Develop Bugs

[Q] Charging Speed - Different from a/c than from USB?

So I was wondering: is there a difference in charging speed between the a/c wall charger and charging from my computer's USB port? Also, what's the difference between different chargers? For example, the Desire comes with a charger that puts out 1 amp. My girlfriend's BlackBerry has a micro USB charger as well, but the output is 700 mAh, or 0.7 amp. I've seen chargers ranging from 500 mAh (0.5 amp) to 1200 mAh (1.2 amp). How does this equate to charge time? Does it even? Or does the phone regulate the charge rate?

Benny_L said:
So I was wondering: is there a difference in charging speed between the a/c wall charger and charging from my computer's USB port? Also, what's the difference between different chargers? For example, the Desire comes with a charger that puts out 1 amp. My girlfriend's BlackBerry has a micro USB charger as well, but the output is 700 mAh, or 0.7 amp. I've seen chargers ranging from 500 mAh (0.5 amp) to 1200 mAh (1.2 amp). How does this equate to charge time? Does it even? Or does the phone regulate the charge rate?
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Click to collapse
You've pretty much answer your own question!
The current supplied by a charger/USB port determines how fast it can charge the battery, which is why the wall charger (1amp) charges much faster than a PC USB port (0.5 amps).
Regards,
Dave

It's almost completely logical.. say you have a 1.5A battery (1500mA) and a 500mAh charger (ie USB) then it will take 3 hours for it to charge but with a 1000mAh charger it will take an hour and a half.
Can't really explain it more than that, so hth.

Well , Yes and No
This is only partly true ......
If you charge it on the PC , max output is 0.5 amps , and data is possible while charging .
Now with Desktop and car charger , the amp can be anything the manufacturer likes but you have to keep the following in mind :
USB Specs state the following :
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In Battery Charging Specification,[32] new powering modes are added to the USB specification. A host or hub Charging Downstream Port can supply a maximum of 1.5 A when communicating at low-bandwidth or full-bandwidth, a maximum of 900 mA when communicating at high-bandwidth, and as much current as the connector will safely handle when no communication is taking place; USB 2.0 standard-A connectors are rated at 1500 mA by default. A Dedicated Charging Port can supply a maximum of 1.8 A of current at 5.25 V. A portable device can draw up to 1.8 A from a Dedicated Charging Port. The Dedicated Charging Port shorts the D+ and D- pins with a resistance of at most 200Ω. The short disables data transfer, but allows devices to detect the Dedicated Charging Port and allows very simple, high current chargers to be manufactured. The increased current (faster, 9 W charging) will occur once both the host/hub and devices support the new charging specification.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So if your Desire ( Yes , the Desire supports these specs ) detects the short , it will switch to fast charging mode otherwise it will limit the charging current .
Unfortunately , there's no way to know , just by looking at a charger, if it respects the specs or is just a low cost 5V powersupply . I've encountered quite a few ( mostly lowcost) desktop and car chargers that are rated between 1 and 2 amps , but still take bl**dy ages to charge the phone . Checking those with a measuring tool , you usually see the data pins are "Not Connected" instead of being shortened :-(((
Final Word .... don't try to save some money on a cheap charger , you'll regret it Genuine HTC works great , others do the same , but don't expect a $1 charger from Hongkong or whereever to do it !

These are the theoretical specs. Keep an eye on charger efficiency ratings and battery charge absorption won't be 100% in any case. Also bare in mind the charge is not linear, it will trickle after approx 80-90% with this phone.
-----------------------------------
- Sent via my HTC Desire -

th3 said:
These are the theoretical specs. Keep an eye on charger efficiency ratings and battery charge absorption won't be 100% in any case. Also bare in mind the charge is not linear, it will trickle after approx 80-90% with this phone.
-----------------------------------
- Sent via my HTC Desire -
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Ya, I noticed the charge slows down considerably for the final 10-15 %
I find myself charging my Desire more than I actually use it, lol.

I found now the answer to this problem: I use a Nokia charger (5v and 890 mA) with a microusb adapter. You can find one on eBay at ~2$
Now it takes about 2 hours from 20% to 100%
Lets hope nothing wrong happens to my precious Desire

look here for a method to charge at ac speed from usb, explains a few things too.

High current car charger

Anybody come across a car charger that is high current like the HTC wall charger?

