INIU BI-B42 20000mAh

The INIU BI-B42 is a versatile power bank that comes with a signature paw-print battery charger LED indicator

INIU BI-B42 at a glance

Key specs

Capacity

20000 mAh

74 Wh

Dimensions (LxWxH)

5.3 x 2.7 x 1 in

13.46 x 6.86 x 2.54 cm

Weight

12.3 oz / 348 g

Charging technology

Charging time: 7 h

High speed charging

Qualcomm Quick Charge

Power Delivery (PD)

Low-current charging

PBE metrics

Affordability

mAh/$

Average
300.48 mAh/$

Portability

57.47 mAh/g

1626.02 mAh/oz

Ports

USB Type A

Output: 5V=3A, 9V=2.2A, 12V=1.5A

USB Type A

Output: 5V=3A

USB Type C

Input: 5V=3A, 9V=2.2A, 12V=1.5A
Output: 5V=3A, 9V=2.2A, 12V=1.5A

Flight status

Under 100 Wh

Status: Safe

The power bank is safe to take on board. It's under the specified TSA limit of 100 Wh. Read more about taking power banks on planes.

Other features

LED power indicator

Flashlight

Overheating protection

Short circuit protection

Surge protection

Overcurrent protection

Overcharge protection

Protective pouch

Charging cable

Check price on Amazon.com

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Charging capacity calculator

Use the search bar below and find out exactly how many times can the INIU BI-B42 charge your smartphone battery

INIU BI-B42 20000mAh Power Bank Review

The BI-B42 power bank is a mid-rage power bank from the BI series coming from INIU. The main feature that makes this portable charger stand out is the paw-print LED charging indicator. Let’s have an in-depth look at the features and accessories you get along with this power bank.

Unboxing video

Package Contents & First Impression

The INIU BI-B42 comes with a micro USB to USB C cable, a mesh-style travel pouch, a user manual, and a tiny reading lamp. The power bank has a rugged and premium chassis, which can easily withstand waist-height drops and daily wear and tear. It has a matte-black finish, which goes well with other gadgets in terms of aesthetics. Overall, the BI-B42 creates a decent first impression and builds on it by providing thoughtful features, which we’ll go over below.

Specifications

Now, let’s take a look at the technical details and specifics of the BI-B42.

Input & Output Ports

You get one micro USB and one USB Type-C port for charging your devices in terms of input ports. Both these ports support simultaneous charging, but it comes at the cost of decreased charging speed. And even though micro USB cables are fading out from the market, its nice addition does provide a lot of compatibility with old devices.

INIU BI-B42 has three output ports with varied ratings ranging from 5V/3A to 12V/1.5A that can support three devices at a time. It also comes with low-current charging for devices like Airpods, smartwatches, etc. It is a thoughtful inclusion that’s undoubtedly an added bonus at its price point.

Charging Technology

If your work requires you to travel a lot, and you often find yourself running low on time to keep your devices charged, INIU has got your back. The BI-B42 is fitted with the latest charging technologies, which can keep up with your pace without disappointment.

It offers QC 4.0 (quick charge), and PD 3.0 (power delivery) enabled charging, which can fully charge your smartphone or tablet within 1-2 hours.

Battery Capacity

The BI-B42 has an 18W output and a battery with a capacity of 20000mAh. It is enough to charge your iPhone 11 7-8 times, iPad Pro 2 times, and a MacBook one time. If you are surrounded by gadgets all the time, it can be a huge help in productivity. The power bank itself takes 14-15 hours to charge fully, but it can keep your gadgets juiced up throughout the week.

Charge indicator

The most unique feature of this power bank is the paw design of the battery charge indicator lights. Although it’s definitely esthetic and sets it apart from other power banks, it’s not that easy to read, at least initially. But after you get used to it, this becomes a non-issue.

Here’s how you can tell the battery level, according to the manual :

If the largest toe is turned ON and the rest are turned OFF, this means your power bank is operating on a 20% battery level
If one of the smaller toes is ON along with the larger one, your power bank has a battery level of 20% – 40%
If two smaller toes are turned ON with the larger one, your power bank has a battery level of 40% – 60%
If three smaller toes are ON with the larger one, your power bank has a battery level of 60% – 80%
If the whole paw is lit up in blue color, the battery level is somewhere between 80% – 100%
If none of the above-mentioned patterns is displayed after switching ON the unit, your power bank needs to be charged.

Additional Features

The INIU BI-B42 also comes with a few neat and handy accessories/additional features. Even though the charging performance is already satisfying, these features do provide small added bonuses.

If you press the power button twice on the BI-B42, you will turn on its built-in flashlight. It can come in handy during power blackouts, night camping, or other scenarios. It’s decently bright since a 20000 mAh battery powers it, and you can easily carry it thanks to the compact build of this power bank.

Other than that, you also get a plug-in lamp, which is fairly bright and goes well on a small table as a reading light. The BI-B42 powers the lamp.

INIU also provides a three-year care program with this power bank. If you ever face any quality-related issues during this period, you can get a new BI-B42 without paying any additional charges. Moreover, you get free lifetime technical support and excellent after-sale service as an added layer of protection.

Some Drawbacks

The INIU power bank is an excellent work buddy and provides a major helping hand in maintaining a continuous workflow. However, there are a few minor drawbacks worth discussing.

As we previously brought up, the animal paw-shaped light isn’t the most intuitive battery level indicator. Compared to alternatives in the market with a digital display that mentions the battery percentage, the BI-B42 doesn’t provide accurate readings. So it can be an inconvenience to keep track of its power level after a busy day.

Other than that, the micro USB to USB Type-C cable felt a little short and restrictive when it came to recharging the power bank. It would have been great to see a sizable cable included in the package.

My Experience With the BI-B42

I’ve been using the BI-B42 mostly as a backup solution in my holiday home. I chose it for this role because of the generous capacity. The location of the holiday home is in a mountainous area that is prone to blackouts. Although they don’t last for too long, they’re quite frequent and can be annoying. That’s when the BI-B4 steps in.

So far, it has proven to be very dependable. It also comes in very handy if I forget to charge the phone during the night and wake up with almost no battery. I also like the fact that it’s very velvety to touch, being made out of a mate plastic material.

Compared to other similar power banks, it’s rather heavy I’d say. This is why I’ve chosen it for a more stationary role. I did take it along on some short trips and although it proved to be useful, I could definitely feel it in my backpack.

What Others Say About the BI-B42

I do like how fast it goes. And it’s not massive. It’s pretty small compared to a lot of similar-capacity power banks on the market. So, two thumbs up!The Breakdown With Luke

Pros and Cons

Pros

Excellent built quality

A handful of I/O ports

Latest fast-charge technologies

In-built flashlight and additional reading-lamp

Three-year warranty

Cons

Short charging cable

Hard-to-read battery level indicator

Wrapping Up

By now, we know what separates the INIU BI-B42 from its competitors. So is it worth investing in? In our opinion, we definitely recommend checking out this power bank. It offers a massive battery-life, and fast-charging technologies like QC and PD to keep your devices juiced up at all times.

Besides that, the BI-B42 also offers various accessories, which is rarely seen at its price point. And if taken care of properly, this power bank will last you for a long time, making it a worthy one-time investment.