Develop Bugs

Charge with USB or the wall charger?

I know that this is a really lame question but I was wondering if one offers a "better" charge? USB charges very slowly compared to the wall charger so I dont want to use it unless I have to.
Also, why does the car charger have a USB hub for the charging cable that comes with the phone if it has a micro USB hub on the end of the cable that is connected to the charger anyways? That is just redundant, is it not?

The wall charger will charge faster... As for 'better'? A charged battery is a charged battery. If you charge it faster than the wall charger allows, there's a potential for overloading the battery (though there should be safeguards to prevent explosive results). But the wall charger is what I'd suggest.
As for the car charger, it's to allow multiple devices. Micro USB for your phone, and a USB port to plug in anything else that might need it (like an iPad or something). If you don't have 2 devices, ignore the USB port and just use the micro USB connection.

takaides said:
The wall charger will charge faster... As for 'better'? A charged battery is a charged battery. If you charge it faster than the wall charger allows, there's a potential for overloading the battery (though there should be safeguards to prevent explosive results). But the wall charger is what I'd suggest.
As for the car charger, it's to allow multiple devices. Micro USB for your phone, and a USB port to plug in anything else that might need it (like an iPad or something). If you don't have 2 devices, ignore the USB port and just use the micro USB connection.
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Thank you.

Most USB-based charging only goes at 500mA, where as the OEM charger is about 1.5 amps (1500mA). You can find some 2.0A USB car chargers on eBay / Amazon for fairly cheap. They're worth it to get a full charge if you are in a hurry or have a short commute.
Here's one that's 2.1A for $9.99 on Amazon

Cheyse said:
Most USB-based charging only goes at 500mA, where as the OEM charger is about 1.5 amps (1500mA).
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I've noticed that it chargers obscenely quickly with the little OEM charger. Any idea where to buy more of those (or more similarly powerful chargers?)

wanderfowl said:
I've noticed that it chargers obscenely quickly with the little OEM charger. Any idea where to buy more of those (or more similarly powerful chargers?)
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Click to collapse
Amazon/eBay is your friend. You can find plenty of 2amp USB chargers for like $9 with free shipping.

Cheyse said:
Amazon/eBay is your friend. You can find plenty of 2amp USB chargers for like $9 with free shipping.
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Silly question, but as long as it's a 5 volt 2 amp MicroUSB charger, it'll work? I just don't want to fry my phone using some incompatible charger.

wanderfowl said:
Silly question, but as long as it's a 5 volt 2 amp MicroUSB charger, it'll work? I just don't want to fry my phone using some incompatible charger.
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yeah that should work. All Modern day phones have a voltage regulator to stop overcharging.

Warning: iPad Charger
I tried using the iPad charger yesterday and that didn't work out very well. My phone turned off and didn't charge. I couldn't turn it back on, had to do a battery pull to get it going again.
Not sure if this is an isolated incident or not, but I'm going to stick with my Nexus and/or USB charger.

bigknowz said:
I tried using the iPad charger yesterday and that didn't work out very well. My phone turned off and didn't charge. I couldn't turn it back on, had to do a battery pull to get it going again.
Not sure if this is an isolated incident or not, but I'm going to stick with my Nexus and/or USB charger.
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I used an iPad charger a month ago and the phone only charged 40% over seven hours and when I picked it up it was scorching hot.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

joshnichols189 said:
I used an iPad charger a month ago and the phone only charged 40% over seven hours and when I picked it up it was scorching hot.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It makes sense that your phone got hot. When using the stock charger (or any charger with a current rating of 1A or less), the charger is the one that is limiting the current to the battery, so the current-limiting circuit in the phone is not necessarily active and therefore not generating much heat. However, when using the iPad charger (which is rated around 2.5A, I think), the current-limiting circuit in the charger is not active because the 1A or so that the phone is drawing is well within the rating of the charger. Therefore in this case, the current-limiting circuit in the phone needs to actively limit the current and thereby generate a lot of heat.
I personally think that it's better to just use a charger that has a similar current rating to the stock charger. I higher-rated one might charge the battery just fine, but I'd rather keep all of that heat in the charger and away from the battery. Although, of course I could be mistaken -- feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

2A vs. 1A charger

In the meantime I got inspired by some threads in which people claimed that 2A (amp) charger will make it faster to charge up my note then original 1A charger. I bought original Samsung 2A charger for Samsung galaxy tab and tried that out and I must say that during the first week or two the charging time decreased from around 2.5 - 3 hours into something around 1h 40-50 min.
Later on everything returned to standard 3 hours though, charging with 2A charger is almost identical to 1A charger so from my experience there is no added value with this approach (unless ICS will make a change, or some custom rom).
For anyone interested I enclosed picture where in the top row you may see charging with 1A charger after 1h50min, 2h40min (both just random pics), then when this app (https://market.android.com/details?id=net.whph.android.battery) said it is 100% and the last picture is when galaxy note (Android) system said it is 100% (green battery icon). In the bottom row there is the same scenario with 2A charger. I am on the stock rom 2.6.35.7-N7000XXKKA.

