So why is my battery draining while charging? - EVO 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I've noticed this happening any time I tether via USB or use GPS navigation while plugged in. Even though I'm connected and charging, I slowly but surely discharge. This weekend I used Google Nav for 2 hours and lost 20% of my battery while charging! On Juice Plotter, I notice the green charging glow at the bottom is a more transparent shade of green (as opposed to solid green when solely charging). Any ideas what causes this or how to avoid it? It seems to be recent.

TheBiles said:
I've noticed this happening any time I tether via USB or use GPS navigation while plugged in. Even though I'm connected and charging, I slowly but surely discharge. This weekend I used Google Nav for 2 hours and lost 20% of my battery while charging! On Juice Plotter, I notice the green charging glow at the bottom is a more transparent shade of green (as opposed to solid green when solely charging). Any ideas what causes this or how to avoid it? It seems to be recent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me guess, you're charging off a USB port in your laptop, or using the data cable that came with the phone in your car charger?
Not all USB sources (or cables, for that matter) are created equally. Most PC/laptop ports put out 500mAh, half of what the Evo is designed to take (the factory AC adapter, the wall plug, is 1000mAh, aka 1amp).
Since it's only getting half the draw it can't quite keep up with how much power you're sucking away from the battery. This is usually only present when using the device heavily, such as with the screen on and GPS or WiFi/3G actively running.
The charging indicator (at least on Sense) indicates if it's getting the full "AC" charge (1amp) or if it's getting a reduced current charge. Sounds like that's what you're noticing.
My wife's Samsung Moment charger is 700mAh/0.7amp, and it can keep my Evo steady during use (it's powering it for 3G+WiFi tether right now), but it doesn't really charge fast at all, basically it just keeps it from depleting.
I've been meaning to try one of the USB Y-cables that join 2 standard USB ports to one female port for combined power of 1amp, but I'm not sure it will work as I hope. Anyway, I'll report back if I get around to it.
Otherwise, use an actual 1amp AC adapter whenever possible. Shop on eBay, chargers are stupid cheap. Just look for one that says it can do 1amp/1000mAh. If you're using the phone at work and want to have a convenient charging source, get one of the $20 docking cradles with an AC adapter on eBay. If it's in your car, any 12v USB charger should work, as long as you use a proper pass-through charging micro USB cable and not a "data cable". There's a slight difference in how the pins are wired inside. The Rocket Fish brand of micro USB cables are known to work (that's how I charge mine at full power in my car).

Way to go GT. Are you a student? I'm an ME phd student.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

sprocket87 said:
Let me guess, you're charging off a USB port in your laptop, or using the data cable that came with the phone in your car charger?
Not all USB sources (or cables, for that matter) are created equally. Most PC/laptop ports put out 500mAh, half of what the Evo is designed to take (the factory AC adapter, the wall plug, is 1000mAh, aka 1amp).
Since it's only getting half the draw it can't quite keep up with how much power you're sucking away from the battery. This is usually only present when using the device heavily, such as with the screen on and GPS or WiFi/3G actively running.
The charging indicator (at least on Sense) indicates if it's getting the full "AC" charge (1amp) or if it's getting a reduced current charge. Sounds like that's what you're noticing.
My wife's Samsung Moment charger is 700mAh/0.7amp, and it can keep my Evo steady during use (it's powering it for 3G+WiFi tether right now), but it doesn't really charge fast at all, basically it just keeps it from depleting.
I've been meaning to try one of the USB Y-cables that join 2 standard USB ports to one female port for combined power of 1amp, but I'm not sure it will work as I hope. Anyway, I'll report back if I get around to it.
Otherwise, use an actual 1amp AC adapter whenever possible. Shop on eBay, chargers are stupid cheap. Just look for one that says it can do 1amp/1000mAh. If you're using the phone at work and want to have a convenient charging source, get one of the $20 docking cradles with an AC adapter on eBay. If it's in your car, any 12v USB charger should work, as long as you use a proper pass-through charging micro USB cable and not a "data cable". There's a slight difference in how the pins are wired inside. The Rocket Fish brand of micro USB cables are known to work (that's how I charge mine at full power in my car).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using the included charging cable. Doesn't that have full capacity? I also use a standard USB adapter in the car. It seems like that would be able to output the correct amount of volts.
gtkansan said:
Way to go GT. Are you a student? I'm an ME phd student.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3rd year CmpE.

