Recently UGreen came out with their own version(s) of the Anker 737 called Nexode. I bought the UGreen “Nexode 25000mAh Fast Changing Power Bank 200W” from Amazon hoping it would solve some of the problems I’ve had using the 737 with my Framework 16. Here are some of my findings (TL;DR at the bottom).
Anker 737 Problems
- Some cables would charge my Framework 16, most would not. The USB-C cable that came with my Framework 16 did not play nicely with the Anker 737 and would not properly charge the laptop (at least not beyond a trickle). Other cables from different manufacturers (that were confirmed to have worked on different power supplies) had the same issue with the 737.
- The Anker 737 could not seem to charge itself while charging any device. It would only allow for the 737 to be charging at the same rate as the device. For example, if the device was drawing 15 watts, the 737 would only charge at 15 watts. If the device was charging at 35 watts the 737 would only charge at 35 watts. It did not matter that the 737 was plugged into a 65 watt or even 100 watt power supply.
Although these are “first world problems,” they required me to carry around specific cables for specific things… which kind of defeats the purpose of USB-C.
UGreen To The Rescue
The UGreen power bank I bought seems to solve the problems of the 737. It is currently charging my laptop with the OEM cable while being charged its self by a 65 watt power supply. I also tested it on some other cables and they work just fine. It can also accept input from either USB-C port and claims to deliver up to 140 watts on one USB-C port (although at the time of writing, I’ve only gotten to 90 watts).
TL;DR
Don’t buy the Anker 737, buy the UGreen Nexode. It’s a more mature product that can properly charge a Framework 16.
Link
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXHM5RY2?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
P.S.
There were a lot of topics that covered the Anker 737 and it’s shortcomings. Because of this, I made a new topic to address this new product and new development in the PD saga. If a mod thinks this should be merged into another topic, feel free. I might post updates as I play around with the UGreen power bank.