5,000mAh Power Banks

A top-up you can forget is there

A 5,000mAh power bank is the smallest everyday size: about the size of a lipstick, a deck of cards or a slim phone case, depending on its shape. It will not fill a modern phone from empty more than once, but it gives a good top-up from low to most of the way full, which is what most people want on an evening out, a long day at work or a phone whose battery has started to fade. Being small, it is the power bank that actually comes with you. This page lists the power banks whose own name or description gives 5,000mAh.

The kinds that come in this size

• Mini power banks: small capsules that plug straight into the phone's socket, with no cable at all.
• Slim power banks: thin, flat ones that slip into a pocket or the back of a phone wallet.
• Magnetic power banks: click onto the back of the phone and charge it wirelessly, so the phone stays usable while it charges. At this size they add the least weight to the hand.

Some power banks listed under a larger size also come in a 5,000mAh version, picked from the choices on their page: the magnetic power bank in 20,000mAh power banks is one.

What 5,000mAh really gives

The mAh on the box is measured at the battery cells, at about 3.7 volts. Some is lost raising it to the 5 volts or more a phone charges at, and some in the phone. Anker, a large power bank maker, puts the share that reaches the phone at about two-thirds. So a 5,000mAh power bank puts about 3,350mAh into the phone: a little under one full charge of a phone with a 4,000mAh battery, or a full charge of a smaller phone or a pair of earbuds. Wireless charging from a magnetic one gives a little less. In watt-hours it is about 18.5Wh.

Questions people ask about 5,000mAh power banks

Can I take a 5,000mAh power bank on a plane?

Power banks go in your hand luggage, never in a checked bag. The UK Civil Aviation Authority allows two per passenger, they must not be recharged on board, and each should be in a pouch or its packaging so its sockets cannot touch keys or coins. The limits are in watt-hours: under 100Wh is allowed in the cabin, 100Wh to 160Wh needs the airline's approval, and over 160Wh is not allowed in passenger baggage. At about 18.5Wh, a 5,000mAh power bank is well inside the first limit. Check your airline's own rules as well, as some are stricter.

How do I look after it?

Never charge a swollen, damaged or hot power bank, and stop using one that bulges, cracks, smells odd or smokes. Charge it uncovered on a hard surface and unplug it when it is full: Electrical Safety First advises against charging power banks overnight or while you are out. An old one goes to a battery recycling point, never the household bin.

More to look at

• 10,000mAh power banks
• Mini power banks
• Slim power banks
• Magnetic power banks
• Shop by power bank size
• Guide: Power banks explained: mAh, real capacity and flying with one