Is there really a difference between A/C charging and USB charging? - EVO 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I think I read some where that charging with the A/C charger and NOT plugging it into the computer to charge will allow the phone to charge faster..
But is that it?
I charge my phone every night with my computer and the supplied USB cable..
Its always 100% in the morning (or 90, or inbetween, depends)

If you're charging from the computer, it will charge at 500 mAh (so as not to damage the computer's USB port). If you're charging with the AC adapter, it will charge at 1000 mAh. So AC will charge faster, but both will reach the same point eventually.
I've heard that only charging over USB will make your battery last longer before you have to replace it - I guess charging faster wears it down more. However, I don't know too much about that.

Related

question about charging

Is there any difference between charging the mob(tp2) through power cord
and charging it through computer USB??
i'm always concerned about the battery life and i'm satisfied getting 2days continuous charge on my tp2,
well is there any differences or disadvantages by charging it thru USB comp, like reducing battery life or capacity or something of that sort?
or is it the same??
The wall outlet charger can give more current/power to the device than a USB port which is limited to 500mA. There shouldn't be any difference in battery life once it's fully charged, it'll just take longer to charge through USB compared to the wall charger.

[Q] How can I determine the amperage my phone is charging at?

I just bought a generic USB wall charger and it's taking much longer to charge than the htc charger that came with my EVO.
I'd like to determine the amps/ma the charger is actually putting out. I don't have a multi-meter, so I am hoping there is a hidden menu or app which will tell me what the phone sees.
Any suggestions?
You can download aLogcat and watch for the current usage, it should post it every so often. It should also say on the charger somewhere too, the stock wall charger is 1000mA
I tried this and found nothing showing charge rate, only the battery percent.
A standard usb wall charger should equal how long it takes to charge if you were plugged into you pc. If it is taking longer than that then you got a super el cheapo charger that puts out less than 500ma (milliamps).
I would be carefull too, cheap usb wall chargers are not know to output clean power and have killed devices. By overvolting/charging them.
I have been doing some testing lately with the htc charger and a pc and have come to the conclusion that the htc wall charger pushing 1 amp (1000ma) charges the battery too fast and doesnt allow for a "strong" charge. Meaning your battery will drain faster. The htc charger is, i believe not meant to be your everyday charger, only a boost charger to get you charged back up quickly.
This is common battery knowledge when it comes to charging... you can charge a battery too fast, and a slower; 500ma "trickle charge" is much cleaner and better for your battery.
Some maybe argue this, and thats ok, these are just my personal findings.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I'm not seeing that info in the log either.
The charger had a weird range of 250-1000ma.
Yeah I think I'll invest in a better charger just to be safe.
Thank you both for your replies.

[Q] Anyone else notice USB charging takes over 6 hours?

I've had my phone on the charger since 8am (plugged into USB port) and it's still only at 87%...
I did take it off occasionally for a call, but other than that it's been plugged in...
Is this just a matter of USB vs. AC?
-RR
I think its a matter of shorting the data wires.
The OG Evo did this. The AC adapter would short the data wires essentially telling the phone its connected to the wall. The phone knew then it could draw power at a much higher amperage. (if you had the right charger you could pull over 1amp iirc) USB is only rated at 500mah, which is barely more than what it takes to keep these phones running with the screen on and doing things. I have a USB charging cable (came with some random car chager) where the data wires are shorter or something; when I plug this cable into the computer and my phone, the phone charges like its on AC. Granted the PC can't communicate with the phone.
6 hours is normal for USB charging.
h20wakebum said:
I've had my phone on the charger since 8am (plugged into USB port) and it's still only at 87%...
I did take it off occasionally for a call, but other than that it's been plugged in...
Is this just a matter of USB vs. AC?
-RR
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The USB port is not for charging the phone it's for data transfers. The fact that it'll trickle charge your phone at the same time is a bonus.

Any reason we can't use a generic or old charger ?

I have a couple of generic chargers I've been using with my note 2 for a couple of years. I realize these will charge slower than the samsung fast charge charger but is there any reason we can't use them or will they impact battery life (I would think they would increase battery life); i supect the answer is that they are fine but maybe battery technology has changed and there is some 'smarts' between charger and battery that would be damaged by these ?
No issue using your old charger except as you mentioned it won't be fast charging. I do not believe that the fast charging will hurt the battery. The fast charge only works for the first portion of the charge then the rate of charge slows to a trickle charge.
U can use any charger but i recommend to use any charger with 2amp output as it charges quick 40% in 30 mins insteas of 50%in 30 mins with original.
Original charger has two modes 9v and 5v it charges with 9v untill 50% and switches to 5v after that.
I think the unit i use is a sanyo 800ma 5 volt. I don't mind the slwo charge as long as it can't harm the battery. This is only used during travel and office; @ home I use the charger that came with the device.
You can definitely use another charger. Like said before it wont charge as fast. The adapter that comes with the phone will charge your phone at 9v instead of the normal 5v. If you use a different usb cable with the charger it will still charge at 9v. If you change the adapter, it will charge at the normal 5v whether you use the another usb cable or the one that came with the phone. The usb cable is just wires. The wall adapter is what determines how fast it will charge...

Does Plugging In A Fast Charger Do Anything?

Will it charge faster?
Does it do harm?
What do you mean by fast charger? also what tablet -
On my tab pro 8.4 when hooked to the stock 2A charger it will charge close to 2A (1870mA) , I haven't tried hooking it up to anything higher but I suspect its limited by the circuitry.
But generally charging at faster rates will shorten the life of the battery as it causes more heat and the battery can wear out faster, you should generally stick the the charging adapter provided with the device for best results.
I did it once. Is that bad?
Dankees said:
I did it once. Is that bad?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since the internal electricity limits the current, it doesn't do harm when the current exceeds the limit.
Dankees said:
I did it once. Is that bad?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as the charger matches the tablet / phone voltage then it should be ok, so plugging in a 5V 3A charger won't hurt it in the short term.
Sometimes the cable matters too (depending on the charger), if the wall charger doesn't support fast charging natively (using internal shorted data pins), then the data pins in a usb cable might need to be shorted to tell the phone to charge using AC mode, this is known as a "charging cable" and will only work with that function (once modified you can't use it for data transfers), you can also purchase charging cables, Though nearly all modern wall chargers now short the pins for you so you don't need the special cable.
On Samsung devices you can see if its charging under AC or USB mode by going to Settings -> General -> Battery and see if it says Charging (AC) or Charging (USB).,
USB is limited to 500 mA , or perhaps 900 mA on usb 3.0 (might need kernel support, and usb 3.0), AC mode should draw as much power as the internal circuitry or the charger can allow .

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