Kiox to USB 'c' phone charging cable

Spookyrider

New Member
Sep 20, 2020
18
7
York
Hey folks,

Does anyone know where I can get a cable to go from the kiox to a USB 'c' phone plug in the UK. I've had a look but any that I can see say they are directional power/data, designed to go from USB 'c' to micro USB so the opposite way I need
 

Spookyrider

New Member
Sep 20, 2020
18
7
York
The ios Apple lightning charging cable suitable and compatible withBosch Kiox have just been relisted:-


Cheers mister, but... I'm one of those weirdo types who has an Android with a USB "C" connection, ta anyhoo :)
 

johnno_uk

New Member
Jun 14, 2021
2
4
London
I'm also in the UK, found the cable on ebike24 and could not order it to charge my Pixel 2 XL. However don't worry.

The receptacle in the Bosch displays is what is known as a micro AB receptacle.
All this means is that it can take both micro A or micro B plugs.

micro A = The rectangular shape
micro B = The trapezoid shape

In USB prior to the invention of OTG:
A = Host (supplies power)
B = Peripheral (draws power)

Devices that can be either a host (supplying power) or peripheral (drawing power) should really all use the type of receptacle Bosch have used here but that never happened in the real world, which is why it throws people when they see it. What phone manufacturers did is just use micro B receptacles even for devices that could switch from being a peripheral to becoming a host.

To tell such devices to be a host (to supply power) what is known as a OTG adapter is used. These have a micro USB plug on one end and a USB-A (full size) receptacle on the other. That way whatever cable came with the peripheral is plugged into the larger end of the OTG adapter assuming the peripheral would always come with a cable with a full size USB-A plug at one end that is.

These adapters are easy to find and work find with the Bosch displays to make them be hosts that supply power. So to power a USB C phone you can do it in several ways:

a) Buy the cable from bike24 (ruled out due to shipping issues)
b) Combine a USB OTG adapter with a USB-A (plug) to USB-C (plug) cable - Both of these are really easy to find. Don't worry that the plug is type B and not type A. micro A to A adapters do exist but they are inline and would be to heavy (e.g B001CX5G8K)
c) Buy a USB OTG cable that goes direct from USB micro B (host) to USB micro B (peripheral) and add a USB micro B female to USB C male adapter. This cable is such a cable where the red end is the one that makes a device a host.
Or this one where the word HOST is there to show which thing will be supplying the power. The 3rd image there really sums up nicely this whole concept as it shows one device charging from another.
d) Same as above but this cable has a micro-A on the host end - Bosch USB Charging Cable (Micro A - Micro B) 4047025220361 | eBay

Most people will do b as these are the easiest things to get hold of.


Now the way the cables work is that pin 4 is connected to ground at the host end (there is no wire in the cable itself that goes all the way from one end to the other) rather than left floating I believe as it would be to signify that a device should work in peripheral mode. So those OTG adapters are just wired that way. This also explains why you can't just buy a USB-C to USB micro B cable off amazon as all those assume the USB-C end is the host, so your phone might start charging the Bosch display, e.g working backwards from how you want.



It is hard to find a cable like the ebike24 cable on Amazon or Ebay but they do exist.
(Ships from Germany, but with Amazon fulfilment so will turn up)
The trick is to read the reviews and you can work out from the reviews how pin 4 is wired. Look for people saying that it worked for them to charge their USB C phone, or negative reviews where people thought that the cable would them use their phone with a perhiperal and it didn't work.


However there are other examples of cables terminated in micro B and USB C where the micro B is the host end for connecting an old phone with a micro B receptacle to a modern peripheral that uses USB C. These are in effect the same as the ebike24 cable but with data support too even though you don't need it as the Bosch display as a host only supplies power and doesn't support peripherals as such (what would they even do?).

The Bosch cable for the smartphone hub would work too but the right angled connectors would be awkward as described here Bosch SmartphoneHub USB-C Cable | Bikester.co.uk


As more and more peripherals start adopting USB C but people are stuck wanting to use old hosts with micro receptacles, we may find more and more of these cables will appear as people don't really like adapters. This might all sound over the top, but since USB was originally invented for computers this is why it's a bit complex.

I first saw the micro AB receptacle on my Bosch display and thought, hmmm that's rectangular and not trapezoid, I probably should not be putting a micro B plug in that. I then knew I had no cables with a micro rectangular end so assumed I didn't have the right stuff to hand.
After some reading though I saw that this type of receptacle was by design allowed to take micro B and micro A. I then just picked some OTG adapters I had from old phones out of a draw, plugged that into my Bosch display, plugged an A to C cable I already had to allow me to charge my phone from a power bank and it all worked.

With my Intuvia, power appears to be drawn from the internal battery in the display itself as it will work even if the display is not on the bike.
Power is only sent to the phone when the Bosh display is on, so it only makes sense if used whilst the display is on the bike and you are on a journey as otherwise the display will idle power down and stop charging the phone. You can't use this solution as if the bike's battery was a general power bank whilst the bike is sitting idle.

You'll also find that only the base USB spec of 0.5 amps can be drawn. This is not enough to charge the phone whilst it is in use so all that will happen is that the phone will drain its battery less. If the phone screen etc is off then it will charge but only very slowly.

Here is option b with an ameter in the middle which obviously is not needed but shows the current draw.
USB-Charging.png



With all this in mind, the port on the Bosch display as a charging port is not that amazing for modern power hungry phones, so if the intention is to also use the phone whilst riding with power hungry tasks like GPS navigation etc, you may be better of just using a USB power pack designed explicitly for USB C phones which can supply higher current.
 
