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I've been using a mix of old and new USB cables for charging and have noticed that some micro USBs from my Blackberry days will charge the TB but VERY slowly, even using the wall charger.
I want to order some more fast charging USB cables, but how do I identify the difference? What IS the actual difference between the cables?
Thanks!
Usb charging is normally slower than AC wall charging. Most cables are designed exactly the same but some chargers are suited for more amperage per hour. I'd recommend downloading the app -"battery monitor widget" and plugging in your charger and seeing what type of miliamp per hour rating you're getting off of that particular usb port. If the port is in front of the computer, normally those get slightly less voltage than the main ones in the back. Also If you're rooted make sure you aren't on an old outdated kernel that has trickle charge coding thats messed up. I normally get 500-800ma/h based off the AC wall chargers, and anywhere depending on what computer (Work vs Home) USB ports anywhere from like 150-350ma/h. Hope that little tidbit helps.
It is a bit complicted.
When you simply apply power, the Thunderbolt (and most micro USB phone) charges at a slow rate. I have measured this at around 350ma max on the Bolt. This is mainly because the USB port power standard on a PC is 500ma max. They need to stay under that.
By the micro USB standard, if you tie the two USB data lines (D- and D+) together, then the Thunderbolt goes into a fast charge mode. I have seen around 850ma max. You can place a piece of aluminum foil on the charger end (large USB) to short out the two center pins only and switch it to high rate.
Some cables tie the two wires together. Those are fast charge only cables that you can't used for a USB connection. Some chargers tie the two wires together. So they fast charge with any USB cable.
What gets complicated is that of course the charger needs to be capable of about 1 amp for the fast charge to work. AND, some cables use such small wire diameter, that they can't carry the high current rate. I have a couple of cheap cables that even on the fast rate, only carry around 300ma.
AND, if you have time, charge at the low rate. The battery and phone will run cooler, and the battery will last longer. My overnight charger is the lowest rate that I can get by with. But I need to use a super high rate when using the GPS on my motorcycle to keep up with the bright screen and such.
worwig said:
It is a bit complicted.
By the micro USB standard, if you tie the two USB data lines (D- and D+) together, then the Thunderbolt goes into a fast charge mode. I have seen around 850ma max. You can place a piece of aluminum foil on the charger end (large USB) to short out the two center pins only and switch it to high rate.
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Click to collapse
I did this for my CaseMate battery backup and was able to get 800ma charging from it...
If you are just looking for a good car charger, i highly recommend the Motorola Rapid Charger from amazon, they are about $5 shipped. Those charge at the AC "Fast Charge" rate.
converting usb standard to fast-charging
Basically, the cable that came with my tablet, which allowed fast-charging, crapped out. I bought what I thought was the same cable and it still didn't work the right way. In searching through the forums, a a phrase hit me... two-pin fast charging cable. Seeing that, I took a small knife and a pair of needle-nose pliers and extracted the two inner pins( data pins) from he USB side of my cable. The cable, without the data pins, became a dedicated fast-charging cable. I have done this process with three cables so far to see if it was a fluke and every one is capable of fast-charging. I hope anybody that has been hitting the wall on this, reads this, because I was getting very frustrated with the convulated answers some people were giving to address this (especially from Munich!). Try it out, you can bury me in ashes if it doesn't work for you!!!
It's not the cable, it's the brick you're using. My nexus 7 charging brick has a higher output than my tbolt brick, so I use my n7's to charge it in a fraction of the time. Never rely on your computer's usb port to charge your device especially if it's your daily driver
Anybody come across a car charger that is high current like the HTC wall charger?
Most car chargers are classified as "rapid".
Anything designed to charge an iPad (2.1A versus the typical 1A) will give you plenty of juice. I use the Scosche reVIVE II with Pandora, Bluetooth, and GPS Navigation all on and still have enough power to positively charge my battery.
