With a replaceable lithium-ion battery and battery life of 3 to 6 hours, GNARBOX 2.0 SSD provides users with flexible power management options. The following best practices will help optimize your GNARBOX battery life.
Charging Best Practices
- Always charge the GNARBOX using the Dual Role port (the USB-C port located on the right side of the box, near the OLED screen).
- Always use GNARBOX power accessories to charge your GNARBOX. This is mainly due to the fact that 3rd party chargers and cables do not supply sufficient power to charge the GNARBOX.
- Always have the battery connected to the GNARBOX while charging (Note: the box is exposed to dust and moisture when the battery is not connected).
- Always plug the Power Adapter directly into the wall outlet for the fastest current.
- Disconnect the battery from your GNARBOX when storing your box for an extended period of time.
3rd Party Charger Recommendations
If you are in need of an additional charger or replacement charger for your GNARBOX 2.0 SSD, there are two 3rd party chargers that our team has validated for use with the GNARBOX:
Optimizing Battery Life
In order to optimize your GNARBOX battery life, it is important to understand the activities that use the most power. These activities include:
- Transcoding Proxies
- Transcoding ProRes
- Transcoding Previews
- Streaming Video
- Connected devices that require significant power (ie: spinning disk external hard drives)
It is always a good idea to power down your GNARBOX when you are not using it, in order to conserve the battery.
Fast, Efficient Redundancy
Seeking the fastest, most battery-efficient way to create multiple, redundant copies from an external source? We recommend making your first copy to the GNARBOX internal SSD and your additional redundant copies from the GNARBOX internal SSD to your other destinations. This process leverages the speed and internal efficiency of the internal SSD, instead of all of your copies happening from external source to external destination. We recommend keeping your Checksum togged on for maximal reliability – ensuring data integrity across every data transfer.
Using Portable Chargers
If you are interested in using a portable charger while traveling, we recommend only using a portable charger that provides a USB-C connection. USB-A outputs are not capable of providing enough power to support charging and powering GNARBOX 2.0 SSD simultaneously.
To determine the compatibility of an external USB-C portable charger, multiply the output of Amps x Volts to find the Watts the charger can output. If the Wattage number is equal to or exceeds 30, then your portable charger will supply sufficient power to charge the GNARBOX while the GNARBOX is powered on, or operate it with the battery removed.
NOTE: If you have a portable charger that outputs less than 30W, you can still charge your GNARBOX with it, but the GNARBOX must be powered off during charging.
Most charger tech specs will list the Amps, Volts and Watts the charger is capable of outputting - just make sure you’re looking for these numbers from the USB-C port specifically, as the output will be different for different kinds of ports. For example, this RAV Power USB-C power bank features a 30W output via USB-C, which is sufficient to power the GNARBOX 2.0 battery. This Aukey power bank, on the other hand, only outputs 15W (5V x 2A) via USB-C, which is not sufficient to charge GNARBOX 2.0 while powered on. That being said, it will charge the GNARBOX if the box is turned off, although it will charge more slowly than a portable charger that outputs 30W or more.
Here is a list of portable chargers that will provide enough power to your GNARBOX to operate it while charging:
Charging via Computer
The GNARBOX is capable of charging off of a computer when connected via Mass Storage Mode only if it is connected to a USB-C port on your computer. Power Delivery is required to charge the GNARBOX and while most USB-C ports supply Power Delivery, USB-A ports do not.
If you have limited battery available on your computer or you simply wish to disable this feature, you can quickly toggle this setting on or off.
To turn charging ON or OFF in Mass Storage Mode, please use the on-board screen and buttons of the GNARBOX to do the following:
- Toggle down to enter the Settings menu.
- Once in the Settings menu, toggle down to Power Management.
- Toggle USB-C Charging to the ON or OFF position.
Technical Support
Need assistance? We’re here for you! Browse our walkthroughs for full tutorials and troubleshooting tips. If you’d like one-on-one assistance, you can always email us at support@gnarbox.com or use our live chat in the bottom right!
Live Chat Hours:
Mon-Fri: 10AM–5PM PST
