Develop Bugs

Cradle charger with AC adapter doesn't work

Hi,
Just purchased a cradle for the universal which has a USB and an AC adapter connection.
The USB works fine for charging the Universal.
The AC Adapter connection on the other hand doesn't charge the PDA at all.
I thought I remember reading something concerning a fix for this but can't seem to find the post for it.
Any body got the solution for it or do I have a faulty cradle?
Thanks.

I would change usb cable

modem_man said:
Hi,
Just purchased a cradle for the universal which has a USB and an AC adapter connection.
The USB works fine for charging the Universal.
The AC Adapter connection on the other hand doesn't charge the PDA at all.
I thought I remember reading something concerning a fix for this but can't seem to find the post for it.
Any body got the solution for it or do I have a faulty cradle?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever find a solution to this?, I have the desktop charger jobby. The grey one that looks like a docking station. It has an ac adapter and a usb out on it .. but like you the charger doesn't seem to work.
p.s its the one with the stylus that stands up straight at the back.

Nope.....
Never found a solution for it.

Dam...
Does your original jasjar/xda exec charger work? mine doesn't.. only my 5v dc 550ma motorola charger works ... oh and the usb direct cable works..
Does you pda charge while sat in the cradle with just the usb attached?

Here's what I have working:
FYI, I have the Qtek 9000.
Original Power Charger - working
Aftermarket Car Adapter charger from Proclip - working
Aftermarket Desktop Charger (AC powered) - NOT working
Aftermarket Desktop USB plug - working
Aftermarket USB cables - working (at least the ones I've tried = 3)
Joe,
I remember reading that you should be careful of what you plug in to power up your HTC-Universal because the voltage needs to be regulated.
Also, don't even go buy those Alkaline battery powered travel charger - they don't work. I even tried with a 9V Altoid Tin Battery Charger (with the required 5V USB regulator) and it didn't work.
I just gave up and carry 2 batteries with me. Planning on getting a bigger battery later on.
Hope that helps.

modem_man said:
Here's what I have working:
FYI, I have the Qtek 9000.
Original Power Charger - working
Aftermarket Car Adapter charger from Proclip - working
Aftermarket Desktop Charger (AC powered) - NOT working
Aftermarket Desktop USB plug - working
Aftermarket USB cables - working (at least the ones I've tried = 3)
Joe,
I remember reading that you should be careful of what you plug in to power up your HTC-Universal because the voltage needs to be regulated.
Also, don't even go buy those Alkaline battery powered travel charger - they don't work. I even tried with a 9V Altoid Tin Battery Charger (with the required 5V USB regulator) and it didn't work.
I just gave up and carry 2 batteries with me. Planning on getting a bigger battery later on.
Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply,
Just checked on the web and the moto charger is regulated so it should be fine to use, I was thinking that my original charger may be buggered but because my new desktop charger doesn't work either I don't know what it could be. I'll need to try my cradle with just the usb attached tonight and see if it charges... if it does thats ok .. I can live with that.
My Cradle has a built in usb cable for the pc and a separate dc in socket for the wall adapter so unless it switches between the two i'm thinking that maybe the pins for charging are hardwired to the wall adapter and the data to the pc so it will only charge from the wall and not from the pc..
Maybe I shouldn't have bought such a cheap one

Joe,
I believe I might have the same cradle as you do.
I've open up the cradle to see how the connection is soldered and the points for the ground and powered seemed soldered into the USB port correctly.
I do remember reading something concerning the pins for the USB are wired differently (last 2 pins are shorted - on the Universal-wiki I think) for powered USB charge. Maybe that's why the cradle AC charger doesn't work while the USB cable works.
FYI, I've tried putting both the AC and the USB and you'll find that having the AC in is useless....you're just wasting electricity cos the PDA is still being charged by the cable (just turn off you PC and you'll find that the PDA is not charging).
Does your cradle have the annoying blue LED?
I think all aftermarket cradles are created equal = "CRAP"
If somebody out there have a cradle that have AC that works, please post where you bought it so that others will know which one to get.