Im not sure but I think you need a kernel that allows more than 1A charging for the 2A charger to work.

EarlZ said:
Im not sure but I think you need a kernel that allows more than 1A charging for the 2A charger to work.
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I guess so, what makes me slightly uncertain is that initially, charging time was around 2 hours ...

This is an interesting thread. I'd like to get more information about 2A chargers and whether they really make a difference.
Also I heard that when plugged to a TV (using the MHL cable) the phone may actually consume the battery more, even when plugged to the charger simultaneously. therefore if 2A chargers charge faster, it may also solve this problem.

Qvp said:
This is an interesting thread. I'd like to get more information about 2A chargers and whether they really make a difference.
Also I heard that when plugged to a TV (using the MHL cable) the phone may actually consume the battery more, even when plugged to the charger simultaneously. therefore if 2A chargers charge faster, it may also solve this problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually have both, micro USB to USB and micro USB to MHL cables. Wasn't able to test them for a longer time as they sometimes work and sometimes don't, especially mhl cable shows videos for like 30 seconds and then there is a lost signal message on my TV, then it wakes up, then it is gone again ... I could fiddle wit it, but will rather wait for ICS upgrade and then will return to it again.
Sent from my SGN

Iphone charger
I am using the iPhone charger. It is a 2A and so far I see an improvement in the battery life. With the original charger (and BB one) the battery reading was 2100mAh . Now is 2600mAh. I don't know why or how.
Also I see a sightly improvement in how the battery lasts for normal use. I get around 18hours

antonioeram said:
I am using the iPhone charger. It is a 2A and so far I see an improvement in the battery life. With the original charger (and BB one) the battery reading was 2100mAh . Now is 2600mAh. I don't know why or how.
Also I see a sightly improvement in how the battery lasts for normal use. I get around 18hours
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Click to collapse
the iPhone charger is 1a... Only the ipad charger is 2a
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

What we need is someone with 2 notes with dead batteries and plug the original charger 1a on one and a 2a charger on the other and see which one gets fully charged first! Maybe its me but I can definitely see a difference between the original and the one I'm using (playbook charger 1.8a)
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

big samm said:
What we need is someone with 2 notes with dead batteries and plug the original charger 1a on one and a 2a charger on the other and see which one gets fully charged first! Maybe its me but I can definitely see a difference between the original and the one I'm using (playbook charger 1.8a)
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
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I did it, and while not with 2 notes side by side, you can have a look at the pictures at the 1st post, the time and charging rate shows its pretty same on the stock rom whether you use 1A or 2A charger. (Although it was very different first one or two weeks, after that battery get used to 2A charger and charging is as slow as with 1A ...)

antonioeram said:
I am using the iPhone charger. It is a 2A and so far I see an improvement in the battery life. With the original charger (and BB one) the battery reading was 2100mAh . Now is 2600mAh. I don't know why or how.
Also I see a sightly improvement in how the battery lasts for normal use. I get around 18hours
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you measure the current in mAh or what app did you use? Thanks.

My bad. I am using the iPad chargers. not iPhone . Those are 2A. To verify I am using battery pro monitor.
Here is a screenshot.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA

SGN stock batt with ipad charger?
Hi, I see some of you are using 2A/ipad charger to charge you SGN. My question is, will there be any side effects on that could harm the stock batt in short or long run?
FYI, atm, I have an ipad charger for home and car and i intend to just use the same charger to charge all devices including my SGN. Im not looking for a fast charging option, but just a hassle free and conveniences.
I appreciate if you could give suggestion on a dual port charger (for home and car) where I can charge my devices simultaneously at one time.

No harm as long as the volatage output from your charger is 5v. This is what pushes the current to ur device. Higher it goes more it pushes.
However the current that the charger provides decides how fast it can charge. This will also depend on the device. If the device is manufactured to charge at 1 amp and u use a 2 amp charger then it will only use 1amp. If however u use a 750mah charger it can only use 750mah and charge slowly.
@Taptalk-GalaxyNote

Spare Battery Charger ?