Fair warning, though, this will cause the phone to get real hot (I've had the overheating warning lights flash twice so far), so make sure you have plenty of ventilation around the phone, keep it out of the sun, etc etc.
Any charger that is at least 1 amp. will do. The phone 'pulls' a max of around 0.85 amps. No need for more then 1 amp.
If it has a replaceable cable, it must be the heaviest gauge, shortest cable, that you can use. I have seen long cheap thin cables that drop over a volt, and the Thunderbolt charges really slowly.
The charger or cable have to state that they for rapid charging. To rapid charge, you need to have the USB D- and D+ lines shorted. If that are not shorted, the Thunderbolt limits the charge current to around 0.35 amps. thinking it is connected to a PC. If they are shorted, letting the Thunderbolt know it can be rapid charged, you get up there around 0.85. You can easily modify the charger for high rate if it is good for at least an amp.
And in the end is heat. Heat and lots of it. It will damage the battery. So put it out of the sun and in cool air like near a vent.
Motorola Rapid Charger on Amazon is the best. I bought two.
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehi...Q9CA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309959388&sr=8-1
Review off Amazon
Genuine Motorola charger in retail packaging. 4.75-5.25V 950mA output, works w/ most micro-USB phones like Incredible, etc., June 11, 2010
By
David Pearlman "sound fanatic" (Arlington, MA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
There are so many sketchy sellers selling phone chargers out there, that it can be a bit scary. The problem is that if the charger is poorly made, the output of the charger can be out of spec and can, in some cases, fry the phone you connect to it.
For that reason, when it comes to phone chargers, you should stick to name brands. (They are all made in China, but the name brand ones are usually subject to stricter QA).
When I found this charger on Amazon, SOLD BY AMAZON, I jumped on it. It's a MICRO USB car charger, made for Motorola and sold under the Motorola name, in retail packaging. The rated output is 4.75-5.25V and 950mA.
This charger should work fine with most any phone that uses the MICRO USB connector. The key number to pay attention to is the second one, the rated amperage. This is the MAXIMUM amount of current that the phone can request from the charger. A typical USB port on a PC provides as little as 100mA, and few provide more than 500mA. So this charger should charge your phone faster than when it's connected to a PC. A few phones out now can use up to 1000mA. But that just means they CAN use that amount. If 950mA is provided, they'll still charge, just a bit more slowly.
Note that the amperage (second number) merely tells you how much the charger CAN supply, if requested. The phone itself is responsible for asking for the current. That is to say, if this charger can provide 950mA, but your phone can only use 300mA--no problem. Your phone asks for 300mA and the charger provides all of what is requested. If, on the other hand, your phone can use 1000mA, this charger will provide all it can, which is 950mA--a wee bit less than the max asked for. That's also not a problem; it just means your phone will charge a little bit (not much in this case) more slowly. The rated voltage for this charger is presented in a range of 4.75-5.25V. The "ideal" voltage for a USB charger of any type if 5V. And most chargers for home use are rated right at 5V. But car chargers work in a noisier environment and thus you have the range. This is where a cheapo charger can really do damage, as some of them are poorly regulated and can provide voltages that are WAY out of spec. Again, when you can get a name brand charger from a seller you can trust (Amazon) for such a reasonable price, it's very foolish to consider the cheapo no-names.
This is an excellent quality name brand travel micro USB charger at a price that beats the no-name junk from third party sellers. What's not to like?
BE SURE TO ORDER IT FROM AMAZON AND NOT ONE OF THE THIRD PARTY SELLERS, as some of those have been known to make mistakes with respect to what they ship relative to the listing. I can confirm that Amazon is shipping the P513 /89143N charger, as pictured.
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ddgarcia05 said:
Motorola Rapid Charger on Amazon is the best. I bought two.