modem_man said:
Joe,
I believe I might have the same cradle as you do.
I've open up the cradle to see how the connection is soldered and the points for the ground and powered seemed soldered into the USB port correctly.
I do remember reading something concerning the pins for the USB are wired differently (last 2 pins are shorted - on the Universal-wiki I think) for powered USB charge. Maybe that's why the cradle AC charger doesn't work while the USB cable works.
FYI, I've tried putting both the AC and the USB and you'll find that having the AC in is useless....you're just wasting electricity cos the PDA is still being charged by the cable (just turn off you PC and you'll find that the PDA is not charging).
Does your cradle have the annoying blue LED?
I think all aftermarket cradles are created equal = "CRAP"
If somebody out there have a cradle that have AC that works, please post where you bought it so that others will know which one to get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like I have the same cradle as you fella , I've tried the usb on its own and it seems to charge ok .. I tested it by putting a movie on and leaving it plugged in, started at 67% its now 77% so its charging through the usb.. dam it .. I could probably send the cradle back since I wanted it mainly for AC charging. Wish there was another one I could get that worked!

Thinking of getting this one instead:
http://www.addonsworld.co.uk/product.php/28408/0/
What dya think?

joe....
According to this guy on this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=1097137&posted=1#post1097137
his is working just fine.
If you can return it for another one, maybe you'll get one that's working properly.

i'm thinking maybe we have pda's from the same manufacture date.. and the hardware revisions are different and thats why our desktop chargers dont work, surely its not coincidence that both of ours dont work?
And if thats the case getting another of the same won't do much good.. theres just no way to be sure about any of this, think I may just send it back and try a different one entirely

Joe,
Good luck!

Fast car and home chargers (full 1 amp)?

So I bought a car usb charger that claimed it was rated at 1 amp. Using both my blackberry and HTC oem usb cables it will only show up as a USB charger (500ma).
This is not exactly enough to charge the phone while using 3g, gps, full screen brightness, etc. I'm looking for a good confirmed 1 amp hardwire (not using a usb cable) car charger and home charger. I used my sisters Samsung charger (rated at 700ma) and it charged it quicker than with the OEM htc charger.
And I would like to try and get ones that are confirmed to show up as fully charging the phone. I would appreciate some insight
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

And now that I think about it,
I would like to be able to use my Amazon prime for a change, so amazon links would be nice
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

I went through a few different car chargers, so I can help you out here. I bought the Belkin car charger recommended here in another thread, low profile and rated at 1A, but my phone only recognized it as USB and charging was fairly slow, extended road trips using video recording and navigation while plugged in would drain my battery over time.
I used my friend's palm pre home charger and it worked very well, so I went on to Amazon and bought the "palm vehicle charger". The one I got in the mail (from Park Deals) was DOA, wouldn't turn on at all (I emailed Park Deals and they sent me a new replacement free of charge, didn't even have me ship back the defective one). I called the local radio shacks and found one in stock at $9.99 (radio shack isn't carrying palm anymore, so the accessories are on closeout but hard to find in stock). Works like a charm, the phone recognizes as AC charging, the phone still charges while running navi or recording video.
My friend got a cheapo car kit on ebay, came with rubberized case, mount that fits the evo with the same case on, and a cheap unlabeled car charger with a bungie type cord. I tried this on my phone, my evo recognizes it as AC also, so I assume it would charge well if it's rated at 1A. I've seen several other cheapo car chargers rated at 1A as well.
Another thread here on XDA says that if you modify your charger/cable by altering the middle data pins you can get the phone to believe the usb port is plugged into the wall and draw full current from the charger. I tried covering the two middle pins with a piece of paper and plugging it in, but this didn't work for me. The other methods involved shorting the two data pins together, I didn't really want to waste a cable or mess up a charger and potentially my phone so I just bought a different charger. Another thread mentioned buying a specific rocketfish usb cable had a similar effect.

