Newbi needs portable iPhone power supply advice

My 2 year old iPhone 4s battery is finally getting to where a full charge first thing in the morning often runs out by mid to late afternoon if I take a few phone calls and do any texting and emails during the day. I’d like to find a compact portable power supply for when I need to run it a few more hours before I can get it charged back up normally.

I have a few 18650 batteries that I can use if that is an option. I saw a friend’s portable power supply but it cost him like $40. I’d rather buy something more budget minded from somewhere like DX.com but admit I don’t know anything about these products. Any buying tips or recs for specific models?

It would be nice if I could charge it from an iPhone /USB charger cord but not an absolute requirement.

Please help a BLF brotha out

I built a 6 x 18650 supply that also puts out 12 volts. Lovely little jewel. But here is where I got the idea.

I have this and I have used it several times to charge my iPhone 4s. I have charged the phone two times without having to recharge the battery pack.

UVA SUCKS!

Some good options for you, all very easy to assemble. I like these Ruinovo units for their solid aluminum construction. It just feels really nice/premium, more so than the plastic ones.
6x 18650 (I own this one, it’s large but it works great with my laptop battery harvested 18650’s)
4x 18650 (HKJ has reviewed this one, and he was quite pleased with it from a technical standpoint)
3x 18650

The Mi Power Bank, is a compelling argument, 4x 18650’s, and a high-quality construction/charging system. Not officially sold in the US, it can be found online. It comes with batteries, and I think this is a pretty phenomenal deal for what you’re getting. It retails for less than $20 in stores in China, but of course it has to get to the USA so…there’s that.

Changed link to an AliExpress link, best price I could find and the seller has very positive feedback scores.

Thanks folks! I’ve been reading those other stickie threads and getting overwhelmed by the options.

Rollingtone157 - I like that Mi Power Bank item even though all I really need and wanted was a smaller 2-cell unit. I read the Ali webpage and it did not state whether cells come with it or not. And the link to the review is broken…? I’d like to read it if you can fix the link.

Are any of the 1-cell units worthy candidates? All I really need is the ability to extend/recharge my iPhone one time, 2 charges would make me feel good too.

Also, does the charger stop charging when the iPhone reaches a full charge? Does the phone control that or the charger?

I think they have snap on cases that have a battery in them too .are they junk ?? I dunno someone with some experiance needs to chime in .My i phone 4s is having the same problem too .I thought about ripping it open and fixing the problem . i have a friend who does it for a living so I may ask him how hard it is .

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=108&cp_id=10831&cs_id=1083110&p_id=10577&seq=1&format=2

5200mAh (obviously has 2-cells).

It also has a built in flashlight (7-5mm LEDs) that makes for a very bright flood.

You can’t see in the product photos, but the silver casing end is semi-transparent; there are 4-blue indicator LEDs that show the remaining charge when you’re discharging it (or charging it).

So you push the button once to charge your device; double tap the button the turn on the flashlight, and it will turn off automatically once your phone/whatever is done charging.

If you’ve never shopped at Monoprice before, their service is excellent.

I bought the MI Power Bank at 10400 mAh. Far more than I need but what the heck. I can buy a smaller one of I decide I really need additional portability.

I do have a concern though - I googled this device and see references to fakes, including fakes coming from Aliexpress (shocker I know). I was not aware that Xiaomi was a large company with lots of fake products in circulation. I am wondering how I will tell if it is a fake when it arrives?

Like this.

And Xiaomi is a huge company in China, their 2013 revenue was over 5 billion USD

OK, mine arrived pretty quick from China. I can’t tell if mine is fake or not as mine does not resemble either the fake or real pictures I see online. From the outside it looks well made but the inside is confusing. I am going to start a new thread.

I have this which allows me to drop the phone in the running belt and GPS record a whole day out

rollinstone157 - 95% sure mine is a fake. Looks like a second generation fake as the corrected some of the differences people were posting online :frowning: