 2A charger. It might charge your device marginally faster if the phone supports faster charging. Li-Ion cells need to be charged with specific voltage and current characteristics (http://www.ti.com/lit/an/snva533/snva5…df) at specific states of charge (Charge %), so all USB charged Li-Ion powered devices have their own charging regulators built in, which are capable of limiting current and switching off charging if excess voltage is supplied.
3) Of course, the power ratings are different! 2A chargers are 10W (2Ax5V), 1A chargers are 5watts (1Ax5V). These are maximum ratings.
Your question is a commonly asked (and answered) question on Engineering/ electronics forums.
Check out http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/…
The answer posted there is as follows:
This is a very common question here.Current is pulled depending on the load, not pushed by the charger.
If the load needs or pulls 1A, then the power supply must be able to supply 1A. If it is capable of supplying more, then that’s fine; the load will not pull more just because it’s connected to a supply with greater capacity.
Think of it this way: A mains power outlet can operate a small space heater which may require 1500 watts. But it also can charge your phone. Your phone does not suddenly burn up or consume more power, even though it is plugged into a supply that is obviously capable of much more current.
Or this: http://www.fasttech.com/forums/1207400/t/100154…
Yes, you can. Regardless the current, as long as the charger has 5V voltage and max current higher than 1A, it should be ok. Chargers are voltage sources, (the adapter provides a stable voltage output (5V) and the device (this powerbank) decides how much current to draw (1A)). Your charger’s specification says it provides a maximum of 2Amps. That means it will sustain its 5V output voltage up to a current of 2A.
There’s a far more detailed explanation here, I’m not pasting the whole thing on this thread (too long). If you’re curious, read it (highly recommended)
http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/…
The points about current are
A constant-voltage supply doesn’t determine the current: the load, which in this case is the device, does. If Johnny wants to eat two apples, he’s only going to eat two whether you put 2, 3, 5, or 20 apples on the table. A device that wants 2 A of current works the same way. It will draw 2 A whether the power supply can only provide the 2 A, or whether it could have supplied 3, 5, or 20 A. The current rating of a supply is what it can deliver, not what it will always force thru the load somehow. In that sense, unlike with voltage, the current rating of a power supply must be at least what the device wants but there is no harm in it being higher. A 9 volt 5 amp supply is a superset of a 9 volt 2 amp supply, for example.
If your device or broken wall wart says 9 V DC, get a 9 V DC replacement. The right voltage and type of voltage are important: a too high voltage may damage your device, a too low voltage too, though that’s less common. But at a too low voltage it may not work properly.Get a power supply at minimum the rated current. If the device says 500 mA, get a power supply that can deliver at least that. A 100 mA wall wart may overheat and set your house on fire if not properly protected. A 1000 mA is safe, even if you only need 500 mA
Very good review…KG
I purchased ambrane 20400 mh power bank but it is running fine and charging all
Nice review for the products
one of the best reviews i have seen..!!
nice
posting few images of my 20800 mah battery which i got at 1350 INR from paytm.
Annamalai Nārāyaṇa wrote:
posting few images of my 20800 mah battery which i got at 1350 INR from paytm.
Excellent pics
KG
Could you post a pic of the other side of the PCB too? And mention the numbers printed on the ICs? I hope that’s not asking too much from someone who has just ripped apart a shiny new gadget 
(also, is that a genuine Beats Pill in the first pic? 
)
Mr_N wrote:Annamalai Nārāyaṇa wrote:
posting few images of my 20800 mah battery which i got at 1350 INR from paytm.
Excellent pics
KG
Could you post a pic of the other side of the PCB too? And mention the numbers printed on the ICs? I hope that’s not asking too much from someone who has just ripped apart a shiny new gadget(also, is that a genuine Beats Pill in the first pic?
)
thankyou.
here is the pic
yes the beats is original to the best of my knowledge, my friend who works in Caribbean Cruise-lines bought it for me as a return gift for a help i did last year.
guys any power bank with panasonic Li-ion batteries (18650 size) ?
Ambrane : samsung
Xiaomi : LG
Offtopic:
can i buy one 2400 mAH power bank and can replace it with 3400 mAH cell ? will it cause any problem ?
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 first-impressions and teardown for Rs. at ){kind=link}
well presented. karma.