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i bought that Motorola Rapid Car charger recent and have been using it about a week now. i've noticed that it doesn't seem to charge my Thunderbolt any faster then it did when i was using the Thunderbolt's USB cable with this USB car charger adapter.
so, my question is, why is it called "rapid" if it doesn't charge any faster?
and i suppose secondly, is there an actual microUSB charger that will charge the Thunderbolt faster?
they make one for the iphone that will fully charge it in 30 minutes so i know they are out there.
voxigenboy said:
i bought that Motorola Rapid Car charger recent and have been using it about a week now. i've noticed that it doesn't seem to charge my Thunderbolt any faster then it did when i was using the Thunderbolt's USB cable with this USB car charger adapter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you should try this one.
Install the battery monitor widget. Monitor the battery for about 20 minutes while charging. Tell us what the charge current is.
Does the Motorola charger include a cable? If not, you may just have a weak cable. I have seen cheap cables with wire so thin that the charging current is no better then charging off a weak USB port.
My experience has been that the phone typically recognizes car charges as USB charging and uses a different charging profile. My solution to that is use a wall charger through an inverter or a kernel that doesn't use radically different charging profiles for A/C and USB.
loonatik78 said:
My experience has been that the phone typically recognizes car charges as USB charging and uses a different charging profile. My solution to that is use a wall charger through an inverter or a kernel that doesn't use radically different charging profiles for A/C and USB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need for that.
Cut a small piece of aluminum foil. Carefully place it where it shorts the two center conductors in the charger. Plug the USB cable into the charger. Make sure the foil stays in place over the two center conductors.
It is now a high rate charger. (assuming it can put out 1 amp.)
The limiting factor is typically the usb cable itself. Most usb cables can't support the 1amp that is provided to it. Since you used the original usb cable that came with the thunderbolt (that's been "shorted" as mentioned above" ) it will be just as fast as the moto car charger. the 1amp charging rate that the moto charger charges at (i have one) and that the original one charges at are already "rapid". if you plugged a normal usb cable from somewhere else into the other usb car charger, it'd be much much slower
squeakyl said:
The limiting factor is typically the usb cable itself. Most usb cables can't support the 1amp that is provided to it. Since you used the original usb cable that came with the thunderbolt (that's been "shorted" as mentioned above" ) it will be just as fast as the moto car charger. the 1amp charging rate that the moto charger charges at (i have one) and that the original one charges at are already "rapid". if you plugged a normal usb cable from somewhere else into the other usb car charger, it'd be much much slower
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stock charger is what shorts the connections. The cable is NOT shorted on the two inner pins because they are the data connections used for connecting your phone to a computer.
doodlebro said:
The stock charger is what shorts the connections. The cable is NOT shorted on the two inner pins because they are the data connections used for connecting your phone to a computer.
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Click to collapse
To meet the USB charging spec (which the TB uses), the two inner (data) contacts should be shorted with no more that 200 ohms.
But, the cable can also be an issue for rapid charging. The voltage drop for a 1A/5V source, across only .5 M of 28 gauge copper is ~220 mV. If you use a longer cable, there's more voltage drop. The TB likely current limits itself when the voltage drops below a certain threshold. Best to buy 24 gauge USB cables, if you can, especially if getting longer ones (monoprice has them).
voxigenboy said:
i bought that Motorola Rapid Car charger recent and have been using it about a week now. i've noticed that it doesn't seem to charge my Thunderbolt any faster then it did when i was using the Thunderbolt's USB cable with this USB car charger adapter.
so, my question is, why is it called "rapid" if it doesn't charge any faster?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think its a matter of rated output current. BUT on the other side, the phone must be capable of drawing/using that much current. If the adapter is rated for more current than the phone can charge, the "extra" current wont be supplied.
Initially, Moto's standard car chargers output 5V and up to 550ma max (just like a standard PC USB port) so they didn't charge phones all that fast. Moto then came out with chargers that had higher current output, so they were capable of charging the phones "faster" than the original car chargers (but on par with the home/travel/AC chargers) and called them "rapid car chargers"..
Today, the current output on the Moto SPN5400A car charger is 0-950mA, and I've seen it sometimes referred to as "Rapid Car charger."