Does anyone know of a decent (1Amp) charger for a spare stock/extended battery that is actually working well? I've used the ebay cheapos and one from Hyperion[http://amzn.com/B00851MEB4] but they are either take forever to charge(0.5A or less output current) or falsely claim the battery is full whereas the phone says otherwise?
I presume the Samsung charging system will be a good fit, but i'm not sure if it will take extended battery.

bump? anyone know of any 1A chargers for a spare battery?

I bought the OEM battery kit. It comes with a spare battery and a charger along with a built in dock. The dock doesn't charge your phone only the battery . It's about $35 . Not bad for an OEM battery and charger .
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

Uploaded some pics for ya
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda app-developers app

I use NewTrent 6600 mAh that has 2 USB outputs one at 1A and one at 2.1A. It also gets charged with a MicroUSB cable, so one cable for charging and providing power, very nice.
IMP70D

Szadzik said:
I use NewTrent 6600 mAh that has 2 USB outputs one at 1A and one at 2.1A. It also gets charged with a MicroUSB cable, so one cable for charging and providing power, very nice.
IMP70D
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So you charge using the 1 amp or 2.1amp?

I'm actually using for wall charger type of device where you just insert the spare battery. Something like this: http://amzn.com/B008I449AC

natan said:
I'm actually using for wall charger type of device where you just insert the spare battery. Something like this: http://amzn.com/B008I449AC
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I have used a charger that looked almost identical to that one for my Evo 4G extended batteries before I upgraded to the Galaxy S III. It worked well so I would expect this one to work for the GSIII batteries.
I ended up ordering this one to use with my GSIII batteries. It arrives today.

Hey let us know if this one charges to 100%
m20120 said:
I have used a charger that looked almost identical to that one for my Evo 4G extended batteries before I upgraded to the Galaxy S III. It worked well so I would expect this one to work for the GSIII batteries.
I ended up ordering this one to use with my GSIII batteries. It arrives today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

cweemin said:
Hey let us know if this one charges to 100%
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Click to collapse
It looks like the answer is: No!
I charged my battery (Stock Samsung battery) overnight. This morning the charger was indicating that the charging was complete. When I swapped out the batteries the phone is reporting 93% (4110mV). I am going to try again tonight with my other battery (also stock).

Samsung makes an official spare battery charger/dock that comes with a spare battery. You can find it on amazon for around $35.

I got Momax U. Pack Charger Pack ( Charge + X-LEVEL PDA Battery ) from NCIX.COM....is better then the samsung one.

Better 1.0AMP Rapid Charger recommendations

Has anyone had any success with after market rapid charging solutions? I see the OEM model number of the charger that came with the phone is ETA0U61JBEGSTA.
Has anyone found a generic equivalent for this charger? The last 2 amazon ones I bought were really slow charging & took over 4hrs to fully charge.

I use the monoprice 2.1 amp charger it works great. It may damage your battery but to me it doesn't matter I'll buy a new battery in a year for $15 if I have too.
http://www.monoprice.com/mobile/Pro...Id=108&categoryId=10851&subCategoryId=1085102
It has 4 ports 2 of them are 2.1amp and the others are 500mah I believe so I can plug in my ipod as well
Also bought their 2.1 amp car charger

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/B00822J004?c=n&qid=1365830047&sr=8-2
Got it for $6.50 from Planet Mobile and fulfilled by Amazon. Looks and works perfectly.

Razorblood said:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/B00822J004?c=n&qid=1365830047&sr=8-2
Got it for $6.50 from Planet Mobile and fulfilled by Amazon. Looks and works perfectly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
6.50? very cheap

After seeing this article http://www.androidcentral.com/acces...mium-charger-rapid-charges-android-phones-too last year, I picked up a couple for $10ea. from an online source that was going out of business. They are available for ~$15 today. This is the only thing BB offers that rocks.
For an inexpensive but quality solution, try Monoprice.
Edit: If I forget to plug in at night, in the time it takes me to get ready to leave for work, I am at 90% or better.

Just FYI, for those commenting about using chargers higher than 1A (1000 mAh), the stock kernel will only allow 1A of current to reach the battery regardless if the charger is of a higher capacity. However there are custom kernels (such as Perseus) that allow this value to be overridden, so that the battery can be charged with more than 1000 mAh of current. It is recommended to not charge the battery with a value higher than 0.7 of the battery's total capacity. For the stock 2100 mAh battery, you will want to set the charging value to 1470 mAh or less.

n023b said:
I use the monoprice 2.1 amp charger it works great. It may damage your battery but to me it doesn't matter I'll buy a new battery in a year for $15 if I have too.
http://www.monoprice.com/mobile/Pro...Id=108&categoryId=10851&subCategoryId=1085102
It has 4 ports 2 of them are 2.1amp and the others are 500mah I believe so I can plug in my ipod as well
Also bought their 2.1 amp car charger
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It wont damage your device. If you havent altered stock parameters than it wont draw more power than 1 amp
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

