[Q] 120v/USB wall combo outlet charges everything but the galaxy S4 - T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S 4

Today I picked up and installed two combo 120v/USB wall outlets so I can get rid of all the wall warts I currently have. The USB ports charge everything (tablet, HTC phone, Bluetooth) but the two galaxy S4's I have. Has anyone used one of the outlets before? Any ideas on why they will not charge the S4's?
The Specs for the USB side of the outlet is.
Switching Frequency Typical 140 kHz
Output Voltage Nominal 5V (+/- 10%)
Protection Current Limiting and Thermal Shutdown Protection
Output Current Constant Current Maximum 2.1A
The outlet is a Commercial Spec Grade Combination USB Charger made by Cooper Industries
Part number is TR7745 if anyone wants to look it up for any reason.
Thank you in advance for your help.

change usb cables
Try changing to a different USB cable. It's weird how often this is the problem.

What does it do when you plug it in? Does it do anything at all? Does it even act like it's connected? Does it TRY and charge but just can't keep up? I have ones by Leviton that work fine with my S4 and my fiancees iPhone/iPad.
EDIT: I just noticed if you look at the reviews on Amazon HERE it seems multiple people have had problems with the S4 and this model. One thing I noticed with most that I looked at before buying mine was that the listed current was shared between the ports, whereas the Leviton version has one port that's 2.1 amps and one that's 1 amp independent of each other. This one might be 2.1 amps shared, so anything else plugged in might not work out.

02CWRX said:
What does it do when you plug it in? Does it do anything at all? Does it even act like it's connected? Does it TRY and charge but just can't keep up? I have ones by Leviton that work fine with my S4 and my fiancees iPhone/iPad.
EDIT: I just noticed if you look at the reviews on Amazon HERE it seems multiple people have had problems with the S4 and this model. One thing I noticed with most that I looked at before buying mine was that the listed current was shared between the ports, whereas the Leviton version has one port that's 2.1 amps and one that's 1 amp independent of each other. This one might be 2.1 amps shared, so anything else plugged in might not work out.
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I'm having the same problem. It's listed as "dual 2.1A". The first second I plug it in it flashes the charging indicator, then it goes off. No charging happening whatsoever.

farkmeil said:
I'm having the same problem. It's listed as "dual 2.1A". The first second I plug it in it flashes the charging indicator, then it goes off. No charging happening whatsoever.
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Click to collapse
Did you ever have any luck with the S4 problem? Does it make a difference which side you plug the USB cable into?

re: charger
olneybrandon said:
Today I picked up and installed two combo 120v/USB wall outlets so I can get rid of all the wall warts I currently have. The USB ports charge everything (tablet, HTC phone, Bluetooth) but the two galaxy S4's I have. Has anyone used one of the outlets before? Any ideas on why they will not charge the S4's?
The Specs for the USB side of the outlet is.
Switching Frequency Typical 140 kHz
Output Voltage Nominal 5V (+/- 10%)
Protection Current Limiting and Thermal Shutdown Protection
Output Current Constant Current Maximum 2.1A
The outlet is a Commercial Spec Grade Combination USB Charger made by Cooper Industries
Part number is TR7745 if anyone wants to look it up for any reason.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try using a different usb cable from phone to charger,
be sure both ends have a snug fit and it should work.
I have one which is similar to yours.
Since it puts out 2.1ma just like the stock S4 wall charger
it should charge just as fast.
Good luck!

bitbang3r said:
Did you ever have any luck with the S4 problem? Does it make a difference which side you plug the USB cable into?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately no. I didn't mention before that I'm an EE, however, none of the troubleshooting steps I could think of had any effect. :crying:

Can use A Cooper USB Electric Outlet with S3 and S4
I saw this thread while trying to solve this very issue. I have the Cooper USB outlet and installed it thinking it would charge my phone and my wifes. It would charge her S3, but not my S3. She has the LTE version (SGH-I747) and I have the HSPA version (GT-I9300). Well I thought it would not charge my S3. After playing with it for a few minutes, I could get the charge light on the outlet to blink. No charging was happening as the charge light on the outlet would just blink and then stay off. On my wifes S3 I could plug it in it would start charging instantly.
After playing with my S3 and the cord (The same cord used for my wifes S3 as I had already tried numerous cords) I found I could slowly insert the micro usb end into my S3 and it would start charging. It was tricky, but after 30 minutes of wasted time, I got it to charge. I would have to ever so slowly plug it in, either at a sideways angle or at a slightly elevated angle. This was regardless of the usb cord used.
However my S3 died and I got an S4. Naturally my S4 would not charge just by plugging it in, but I tried the "slow insert" method, on both the micro USB side and the outlet side and both worked.
I am thinking there is some kind of tolerance issue surrounding the electrical connections. Sliding the USB connector in slowly at the outlet side, I beleive, would ground the connection first and then allow for charging, but this is where my knowledge of electricity starts to bad. That said it is possible to use the charge, but it is not plug and play.