But as far as I know, Moto no longer makes/sells the lower current car chargers, and their web site only shows one MicroUSB and one MiniUSB car charger for sale, both of which appear to be of the 0-950mA output variety.
voxigenboy said:
and i suppose secondly, is there an actual microUSB charger that will charge the Thunderbolt faster?
they make one for the iphone that will fully charge it in 30 minutes so i know they are out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just because someone makes such a charger for the iPhone, doesn't mean one must exist for the TB, or other phones, does it? I know the iPad uses a 2A charger. What happens if you connect an iPhone to that? will it charge faster? I guess that depends on if the iPhone is capable of drawing more than 1A to charge it.
I've not seen a "home" or AC charger that can charge the TB any faster than the Stock 1A charger. Does such a thing exist?
A proper car charger with 950mA to 1A output should charge the TB at almost exactly the same rate as the stock 1A wall/AC charger.
And btw, the Moto SPN5400A car charger DOES charge my TB in about the same amount of time that it takes me to charge my TB at home with the stock HTC charger. So while its not "rapid" compared to the stock home/travel/AC charger, its "rapid" compared to PC USB Port charging, or a plain lower current car charger.
KidJoe said:
I've not seen a "home" or AC charger that can charge the TB any faster than the Stock 1A charger. Does such a thing exist?
A proper car charger with 950mA to 1A output should charge the TB at almost exactly the same rate as the stock 1A wall/AC charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made a charger for my motorcycle. I use it as a GPS, screen on MAX, phone active with marginal signal. And I wanted to actually charge the battery at the same time. I did a lot of experimenting with the Thunderbolt. It would not exceed a pull of about 850ma from the supply, even at 5.5 volts. IMHO, you are wasting time looking for any charger over 1 amp.
Also, even with about 850ma in, not much over 500ma is getting to the battery. So a totally dead battery is still going to take between 2 and 3 hours to charge, no matter what charger you have. And twice that long if the charger looks like a PC USB port.
worwig said:
I made a charger for my motorcycle. I use it as a GPS, screen on MAX, phone active with marginal signal. And I wanted to actually charge the battery at the same time. I did a lot of experimenting with the Thunderbolt. It would not exceed a pull of about 850ma from the supply, even at 5.5 volts. IMHO, you are wasting time looking for any charger over 1 amp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was asking because of the OP's statement about knowing "they must exist" because they are out there for the iPhone.
I'm perfectly happy with my Moto car charger, and how fast it charges my phones.
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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?)
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
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
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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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
i.Sound Portable Charger
Has 16,000 mah
Input: 12V 1A
Output: '5V 2.1A on each connector 2.5 A together'
I charge a number of things on here...
A friend has me a bit confused saying this could damage the charging mechanisms of the phone.
Any input please?
Thanks
rockky said:
i.Sound Portable Charger
Has 16,000 mah
Input: 12V 1A
Output: '5V 2.1A on each connector 2.5 A together'
I charge a number of things on here...
A friend has me a bit confused saying this could damage the charging mechanisms of the phone.
Any input please?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do u mean, you are giving the Galaxy Note an input of 5V, 2.1A (ie, output of Portable Charger)? if so, it is going to effect the battery life in long run..it may charge your phone faster, but definitely going to hurt the life of the battery..there are a lot of factors which should be considered like how much extra current you can give, temperature etc etc..
I don't think so: charging current is controlled by the device being charged, not the charger.
The Note will draw only ~700mA on an "AC" charger, even if that charger can supply up to 1A, 2A, etc.
On USB, it will draw ~500mA.
A mains/AC charger shorts the 2 data pins, which tells the phone that it's a dumb charger, not a USB host, and it is safe for the device to draw up to its own maximum (700mA for the Note).
---------- Post added at 12:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:16 AM ----------
The corollary to that is that you shouldn't be able to shorten battery life by over-current charging: even with a 2A Nexus charger the Note draws only up to its maximum 700mA.
[I did just that test a moment ago to check: 725mA, on the 2A Nexus 7 charger]
Of course, 700mA is more than the 500mA it will draw from a USB host, so if you were really concerned, you could use that.
But the device ships with a mains/AC charger from which it will draw 700mA, so you're never going to exceed the "official" charger, whatever charging source you use.
cdmackay said:
I don't think so: charging current is controlled by the device being charged, not the charger.
The Note will draw only ~700mA on an "AC" charger, even if that charger can supply up to 1A, 2A, etc.
On USB, it will draw ~500mA.