I seem to remember seeing there was a cable mod to make the S3 charge faster? actually pull in more juice quicker? As I recall you had to modify the USB cable with a resistor in the right place?
I have plugged my S3 in a 2.1amp charger and I don't see it charging any faster than the 1.0amp charger. My wife's iPhone 4S however charges MUCH faster on the 2.1amp charger vs the 1.0amp charger
I'd like to figure out a way to make the S3 charger more quickly using a 2.1amp (or 1.0amp) charger if that's possible.... but I didn't book mark the thread when I saw it and can't find it again

Faster Wall Charger (Updated with results)

Hello Everyone,
I wanted a faster and better charger for my Nexus 5. After doing some research I came up with the following possibilities:
From Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Tech-Armor-Charger-Watts-Black/dp/B00CD0HGDE
http://www.amazon.com/iXCC-Charger-Charging-Samsung-Package/dp/B00FCISG6K
http://www.amazon.com/EZOPower-Charger-Adapter-Smartphone-Cellphone/dp/B00EDU5X6Y
All these chargers have 2 USB ports, which they are great if you need to charge two devices at once. They will charge 2.1A from one port and 1A from the other. My problem with all these is that they are bulky and two of them have ports that come out of the back. It can be difficult to use if you want to plug your charger lets say behind your bed or similar tight places. That is one of the reasons why I don't like the stock Nexus 5 charger as the USB cable comes out of the back and its only 1.2A
From eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-BlackBe...o-USB-Compatible-Phones-Tablets-/200976069483
This charger is exactly what I'm looking for because its small, the cable comes out of the side, and the output is 1.8A which is greater than the stock Nexus 5 charger. Plus at $3.99 & free shipping for a new charger is not a bad deal. Since this is an OEM Blackberry product the quality is excellent. Cable is around 7ft long.
Bought me two of them, one for the office and one for home.
Will post my results as soon as I receive the charger. Will test how much current the Nexus 5 can pull.
Update with results:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47468074&postcount=22
Update 2nd test:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47501470&postcount=24
.

Won't phones and batteries only pull the number of amps they are designed to pull? I didn't think it mattered how many amps a charger could proveide as long as it has enough?

Evo_Shift said:
Won't phones and batteries only pull the number of amps they are designed to pull? I didn't think it mattered how many amps a charger could proveide as long as it has enough?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had tablets chargers that I would use on my Nexus 4 and the phone would charge a lot faster than the stock charger that came with it. I'll do some testing and will report my conclusion once I receive it.

The Galaxy S4 charger works great and really fast.

Meh, the stock charger is 1.2A so that's what I figure the fastest it will charge.
I had an SGS3 and using my dad's Note 2's 2A charger, I was still only drawing out 1A, which is what the SGS3's charger came with.

The Nexus 5 comes with a 1.2 amp charger. I HIGHLY doubt it's actually capable of charging any faster than that (it'd be a lot of heat for such a small device).

Charging amperage is specified by the device not the charger. Value on a charger is the maximum amperage it is able to produce. This means that Nexus 4 or 5 will not get more than 1.2A even from a 2A charger.

If the phone is designed to charge at 1.2A, it will charge at 1.2A max. HOWEVER, not all chargers are 100% efficient. That means your phone may not charge at a constant 1.2A through the stock charger if it is not 100% efficient. That is why you notice faster charging speeds using a 2A charger.
If you don't believe me, get an app like battery monitor widget and look at the power input when you are charging.
This is what I use: http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-Dual-Port-Charger-Samsung-Motorola/dp/B00B8L36A6
Anker is a very good brand

cgg123321 said:
If the phone is designed to charge at 1.2A, it will charge at 1.2A max. HOWEVER, not all chargers are 100% efficient. That means your phone may not charge at a constant 1.2A through the stock charger if it is not 100% efficient. That is why you notice faster charging speeds using a 2A charger.
If you don't believe me, get an app like battery monitor widget and look at the power input when you are charging.
This is what I use: http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-Dual-Port-Charger-Samsung-Motorola/dp/B00B8L36A6
Anker is a very good brand
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Nexus 5 charges quickly with the charger that it came with. It is 1.2A. I purchased a new car charger that is also 1.2A now. It seems to work well.

mobileboost said:
My Nexus 5 charges quickly with the charger that it came with. It is 1.2A. I purchased a new car charger that is also 1.2A now. It seems to work well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually just got my nexus 5 today so I can't comment on the included charger. I was talking about my old galaxy note and htc desire. There was a site that reviewed the efficiency of chargers but I forgot the name of the site.

