Tech: Yoobao 13,000mAh Thunder Power Bank YB651

Updated: 12-21-2013

I was itching to make this post for a long time ago and finally did. I am posting this in order to share the experience I had with this model. Since I do not have any reply from the manufacturer's support, probably this post could help other consumers of this model.


I happened to look for power banks at that time since I have a lot of mobile device and I am always on the go. Prices of the branded ones are usually the same price with their capacity (mah). And I happened to see this China brand, with a capacity 13000 mah with the price of P1500.00. Attracted with its capacity and price, I immediately bought it.

Design

The mentioned model is bulky and it is almost the same size as a USB hard drive. With the USB hard drive that I have, the power bank is even heavier due to its capacity (mah). I prefer a slick design rather than a futuristic or Decepticon like design though.

Function

At the side where the ports are located, it has an LED light wherein you can use it as flashlight. 1 USB port charges or has an output of 0.5 A while the other has 1.0A. At the top part, it has a 5 LED lights to check for battery level by pressing the Decepticon button. Long pressing the the same button will light the LED for flashlight.

Usage

At full charge, the power bank was able to full charge my Samsung (GT-I9082) phone from totally drained to full charged for 3x. Charging was the same as if I was was charging on a wall outlet for about 2-3 hours. My colleague was able to buy the same model and she claimed that unit was able to charge her Samsung (GT-I9082) phone 5x before the power bank will be totally drain. Probably our difference is that my phone has WiFi or 3G enabled while charging. which took along time to charge.

Experiences

I have read the manual and it says that charging the unit will take 13 hours. So at first time charging, I tried to charge it 13 hours straight. The port side and the charger side had a burnt odor and I asked my reseller if this is normal. The reseller have not tried the unit. So they replaced my unit with another one. I asked for an advise if first time charging should be straight, long and based from the manual. They told me to try again. I charged it again for 13 hours and it had a burnt odor again. I assume that this is normal because of the long charging.

At this second unit, I noticed that the battery meter (5 LED lights) seemed to not respond on discharging. 5 LED lights are all lit up even though I used the power bank for 3 full charges of my phone. And then suddenly, it goes to 1 LED light. What I mean is that it does not gradually go down from 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 LED light. when discharging. But when I charge the power bank, it lights up from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 LED lights. I hope you can understand what I am saying which I find it hard to explain also with my reseller regarding the second concern. I came to the point that I got shy to ask for another replacement and just ask if there is a way to fix the battery level issue. But after testing for a week by the reseller, they have replaced again the unit. I also tried contacting support from their website but I did not have any response.

At this point, the fast charger of the unit broke, which was not replaced from my first unit. My reseller told me that the manufacturer does not cover the warranty of its charger. And the reseller does not have any spares to sell and advised me to buy a third party charger instead.

At this 3rd unit, I decided not to do the straight charging of 13 hours. Since I have a broken charger, I charged the power bank using my laptop. I also asked my colleague if she had done a straight charging, which she apparently did not because of her work shifts is only 9 hours and she charge the power bank during work shifts. Not doing the straight charging, I noticed on my 3rd unit that the battery meter is a bit more accurate. It lights up from 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. So I recommend that do not do straight charging.

I tried researching about power banks and it seems that there is a battery tester or battery calibrator, a Linux application for power banks. But I did not research further since mine is covered with warranty. I hope my experience may have enlightened some users about this unit. Since there is no support about this, I decided to make an article to help others who might have the same experience. If someone has a DIY solution, feel free to comment.

I happened to browse on youtube and found video reviews about the unit. Somehow, I am unable to find the serial number on my unit:


Update History

• 11-14-2013 - Published the post.
• 12-21-2013 - Embedded video reviews from other people.