nhutpham said:
I went through a few different car chargers, so I can help you out here. I bought the Belkin car charger recommended here in another thread, low profile and rated at 1A, but my phone only recognized it as USB and charging was fairly slow, extended road trips using video recording and navigation while plugged in would drain my battery over time.
I used my friend's palm pre home charger and it worked very well, so I went on to Amazon and bought the "palm vehicle charger". The one I got in the mail (from Park Deals) was DOA, wouldn't turn on at all (I emailed Park Deals and they sent me a new replacement free of charge, didn't even have me ship back the defective one). I called the local radio shacks and found one in stock at $9.99 (radio shack isn't carrying palm anymore, so the accessories are on closeout but hard to find in stock). Works like a charm, the phone recognizes as AC charging, the phone still charges while running navi or recording video.
My friend got a cheapo car kit on ebay, came with rubberized case, mount that fits the evo with the same case on, and a cheap unlabeled car charger with a bungie type cord. I tried this on my phone, my evo recognizes it as AC also, so I assume it would charge well if it's rated at 1A. I've seen several other cheapo car chargers rated at 1A as well.
Another thread here on XDA says that if you modify your charger/cable by altering the middle data pins you can get the phone to believe the usb port is plugged into the wall and draw full current from the charger. I tried covering the two middle pins with a piece of paper and plugging it in, but this didn't work for me. The other methods involved shorting the two data pins together, I didn't really want to waste a cable or mess up a charger and potentially my phone so I just bought a different charger. Another thread mentioned buying a specific rocketfish usb cable had a similar effect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was me on both accounts. Love my rocket fish cable. Bought the 12v/usb converter for the car and whether or not i use the pc or car to charge, it shows as ac charger on the phone. I use this cable on all my pc's as well as the usb outlet in my vehicle.

This is the charger that I bought from amazon. It shows up as charging from AC (instead of USB) charging. It's available for Amazon Prime for under $6:
The Motorola P513 micro-usb charger.

Ok so I ended up with the Moto 513 charger as well (950ma rated)
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehi..._1_5?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1280759739&sr=8-5
But I cant find any AC chargers under prime that are 1000ma

investinwaffles said:
Ok so I ended up with the Moto 513 charger as well (950ma rated)
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehi..._1_5?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1280759739&sr=8-5
But I cant find any AC chargers under prime that are 1000ma
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this one works great. I have it.

Ok, so I found an OEM Nokia for the N97 that is rated at 1200ma. Is this safe to buy for my phone?
http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-Origina..._1_2?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1280760676&sr=8-2
Auction with more specifics of the charger:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NOKIA-US-AC-10U...ccessories&hash=item414e190fa7#ht_2800wt_1026

There's a nokia micro usb charger for $6.99 available for Amaazon Prime. The model number is AC 6U. ASIN: B0030T0ULW

I'm charging with the scosche reviveII at 2.1 amps without any problems.

linhpham2 said:
There's a nokia micro usb charger for $6.99 available for Amaazon Prime. The model number is AC 6U. ASIN: B0030T0ULW
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From this ebay listing it looks like the AC-6U is only a ~600ma charger:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NOKIA-CELL-PHON..._Accessories&hash=item5639f88b1c#ht_500wt_721
I think ill spend the extra few bucks on the 1200ma charger, I don't think ill have any problems (and i have the best buy warranty also so I'm not too worried).

linhpham2 said:
I'm charging with the scosche reviveII at 2.1 amps without any problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How fast does it charge?

One the 2.1 amp port, the Evo only charges at 1 amp. The Evo doesn't charge any faster with this charger than any other 1 amp charger.

linhpham2 said:
One the 2.1 amp port, the Evo only charges at 1 amp. The Evo doesn't charge any faster with this charger than any other 1 amp charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotcha, thanks for the info.
I just ordered a Rocketfish cable. We'll see how that works.
Would be nice if they made a Y-cable to get 1amp from 2 USB ports in a PC. I mean, I know they MAKE cables like this but I read somewhere that HTC phones were designed to still only charge at 500mAh even with one of those.
Dunno.