I had the same problem until I noticed how hot my phone was using the nav. 13 hour drive. I purchased a vent cradle for the car and so that it can stay cool while in use and charging. While the other guy may be right theoretically, its not right practically. The evo will shut off its mini usb hub once it starts getting dangerously hot so that it won't damage your phone. Long story short make sure your phone is at safe temps no need to buy another charger for your evo. keep at cool temps so that phone won't cut off power supply will even shut your phone down if its way to hot, happened to me in atlanta not fun.
"Insert Fancy Quote"

TheBiles said:
I'm using the included charging cable. Doesn't that have full capacity? I also use a standard USB adapter in the car. It seems like that would be able to output the correct amount of volts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you say "included charging cable" do you mean the wall plug that came with the Evo or just the cable with a USB connector on one end and a micro USB on the other end? Because THAT cable is pinned as a data transfer cable and designed to relay only half voltage no matter what you plug it into. I know, because it only charged my Evo at slow speed when plugged into my USB car charger. Once I replaced it with the Rocket Fish cable it charged at full speed.
kwilbur3 said:
I had the same problem until I noticed how hot my phone was using the nav. 13 hour drive. I purchased a vent cradle for the car and so that it can stay cool while in use and charging. While the other guy may be right theoretically, its not right practically. The evo will shut off its mini usb hub once it starts getting dangerously hot so that it won't damage your phone. Long story short make sure your phone is at safe temps no need to buy another charger for your evo. keep at cool temps so that phone won't cut off power supply will even shut your phone down if its way to hot, happened to me in atlanta not fun.
"Insert Fancy Quote"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See above. While I agree that heat will kill the battery and possibly trigger a shutoff, I don't think that's his problem. If you use the wrong cable or charger you will only get half charging current.

sprocket87 said:
When you say "included charging cable" do you mean the wall plug that came with the Evo or just the cable with a USB connector on one end and a micro USB on the other end? Because THAT cable is pinned as a data transfer cable and designed to relay only half voltage no matter what you plug it into. I know, because it only charged my Evo at slow speed when plugged into my USB car charger. Once I replaced it with the Rocket Fish cable it charged at full speed.
See above. While I agree that heat will kill the battery and possibly trigger a shutoff, I don't think that's his problem. If you use the wrong cable or charger you will only get half charging current.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean the USB cable that comes in the box with the EVO that plugs into the AC adapter. Maybe I will look into a new cable then. Hmm.
Edit: Those Rocketfish cables that you mentioned seem to be ungodly expensive. No way in hell am I going to pay more than $5 for a USB cable. Any alternatives?

TheBiles said:
I mean the USB cable that comes in the box with the EVO that plugs into the AC adapter. Maybe I will look into a new cable then. Hmm.
Edit: Those Rocketfish cables that you mentioned seem to be ungodly expensive. No way in hell am I going to pay more than $5 for a USB cable. Any alternatives?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the one I got: http://cgi.ebay.com/ROCKETFISH-MOBI...ARGING-CABLE-/350384355972?pt=PDA_Accessories
$3 shipped
And there are 2 USB cables that came with the Evo (mine anyway), a thick one that was bundled with the wall charger and a thin one that's intended just for data sync. The thin one doesn't seem to charge at full speed.
If you're using the other one and it's STILL draining then maybe there is an issue with heat or something, like the other guy said. Is the phone SUPER hot at the base, where the kickstand is, when this happens?