I just picked up a couple of these for the kitchen to alleviate the eyesore of the wall warts and I can also confirm it charges everything I have thrown at it except my S4 (jfltezvw) =( I quickly found this post after googling it. I am currently doing some work on the phone now but I will attempt the super technical "plug it in slowly" later and see if it works =)
Has anyone had any luck with other brands? I find this REALLY odd.

just installed this same outlet, and sure enough it charges everything except the S4..."slow insert" doesn't seem to work...does anybody know of any other solutions besides not using it?

wall charger option
I also have one of these outlet/usb from cooper that will not work with my s4.
Has anyone tried to use a DUAL POWER micro USB cord (like the ones that comes with the portable hard drives) to see if that would do the trick?
unfortunately, I do not have one of these cables, or I would try it myself.
Here's what I am thinking is happening...
The S4 is equipped with a smart charger that can trickle charge after a complete charge cycle.
When first connected, the s4 starts a trickle charge while it tests the battery for the charge cycle.
The cooper is equipped with a current limiter that shares power between the two outlets.
The cooper unit sees the trickle charge, and switches to a lower current setting for the slot with the s4 plugged in. reserving current for the empty outlet.
The s4 then tries to engage a fast charge, but cant due to the lack of current, and shuts down the charge circuit.
If a dual usb cord to micro usb cable was used, both outlets would be tied to the s4, and full power would be available to the s4 at all times.
Of course, without a cable myself, this is almost all conjecture on my part, and I could be just blowing smoke up my own arse, huh?
LoVoltage
EDIT: Of course, remember that the cable you use has to have the D+ jumper to signify the 2.1 amp availability. If you don't, the cable won't work. (Most dual port usb cables have this jumper already. so does the OEM samsung cable)

Just installed one of these tonight. Specifically the Cooper TR7745/TR8245 15A/125V
I can charge my Note 2 (SGH-I317), Nexus 7 wifi, but not an Samsung Galaxy S4 (SGH-I337). Kinda weird.

