Alxum 120W 10-Port USB Charging Station Review
My family has grown in size in recent years and now that my kids have gotten older they have their own tablets and smartphones. Every person in my home as more than one battery powered device be it a tablet, smartphone, smartwatch, Bluetooth earbuds or that latest IoT device. At the end of the day there is a run on wall chargers and over half a dozen chargers are plugged in the walls of my home at any given time. If you have a similar situation going on in your home, I may have run across a solution that will stop the problem of hunting or fighting for cables and chargers when you need it most.
Alxum sells a 10-port USB docking station organizer for mobile devices that is capable of delivering 120 Watts of power from a single power brick that plugs into the wall! This power is then distributed across three types of USB ports that make up this 10-port smart charging station.
Priced at $76.99 shipped, the Alxum 120W 10-power USB smart charging station, part number AX-10PCS041, isn’t exactly an impulse buy. This is something you’ll only be buying if you are looking to streamline the charging situation at home or work.
Inside the box you’ll find the 120W 10-Port USB smart charging station, 11 adjustable slats (5x tall and 6x short), power adapter, power cable, user manual and a thank you card from Alxum for the purchase.
The adjustable dividers will allow you to change the width of the gap to securely hold your devices at and angle in order to get them all to fit onto the docking station. They do not serve as ventilation holes. The ventilation holes are on the sides and bottom of the charging station, so be sure those are not blocked. The fairly small ‘feet’ of the plastic dividers are most certainly going to be a major point of failure for this product. Be gentle with these as Alxum does not offer replacement dividers for purchase!
On the bottom there are six rubber feet that that help keep the charging station from sliding on the surface that you put it on. These feet also elevate it a touch to ensure some airflow is possible under the device.
Across the front of the charging station you’ll find a total of 10 USB ports. Seven of the USB ports support 12 Watts (5V/2.4A), two are Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 ports capable of outputting 19.5 Watts (3.6V-6.5V/3A, 6.5V-9V/2A, 9V-12V/1.5A) and a single USB-C port that supports 15 Watt ( 5V/3A) charging.
That adds up to 138 Watts, but that is only peak power draw and Alxum claims they have safe guards in place to prevent power issues. Those protection features are short circuit, overcharge, overcurrent and overvoltage. The charging station will automatically recognize your devices and distribute the right amount of power to each device. Charging will be automatically stop when battery is full on your device. There is no on/off switch on the charging station and there is a single blue LED power light that lets you know the station has power.
So, that brings us to the power brick. The power brick is the most important thing for a device like this and Alxum is using a Shenzhen Fujia Appliance Co., LTD. switching power supply adapter for this model. The model number is FJ-SW202720006000 and it is substantial in size at 6.5″ x 2.75″ x 1.5″. This brick does not go into the base of the charging station, but rather needs to be place somewhere like a laptop charger.
I’ve never heard of Fujia before, but they only make power adapters and have been in business since 1993 according to their website. Alxum advertises that this 120 Watt model (20v x 6A) has UL certification along with other standards like cUL, CE, FCC, RoHS. It is also marked as a Level VI for its efficiency level, which means it meets the U.S. Department of Energy mandated power efficiency level that went into place back in 2016. That means this external AC/DV power supply should be at least 87% efficient at load.
When you go to use the Alxum 120W 10-power USB smart charging station you’ll quickly find that it doesn’t come with any USB charging cables. Alxum recommends using your original device cables. The only problem with this is that original cables are pretty long. The 30cm (11.81-inch) cables from Volutz (review) seem to work nicely, so if you want to get short cables to keep your charger area tidy you’ll need to find some that are in the 6-inch to 12-inch range for length.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
At the end of the day the 120W USB charging station from Alxum solves a common problem and is pretty slick. The price tag of $76.99 shipped might be too high for some, but it is a nice solution that will declutter your battery charging area. If you are looking for an organized charging station to be placed in a convenient location for everyone, this will do the trick! This charging station also comes backed by a 2-year warranty, so it should last for years. Now you’ll just have to find a good set of fast charging cables that are super short!