Most car chargers are classified as "rapid".

Anything designed to charge an iPad (2.1A versus the typical 1A) will give you plenty of juice. I use the Scosche reVIVE II with Pandora, Bluetooth, and GPS Navigation all on and still have enough power to positively charge my battery.
Fair warning, though, this will cause the phone to get real hot (I've had the overheating warning lights flash twice so far), so make sure you have plenty of ventilation around the phone, keep it out of the sun, etc etc.

Any charger that is at least 1 amp. will do. The phone 'pulls' a max of around 0.85 amps. No need for more then 1 amp.
If it has a replaceable cable, it must be the heaviest gauge, shortest cable, that you can use. I have seen long cheap thin cables that drop over a volt, and the Thunderbolt charges really slowly.
The charger or cable have to state that they for rapid charging. To rapid charge, you need to have the USB D- and D+ lines shorted. If that are not shorted, the Thunderbolt limits the charge current to around 0.35 amps. thinking it is connected to a PC. If they are shorted, letting the Thunderbolt know it can be rapid charged, you get up there around 0.85. You can easily modify the charger for high rate if it is good for at least an amp.
And in the end is heat. Heat and lots of it. It will damage the battery. So put it out of the sun and in cool air like near a vent.

Motorola Rapid Charger on Amazon is the best. I bought two.
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehi...Q9CA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309959388&sr=8-1
Review off Amazon
Genuine Motorola charger in retail packaging. 4.75-5.25V 950mA output, works w/ most micro-USB phones like Incredible, etc., June 11, 2010
By
David Pearlman "sound fanatic" (Arlington, MA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
There are so many sketchy sellers selling phone chargers out there, that it can be a bit scary. The problem is that if the charger is poorly made, the output of the charger can be out of spec and can, in some cases, fry the phone you connect to it.
For that reason, when it comes to phone chargers, you should stick to name brands. (They are all made in China, but the name brand ones are usually subject to stricter QA).
When I found this charger on Amazon, SOLD BY AMAZON, I jumped on it. It's a MICRO USB car charger, made for Motorola and sold under the Motorola name, in retail packaging. The rated output is 4.75-5.25V and 950mA.
This charger should work fine with most any phone that uses the MICRO USB connector. The key number to pay attention to is the second one, the rated amperage. This is the MAXIMUM amount of current that the phone can request from the charger. A typical USB port on a PC provides as little as 100mA, and few provide more than 500mA. So this charger should charge your phone faster than when it's connected to a PC. A few phones out now can use up to 1000mA. But that just means they CAN use that amount. If 950mA is provided, they'll still charge, just a bit more slowly.
Note that the amperage (second number) merely tells you how much the charger CAN supply, if requested. The phone itself is responsible for asking for the current. That is to say, if this charger can provide 950mA, but your phone can only use 300mA--no problem. Your phone asks for 300mA and the charger provides all of what is requested. If, on the other hand, your phone can use 1000mA, this charger will provide all it can, which is 950mA--a wee bit less than the max asked for. That's also not a problem; it just means your phone will charge a little bit (not much in this case) more slowly. The rated voltage for this charger is presented in a range of 4.75-5.25V. The "ideal" voltage for a USB charger of any type if 5V. And most chargers for home use are rated right at 5V. But car chargers work in a noisier environment and thus you have the range. This is where a cheapo charger can really do damage, as some of them are poorly regulated and can provide voltages that are WAY out of spec. Again, when you can get a name brand charger from a seller you can trust (Amazon) for such a reasonable price, it's very foolish to consider the cheapo no-names.
This is an excellent quality name brand travel micro USB charger at a price that beats the no-name junk from third party sellers. What's not to like?
BE SURE TO ORDER IT FROM AMAZON AND NOT ONE OF THE THIRD PARTY SELLERS, as some of those have been known to make mistakes with respect to what they ship relative to the listing. I can confirm that Amazon is shipping the P513 /89143N charger, as pictured.
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ddgarcia05 said:
Motorola Rapid Charger on Amazon is the best. I bought two.
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehi...Q9CA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309959388&sr=8-1
Review off Amazon
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Click to collapse
I've been contemplating buying this one, but I'd like to ask you if it charges your battery with navigation+music going? I have a usb charger in my truck, and with both of those going it just manages to keep my battery level where its at, sometimes losing a % or two.