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehi...Q9CA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309959388&sr=8-1
Review off Amazon
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I've been contemplating buying this one, but I'd like to ask you if it charges your battery with navigation+music going? I have a usb charger in my truck, and with both of those going it just manages to keep my battery level where its at, sometimes losing a % or two.
kr0n1c said:
I've been contemplating buying this one, but I'd like to ask you if it charges your battery with navigation+music going? I have a usb charger in my truck, and with both of those going it just manages to keep my battery level where its at, sometimes losing a % or two.
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From what I've read in the past here on XDA and on the reviews for the charger (on amazon) you shouldn't have a problem. The second review for the charger on amazon states that the reviewer was looking for a charger which actually charged his phone will using GPS and that he found it. It's a very well built charger and cheap. It's made my Motorola and sold by Amazon so buy with confidence.
kr0n1c said:
I've been contemplating buying this one, but I'd like to ask you if it charges your battery with navigation+music going? I have a usb charger in my truck, and with both of those going it just manages to keep my battery level where its at, sometimes losing a % or two.
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Click to collapse
It does indeed charge. I've had it since my original Droid and was concerned when I updated to the TB but it will charge the TB no matter what you're doing (I've had Nav running while on a phone call with BT and searching the internet and it still showed it was charging). Just be prepared for your phone to get HOT!! Great charger.
worwig said:
Any charger that is at least 1 amp. will do. The phone 'pulls' a max of around 0.85 amps. No need for more then 1 amp.
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Actually, the phone will pull more than 850 mA. You're probably basing that on using a battery monitor, which only shows the flow of current into/out of the battery. I've seen 800 mA into the battery at the same time I have display, GPS and a phone call going, which is definitely more than an additional 50 mA. It wouldn't surprise me if the phone can take advantage of something more than 1A, since I see a battery drain of more than 200 mA with all of that going when not on the charger.
kr0n1c said:
I've been contemplating buying this one, but I'd like to ask you if it charges your battery with navigation+music going? I have a usb charger in my truck, and with both of those going it just manages to keep my battery level where its at, sometimes losing a % or two.
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Click to collapse
I have that Motorola charger and am a heavy GPS user. It charges the battery as if it were plugged into the wall. You'll be very satisfied.
mike.s said:
Actually, the phone will pull more than 850 mA. You're probably basing that on using a battery monitor, which only shows the flow of current into/out of the battery. I've seen 800 mA into the battery at the same time I have display, GPS and a phone call going, which is definitely more than an additional 50 mA. It wouldn't surprise me if the phone can take advantage of something more than 1A, since I see a battery drain of more than 200 mA with all of that going when not on the charger.
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No, that was measured at the 5 volt power supply, based upon a lab power supply. I did a lot of experimenting when I developed the charger and phone mount for my motorcycle. And to get the 850ma from the power supply, I used a very short, maybe 8 inch, USB cable, and a charge voltage close to 5.3 volts. With 5 volts at the power supply, it would only pull about 650ma from the power supply. That was due to the voltage drop in the USB cable. With the 5.3 volts at the power supply, I was getting close to an actual 5 volts at the Thunderbolt. I never measured the current at the battery, but I could see it being a bit more then the 850ma in, if there were a switch mode supply in there.
Though I like the Battery Monitor widget as a rough guide, I never tested to see if the battery current and the battery monitor are accurate.
Does anyone know if the included HTC ac adapter and cable will charge faster than using your pc with the included USB cable?
happimeal said:
Does anyone know if the included HTC ac adapter and cable will charge faster than using your pc with the included USB cable?
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Absolutely.
A PC USB port is limited to under 500ma. The Thunderbolt appears to to limit PC USB draw to about 350ma. I haven't measured the actual current in the HTC charger, but it is a high current charger, and charges my Thunderbolt very quickly. Battery Monitor widget shows high battery charge rates. I suspect it is getting near the max rate up near 1 amp.
worwig said:
Absolutely.
A PC USB port is limited to under 500ma. The Thunderbolt appears to to limit PC USB draw to about 350ma. I haven't measured the actual current in the HTC charger, but it is a high current charger, and charges my Thunderbolt very quickly. Battery Monitor widget shows high battery charge rates. I suspect it is getting near the max rate up near 1 amp.
