Charger Question

[LCieParagon]

Hello I have a question that may seem dumb.

I charge my calculator near where I charge my phone, and at night it's hard to tell the difference which cord is which.

I've noticed something strange though. My phone charger will charge my calculator quite fine, but the calculator charger will not charge my phone. I've looked up micro USB A and B information, but the two cords look absolutely identical. I cannot spot a difference with either male end of the device. Both cords fit all devices fine and there is no jamming or forcing of cables.

Can someone point me in the right direction as to why this is so?

[StephenG1CMZ]

Some phones - particularly smartphones and tablets - need a higher current to charge successfully.
Some chargers provide a smaller current - it wastes less power and is presumably cheaper to manufacture.
Which is not a problem unless you try to charge a more powerful phone with a charger, or try to buy a charger in a shop that will actually charge your phone.

I've resorted to charging my phone on a PC as the shop charger was useless. But if you are tempted to do that, watch out for PCs that think it is helpful to switch the USB off every few minutes. and for phones that default to "connecting as a media device" when all you need is power (which makes your phone vulnerable to whatever malware is on that PC).

"Universal" perhaps, but not in this universe.