kr0n1c said:
I've been contemplating buying this one, but I'd like to ask you if it charges your battery with navigation+music going? I have a usb charger in my truck, and with both of those going it just manages to keep my battery level where its at, sometimes losing a % or two.
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Click to collapse
From what I've read in the past here on XDA and on the reviews for the charger (on amazon) you shouldn't have a problem. The second review for the charger on amazon states that the reviewer was looking for a charger which actually charged his phone will using GPS and that he found it. It's a very well built charger and cheap. It's made my Motorola and sold by Amazon so buy with confidence.

kr0n1c said:
I've been contemplating buying this one, but I'd like to ask you if it charges your battery with navigation+music going? I have a usb charger in my truck, and with both of those going it just manages to keep my battery level where its at, sometimes losing a % or two.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does indeed charge. I've had it since my original Droid and was concerned when I updated to the TB but it will charge the TB no matter what you're doing (I've had Nav running while on a phone call with BT and searching the internet and it still showed it was charging). Just be prepared for your phone to get HOT!! Great charger.

worwig said:
Any charger that is at least 1 amp. will do. The phone 'pulls' a max of around 0.85 amps. No need for more then 1 amp.
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Actually, the phone will pull more than 850 mA. You're probably basing that on using a battery monitor, which only shows the flow of current into/out of the battery. I've seen 800 mA into the battery at the same time I have display, GPS and a phone call going, which is definitely more than an additional 50 mA. It wouldn't surprise me if the phone can take advantage of something more than 1A, since I see a battery drain of more than 200 mA with all of that going when not on the charger.

kr0n1c said:
I've been contemplating buying this one, but I'd like to ask you if it charges your battery with navigation+music going? I have a usb charger in my truck, and with both of those going it just manages to keep my battery level where its at, sometimes losing a % or two.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have that Motorola charger and am a heavy GPS user. It charges the battery as if it were plugged into the wall. You'll be very satisfied.

mike.s said:
Actually, the phone will pull more than 850 mA. You're probably basing that on using a battery monitor, which only shows the flow of current into/out of the battery. I've seen 800 mA into the battery at the same time I have display, GPS and a phone call going, which is definitely more than an additional 50 mA. It wouldn't surprise me if the phone can take advantage of something more than 1A, since I see a battery drain of more than 200 mA with all of that going when not on the charger.
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No, that was measured at the 5 volt power supply, based upon a lab power supply. I did a lot of experimenting when I developed the charger and phone mount for my motorcycle. And to get the 850ma from the power supply, I used a very short, maybe 8 inch, USB cable, and a charge voltage close to 5.3 volts. With 5 volts at the power supply, it would only pull about 650ma from the power supply. That was due to the voltage drop in the USB cable. With the 5.3 volts at the power supply, I was getting close to an actual 5 volts at the Thunderbolt. I never measured the current at the battery, but I could see it being a bit more then the 850ma in, if there were a switch mode supply in there.
Though I like the Battery Monitor widget as a rough guide, I never tested to see if the battery current and the battery monitor are accurate.

Does anyone know if the included HTC ac adapter and cable will charge faster than using your pc with the included USB cable?

happimeal said:
Does anyone know if the included HTC ac adapter and cable will charge faster than using your pc with the included USB cable?
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Absolutely.
A PC USB port is limited to under 500ma. The Thunderbolt appears to to limit PC USB draw to about 350ma. I haven't measured the actual current in the HTC charger, but it is a high current charger, and charges my Thunderbolt very quickly. Battery Monitor widget shows high battery charge rates. I suspect it is getting near the max rate up near 1 amp.

worwig said:
Absolutely.
A PC USB port is limited to under 500ma. The Thunderbolt appears to to limit PC USB draw to about 350ma. I haven't measured the actual current in the HTC charger, but it is a high current charger, and charges my Thunderbolt very quickly. Battery Monitor widget shows high battery charge rates. I suspect it is getting near the max rate up near 1 amp.
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Click to collapse
HTC charger states 5V/1A on the charger itself.