It depends on what you're using as a charging source. When usb charging on my home pc or car, it's AC charging at 1 amp.. But if I'm charging with my Energizer external battery, it's only USB charging at 0.5 amp. This is using the same usb cable.

iGo
Would anyone happen to know what an iGo tip (A97) delivers? I am trying to rig up a custom solution that is hard-wired, but uses iGo tips so I don't have to use the cigarette lighter plug and I have the flexibility at the corner of my windshield to swap tips for different devices.
Right now, I have a 4-port USB hub installed under the dash that is 12v powered. I then use a proprietary iGo cable that uses a standard PC style USB connector on one end and then terminates into an iGo tip connector at the other end. That USB cable runs up to the corner of the windshield so I can swap tips at will.
If I use the iGo A97 tip on their cigarette lighter adapter, it seems to charge, but I am not sure at what rate. If I try to use the A97 tip on the USB hub, it charges for about 2 seconds, and then the light goes out. The Evo does not seem to like the custom arrangement, yet all my other micro usb devices do not seem to have any issues and charge just fine...
Thanks,
-Rob

I can attest to the Moto 513 working fine - it has served me very well on my Evo and the Treo Pro before it.
Unfortunately it is a big ass charger though - wish there was a good micro option.

How do u determine how much power its actually charging at or if its not using the full 1amp rating?
_______________________________
Sent from my EVO 4G

robroy90 said:
Would anyone happen to know what an iGo tip (A97) delivers? I am trying to rig up a custom solution that is hard-wired, but uses iGo tips so I don't have to use the cigarette lighter plug and I have the flexibility at the corner of my windshield to swap tips for different devices.
Right now, I have a 4-port USB hub installed under the dash that is 12v powered. I then use a proprietary iGo cable that uses a standard PC style USB connector on one end and then terminates into an iGo tip connector at the other end. That USB cable runs up to the corner of the windshield so I can swap tips at will.
If I use the iGo A97 tip on their cigarette lighter adapter, it seems to charge, but I am not sure at what rate. If I try to use the A97 tip on the USB hub, it charges for about 2 seconds, and then the light goes out. The Evo does not seem to like the custom arrangement, yet all my other micro usb devices do not seem to have any issues and charge just fine...
Thanks,
-Rob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should pull 1A off the Igo

how do i determine if its recognizing a charger as ac versus usb? could this be rom specific? it seems to charge much faster with cyanogen than it did with damagecontrol

USB Cable / Car Charger / Wall Charger combo

Hey guys,
Looking for a combo micro-usb wire that also comes with a dual car/wall charger. I dont care if its two pieces or three pieces, but I just care that I can keep the Captivate plugged in and not have any issues using it. The last one I bought was a Duracell three way usb combo that had a retractable wall charger on the travel charger piece, but it wasnt giving enough power to the phone, so i couldnt use it while plugged in.
I have been looking at the "Premium USB power kit" by A Days Tech on Amazon, but im worried its going to be a generic POS and not give enough juice.
Anybody know which of these works?
I guess I can also buy a high quality micro-usb wire and then a high quality USB car charger/wall plug seperately as another option. So any opinions on those are also appreciated.

jbl7979 said:
Hey guys,
Looking for a combo micro-usb wire that also comes with a dual car/wall charger. I dont care if its two pieces or three pieces, but I just care that I can keep the Captivate plugged in and not have any issues using it. The last one I bought was a Duracell three way usb combo that had a retractable wall charger on the travel charger piece, but it wasnt giving enough power to the phone, so i couldnt use it while plugged in.
I have been looking at the "Premium USB power kit" by A Days Tech on Amazon, but im worried its going to be a generic POS and not give enough juice.
Anybody know which of these works?
I guess I can also buy a high quality micro-usb wire and then a high quality USB car charger/wall plug seperately as another option. So any opinions on those are also appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a bunch of threads on charging these phones. Unless the charger or the cable has the data lines shorted, the phone will only charge at USB rate (~500mA). Even if you have a 1A car charger, the best you will get is USB speed UNLESS you connect the data lines on the cable. I have not seen a car charger that does this.
The most current the phone will draw is around ~750 mA. It will do this when it thinks it is attached to AC.