OP - I am having the same problem. I'm 95% sure it's caused by something wrong in CM6 regarding how it handles USB charging. Past few nightlies I have been leaving my phone on the charger doing NOTHING overnight and it goes dead.
This CANNOT be due to lack of charging strength:
#1 the same exact charger worked perfectly in the past, before I flashed a certain nightly - not sure which one exactly it started in
#2 if it was charging, but slowly why in the world would the battery drain when I have it underclocked to 245 mhz and the phone is sleeping with screen off?
On my standard charger that came with the phone it is working fine even though it's a USB that plugs into an adapter - not sure why this doesn't work with my other one that I had from another phone since it worked perfectly before. Something is definitely odd with CM6 and USB charging.

sprocket87 said:
This is the one I got: http://cgi.ebay.com/ROCKETFISH-MOBI...ARGING-CABLE-/350384355972?pt=PDA_Accessories
$3 shipped
And there are 2 USB cables that came with the Evo (mine anyway), a thick one that was bundled with the wall charger and a thin one that's intended just for data sync. The thin one doesn't seem to charge at full speed.
If you're using the other one and it's STILL draining then maybe there is an issue with heat or something, like the other guy said. Is the phone SUPER hot at the base, where the kickstand is, when this happens?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's odd, because my EVO only came with the one cable for the adapter. Phone stays cool.
berardi said:
OP - I am having the same problem. I'm 95% sure it's caused by something wrong in CM6 regarding how it handles USB charging. Past few nightlies I have been leaving my phone on the charger doing NOTHING overnight and it goes dead.
This CANNOT be due to lack of charging strength:
#1 the same exact charger worked perfectly in the past, before I flashed a certain nightly - not sure which one exactly it started in
#2 if it was charging, but slowly why in the world would the battery drain when I have it underclocked to 245 mhz and the phone is sleeping with screen off?
On my standard charger that came with the phone it is working fine even though it's a USB that plugs into an adapter - not sure why this doesn't work with my other one that I had from another phone since it worked perfectly before. Something is definitely odd with CM6 and USB charging.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've also noticed lately that my phone will charge insanely fast. Like from 30% to 90% in half an hour.

Sprocket - stupid question here... do these Rocket Fish charging cables also handle data transfer just as well as the stock micro-usb cable that came with the phone or would someone want to have one JUST for charging and keep their stock cable for data transfer purposes?

TheBiles said:
That's odd, because my EVO only came with the one cable for the adapter. Phone stays cool.
I've also noticed lately that my phone will charge insanely fast. Like from 30% to 90% in half an hour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I was unclear - the other cable I have that is the problem is one from another phone but the same type, and up until recently it worked perfectly.

Related

Solution for Nitro HD car charger problem

Hello all. New member to your forum but a Senior techie here. For anyone having the issue with the car charger not keeping up with the discharge of the battery, the problem is that car chargers make the Nitro think it is plugged into a PC's USB port. When this happens, the internal regulator only allows about half of the chargers current to charge the battery. The AC wall charger has pins 2&3 shorted which tells the Nitro it's plugged into an AC charger and allow full current from the charger.