You can use the Palm car charger for $3.75+tax, free shipping. it is 5V/1A, same rating as the HTC wall charger.
Go here for 25% off
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...otion/accessories.jsp?source=EC0A0011600jtl10
Add product here, must add to cart to see 25% discount.
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...027&q_sku=sku4720234&q_manufacturer=&q_model=
Also, if so inclined, you can lop the top off of the charger so that you can use any usb cable (ipod, iphone, anything)

dpham00 said:
HTC charger states 5V/1A on the charger itself.
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Click to collapse
That doesn't mean much. That is the MAX the charger can output. The amount that the Thunderbolt will pull varies. If it thinks it is plugged into a USB, it will be less then 500ma. even if the charger is capable of 10 amps.

worwig said:
That doesn't mean much. That is the MAX the charger can output. The amount that the Thunderbolt will pull varies. If it thinks it is plugged into a USB, it will be less then 500ma. even if the charger is capable of 10 amps.
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Click to collapse
i have used the Palm car charger, checking with bmw, it shows around 850ma, same as on my htc charger.

worwig said:
Any charger that is at least 1 amp. will do. The phone 'pulls' a max of around 0.85 amps. No need for more then 1 amp.
If it has a replaceable cable, it must be the heaviest gauge, shortest cable, that you can use. I have seen long cheap thin cables that drop over a volt, and the Thunderbolt charges really slowly.
The charger or cable have to state that they for rapid charging. To rapid charge, you need to have the USB D- and D+ lines shorted. If that are not shorted, the Thunderbolt limits the charge current to around 0.35 amps. thinking it is connected to a PC. If they are shorted, letting the Thunderbolt know it can be rapid charged, you get up there around 0.85. You can easily modify the charger for high rate if it is good for at least an amp.
And in the end is heat. Heat and lots of it. It will damage the battery. So put it out of the sun and in cool air like near a vent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
um, i am aware that any charger that will do 1A will do. that was my question, what car charger will do 1A. Alot of times, they dont have that info listed on pages that are selling them.
and the whole thing about the D- and D+ shorted together, i do not believe. the HTC cable that came with the phone does rapid charging and i use it for data all the time too. if they D- and D+ was shorted, i would not be able to use it for data transfer. not unless the HTC charger shorts them internally inside the charger.

leoingle said:
unless the HTC charger shorts them internally inside the charger.
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Click to collapse
Bingo!!

leoingle said:
um, i am aware that any charger that will do 1A will do. that was my question, what car charger will do 1A. Alot of times, they dont have that info listed on pages that are selling them.
and the whole thing about the D- and D+ shorted together, i do not believe. the HTC cable that came with the phone does rapid charging and i use it for data all the time too. if they D- and D+ was shorted, i would not be able to use it for data transfer. not unless the HTC charger shorts them internally inside the charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it is hard to find the current info online or even on the package sometimes.
Yes, it is shorted in the charger. I have seen it done in the cable and the cable can't be used for data of course. Not sure why anyone would do that, but they do.

[Q] Rapid Chargers - Not Really Rapid?

i bought that Motorola Rapid Car charger recent and have been using it about a week now. i've noticed that it doesn't seem to charge my Thunderbolt any faster then it did when i was using the Thunderbolt's USB cable with this USB car charger adapter.
so, my question is, why is it called "rapid" if it doesn't charge any faster?
and i suppose secondly, is there an actual microUSB charger that will charge the Thunderbolt faster?
they make one for the iphone that will fully charge it in 30 minutes so i know they are out there.

voxigenboy said:
i bought that Motorola Rapid Car charger recent and have been using it about a week now. i've noticed that it doesn't seem to charge my Thunderbolt any faster then it did when i was using the Thunderbolt's USB cable with this USB car charger adapter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you should try this one.

Install the battery monitor widget. Monitor the battery for about 20 minutes while charging. Tell us what the charge current is.
Does the Motorola charger include a cable? If not, you may just have a weak cable. I have seen cheap cables with wire so thin that the charging current is no better then charging off a weak USB port.

My experience has been that the phone typically recognizes car charges as USB charging and uses a different charging profile. My solution to that is use a wall charger through an inverter or a kernel that doesn't use radically different charging profiles for A/C and USB.

loonatik78 said:
My experience has been that the phone typically recognizes car charges as USB charging and uses a different charging profile. My solution to that is use a wall charger through an inverter or a kernel that doesn't use radically different charging profiles for A/C and USB.
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Click to collapse
No need for that.
Cut a small piece of aluminum foil. Carefully place it where it shorts the two center conductors in the charger. Plug the USB cable into the charger. Make sure the foil stays in place over the two center conductors.
It is now a high rate charger. (assuming it can put out 1 amp.)