Hi,
I bought the Scosche HC12V Dual Home Charger, but I haven't received it yet, but from what little I know of the brand they supposedly make good accessories. I should receive it in a few weeks (shipping a captivate and accessories overseas).
Both outputs are rated at 1amp, the only thing is that it does not come with it's own cable.
http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-HC12V...X0DER&s=STORE&ie=UTF8&qid=1285613609&sr=1-207

I bought a car charger and separate car-to-wall converter from Monoprice. Total for both items about $5. Maybe it only charges at 500 mA but seems fine to me.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

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.

Automobile Quick Charging Solution

What is the best solution for quick charging the Galaxy Nexus in an automobile?

I have started to use 12-220 volt converter so I can use wall chargers.

I have bought a few of the low profile car usb chargers but they were never recognized as an AC charge. Come to find out, it was the USB cable. I bought a usb charging cable from Amazon last week and it goes in the USB charger and the phone does not think it is a USB charge. I have not timed it but it is recognized the same as the wall charger.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VYBCAY

ellisz said:
I have bought a few of the low profile car usb chargers but they were never recognized as an AC charge. Come to find out, it was the USB cable. I bought a usb charging cable from Amazon last week and it goes in the USB charger and the phone does not think it is a USB charge. I have not timed it but it is recognized the same as the wall charger.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VYBCAY
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 .. this solution has been working great for me, as well.

I've been getting 2.1A car chargers (look for ones for the iPad), most of the ones I had prior to this were 700mA or so and they can't keep up with my 1A phones. Be careful of dual port chargers advertising 2A, they may only be 1A each and may be "optimistic" about that rating. And don't worry about getting one rated for too much current, the Galaxy Nexus won't pull more than an amp no matter what the charger rating.

Some really good solutions here and thank you all for the help.
I'd really hate to use an inventer in my car just to maintain a clean install, so that really isnt an option for me.
Was really hoping to be able to use a off the shelf car charger with the correct pins to trick the GNexus into thinking that it was charging from a USB port, but the above solution should work well with using a socket USB charger.

I've never run into a car adapter that looks like a USB port, including the VZW charger with a spare port or the cheap 2.1A chargers I got from Amazon. My guess is that a charger not built correctly and leaving the data pins open only supports ~500mA anyway. Even if that's not the case I have a moral objection toward buying a cable to fix a design flaw in another cheap product - but that's just me

Grant H said:
Some really good solutions here and thank you all for the help.
I'd really hate to use an inventer in my car just to maintain a clean install, so that really isnt an option for me.
Was really hoping to be able to use a off the shelf car charger with the correct pins to trick the GNexus into thinking that it was charging from a USB port, but the above solution should work well with using a socket USB charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got a charger similar to http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/USB-Car-...ccessories&hash=item4ab18358f4#ht_1638wt_1392
All I had to do was undo the screws at the top, put a bit of solder between the middle usb pins, and my phone recognises it as a AC source rather than USB.

There has got to be a standard car charger on the market with the middle usb pins already soldiered!
I found this on Amazon which advertises itself as a rapid charging device.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S5Q9CA

Grant H said:
What is the best solution for quick charging the Galaxy Nexus in an automobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure the charger has the IC (rapid) chip. I use this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehicle-Adapter-micro-USB-Charger/dp/B000S5Q9CA

I've heard that Motorola one mentioned a lot as a good one.
The nice thing about having the low-profile usb plug is (a) it is low profile, (b) I can use it to charge other devices. The charge-only cable is only about $4, so I had no issues buying it to work with this to charge as an AC charge over a USB charge.

Grant H said:
There has got to be a standard car charger on the market with the middle usb pins already soldiered!
I found this on Amazon which advertises itself as a rapid charging device.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S5Q9CA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this one and it charges just like it does from the home outlet and its says "AC" charging. I bought another 8 for family and friends and they all love it.

I think I've figured out the disconnect, I've run into chargers that appear as a USB host which limits the charging to 500mA on previous phones I've had.
You guys are concerned about USB vs. AC charging mode. Of the chargers I've got, this one lists as AC while the rest as USB. However, the fact that the other chargers all work just fine keeping up with GPS+streaming music indicates that the USB vs. AC really has no bearing on the charge current delivered. I'd stay away from charge-only cables just because they'll get mixed in with your standard USB cables and you'll knock yourself out wondering why they don't work. On the other hand, if you really want AC in your battery info order the one I linked.