Related

In car battery charging

I have travelled to devon on Saturday and used Google maps navigation which is simply superb as u could see the traffic jams in advance (believe me there were plenty of them) I had my phone charger charging my desire but the battery drained still any idea why surely the charger should charge it or keep the power at the same level ?
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Anyone surely someone must know why the car charger hasn't enough power to charge the phone when running navigation and the normal phone functions
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
I have no solution but I have the same problem. Quite frustrating.
You need a charger that outputs at least 1000mA. Most in-car chargers only output 500mA, and so the phone will discharge quicker than the charger can charge it.
Regards,
Dave
foxmeister said:
You need a charger that outputs at least 1000mA. Most in-car chargers only output 500mA, and so the phone will discharge quicker than the charger can charge it.
Regards,
Dave
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especially with some GPS apps that consume lots of juice...
Any suggestions which are the best chargers ? Does anyone know what the new HTC dock will incorporate ?
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Get a cheap USB cable extender, cut it in half and short the middle 2 pins. Don't remember what colours they are. Look on Wikipedia.
I had same problem. Not anymore. Charges properly when I plug in through the custom cable.
This is a common problem.
It bugged me sufficiently that I investigated it in detail.
The Desire, and presumably some (all?) other HTC phones, employ relatively complex charging circuitry.
When you plug a USB cable into the phone, the phone does at least two different checks to determine what type of power source you have just connected.
If you have plugged in a mains powered official HTC charger, which has a rated output of 1A, then the phone knows that it is safe to draw a maximum of 1A from that charger.
The phone will then draw enough current to power itself and, on top of that, charge the battery at the same time.
This current will typically be in the region of 800mA (0.8A) to 900mA (0.9A).
Under these conditions there is enough current to power all the functions of the phone, including WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS, as well as the usual GSM radio and the phone's other functions, as well as being able to charge the battery.
However, if the phone believes that it is connected to a power source with a lower rating such as a standard USB port, then it will limit the maximum current that it draws from that power source to between 400mA (0.4A) and 500mA (0.5A) as this is the maximum officially provided by a USB port.
In other words, the phone is intelligent enough not to overload a standard USB port but, when more power is available, it is able to use it.
The mechanism that HTC uses to detect a power supply capable of supplying 1A, as opposed to a USB port, is very simple indeed.
When the phone detects that an external power source has been connected, it checks to see if the two data lines of the USB connector on the bottom of the phone have been short-circuited.
If they have been short-circuited, the phone takes this to mean that a suitable power source has been connected providing a current of at least 1A.
If the data lines are not short-circuited, the phone assumes that the power is coming from a USB port or other device not capable of providing more than 500mA.
In practice, the way this has been implemented is that within the official mains powered HTC charger, the two data pins of the USB connector are shorted together.
As soon as you connect this charger to the Desire, the phone detects the short-circuit and knows that it is connected to a charger capable of supplying 1A.
This particular trick seems to be something unique to HTC rather than being a universal standard, although this is a bit of a guess on my part based on having looked at only a few other chargers.
What this means is that if you have a car charger that is rated at 1A or higher, your HTC Desire will still only draw a maximum of 500mA from this charger.
This problem is easily rectified by opening up the charger and soldering together the two centre pens of the USB connector so that the phone sees this short-circuit and realises that it can safely draw I higher current from the charger.
Unless you know what you are doing and fully understand what I have explained above, then please don't go fiddling around with your charger.
I have carried out this modification myself on a couple of non-HTC mains-powered chargers and a couple of 12V car chargers with 100% success.
I have, however, found that some 12V chargers, even though they are rated at 1A or even 1.5A do not result in the Desire drawing the expected current.
What I found was that the phone would draw only about 250mA and then, after I had shorted the data terminals within the charger, the phone would draw about 450mA but not the 850mA or so that I had expected.