I have a USB cable adapter I made with pins 2&3 shorted that I tested and have the results in the below images. With the Nitro plugged directly into the car charger without my custom adapter (pins 2&3 shorted) you can see in the first image the battery status is listed as "Charging (USB)". Doing nothing more than keeping the screen on for 5 minutes, you can see in the second image, that the battery charger was not able to raise the battery level at all from 39%. I then plugged in my shorted adapter between the phone and the same car charger and the battery status changed to "Charging (AC)" as you can see in the third image. I performed the same test and this time the same car charger was able to raise the battery from 39% to 43% in 5 minutes, again with the screen kept on as shown in the fourth image.
There are threads on this board under other phones about the USB Car charging issue and how to make a shorted cable. I would however recommend taking an extra cable and soldering together the conductors for pins 2&3 (usually white and green) instead of just using a piece of foil as others have done in the past. Just remember, the shorted cable can only be used for charging, not data syncing. Happy modding...
Hey guys, I know this is kind of a dead thread, but...
Can anyone confirm that the cable at:
(mobile.brando.com/brando-workshop-usb-to-micro-usb-cable_p04980c0704d003.html)
will work to "A/C" charge my nitro HD. It seems from looking around on the forums that it will, but I have never seen a confirmation.
Here's another option too... Name brand (Motorola) vehicle rapid-charger for only $5 !!!
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehi...CA/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1323890013&sr=8-14
Rated at 950mA and there's customer review confirmation that this charger will show up as "Charging A/C". I just bought 2.
Thanks Namuna - you've been popping up all over this forum huh!
Anyway, I decided to go with the brando cable. I really hope it works as expected, otherwise I'll be using a janky electrical-taped hacked up wire. Or order a mini-micro adapter...
That Brando cable looks fine, I'd be all over it too if it were cheaper.
As to be being all over this Forum?...HELL YEAH! I like backing the sleeper/underdog. When the Nexus One first came out by no means was it a "hit", but it sure as hell was a sleeper/underdog! Now though, the Galaxy Nexus is going to be the me-too phone so I didn't go that route.
The upside of the brando cable is that it has a switch to make it a data cable or a charging cable. So I can keep it with me and decide to either charge slowly or quickly.
red_solo_cup said:
The upside of the brando cable is that it has a switch to make it a data cable or a charging cable. So I can keep it with me and decide to either charge slowly or quickly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't forget, the cable can only put through, what the adapter it's plugged into provides. If the adapter is rated =<500mA output then the extra features of the cable are a moot point.
I had the Car Dock for my Nexus One, that monster was rated at 2A! Believe me when I say that phone got HOT when you were doing Nav with it plugged it!...Now THAT'S a rapid charger! A 10min ride to the store (while phone idle, screen off) and that thing would top-off my phone that was at 75%.
I have this car USB adapter.
The top port is rated at 2.1 amps so as to be able to charge an Ipad.
I'm prepared
Nice find red_solo_cup.
I gotta get me one of those
My phone battery usually lasts till the evening and dies while driving back from work lol.