Last edited:

Spookyrider

New Member
Sep 20, 2020
18
7
York
I'm also in the UK, found the cable on ebike24 and could not order it to charge my Pixel 2 XL. However don't worry.

.

Great response mister, apologies I missed it till today, thanks for taking the time to reply, I only really want it to just slow the discharge rate down as I would normally start with a full charge. But.......

Some of the pics aren't showing for some reason, but going on what you said I'm guessing the better option is the lead from Bike24, but can you confirm it is the part number - 1270016792 as the pic is different to what you have there. is that the one you went for,

How did you get shipping to UK as Bike24 still shows no option?

Thanks again, Shane
 

Bike Gorilla

Member
Jul 2, 2020
49
14
Linslade
I'm also in the UK, found the cable on ebike24 and could not order it to charge my Pixel 2 XL. However don't worry.

The receptacle in the Bosch displays is what is known as a micro AB receptacle.
All this means is that it can take both micro A or micro B plugs.

micro A = The rectangular shape
micro B = The trapezoid shape

In USB prior to the invention of OTG:
A = Host (supplies power)
B = Peripheral (draws power)

Devices that can be either a host (supplying power) or peripheral (drawing power) should really all use the type of receptacle Bosch have used here but that never happened in the real world, which is why it throws people when they see it. What phone manufacturers did is just use micro B receptacles even for devices that could switch from being a peripheral to becoming a host.

To tell such devices to be a host (to supply power) what is known as a OTG adapter is used. These have a micro USB plug on one end and a USB-A (full size) receptacle on the other. That way whatever cable came with the peripheral is plugged into the larger end of the OTG adapter assuming the peripheral would always come with a cable with a full size USB-A plug at one end that is.

These adapters are easy to find and work find with the Bosch displays to make them be hosts that supply power. So to power a USB C phone you can do it in several ways:

a) Buy the cable from bike24 (ruled out due to shipping issues)
b) Combine a USB OTG adapter with a USB-A (plug) to USB-C (plug) cable - Both of these are really easy to find. Don't worry that the plug is type B and not type A. micro A to A adapters do exist but they are inline and would be to heavy (e.g B001CX5G8K)
c) Buy a USB OTG cable that goes direct from USB micro B (host) to USB micro B (peripheral) and add a USB micro B female to USB C male adapter. This cable is such a cable where the red end is the one that makes a device a host.
Or this one where the word HOST is there to show which thing will be supplying the power. The 3rd image there really sums up nicely this whole concept as it shows one device charging from another.
d) Same as above but this cable has a micro-A on the host end - Bosch USB Charging Cable (Micro A - Micro B) 4047025220361 | eBay

Most people will do b as these are the easiest things to get hold of.


Now the way the cables work is that pin 4 is connected to ground at the host end (there is no wire in the cable itself that goes all the way from one end to the other) rather than left floating I believe as it would be to signify that a device should work in peripheral mode. So those OTG adapters are just wired that way. This also explains why you can't just buy a USB-C to USB micro B cable off amazon as all those assume the USB-C end is the host, so your phone might start charging the Bosch display, e.g working backwards from how you want.



It is hard to find a cable like the ebike24 cable on Amazon or Ebay but they do exist.
(Ships from Germany, but with Amazon fulfilment so will turn up)
The trick is to read the reviews and you can work out from the reviews how pin 4 is wired. Look for people saying that it worked for them to charge their USB C phone, or negative reviews where people thought that the cable would them use their phone with a perhiperal and it didn't work.


However there are other examples of cables terminated in micro B and USB C where the micro B is the host end for connecting an old phone with a micro B receptacle to a modern peripheral that uses USB C. These are in effect the same as the ebike24 cable but with data support too even though you don't need it as the Bosch display as a host only supplies power and doesn't support peripherals as such (what would they even do?).

The Bosch cable for the smartphone hub would work too but the right angled connectors would be awkward as described here Bosch SmartphoneHub USB-C Cable | Bikester.co.uk


As more and more peripherals start adopting USB C but people are stuck wanting to use old hosts with micro receptacles, we may find more and more of these cables will appear as people don't really like adapters. This might all sound over the top, but since USB was originally invented for computers this is why it's a bit complex.

I first saw the micro AB receptacle on my Bosch display and thought, hmmm that's rectangular and not trapezoid, I probably should not be putting a micro B plug in that. I then knew I had no cables with a micro rectangular end so assumed I didn't have the right stuff to hand.
After some reading though I saw that this type of receptacle was by design allowed to take micro B and micro A. I then just picked some OTG adapters I had from old phones out of a draw, plugged that into my Bosch display, plugged an A to C cable I already had to allow me to charge my phone from a power bank and it all worked.

With my Intuvia, power appears to be drawn from the internal battery in the display itself as it will work even if the display is not on the bike.
Power is only sent to the phone when the Bosh display is on, so it only makes sense if used whilst the display is on the bike and you are on a journey as otherwise the display will idle power down and stop charging the phone. You can't use this solution as if the bike's battery was a general power bank whilst the bike is sitting idle.

You'll also find that only the base USB spec of 0.5 amps can be drawn. This is not enough to charge the phone whilst it is in use so all that will happen is that the phone will drain its battery less. If the phone screen etc is off then it will charge but only very slowly.

Here is option b with an ameter in the middle which obviously is not needed but shows the current draw.
View attachment 64277


With all this in mind, the port on the Bosch display as a charging port is not that amazing for modern power hungry phones, so if the intention is to also use the phone whilst riding with power hungry tasks like GPS navigation etc, you may be better of just using a USB power pack designed explicitly for USB C phones which can supply higher current.
Or buy an iPhone ;-)
 

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