I have yet to determine with certainty why this is but it appears that as the phone begins to draw current from the charger it is able to detect if there is even a relatively small dip in the voltage coming from the charger and, if so, the phone backs off on the amount of current that it draws.
I will be doing a few more tests in my electronics lab to try and get to the bottom of this and provide a more detailed analysis and, hopefully, a useful solution.
In the meantime though, I have at least solved the problem that I was having and, based on numerous forum posts, the same problem that many other people have been having with car chargers not effectively charging the Desire.
Tim
mercianary said:
Get a cheap USB cable extender, cut it in half and short the middle 2 pins. Don't remember what colours they are. Look on Wikipedia.
I had same problem. Not anymore. Charges properly when I plug in through the custom cable.
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Snap!
I didn't see your post before making mine (above) but my experimentation agrees fully with what you've said.
You can do it the way you've described, by modifying a cable, or you can do it inside the charger itself.
Just make sure that the cable going to the phone has all four USB wires in it. Some of them only have the two power wires, so the phone will never detect the short circuited data lines.
Tim
If you do not want to open your car charger, you can always create a male to female adapter that shots D+ and D- on the female side like the one in the attached picture
Obviously, the charger needs to be able to provide the 1Amps that are needed. If not, it will at best shutdown in protection mode, at worst fry completely with a great chance of fire...
Interesting stuff...
I bought an official HTC car charger and noticed that the included usb cable, when plugged into a pc, does not allow data transfer, only charging.
Can anyone explain that ? Why would there be a difference in the wiring ?
They want you to buy an official USB cable I guess ? Considering any microusb cable works I'm surprised they bother
Maybe because they just put the two VCC and GND wires in there, thus saving on the cabling cost.
Ok how about this then......
I have a USB port I'm my car (to plug in music on a dongle I presume) if I use the USB lead from my charger supplied with the phone (which also works as a data cable) I get a the charging status icon on the battery bar.
So......
Is my phone charging at 1 amp on the car, and at home or am I getting 0.5 on both or something else?
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
_Crusoe_ said:
Ok how about this then......
I have a USB port I'm my car (to plug in music on a dongle I presume) if I use the USB lead from my charger supplied with the phone (which also works as a data cable) I get a the charging status icon on the battery bar.
So......
Is my phone charging at 1 amp on the car, and at home or am I getting 0.5 on both or something else?
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you check your battery stats by dialing *#*#4636#*#* and look at battery info, then you can see if it is charged by USB (max 500 mA) or at AC (more then 500mA)
I bought the official HTC charger, works perfectly.
thanks a lot for the explanation. I went for an uprated USB car charger but was still using normal cables to plug into it and the phone wasnt keeping up when bluetooth and GPS was on and was flat by the end of a long journey. Have tried the mod and phone is showing as plugged into AC so hopefully this is going to sort my issues.
So am I right in saying that, unless you get one which has been adapted as described above, there is no real difference between one in-car charger and another - none of them will be up to the job of keeping the phone full of jiuce whilst running GPS over a long journey.
Was thinking of shelling out for a Brodit kit, but at £50+, I'll stick with a cheap one.
Narco77 said:
Interesting stuff...
I bought an official HTC car charger and noticed that the included usb cable, when plugged into a pc, does not allow data transfer, only charging.
Can anyone explain that ? Why would there be a difference in the wiring ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the offical charger and the usb cable is fine for data transfer.
Bingo Accent said:
So am I right in saying that, unless you get one which has been adapted as described above, there is no real difference between one in-car charger and another - none of them will be up to the job of keeping the phone full of jiuce whilst running GPS over a long journey.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really.
For the "mod" to work, your charger must be able to source at least 1000mA which most can't anyway.
So you first have to find a charger that does and then, if it's not already the case, short the D+ and D- cables together.
Note that this can be done by disassembling the charger (not being sure of being able to put it back together), by using conductive glue on the USB plug itself (a bit invasive) or by using an adapter like the one I shown in my previous message (but you need to do it yourself or have someone do it for you)