The limiting factor is typically the usb cable itself. Most usb cables can't support the 1amp that is provided to it. Since you used the original usb cable that came with the thunderbolt (that's been "shorted" as mentioned above" ) it will be just as fast as the moto car charger. the 1amp charging rate that the moto charger charges at (i have one) and that the original one charges at are already "rapid". if you plugged a normal usb cable from somewhere else into the other usb car charger, it'd be much much slower

squeakyl said:
The limiting factor is typically the usb cable itself. Most usb cables can't support the 1amp that is provided to it. Since you used the original usb cable that came with the thunderbolt (that's been "shorted" as mentioned above" ) it will be just as fast as the moto car charger. the 1amp charging rate that the moto charger charges at (i have one) and that the original one charges at are already "rapid". if you plugged a normal usb cable from somewhere else into the other usb car charger, it'd be much much slower
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The stock charger is what shorts the connections. The cable is NOT shorted on the two inner pins because they are the data connections used for connecting your phone to a computer.

doodlebro said:
The stock charger is what shorts the connections. The cable is NOT shorted on the two inner pins because they are the data connections used for connecting your phone to a computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To meet the USB charging spec (which the TB uses), the two inner (data) contacts should be shorted with no more that 200 ohms.
But, the cable can also be an issue for rapid charging. The voltage drop for a 1A/5V source, across only .5 M of 28 gauge copper is ~220 mV. If you use a longer cable, there's more voltage drop. The TB likely current limits itself when the voltage drops below a certain threshold. Best to buy 24 gauge USB cables, if you can, especially if getting longer ones (monoprice has them).

voxigenboy said:
i bought that Motorola Rapid Car charger recent and have been using it about a week now. i've noticed that it doesn't seem to charge my Thunderbolt any faster then it did when i was using the Thunderbolt's USB cable with this USB car charger adapter.
so, my question is, why is it called "rapid" if it doesn't charge any faster?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think its a matter of rated output current. BUT on the other side, the phone must be capable of drawing/using that much current. If the adapter is rated for more current than the phone can charge, the "extra" current wont be supplied.
Initially, Moto's standard car chargers output 5V and up to 550ma max (just like a standard PC USB port) so they didn't charge phones all that fast. Moto then came out with chargers that had higher current output, so they were capable of charging the phones "faster" than the original car chargers (but on par with the home/travel/AC chargers) and called them "rapid car chargers"..
Today, the current output on the Moto SPN5400A car charger is 0-950mA, and I've seen it sometimes referred to as "Rapid Car charger."
But as far as I know, Moto no longer makes/sells the lower current car chargers, and their web site only shows one MicroUSB and one MiniUSB car charger for sale, both of which appear to be of the 0-950mA output variety.
voxigenboy said:
and i suppose secondly, is there an actual microUSB charger that will charge the Thunderbolt faster?
they make one for the iphone that will fully charge it in 30 minutes so i know they are out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just because someone makes such a charger for the iPhone, doesn't mean one must exist for the TB, or other phones, does it? I know the iPad uses a 2A charger. What happens if you connect an iPhone to that? will it charge faster? I guess that depends on if the iPhone is capable of drawing more than 1A to charge it.
I've not seen a "home" or AC charger that can charge the TB any faster than the Stock 1A charger. Does such a thing exist?
A proper car charger with 950mA to 1A output should charge the TB at almost exactly the same rate as the stock 1A wall/AC charger.
And btw, the Moto SPN5400A car charger DOES charge my TB in about the same amount of time that it takes me to charge my TB at home with the stock HTC charger. So while its not "rapid" compared to the stock home/travel/AC charger, its "rapid" compared to PC USB Port charging, or a plain lower current car charger.