[Q] Car charger recommendations

Hello. I'm trying to pick a car charger that would work with the galaxy nexus. from what I've read so far the samsung CAD300UBEB/STD model seems to do the trick but a few review says that the battery discharges faster than the charger can charge it back under heavy usage. can anybody confirm or deny this?
and also, I would like to know if that same charger would work for a galaxy S2. I'm looking for a charger than can be used with both models because I have both phones. the listing of models in amazon website doesn't list the nexus or the S2. so I want to make sure before buying it. thanks!
I'm also interested. I was just looking at this discussion on Reddit taht goes a little more in depth
http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/nwerk/why_is_my_galaxy_nexus_losing_power_while_plugged/
KidCuda said:
I'm also interested. I was just looking at this discussion on Reddit taht goes a little more in depth
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The motorola charger listed there seems work well for the nexus and also for the S2 according to amazon reviews.
I went with one of these and a USB cable, and it seems to work just fine. Also gives me a spare USB port for additional charging.
mb_3000 said:
The motorola charger listed there seems work well for the nexus and also for the S2 according to amazon reviews.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the Motorola one already (the one with the blue LED) when I had my Droid 3, now it can't keep up with the Nexus' power drain. Just using it moderately on 3G only in the car today had it drain 3% over 40 minutes.
TheKaz said:
I went with one of these and a USB cable, and it seems to work just fine. Also gives me a spare USB port for additional charging.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not according to this guy
I have a galaxy nexus cell phone which requires probably around 1.5 Amps when using GPS. The phone does not come with the car charger. It only comes with a 2A wall charger. My temporary solution has been to use a car power inverter that has house-type outlets on it (which I already had) so that I can use the wall charger in the car. This has been working fine, but for obvious reasons, is not my desired long-term solution.
Enter this piece of crap. Now, the phone and only requires a little over 1 A with GPS. With the real two amp wall charger, I am able to both run GPS and charge the battery pretty darn fast. But, with this charger, not only can I not use GPS without draining the battery, but even when not using anything special, the battery charging times are horrendous.
Stay far, far away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mb_3000 said:
not according to this guy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow... granted, I am not using a GPS, but I never really checked the charge times. I don't rely on it for a fast full-charge.. usually just plug it in on the trip home and charge as much as it can until I plug it in at home.
Thanks for the heads up.. I am gonna have to keep an eye on it now.
TheKaz said:
Wow... granted, I am not using a GPS, but I never really checked the charge times. I don't rely on it for a fast full-charge.. usually just plug it in on the trip home and charge as much as it can until I plug it in at home.
Thanks for the heads up.. I am gonna have to keep an eye on it now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've researched this pretty thoroughly, and the key question is whether or not your GN shows "AC" when you check the Battery status, or if it shows "USB."
With most car chargers, it is seen as "USB" as if it's plugged into a computer, and will draw minimal current, generally not enough to keep up. I had 2 different chargers in my cars, none of which showed as "AC". I bought and then returned the Griffin PowerJolt Dual USB Micro Charger - it also showed as only "USB."
Finally, in one of the other Android forums I've been monitoring on this issue, somebody came across this one:
HTC T-Mobile myTouch 3G Car Charger
$3.12, free shipping. Mine came yesterday, plugged it in, and finally my GN showed charging as "AC".
Hope this helps!
When your smartphone shows your charger as ''USB'' this means that the USB data lines in the charger are not short-circuited. Then smartphone reduces its charging current to avoind any problems with USB laptop power sources
I made some experiments to check this point : see http://78michel.unblog.fr/?p=184.
I also opened a car charger and short-circuited the data lines on USB the plug . That way I have solved my previuos charging problem in my car during long trip.
DLCPhoto said:
I've researched this pretty thoroughly, and the key question is whether or not your GN shows "AC" when you check the Battery status, or if it shows "USB."
With most car chargers, it is seen as "USB" as if it's plugged into a computer, and will draw minimal current, generally not enough to keep up. I had 2 different chargers in my cars, none of which showed as "AC". I bought and then returned the Griffin PowerJolt Dual USB Micro Charger - it also showed as only "USB."
Finally, in one of the other Android forums I've been monitoring on this issue, somebody came across this one:
HTC T-Mobile myTouch 3G Car Charger
$3.12, free shipping. Mine came yesterday, plugged it in, and finally my GN showed charging as "AC".
Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It helped indeed, thanks for the link!
this is what i bought: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S5Q9CA/ref=oh_o03_s00_i00_details
i've used it now 4 times, twice on a trip from south florida to orlando.
It charges the phone just as fast, if not faster than my home charger. On the way back, my phone was at 35%, within 2 hours it was back up to 100%. No GPS and a couple phone calls.