I keep it in my car... i think I've heard on other threads that USB charging doesn't keep up with GPS (for Directions). Any verify?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

TheKaz said:
I keep it in my car... i think I've heard on other threads that USB charging doesn't keep up with GPS (for Directions). Any verify?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's much more important is the rating on the power source. The GN can pull up to 1000mA, if your charger is only rated for 800mA (like many car chargers) it doesn't matter if it's in AC mode.

jdbower said:
What's much more important is the rating on the power source. The GN can pull up to 1000mA, if your charger is only rated for 800mA (like many car chargers) it doesn't matter if it's in AC mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
makes sense.. the one I use has dual usb (1.0 and 2.1)

You went and gave me a project for the weekend, and once again science prevails over anecdotal evidence. I took each of my 5 chargers and hooked them up to a 12V power supply that measures current. I then recorded whether the charger reported AC or USB, for the ones with USB I modified a right-angle adapter to short out the data pins, and I measured the current. The contenders:
Verizon Wireless Dual Charger
XTG Dual Port Charger
Griffen Powerjolt Dual USB Charger
Griffen Portjolt Micro
CostMad Dual USB Charger
The VZW model was USB out the external port as I had tested before, however AC out the built-in cable which I hadn't bothered to test. It pulled 0.25A @12V via the USB port and 0.59A via the cable. Hmmm... A hole develops in my previous observation. While I had used this on a long car trip with no issues, it was via the built-in cable.
The XTG was new, I hadn't used it before as it's in the car I rarely drive. It reported USB and 0.22A. With the adapter to make it report AC it pulled 0.48A.
The pattern was set. I had expected the Griffen adapters to be built more appropriately but the dual charger reported 0.22A without the adapter and 0.42A with. I had used this without losing charge in the past so this was surprising to me, but it's possible I just wasn't drawing as much current because the screen was dimmer or something.
The compact Griffen adapter (which is great for a laptop bag, BTW) pulled 0.21A and 0.47A respectively.
The cheap CostMad adapter was the only one that performed well out of the box, both reporting AC and pulled 0.57A.
In theory, a perfect adapter should pull 0.42A. Anything more is waste, anything less means it's not keeping up. I have doubts about the Griffen 2x allowing for a full amp, but the VZW and CostMad chargers are pretty lossy. What's even worse is that I'm pretty sure the VZW charger is rated for 800mA (but I can't find an actual spec on it) which would mean that it pulled the most power for the least current. Not that this really matters unless you've got an electric car.
Sorry for misleading you earlier, I should have checked the other port of the known-good VZW charger and probably doublechecked the numbers on my other "known good" charger. Still hating cables that work for charging but not for data, I ended up modifying each of the chargers to short the middle pins (except for the VZW one). If I didn't have the soldering iron for this, I probably would have gone for some of these instead.

Grant H said:
There has got to be a standard car charger on the market with the middle usb pins already soldiered!
I found this on Amazon which advertises itself as a rapid charging device.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S5Q9CA
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CyberPunk7t9 said:
Make sure the charger has the IC (rapid) chip. I use this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehicle-Adapter-micro-USB-Charger/dp/B000S5Q9CA
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I'm using the same one and it works perfect. Charges even when GPS navigation is running.
Make sure you select Amazon as the seller though. I heard there are a lot of fake ones.

Grant H said:
There has got to be a standard car charger on the market with the middle usb pins already soldiered!
I found this on Amazon which advertises itself as a rapid charging device.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S5Q9CA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 to those recommending this one. I have this exact model and it does indeed charge at the "AC" rate, about twice as fast as the "USB" rate.

TheKaz said:
I keep it in my car... i think I've heard on other threads that USB charging doesn't keep up with GPS (for Directions). Any verify?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
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The Motorola one will charge even when using GPS. I have a friend I bought one for that uses his GPS all day and loves the Motorola charger.