KidJoe said:
I've not seen a "home" or AC charger that can charge the TB any faster than the Stock 1A charger. Does such a thing exist?
A proper car charger with 950mA to 1A output should charge the TB at almost exactly the same rate as the stock 1A wall/AC charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made a charger for my motorcycle. I use it as a GPS, screen on MAX, phone active with marginal signal. And I wanted to actually charge the battery at the same time. I did a lot of experimenting with the Thunderbolt. It would not exceed a pull of about 850ma from the supply, even at 5.5 volts. IMHO, you are wasting time looking for any charger over 1 amp.
Also, even with about 850ma in, not much over 500ma is getting to the battery. So a totally dead battery is still going to take between 2 and 3 hours to charge, no matter what charger you have. And twice that long if the charger looks like a PC USB port.

worwig said:
I made a charger for my motorcycle. I use it as a GPS, screen on MAX, phone active with marginal signal. And I wanted to actually charge the battery at the same time. I did a lot of experimenting with the Thunderbolt. It would not exceed a pull of about 850ma from the supply, even at 5.5 volts. IMHO, you are wasting time looking for any charger over 1 amp.
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I was asking because of the OP's statement about knowing "they must exist" because they are out there for the iPhone.
I'm perfectly happy with my Moto car charger, and how fast it charges my phones.

QI Charger in car. With data & GPS ?

No
Can a qi charger charge the nexus 5 when data and GPS is being used ?
Will it charge or will the battery drain?
Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013) KitKat 4.4.2

Power consumption during data and GPS use varies depending on what apps are used, signal strength ect... so there is no definite answer. In general, I notice slight battery drain when using navigation when on wireless charging. Google's nav app uses more power than the 500 mah the Qi charger provides but the drain is much slower than on battery alone..

rikudo said:
Power consumption during data and GPS use varies depending on what apps are used, signal strength ect... so there is no definite answer. In general, I notice slight battery drain when using navigation when on wireless charging. Google's nav app uses more power than the 500 mah the Qi charger provides but the drain is much slower than on battery alone..
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Sorry, but what Qi charger are you using that only provides 500mA?
Even my $15 generic ebay Qi charger gets 751mA.

mmmmBACON said:
Sorry, but what Qi charger are you using that only provides 500mA?
Even my $15 generic ebay Qi charger gets 751mA.
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500 mA was an estimate, individual results vary. Take into account wireless charging has an efficiency of 70-80%, so a charger with a 751mA output would effectively charge at 600-526mA. Add a phone case and/or imperfect alignment charging efficiency drops even lower. In real world use my 750 mA qi charger charges at about the same rate as a 500 mA USB port.

rikudo said:
500 mA was an estimate, individual results vary. Take into account wireless charging has an efficiency of 70-80%, so a charger with a 751mA output would effectively charge at 600-526mA. Add a phone case and/or imperfect alignment charging efficiency drops even lower. In real world use my 750 mA qi charger charges at about the same rate as a 500 mA USB port.
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Oh yeah, I took that into consideration already, which is why I gave such an exact number. I got 751mA from a 5V/1A output rated Qi charger.
I've done a bunch of tests of charge rates with stock, higher amp chargers, and my generic Qi charger.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=48856141&postcount=18
As long as the Qi charger you buy is rated as 5V/1A output (which is almost all of them out there, including the official nexus wireless charger, tylt vu, etc.), you should get around the charge rate I mentioned if it's maxed out fully. So people buying the expensive Qi chargers, are not getting any speed improvement over the cheap one I bought. Might look a little nicer sure, but I'll gladly keep the $20 - $50 in my pocket instead. If you want to read my whole post, I linked it.
Here's just the data portion.
Stock 1.2A LG wall adapter: 1053mA
2A USB wall adapter: 1053mA
Built in USB input on power bar: 1053mA
USB 3.0 port (desktop computer): 446mA (surprised it was so low for a USB 3.0 charge port)
USB 2.0 port (desktop computer): 334mA
Generic Qi charger (2A input/1A output)/Built in USB input on power bar: 751mA
Generic Qi charger/Stock LG adapter: 751mA
Generic Qi charger/2A USB adapter: 751mA
Generic Qi charger/USB 3.0 port: 696mA (interesting compared to directly plugging into USB 3.0)
Generic Qi charger/USB 2.0 port: 502mA (low, but again higher than direct cable)
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That's why I was just wondering what Qi charger you had and why you were saying 500mA because that is less than half the charge rate of the stock wall charger.