on the way up, GPS on and it never dropped below 97%.
so i can tell you without any doubt what-so-ever that this charger works perfectly with the galaxy nexus and will charge it with Navigation and phone calls running.
TheKaz said:
I went with one of these and a USB cable, and it seems to work just fine. Also gives me a spare USB port for additional charging.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought a charger very similar to this one and it works great in my car. I make sure any charger I get is rated 5V DC at 1000mAh at least.
I have 2 USB 2.5A dongle chargers, one by Belkin and the other by Kingston. Both register as charging via "USB mode" and do not provide sufficient power while the phone is in use(loses charge usually). I also have that Motorola Rapid charger but the way the cable is designed it tugs on the USB port and comes loose often. I ended up just using the normal USB cable that comes with the phone and a 140W power inverter. Granted, it's not the most compact of devices, but it works well. I got it from Walmart for $20. Here's a link to it:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-XI14-Power-Inverter/15140199?findingMethod=rr
(and yes, using a power inverter will have the phone registering as "charging AC" and give a full proper charge.)
I'm using a Scoshe (sp?) dual USB port charger I picked up from Staples. It has a 1amp port and a 2.1amp port and I just use the micro usb cable the GNex came with
neok44 said:
this is what i bought: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S5Q9CA/ref=oh_o03_s00_i00_details
i've used it now 4 times, twice on a trip from south florida to orlando.
It charges the phone just as fast, if not faster than my home charger. On the way back, my phone was at 35%, within 2 hours it was back up to 100%. No GPS and a couple phone calls.
on the way up, GPS on and it never dropped below 97%.
so i can tell you without any doubt what-so-ever that this charger works perfectly with the galaxy nexus and will charge it with Navigation and phone calls running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! that's what I wanted to hear. I'm getting this one. it works for both Nexus and GSII
trueislander said:
I'm using a Scoshe (sp?) dual USB port charger I picked up from Staples. It has a 1amp port and a 2.1amp port and I just use the micro usb cable the GNex came with
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it charge as USB or AC with the scosche? I'm looking for a dual USB car charger that will work properly with the GN.
jhuynh said:
Does it charge as USB or AC with the scosche? I'm looking for a dual USB car charger that will work properly with the GN.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was another thread, I think in the General that discussed all of this, what people came up with was the best combination if you want a dual port usb charger is to make sure you have a "charging only" USB cable. This cable will not make your phone think it is connected to a computer. You can tweek a data/charging cable to work but some people messed that up so it is probably worth just spending the $4 on a cable that works.
Here is my combination that works great. With this set up I can have on my navigation going with the screen on the whole time and stream Pandora over Bluetooth into my car and the battery still charges really quickly.
Dual USB Port with a 1 amp port and a 2.1 amp port (2.1 amp port is for tablets or power hungry devices - like the phone while navigating). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0056VNVV8/ref=oh_o01_s00_i01_details
Charging Only USB cable:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VYBCAY/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details
This combo has me as "Charging AC" whenever I am in the car and I still have a port open to charge another one of the 27 or so different electronic devices that seem to clutter my life!
Some details on the changes I made on my car chargers
Text is in french but photographs speak by themselves http://78michel.unblog.fr/?p=212
jhuynh said:
Does it charge as USB or AC with the scosche? I'm looking for a dual USB car charger that will work properly with the GN.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just like bmolly said, it works as AC is you use a "charge only" cable
bmolloy said:
There was another thread, I think in the General that discussed all of this, what people came up with was the best combination if you want a dual port usb charger is to make sure you have a "charging only" USB cable. This cable will not make your phone think it is connected to a computer. You can tweek a data/charging cable to work but some people messed that up so it is probably worth just spending the $4 on a cable that works.
Here is my combination that works great. With this set up I can have on my navigation going with the screen on the whole time and stream Pandora over Bluetooth into my car and the battery still charges really quickly.
Dual USB Port with a 1 amp port and a 2.1 amp port (2.1 amp port is for tablets or power hungry devices - like the phone while navigating). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0056VNVV8/ref=oh_o01_s00_i01_details
Charging Only USB cable:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VYBCAY/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details
This combo has me as "Charging AC" whenever I am in the car and I still have a port open to charge another one of the 27 or so different electronic devices that seem to clutter my life!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. It's been driving me mad how car chargers and cables are so inconsistent. Pun intended.
Seriously, why can they come up with a standard and call it a day?
I have a had a few GPS/Pandora runs. Even while it says AC charging and my charger is rated for 1A, it drains the battery by 300-400ma.