A mains/AC charger shorts the 2 data pins, which tells the phone that it's a dumb charger, not a USB host, and it is safe for the device to draw up to its own maximum (700mA for the Note).
---------- Post added at 12:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:16 AM ----------
The corollary to that is that you shouldn't be able to shorten battery life by over-current charging: even with a 2A Nexus charger the Note draws only up to its maximum 700mA.
[I did just that test a moment ago to check: 725mA, on the 2A Nexus 7 charger]
Of course, 700mA is more than the 500mA it will draw from a USB host, so if you were really concerned, you could use that.
But the device ships with a mains/AC charger from which it will draw 700mA, so you're never going to exceed the "official" charger, whatever charging source you use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, though AFAIK the Note will draw more than 700mA from the OEM charger
and I have noticed charging speed differences by using different aftermarket chargers... never put a multimeter to them though
while charging the battery in the note is safe, I don't recommend plugging in your portable charger into a external battery charger. They may not protect the battery from overcurrent. Pay attention to all the specifications of all charging devices you use. Especially if you also have an aftermarket battery.
Cheers
Sent from my GT-N7000
guitarplayerone said:
yes, though AFAIK the Note will draw more than 700mA from the OEM charger
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure? I didn't think that was the case; I could be wrong of course.
do you have any more details on that, please?
I have used many, many USB chargers: mains/AC, 12V, solar, portable battery, and never seen greater than ~700mA being drawn by the Note.
I'd like to know otherwise, for the odd occasion when i might want a really quick charge!
My friends point was that the i-sound charger would hurt not so much the battery but might damage the charging circuitry in the phone...course I learn this after buying this charger! ( I know its fine for nexus 7 and 10.1 tab).
Again its
Input: 12V 1A
Output: '5V 2.1A on each connector 2.5 A together'
rockky said:
My friends point was that the i-sound charger would hurt not so much the battery but might charging circuitry in the phone...course Ilearn this after buying this charger! ( I know its fine for nexus 7 and 10.1 tab).
Again its
Input: 12V 1A
Output: '5V 2.1A on each connector 2.5 A together'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, and I believe the answer is no: you cannot damage the Note's charging circuit by using a charger that has a higher *maximum* current, since the Note will only draw a current of (approx) 700mA regardless of the charger's maximum.
As an example of that, my test showing that the Note still only draws 725mA when connect to the Nexus 7 charger, which has a maximum charging current of 2A.
Thanks
cdmackay said:
Yup, and I believe the answer is no: you cannot damage the Note's charging circuit by using a charger that has a higher *maximum* current, since the Note will only draw a current of (approx) 700mA regardless of the charger's maximum.
As an example of that, my test showing that the Note still only draws 725mA when connect to the Nexus 7 charger, which has a maximum charging current of 2A.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was a mid on this site a really long time ago showing how shorting a specific connection in the usb cable will enable ac mode and this is supposedly what the oem charger does
guitarplayerone said:
There was a mid on this site a really long time ago showing how shorting a specific connection in the usb cable will enable ac mode and this is supposedly what the oem charger does
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup, that's right: shorting the two data pins --- which most "dumb-charger spec" capable chargers do --- tells the Note that it's OK to pull its maximum ~700mA. But it won't pull any more than that even if it's a 2A charger.
Without that short, the Note will only pull the regular ~500mA (again, regardless of charger max current): it thinks it is connected to a standard USB host, which might not be able to supply > 500mA, e.g. a laptop motherboard.
If you have a >500mA charger that *doesn't* follow the dumb-charger spec, i.e. it doesn't short the data pins, e.g. possibly a Mac USB charger, then you can get a charge-only no-data USB cable, that has the data pins shorted internally (in the cable itself), which will achieve the same effect. This is the mod you describe above.
You probably should not use that cable with a regular USB host (although the host will probably just limit its current anyway).
[Macs use some proprietary "signalling" method, whereby differing value resistors are placed across the data pins, telling the device differing levels of current to pull, etc. This is why you'll see external battery packs like Anker Astro 3 having a "Samsung port" and also a "iPad port"; madness]
Finally, some Android kernels have a hack that will allow AC mode (e.g. 700mA on the Note) regardless of the data pins. But this isn't always wise, and so many devs won't touch it. It prob wouldn't bother the Note, but it might not be good for the host/charger.
Apologies for rambling on, but people seem to ask this sort of thing a lot...
yep people wantblong battery life and fast charge.