I use my Nexus 7 charger (2A) and it charges way faster than the stock. They are only $15 on amazon too.

My HP chrome book has a charger rated at 3 amps. Charges the phone crazy fast. I remember seeing these threads and how people said it doesn't matter what the output is blah blah blah. It works. I just wonder what effect it has on the battery? I think its supposed to last longer if you charge it slowly correct?

I use nexus 7 charger. Takes around 15 min to fully charge at 70 percent
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Everyone is saying "its faster" but nobody has bothered to mention what faster is.
From 15%, I saw 100% charge in just 2 hours with Qi so I think these phones charge fast in general since Qi is only 1 am output.
If we could stick to real #s going forward then this thread would have some value.
First establishing some baselines with stock charger is essential. Also remember only some fuel gauges support actual current measuring and many apps attempt to calculate current by looking at voltage over time.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

kepapas said:
I use nexus 7 charger. Takes around 15 min to fully charge at 70 percent
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks...since I left my N5 charger in a hotel (!) I was having trouble finding a replacement 1.2a charger. So gave up that hunt and just got the Nexus 7 charger on Amazon.

sluflyer06 said:
Everyone is saying "its faster" but nobody has bothered to mention what faster is.
From 15%, I saw 100% charge in just 2 hours with Qi so I think these phones charge fast in general since Qi is only 1 am output.
If we could stick to real #s going forward then this thread would have some value.
First establishing some baselines with stock charger is essential. Also remember only some fuel gauges support actual current measuring and many apps attempt to calculate current by looking at voltage over time.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We don't need no stinkin' science in here!
A lot of people just assume their phone is charging faster because they're using a faster charger. Placebo at work.
Folks, if you want to properly determine whether a charger over 1.2 amps is worthwhile you need to do a proper test and remove all the variables:
1. Put the phone in airplane mode and shut down all apps and services. Best if you do this from a clean factory reset so the tests are on equal footing. Any apps using the phone will draw on the battery and influence the test negatively for that charger.
2. Up to 15 minute charging variances are normal. It's a chemical reaction inside of the battery, it's not going to be that consistent.
3. Make sure to charge from the exact same percentage level.
4. REPEAT THE TEST at least 3 times. If the test shows dramatic outliers, perform extra tests and make sure the test is consistent.
Does that sound like a lot of work? Yeah, but it's the only way you can actually make an assertion that one phone charger is faster than another.

Vincent Law said:
We don't need no stinkin' science in here!
A lot of people just assume their phone is charging faster because they're using a faster charger. Placebo at work.
Folks, if you want to properly determine whether a charger over 1.2 amps is worthwhile you need to do a proper test and remove all the variables:
1. Put the phone in airplane mode and shut down all apps and services. Best if you do this from a clean factory reset so the tests are on equal footing. Any apps using the phone will draw on the battery and influence the test negatively for that charger.
2. Up to 15 minute charging variances are normal. It's a chemical reaction inside of the battery, it's not going to be that consistent.
3. Make sure to charge from the exact same percentage level.
4. REPEAT THE TEST at least 3 times. If the test shows dramatic outliers, perform extra tests and make sure the test is consistent.
Does that sound like a lot of work? Yeah, but it's the only way you can actually make an assertion that one phone charger is faster than another.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. This is exactly what I'm talking about. I charge my phone all the time. And the second I used this charger and consistently from then on the phones charges about 1/3 faster. I really don't care what is "supposed" to happen. It just works. I get my charger back on Friday and I will prove it. The battery usage shows a giant spike. Upwards compared to the more gradual spike with the stock charger. My Google edition HTC one used to barely charge while playing games with the stock charger and now it charges as fast as stock when I wasn't even using it.

rican408 said:
No. This is exactly what I'm talking about. I charge my phone all the time. And the second I used this charger and consistently from then on the phones charges about 1/3 faster. I really don't care what is "supposed" to happen. It just works. I get my charger back on Friday and I will prove it. The battery usage shows a giant spike. Upwards compared to the more gradual spike with the stock charger. My Google edition HTC one used to barely charge while playing games with the stock charger and now it charges as fast as stock when I wasn't even using it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The HTC One's stock charger was only 1 amp, not 1.2 amps. It was clearly capable of charging faster, this phone not so much.

Vincent Law said:
The HTC One's stock charger was only 1 amp, not 1.2 amps. It was clearly capable of charging faster, this phone not so much.
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Click to collapse
I was actually using the 1.2a charger from my nexus 4 as the "stock" charger. For the same reason, I know more is better.

lg g2 charger works really well for me