So why is my battery draining while charging?

I've noticed this happening any time I tether via USB or use GPS navigation while plugged in. Even though I'm connected and charging, I slowly but surely discharge. This weekend I used Google Nav for 2 hours and lost 20% of my battery while charging! On Juice Plotter, I notice the green charging glow at the bottom is a more transparent shade of green (as opposed to solid green when solely charging). Any ideas what causes this or how to avoid it? It seems to be recent.
TheBiles said:
I've noticed this happening any time I tether via USB or use GPS navigation while plugged in. Even though I'm connected and charging, I slowly but surely discharge. This weekend I used Google Nav for 2 hours and lost 20% of my battery while charging! On Juice Plotter, I notice the green charging glow at the bottom is a more transparent shade of green (as opposed to solid green when solely charging). Any ideas what causes this or how to avoid it? It seems to be recent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me guess, you're charging off a USB port in your laptop, or using the data cable that came with the phone in your car charger?
Not all USB sources (or cables, for that matter) are created equally. Most PC/laptop ports put out 500mAh, half of what the Evo is designed to take (the factory AC adapter, the wall plug, is 1000mAh, aka 1amp).
Since it's only getting half the draw it can't quite keep up with how much power you're sucking away from the battery. This is usually only present when using the device heavily, such as with the screen on and GPS or WiFi/3G actively running.
The charging indicator (at least on Sense) indicates if it's getting the full "AC" charge (1amp) or if it's getting a reduced current charge. Sounds like that's what you're noticing.
My wife's Samsung Moment charger is 700mAh/0.7amp, and it can keep my Evo steady during use (it's powering it for 3G+WiFi tether right now), but it doesn't really charge fast at all, basically it just keeps it from depleting.
I've been meaning to try one of the USB Y-cables that join 2 standard USB ports to one female port for combined power of 1amp, but I'm not sure it will work as I hope. Anyway, I'll report back if I get around to it.
Otherwise, use an actual 1amp AC adapter whenever possible. Shop on eBay, chargers are stupid cheap. Just look for one that says it can do 1amp/1000mAh. If you're using the phone at work and want to have a convenient charging source, get one of the $20 docking cradles with an AC adapter on eBay. If it's in your car, any 12v USB charger should work, as long as you use a proper pass-through charging micro USB cable and not a "data cable". There's a slight difference in how the pins are wired inside. The Rocket Fish brand of micro USB cables are known to work (that's how I charge mine at full power in my car).
Way to go GT. Are you a student? I'm an ME phd student.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
sprocket87 said:
Let me guess, you're charging off a USB port in your laptop, or using the data cable that came with the phone in your car charger?
Not all USB sources (or cables, for that matter) are created equally. Most PC/laptop ports put out 500mAh, half of what the Evo is designed to take (the factory AC adapter, the wall plug, is 1000mAh, aka 1amp).
Since it's only getting half the draw it can't quite keep up with how much power you're sucking away from the battery. This is usually only present when using the device heavily, such as with the screen on and GPS or WiFi/3G actively running.
The charging indicator (at least on Sense) indicates if it's getting the full "AC" charge (1amp) or if it's getting a reduced current charge. Sounds like that's what you're noticing.
My wife's Samsung Moment charger is 700mAh/0.7amp, and it can keep my Evo steady during use (it's powering it for 3G+WiFi tether right now), but it doesn't really charge fast at all, basically it just keeps it from depleting.
I've been meaning to try one of the USB Y-cables that join 2 standard USB ports to one female port for combined power of 1amp, but I'm not sure it will work as I hope. Anyway, I'll report back if I get around to it.
Otherwise, use an actual 1amp AC adapter whenever possible. Shop on eBay, chargers are stupid cheap. Just look for one that says it can do 1amp/1000mAh. If you're using the phone at work and want to have a convenient charging source, get one of the $20 docking cradles with an AC adapter on eBay. If it's in your car, any 12v USB charger should work, as long as you use a proper pass-through charging micro USB cable and not a "data cable". There's a slight difference in how the pins are wired inside. The Rocket Fish brand of micro USB cables are known to work (that's how I charge mine at full power in my car).
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Click to collapse
I'm using the included charging cable. Doesn't that have full capacity? I also use a standard USB adapter in the car. It seems like that would be able to output the correct amount of volts.
gtkansan said:
Way to go GT. Are you a student? I'm an ME phd student.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3rd year CmpE.
I had the same problem until I noticed how hot my phone was using the nav. 13 hour drive. I purchased a vent cradle for the car and so that it can stay cool while in use and charging. While the other guy may be right theoretically, its not right practically. The evo will shut off its mini usb hub once it starts getting dangerously hot so that it won't damage your phone. Long story short make sure your phone is at safe temps no need to buy another charger for your evo. keep at cool temps so that phone won't cut off power supply will even shut your phone down if its way to hot, happened to me in atlanta not fun.
"Insert Fancy Quote"
TheBiles said:
I'm using the included charging cable. Doesn't that have full capacity? I also use a standard USB adapter in the car. It seems like that would be able to output the correct amount of volts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you say "included charging cable" do you mean the wall plug that came with the Evo or just the cable with a USB connector on one end and a micro USB on the other end? Because THAT cable is pinned as a data transfer cable and designed to relay only half voltage no matter what you plug it into. I know, because it only charged my Evo at slow speed when plugged into my USB car charger. Once I replaced it with the Rocket Fish cable it charged at full speed.