mmmmBACON said:
Oh yeah, I took that into consideration already, which is why I gave such an exact number. I got 751mA from a 5V/1A output rated Qi charger.
I've done a bunch of tests of charge rates with stock, higher amp chargers, and my generic Qi charger.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=48856141&postcount=18
As long as the Qi charger you buy is rated as 5V/1A output (which is almost all of them out there, including the official nexus wireless charger, tylt vu, etc.), you should get around the charge rate I mentioned if it's maxed out fully. So people buying the expensive Qi chargers, are not getting any speed improvement over the cheap one I bought. Might look a little nicer sure, but I'll gladly keep the $20 - $50 in my pocket instead. If you want to read my whole post, I linked it.
Here's just the data portion.
That's why I was just wondering what Qi charger you had and why you were saying 500mA because that is less than half the charge rate of the stock wall charger.
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This is strange, I used the "Current Widget" app as well. . I'm currently using an Anker Powerbank, it's a 6000 mAh battery with a built in Qi charger which shows an average 500 mA charge rate. I also have an official Nexus 5 Qi charger that also shows about 500 mA charge rate. When connected directly to the Nexus qi charger wall adaptor I get a 1560 mA charge rate. Thanks for your data, this makes me wonder how accurate "Current Widget" app actually is since our results differ so much.

rikudo said:
This is strange, I used the "Current Widget" app as well. . I'm currently using an Anker Powerbank, it's a 6000 mAh battery with a built in Qi charger which shows an average 500 mA charge rate. I also have an official Nexus 5 Qi charger that also shows about 500 mA charge rate. When connected directly to the Nexus qi charger wall adaptor I get a 1560 mA charge rate. Thanks for your data, this makes me wonder how accurate "Current Widget" app actually is since our results differ so much.
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Yeah, I used CurrentWidget as well, it's a pretty close estimate, but it won't be 100% accurate. I just didn't want to tear things apart and use a multimeter to take readings. Make sure your CurrentWidget update interval is set to 1 so it gives you live updates. Then you just have to give it a few minutes to stabilize (it will always fluctuate though) and watch for the consistent highest reading over a period of 5 to 10 minutes to be as accurate as you can. For my readings, 751mA kept popping up over and over again but never higher, so it was reasonable to say that was the max my Qi charger was capable as long as it was receiving ample power itself.
The charge rate will also vary depending on where in the battery charge cycle you are recording. At the beginning and end of the charge cycle, it will not charge at full speed and will slow down the charge. This is to protect the phone and the battery. For best range of recording, try to take your readings when your battery is charging around the 25 - 65% full mark, that way you can be pretty confident that your phone/battery is allowing the charger to charge at full speed.
What is your Anker Powerbank output rated as?
Also, was that 1560mA a consistent reading, or just a spike?

Most likely it'll go down if the screen is on, if the screen is off, it may stay or go up extremely slow.

Thanks for the replies.
If the charge will go down when screen, data and GPS are on.. Then it's not really a suitable for a sat naval replacement.
Looks like I'll need to go with a cable.
Sent from my Nexus 7 (2013) KitKat 4.4.2

Look at those car cable mods, they'll meet your needs and will give you an idea on how to hide the cables
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

The qi chargers I tried in the car slowly drain the battery with navigation and streaming music. Do I went back to the cord in the car.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk 2