About time a proper fuel cell is introduced
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
Most of this is over my head
So bottom line: charging my note with the i-Sound charger described in the OP will NOT damage my new Note , correct?
Tnx
rockky said:
Most of this is over my head
So bottom line: charging my note with the i-Sound charger described in the OP will NOT damage my new Note , correct?
Tnx
Click to expand...
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I believe that's correct; I would not hesitate to use it.
As someone else stated, however: whilst charging in the phone should be safe, since the phone controls the current, taking the battery out and charging it in a standalone battery charger may not be safe.
rockky said:
Most of this is over my head
So bottom line: charging my note with the i-Sound charger described in the OP will NOT damage my new Note , correct?
Tnx
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Yes, that's correct. Generally, just make sure the voltage is not too high (or too low). The range of 4.7V to 5V should be OK, since there is some allowance for variations. The current ( ie, the Amperes) only indicates the current the charger is capable of supplying. It doesn't mean the charger will force all that current down the battery's throat. The device/battery will draw as much as it needs, and this will not damage the device or battery whether it's 0.5A or 2A.
Ordered a QI charger off Amazon (the same Lerway Chinese brand one everyone seems to get) and it's charging incredibly slow. Not sure if the app I'm using to record the charge rate is incorrect or I'm not reading it correctly but it says it's charging at only +200mA max sometimes as slow as <50mA.
Anyone else experience this?
skusa93 said:
Ordered a QI charger off Amazon (the same Lerway Chinese brand one everyone seems to get) and it's charging incredibly slow. Not sure if the app I'm using to record the charge rate is incorrect or I'm not reading it correctly but it says it's charging at only +200mA max sometimes as slow as <50mA.
Anyone else experience this?
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What kind of power source you use to power the charger and what kind of cable do you use?
If you connect the charger to computer USB port it will not provide enough power for the charger. Same with cheap cables, like the ones mostly included with the generic QI chargers. You need a premium USB cable.
Also if you have a thick case on your phone it will diminish the charging current received by a coil in your phone.
Firstly check how much power and what current your charger gets, so instead of plugging the QI charger, plug your phone and check what amperage you get (I use Current Widget). If it's less then 1600mA (maximum amperage that N5 will allow from direct charging through cable) your charger is underpowered and you need to change socket charger to 2A one. If you're using 2A socket charger and still get under 1600mA then your micro USB cable isn't good enough.
Properly and fully powered Qi charger should charge your bare phone (without a case) at about 700-800mA.
Znamir81 said:
What kind of power source you use to power the charger and what kind of cable do you use?
If you connect the charger to computer USB port it will not provide enough power for the charger. Same with cheap cables, like the ones mostly included with the generic QI chargers. You need a premium USB cable.
Also if you have a thick case on your phone it will diminish the charging current received by a coil in your phone.
Firstly check how much power and what current your charger gets, so instead of plugging the QI charger, plug your phone and check what amperage you get (I use Current Widget). If it's less then 1600mA (maximum amperage that N5 will allow from direct charging through cable) your charger is underpowered and you need to change socket charger to 2A one. If you're using 2A socket charger and still get under 1600mA then your micro USB cable isn't good enough.
Properly and fully powered Qi charger should charge your bare phone (without a case) at about 700-800mA.
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Thanks for the info I thought I was going crazy.
No case so that isn't an issue.
I have the phone connected direct to a 3A charger currently and am only getting 995mA charge rate with the screen on and it looks like full 1.5A with the screen off. Maybe a defective QI charger?
Nope. Everything is normal. You just need a better cable that will manage to transfer 2A of current.
QI charger needs 2A input to give 1A output on a coil. Giving about 70-80% efficiency rate, your phone would be getting about 700-800mA.
Since your charger gets only about 1A input it gives about 500mA output. Therefore giving that efficiency rate, your phone should be getting about 350-400mA tops. It is possible that your charger has lower efficiency rate (some have about 50-60%), so the values that you're getting are pretty normal unless you use a premium micro usb cable, preferably with thicker, like AWG24 or lower (the lower value the better) power wires.
Might want to try these cables, a lot of people have had great luck with using them on Qi chargers. Don't know which length you would need, they have 3 and 6 foot cables. For the price, I'm ordering 6 6ft cables.
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030307&p_id=9762&seq=1&format=2