kwilbur3 said:
I had the same problem until I noticed how hot my phone was using the nav. 13 hour drive. I purchased a vent cradle for the car and so that it can stay cool while in use and charging. While the other guy may be right theoretically, its not right practically. The evo will shut off its mini usb hub once it starts getting dangerously hot so that it won't damage your phone. Long story short make sure your phone is at safe temps no need to buy another charger for your evo. keep at cool temps so that phone won't cut off power supply will even shut your phone down if its way to hot, happened to me in atlanta not fun.
"Insert Fancy Quote"
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Click to collapse
See above. While I agree that heat will kill the battery and possibly trigger a shutoff, I don't think that's his problem. If you use the wrong cable or charger you will only get half charging current.
sprocket87 said:
When you say "included charging cable" do you mean the wall plug that came with the Evo or just the cable with a USB connector on one end and a micro USB on the other end? Because THAT cable is pinned as a data transfer cable and designed to relay only half voltage no matter what you plug it into. I know, because it only charged my Evo at slow speed when plugged into my USB car charger. Once I replaced it with the Rocket Fish cable it charged at full speed.
See above. While I agree that heat will kill the battery and possibly trigger a shutoff, I don't think that's his problem. If you use the wrong cable or charger you will only get half charging current.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean the USB cable that comes in the box with the EVO that plugs into the AC adapter. Maybe I will look into a new cable then. Hmm.
Edit: Those Rocketfish cables that you mentioned seem to be ungodly expensive. No way in hell am I going to pay more than $5 for a USB cable. Any alternatives?
TheBiles said:
I mean the USB cable that comes in the box with the EVO that plugs into the AC adapter. Maybe I will look into a new cable then. Hmm.
Edit: Those Rocketfish cables that you mentioned seem to be ungodly expensive. No way in hell am I going to pay more than $5 for a USB cable. Any alternatives?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the one I got: http://cgi.ebay.com/ROCKETFISH-MOBI...ARGING-CABLE-/350384355972?pt=PDA_Accessories
$3 shipped
And there are 2 USB cables that came with the Evo (mine anyway), a thick one that was bundled with the wall charger and a thin one that's intended just for data sync. The thin one doesn't seem to charge at full speed.
If you're using the other one and it's STILL draining then maybe there is an issue with heat or something, like the other guy said. Is the phone SUPER hot at the base, where the kickstand is, when this happens?
OP - I am having the same problem. I'm 95% sure it's caused by something wrong in CM6 regarding how it handles USB charging. Past few nightlies I have been leaving my phone on the charger doing NOTHING overnight and it goes dead.
This CANNOT be due to lack of charging strength:
#1 the same exact charger worked perfectly in the past, before I flashed a certain nightly - not sure which one exactly it started in
#2 if it was charging, but slowly why in the world would the battery drain when I have it underclocked to 245 mhz and the phone is sleeping with screen off?
On my standard charger that came with the phone it is working fine even though it's a USB that plugs into an adapter - not sure why this doesn't work with my other one that I had from another phone since it worked perfectly before. Something is definitely odd with CM6 and USB charging.
sprocket87 said:
This is the one I got: http://cgi.ebay.com/ROCKETFISH-MOBI...ARGING-CABLE-/350384355972?pt=PDA_Accessories
$3 shipped
And there are 2 USB cables that came with the Evo (mine anyway), a thick one that was bundled with the wall charger and a thin one that's intended just for data sync. The thin one doesn't seem to charge at full speed.
If you're using the other one and it's STILL draining then maybe there is an issue with heat or something, like the other guy said. Is the phone SUPER hot at the base, where the kickstand is, when this happens?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's odd, because my EVO only came with the one cable for the adapter. Phone stays cool.
berardi said:
OP - I am having the same problem. I'm 95% sure it's caused by something wrong in CM6 regarding how it handles USB charging. Past few nightlies I have been leaving my phone on the charger doing NOTHING overnight and it goes dead.
This CANNOT be due to lack of charging strength:
#1 the same exact charger worked perfectly in the past, before I flashed a certain nightly - not sure which one exactly it started in
#2 if it was charging, but slowly why in the world would the battery drain when I have it underclocked to 245 mhz and the phone is sleeping with screen off?
On my standard charger that came with the phone it is working fine even though it's a USB that plugs into an adapter - not sure why this doesn't work with my other one that I had from another phone since it worked perfectly before. Something is definitely odd with CM6 and USB charging.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've also noticed lately that my phone will charge insanely fast. Like from 30% to 90% in half an hour.
Sprocket - stupid question here... do these Rocket Fish charging cables also handle data transfer just as well as the stock micro-usb cable that came with the phone or would someone want to have one JUST for charging and keep their stock cable for data transfer purposes?
TheBiles said:
That's odd, because my EVO only came with the one cable for the adapter. Phone stays cool.
I've also noticed lately that my phone will charge insanely fast. Like from 30% to 90% in half an hour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I was unclear - the other cable I have that is the problem is one from another phone but the same type, and up until recently it worked perfectly.