USB charging cable

Lately I've noticed something odd. Depending on the USB cable I use the charge rate seems to vary substantially. In fact, in some cases under heavy phone usage, I've seen the battery decrease while on the charger. Now, I know what you're thinking: Some USB cables have the D+/D- pins shorted which switches from USB (500mA) to AC (1A) charging mode. I'm using a really cool CTC-2USB-5V2A charger which seems to show up as AC on all cables (including the ones that barely charge it). The two cables I know are charging it well are the one that came with my HP Touchpad and the one that came with my Kindle Fire HD 7, the ones that didn't have been el-cheapo eBay cables. Since its showing up as AC for all the cables, I'm assuming the only difference can be that the eBay cables use thinner wires which take more voltage drop.
Have people seen this before? Is this the problem? Does anyone know where to get some quality 2 meter / 6 ft cables cheap?
If you want to verify that one cable is allowing more current through than another, I would suggest getting "Battery Monitor Widget" by 3c (in the play store)
Put the apps widget on your screen, plug our phone in and wait for widget to update. Do the same for each cable and compare
CNexus, I am absolutely convinced one is charging faster than another.I was using the battery monitoring that came with the phone (or at least the one in Blazer ROM). You can plug one cable in and update the graph and the slope of the battery state is much higher on one cable than another. I installed battery monitor widget and I do not see anything that shows how much current is going into the phone.
But this really doesn't address the question of why one cable is charging faster than another, is it the wire gauge? Is there something else going on I don't know about?
hpmaxim said:
CNexus, I am absolutely convinced one is charging faster than another.I was using the battery monitoring that came with the phone (or at least the one in Blazer ROM). You can plug one cable in and update the graph and the slope of the battery state is much higher on one cable than another. I installed battery monitor widget and I do not see anything that shows how much current is going into the phone.
But this really doesn't address the question of why one cable is charging faster than another, is it the wire gauge? Is there something else going on I don't know about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can absolutely verify that this is true. It's usually that the pins in the micro sd port are running thin from normal use. Usually normal wear and tear, or possibly the cable has gotten crimped somewhere on it Respectively, the same Non- charging cables are likely to corrupt data transfer as well, making it difficult to do development, or transfer your favorite videos or songs.. Someone recently stole my new cable and all the files I'd transferred to my phone from the computer or vice versa from my older cable were corrupted. Especially ROMS, KERneLS, and Video. This could be a potential huge problem for someone in a sticky situation needing to ODIN, or make an ABD shell connection. I suggest tossing those cables and buying new ones. I know they're expensive, but it might be the difference between having your phone soft bricked till next payday or not.
Timmetal, just to be clear I am comparing multiple identical eBay cables to the Touchpad/Kindle Fire cables.... Sounds like you are saying it is a manufacturing defect in the cables (presumably all of them) that are not necessarily related to the wire gauge. Regardles...
A 6 foot 28 gauge cable would drop about 800+ mV (which is a lot, since a fully charged battery is probably around 4.2V and USB is 5V).
A 6 foot 24 gauge cable would be about 400 mV drop.
A 6 foot 22 gauge cable would probably be 250-300 mV drop.
Monoprice has 3 styles of cable:
1) the 28/28 economy cable (which I presume means 28 gauge on all wires) for 81 cents the
2) the 24/28 cable (presumably 24 gauge on power and ground, and 28 on the others) for $1.40
3) the "premium" cable which they don't give any info on, for $2.96
Newegg has a 22 gauge for $4
Price isn't that big of a deal one 1, but I'll probably buy 10 which starts to make a difference (although prices go down a bit with quantity on all of these). Sounds like the 24/28 Monoprice might be the best bet.
Battery monitor widget is an app, after you download it long press on your home screen > widgets > and there should be one for the "battery monitor widget" app, so basically put the "battery monitor widget" widget on one of your homescreens
And im not saying this is to see whether one is charging more than another, because you can just see that clearly
This is to see how much more it is because this app shows you the mA coming through the cord
The phone software controls the charge rate based on what it thinks it is plugged into. I think it limits its draw to 500ma if it senses a USB port on the other end (since the USB standard limits it to 500ma anyway), it charges at 700ma if it senses a wall-wart type charger. Not sure how it senses the difference, but you will notice on the lock screen it will say either Charging (USB) or Charging (AC).
Questions and help issues go in Q&A
Thread moved
FNM
poit said:
The phone software controls the charge rate based on what it thinks it is plugged into. I think it limits its draw to 500ma if it senses a USB port on the other end (since the USB standard limits it to 500ma anyway), it charges at 700ma if it senses a wall-wart type charger. Not sure how it senses the difference, but you will notice on the lock screen it will say either Charging (USB) or Charging (AC).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry if I didn't make this clear, the phone is claiming it is an AC charger in both cases, but one cable versus another makes a big difference in charging speed. Anyway, I ordered 9 of the $1.40 Monoprice cables. We'll see if they work.
poit said:
The phone software controls the charge rate based on what it thinks it is plugged into. I think it limits its draw to 500ma if it senses a USB port on the other end (since the USB standard limits it to 500ma anyway), it charges at 700ma if it senses a wall-wart type charger. Not sure how it senses the difference, but you will notice on the lock screen it will say either Charging (USB) or Charging (AC).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sort of off topic but Interesting. My lock screen just shows charging. USB port on computer, USB cable plugged into wall charger or dedicated 700mah Blackberry wall charger, it makes no distinction as to how it's being charged. It does charge faster using a wall charger obviously but I've never noticed a difference in rate between using different cables.