Don't forget with GPS and other things on your temperature will go pretty high and could reach 45C where wireless charging practically turns off and your charger will only try and maintain the current battery percent. At least this happens to me monitoring it using battery widget.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I haven't gone so far as to install current widget, out even better battery stats, but I have taken some long trips with navigation and music streaming, screen on the whole time, and with the cheap Chinese 'c1' car mount, I always arrive with more charge than I left with. Maybe this is because I live in a cold climate, and the charger does not stop because of excessive heat.
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mmmmBACON said:
Yeah, I used CurrentWidget as well, it's a pretty close estimate, but it won't be 100% accurate. I just didn't want to tear things apart and use a multimeter to take readings. Make sure your CurrentWidget update interval is set to 1 so it gives you live updates. Then you just have to give it a few minutes to stabilize (it will always fluctuate though) and watch for the consistent highest reading over a period of 5 to 10 minutes to be as accurate as you can. For my readings, 751mA kept popping up over and over again but never higher, so it was reasonable to say that was the max my Qi charger was capable as long as it was receiving ample power itself.
The charge rate will also vary depending on where in the battery charge cycle you are recording. At the beginning and end of the charge cycle, it will not charge at full speed and will slow down the charge. This is to protect the phone and the battery. For best range of recording, try to take your readings when your battery is charging around the 25 - 65% full mark, that way you can be pretty confident that your phone/battery is allowing the charger to charge at full speed.
What is your Anker Powerbank output rated as?
Also, was that 1560mA a consistent reading, or just a spike?
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Click to collapse
The Powerbank Qi output is rated at 500 mA. The 1.8A wall adaptor gives a fairly consistent reading above 1500 mA.
I set faster update interval and found the following averages. (Battery @ 50%)
Nexus Qi 1.8A wall adapter: 1500-1605 mA
Nexus 5 stock wall adapter: 900-1000 mA
Nexus Qi charger plate: 450-740 mA
Qi Powerbank 500 mA: 300-476 mA
PC 2A USB port: 550-750 mA
It seems the Current Widget rates the summarized magnitude of draw from the battery. For example having the screen on and higher brightness will subtract from the measured charge. To negate this I placed the phone in airplane mode, screen off and set sampling to 5 s. Then after 10 s turned the phone on to view the last sample taken with the screen off.
Looks like you were right, a 750 mA rated charger factors in transmission losses. The Official Nexus Qi plate puts out 750 mA max. The Powerbank puts out 500 mA as labeled. The 1.8A wall adapter was surprising though. Anand's article stated the max charge rate was 1.2A but the 1.8A adapter clearly exceeds this rate.

rikudo said:
The Powerbank Qi output is rated at 500 mA. The 1.8A wall adaptor gives a fairly consistent reading above 1500 mA.
I set faster update interval and found the following averages. (Battery @ 50%)
Nexus Qi 1.8A wall adapter: 1500-1605 mA
Nexus 5 stock wall adapter: 900-1000 mA
Nexus Qi charger plate: 450-740 mA
Qi Powerbank 500 mA: 300-476 mA
PC 2A USB port: 550-750 mA
It seems the Current Widget rates the summarized magnitude of draw from the battery. For example having the screen on and higher brightness will subtract from the measured charge. To negate this I placed the phone in airplane mode, screen off and set sampling to 5 s. Then after 10 s turned the phone on to view the last sample taken with the screen off.
Looks like you were right, a 750 mA rated charger factors in transmission losses. The Official Nexus Qi plate puts out 750 mA max. The Powerbank puts out 500 mA as labeled. The 1.8A wall adapter was surprising though. Anand's article stated the max charge rate was 1.2A but the 1.8A adapter clearly exceeds this rate.
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That is interesting. My finding mirrored that of Anandtech. I used both the 1.2A stock adapter, and a 2A adapter and I was not able to increase my charging speed at all. It stayed at 1053.
Can you check the plug to see the voltage of the Nexus 5 Qi adapter. Is it 5V?

Any indication that Quick Charge 2.0 is active?

Is there any kind of indication on the phone that Qualcomm quick charge 2. 0 is active when it is connected to a certified charger?
I bought both in AC and DC certified charger. both were very highly rated on Amazon. The AC charger for example is made by Anker.
The app Ampere reports a low milliamp rating of around 250mA when I am using either of these two chargers.
When I connect two different chargers that are not quick charge 2.0 certified then Ampere reports a charging current of upwards of 1800mA.
I suppose the issue could be Ampere, that it doesn't know how to measure when the quick charge technology is present. Does anyone have any direct experience with this to know what the issue is?

When I use my 2.0 Charger I can go from dead to full in about an hour. So yeah i'd say it's active!

Even with a QC 2 charger, you won't see high charge rates unless the battery is low. All chargers will slow down as the battery charges. That's just how they work. I have also seen cables make a difference. I have some right and left angle cables from Star tech that will only charge at one amp. Samsung and HTC OEM cables will allow charge rates above one amp. Finally, most programs display the charge rate after subtracting the power that the phone is actively using.
Ex, your charger is 1.5 amp, the phone is awake and playing a game taking 800 milliamps, at full power you phone can only charge at 700 milliamps as that is the charger's maximum output.

Deleted, issue sorted.

The charger supplied with phone is not quick charge compatible.
(At least in UK )
HTC do sell a quick charge 2.0 compatible charger as an accessory.
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