[Q] Car charger recommendations

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

Are iPad chargers compatible with Galaxy Tab 10.1?

I picked up one of these chargers:
http://www.macally.com/EN/Product/ArticleShow.asp?ArticleID=326
which, in principle, should charge the Tab. It does charge it but it also does some strange things while plugged in:
1. Starts MTP USB mode
2. Completely messes up digitizer - I've installed TouchScreenTune and in the test area I can see when I touch, sometimes the perceived touch seems to rapidly cross the entire vertical area and in regular use it will activate the status bar when I touch anywhere.
I exchanged it for this one:
http://www.macally.com/EN/Product/ipod4show.asp?ArticleID=391
It doesn't have as high a wattage output but still higher than a standard USB charger so should charge faster.
I still get:
1. MTP USB mode
2. not quite as messed up digitizer - seems to be okay in normal use but when I test it in TouchScreenTune I can see that the perceived touch is very jittery. It's now jittery only to a small amount of error so it's usable, but something is going on.
I've also found the tablet completely non-responsive to touch a couple of times today (not plugged in) and eventually it comes back but behaves very slowly until I reboot. I don't know if this has anything to do with the charger or just a coincidence.
I'm concerned with the behaviour of the digitizer that these chargers are doing something bad to my tablet. These behaviours don't occur when I use the official charger. I was hoping to get something with multiple charging ports so I have less to carry and plug in when I travel.
Should I be concerned about use this charger? If so, other than the official Samsung charger, does anyone know of a compatible multi-port charger?
Thanks!
You might be looking at different effects caused by different things.
1) There are two different kinds of USB cables for the Galaxy Tab 10.1: a data cable and a charger cable. These are slightly different. Using a data cable will still allow the Tab to charge, but probably slower. But this can cause the MTP USB mode to kick in (but this also depends on the charger)
2) Some chargers go way above the normal 5 Volt. With most devices that is not a very big problem. But capacitive touch screens are very sensitive to that. That's most probably what you notive. I see the same if I use some cheaper chargers.
3) I don't think your touch screen is damaged by the use of these chargers. If that would be the case, it would probably malfunction all of the time and not occasionally. Chances are a lot higher that you installed some new software or widget that is behaving badly.
USB chargers designed for apple devices in principle will not supply more then 0.5A to non-apple devices.
Apple uses a special technique to signal to the USB charger to supply more power, while non-apple devices uses a different technique. And unfortunately all the charger manufacturers only seem to consider Apple.
So all those chargers proclaiming 2.1A that you can find on Amazon or eBay are all designed for Apple devices. And don't believe when it says on Amazon or eBay that Android devices are supported. Read the reviews and you will typically find someone with charging problems with a non-apple device.
USB chargers are basically all the same except for the amperage that they put out. The stock GTab will not charge very well unless the amperage is around 2A. If you root, you can install a tweak that allows the device to charge with any amperage but with the typical .5A charger it will take a lot longer than with a 2A version.
I use the charging pucks for my iPhone and my wife's iPad interchangeably for those devices and my GTab. They all work fine. The iPad puck puts out about 2A and is about the same as the one that ships with the GTab. Since the GTab version is on my desk, I also use it to charge a bunch of other USB devices such as my hands free car speaker and some wireless headphones. I just plug the appropriate cable into the puck. I have not experienced any problems and suspect that I could use my wife's iPad puck the same way. (I have not yet tried this).
I just ordered a couple dual 2A USB car chargers that allow two USB cables to be plugged in, each getting 2.1A. From what I have been able to discover, these devices will charge just about anything as long as the charging cable has a standard USB connector. They come from China on eBay for less than $3 ea.
I will follow up this post with a review when they arrive.
Bob
USB chargers are not all the same.
"Modern" Adapters that implement the USB Battery Charging Spec, short the middle two data wires (D- and D+), the device can use that to detect that it can draw up to 1.5A (instead of the 0.5A that you get from a regular port).
Apple instead using a different (non-standard) scheme where they communicate to the power supply using voltages, and where different voltages represent different Amperage (I don't know the exact details).
So power supplies sold for Apple devices, as far as I have seen, do not short the data wires and as such a non-Apple device will not draw more then 0.5A
*edit*
Just to add to this, because apple devices communicates with the charger over the two data wires using voltages, while devices that implement the USB Battery Charging Spec require the data lines to be shorted, the two implementations are incompatible.
What you could probably do, is crack open a 2A apple compatible charger and just short the D- and D+ and have a charger that will charge non-apple devices up to 1.5A. And it should also be possible to put a switch on the charger to switch between Standard and Apple charging mode. But if you mess up, don't come and complain to me!
Here is a nice video on how the apple charging works for the iPhone on youtube. But unfortunately this crap forum software won't allow me to post outside links.
Just do a google search for "reverse engineering apple charger"
I made some usb adapters that plug between any usb port and galaxy tab 7.0 plus usb
I made some usb adapters that plug between any usb port and your samsung galaxy tab 7.0 plus usb connector that allows charging from any usb port. I think it's the same for any galaxy tablet/phone. This way you can charge from any pc, or generic wall charger, any car charger, etc. If you're interested in one let me know. I can list them on ebay or some other site.
See pictures, nothing fancy but they work perfect with any charger and or usb port
Pic 1 is adapter
Pic 2 is adapter plugged into portable 12000mAh battery charger made for apple products
Pic 3 I added another adapter I made in between to measure amperage
Pic 4 is screen shot showing "AC" not "USB" and little batter icon without RED "X"

USB wires, right and wrong ones?