Turn off fast charge

Any way to disable rapid charging?
I have a generic USB extender and used it to extend my charger cable by a couple of feet. When the phone showed "full charge in 5 hours" I realized it's making the charge speed extremely slow. The USB cable is a regular sized USB male on one end while the other end is a regular sized USB female. You could use that to slow down your charging to about the speed you'd get by charging from a USB 2.0 connector on any PC/laptop.
One the same note will using a standard charger from other cell phones (that I have like 300 of) and the cable that came with phone cause any problems or just charge slow. I travel a lot and have several USB devices I bring and don't want to bring multiple chargers if I don't need to.
Thanks.
It will just charge slow.
Okmed said:
One the same note will using a standard charger from other cell phones (that I have like 300 of) and the cable that came with phone cause any problems or just charge slow. I travel a lot and have several USB devices I bring and don't want to bring multiple chargers if I don't need to.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need a compatible charger for it to fast charge. Using a regular charger wouldn't put it in that mode. I wanted to know if there was an option to turn it off with a compatible charger.
Why do you want to turn it off.
I could swear I saw something in the framework to disable fast charging but I'm not 100% sure.
I'll try to remember to keep an eye out for it after the December updates drop from Google and I have to redo my framework mods.
As far as options in the GUI go, I don't recall ever seeing any option to disable fast charging.
To answer another question, someone may want to disable fast charging to ensure their battery lasts longer (short term + long term). Or to prevent overheating when charging in the sun. And other reasons too.
You could always buy a MicroUSB to USB-C adapter. Or the phone may have come with one too now that I think about it.
Then use an older MicroUSB charger to charge your phone.
Charging via computer is only like 500mAH compared vs. 2000+mAH charging from the stock charger.
Count me amongst the club who would prefer to slow-charge my phone overnight at least.
And possibly slow my car charger down to maybe just 1000mAH to prevent overheating while the phone is docked underneath my windshield under the hot sun.

USB from computer and car charging really slow....

Hi Guys,
I have a thinkpad which has regular USB and also a fast charge USB port. They have worked fine in the past on other phones and I used to see at least 1 amp charge rates. (on the fast charge port)
Using either port on the 20 X I only get about 200 ma charging rates?
I'm using "Ampere" to get the charging rates, it is definitely charging slower than normal...
Have you guys noticed this?
Also of note, It charges really slow from my car as well. On the hour drive home the phone only went up 4%. (This is a VW using android auto)
I think all bets are off when your using 3rd party chargers. I think Huawei might have some official accessories that you may need to buy.
jeradjohnso said:
I think all bets are off when your using 3rd party chargers. I think Huawei might have some official accessories that you may need to buy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a bunch of phones and every single one of them charges at normal charging rates off my laptop and in my car, this is pretty strange...
Huawei uses a completely different setup from QC 3 from charger to cable . How does it charge with the supplied charger and cable that you received with your phone? If you buy extra chargers for home or car make sure they say they do Huawei "Supercharge". They are a little hard to find but they are out there. Make sure the USB cable is rated for 5a(amps)
Cccmachins said:
Huawei uses a completely different setup from QC 3 from charger to cable . How does it charge with the supplied charger and cable that you received with your phone? If you buy extra chargers for home or car make sure they say they do Huawei "Supercharge". They are a little hard to find but they are out there. Make sure the USB cable is rated for 5a(amps)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't even used the included charger and cable, but plugged in at the house I do see 2 amp charge rates which is great.
The downside is that in the car with android auto I can't really plug it into anything other than the car's USB and that give me a really slow trickle charge. This is where a bulk of my charging occurs since I drive for work so much. Basically I have never charged my other phones outside of the car, I just use android auto all the time and the batteries are always topped off. So not being able to charge from car or laptop is not a deal breaker at all, but it certainly means I need to start carry a charging cube around everywhere.
Just seems odd for such an expensive flagship phone to not charge correctly via USB like every other phone I have ever had.
Try the supplied charger and cable just to make sure you do not have a defective phone. When you plug in the cable to charge watch your screen. It should show your battery percentage and a short lighting bolt. Then in just a second it should change to a long lighting bolt and say super charging. If it does that you know your phone is charging correctly. Take your Huawei supplied cable and use it on your laptop and car and see if that doesn't increase your chances speeds.
Cccmachins said:
Try the supplied charger and cable just to make sure you do not have a defective phone. When you plug in the cable to charge watch your screen. It should show your battery percentage and a short lighting bolt. Then in just a second it should change to a long lighting bolt and say super charging. If it does that you know your phone is charging correctly. Take your Huawei supplied cable and use it on your laptop and car and see if that doesn't increase your chances speeds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I gave the original cable a shot and it still basically charges at 200-250ma from my laptop. Very odd indeed. Not even seeing the normal 500ma that you would get on a regular USB port. (Tried both standard and high charge rate USB ports on my lenovo)
Anyone else seeing this behavior?

Categories

Resources