I have a 2meter USB to MicroUSB cable(EBAY) plugged into mains which does Not charge the phone when screen is on. In fact it Loses charge when watching films .
But when l plug in the one that came with the phone (1 meter) it charges the phone no problem, regardless of what you are doing.
Anybody have any ideas for why this is happening?
Length of wire? or just bad quality of wire? But l have tried a few different 2m ones. Same drain.
(Also same results with different roms)
Cheers me dears
(Was getting no traction in accessories)
DaffyOnLSD said:
I have a 2meter USB to MicroUSB cable(EBAY) plugged into mains which does Not charge the phone when screen is on. In fact it Loses charge when watching films .
But when l plug in the one that came with the phone (1 meter) it charges the phone no problem, regardless of what you are doing.
Anybody have any ideas for why this is happening?
Length of wire? or just bad quality of wire? But l have tried a few different 2m ones. Same drain.
(Also same results with different roms)
Cheers me dears
(Was getting no traction in accessories)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might have noticed that smaller the phone, the larger the charging cable comes with it.
and the larger phone, and tablets have decreasing charger cable lengths. Also, the charging cable become thicker as the device becomes more power hungry.
This all comes down to a simple explaination that longer and thinner cables have more impedance, and thicker and shorted cables have less resistance...
This is to cover up for the amount of power the device will consume in order to get charged, and hence, result in a different "quality" of charge.
Also, some cable, like that of Nokia, do not run on touchscreen samsung phones. This may also be because of the difference in power output, as they may not fulfill the requirements which the latter needs.
Ok, so how about getting a beefier longer wire? I've seen a brand one for 10 £ claiming to be grippier blah blah. Obviously no claim for what it's able to charge and how fast.
Will this change anything?
I'm guessing im doomed to be always leaning in to the wall if wanting to use the phone and getting it charged.
And thanks for explaining things, sadly that is what I feared.
DaffyOnLSD said:
Ok, so how about getting a beefier longer wire? I've seen a brand one for 10 £ claiming to be grippier blah blah. Obviously no claim for what it's able to charge and how fast.
Will this change anything?
I'm guessing im doomed to be always leaning in to the wall if wanting to use the phone and getting it charged.
And thanks for explaining things, sadly that is what I feared.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not definitely that beefier and shorter wires will charge quickly/better. They need to have correct power ratings and other j7mbo mumbo, which is most definitely best in the stock charger you get
Just buy a usb extension cable with plug and socket on each end. You have to use the Samsung charger AND the Samsung USB> MiroUSB cable. Beetween you place the extension cable.
The reason is, in the Micro-USB-Plug of the Samsung-Cable, i think there is a Resistor between pin 4 and 5 that makes the Phone change into high-charging Mode (AC-charging).
Otherwise on USB-Charging you have only 500 mA. That is not enough for the Note 2, if the Screen is on. The Phone will not charge.
regards
Thanks. .. should of tried that. Forgot I've loads of them.
DaffyOnLSD said:
Thanks. .. should of tried that. Forgot I've loads of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please let us know, if it works now how it should. Thanks...
Same here, with random internet cables it just doesn't charge fast, but yes with the original.
I was looking for some good cables to use it but I didn't see any info to know what are the faster ones for charging.
Right, some bad news regarding USB extenders, I used a 2 meter extender with the white stock Samsung cable.. screen on, torrent app downloading, did NOT charge at all. But did not lose anything either.
I then found a 0.3 meter USB extender with stock Samsung. And it is charging, but I would say it isn't as fast(very close to normal), but the main thing it is slowly charging. Make what you will of this.
My USB extenders are from ebay crap
I have a s2 original charger
Output 0.79 takes 7 hrs to charge note2
Original note 2 charger is fast charger
Output 2.00 tkes 4 hrs to charge the phone
So it depends upon the uotput of the charger as i use the s2 usb to charge wt note 2 charger and again used the note 2 usb to charge 5he phonr at both time the chargin time was same
So i think the length or thilness of the cable dosent matter only thing matters is the charger output
Secondly if u use nonoem cables or chargers the usb port may give off or ur phone freezes while chargin so pls avoid nonoem cables
U can use oem cables of sony , htc, blackberry, even micromax and spice in india which r runnin androud but dont use first copy of chargers ir cables as they would harm ur phone

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