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HTC charger states 5V/1A on the charger itself.
You can use the Palm car charger for $3.75+tax, free shipping. it is 5V/1A, same rating as the HTC wall charger.
Go here for 25% off
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...otion/accessories.jsp?source=EC0A0011600jtl10
Add product here, must add to cart to see 25% discount.
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...027&q_sku=sku4720234&q_manufacturer=&q_model=
Also, if so inclined, you can lop the top off of the charger so that you can use any usb cable (ipod, iphone, anything)
dpham00 said:
HTC charger states 5V/1A on the charger itself.
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That doesn't mean much. That is the MAX the charger can output. The amount that the Thunderbolt will pull varies. If it thinks it is plugged into a USB, it will be less then 500ma. even if the charger is capable of 10 amps.
worwig said:
That doesn't mean much. That is the MAX the charger can output. The amount that the Thunderbolt will pull varies. If it thinks it is plugged into a USB, it will be less then 500ma. even if the charger is capable of 10 amps.
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i have used the Palm car charger, checking with bmw, it shows around 850ma, same as on my htc charger.
worwig said:
Any charger that is at least 1 amp. will do. The phone 'pulls' a max of around 0.85 amps. No need for more then 1 amp.
If it has a replaceable cable, it must be the heaviest gauge, shortest cable, that you can use. I have seen long cheap thin cables that drop over a volt, and the Thunderbolt charges really slowly.
The charger or cable have to state that they for rapid charging. To rapid charge, you need to have the USB D- and D+ lines shorted. If that are not shorted, the Thunderbolt limits the charge current to around 0.35 amps. thinking it is connected to a PC. If they are shorted, letting the Thunderbolt know it can be rapid charged, you get up there around 0.85. You can easily modify the charger for high rate if it is good for at least an amp.
And in the end is heat. Heat and lots of it. It will damage the battery. So put it out of the sun and in cool air like near a vent.
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um, i am aware that any charger that will do 1A will do. that was my question, what car charger will do 1A. Alot of times, they dont have that info listed on pages that are selling them.
and the whole thing about the D- and D+ shorted together, i do not believe. the HTC cable that came with the phone does rapid charging and i use it for data all the time too. if they D- and D+ was shorted, i would not be able to use it for data transfer. not unless the HTC charger shorts them internally inside the charger.
leoingle said:
unless the HTC charger shorts them internally inside the charger.
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Bingo!!
leoingle said:
um, i am aware that any charger that will do 1A will do. that was my question, what car charger will do 1A. Alot of times, they dont have that info listed on pages that are selling them.
and the whole thing about the D- and D+ shorted together, i do not believe. the HTC cable that came with the phone does rapid charging and i use it for data all the time too. if they D- and D+ was shorted, i would not be able to use it for data transfer. not unless the HTC charger shorts them internally inside the charger.
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Yes, it is hard to find the current info online or even on the package sometimes.
Yes, it is shorted in the charger. I have seen it done in the cable and the cable can't be used for data of course. Not sure why anyone would do that, but they do.
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.
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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.
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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
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Hey!
I noticed recently that my G5 charges quite slow. So I tested all of my powerbanks, cables, and wall chargers, in various combinations. I had 4 different powerbanks, 3 wall chargers, and 4 cables.
I used a USB ammeter to measure the power draw going through the USB cable.
On the motorola charger and cable that came with the phone, it charges at 1.8a. I then charged my phone from each powerbank and wall charger, using each cable in turn. The average charge speed for my phone was about 0.5a. Out of 28 combinations, only 2 yielded a draw over 1a.
I have created a spreadsheet detailing the charge speeds of each combination, but unfortunately cannot post it yet (10 post permissions).
I then charged my USB powerbanks from the same wall chargers, using the same cables. One powerbank charged at over 1a with every combination, and reached over 2a on numerous combinations. This proves that the cables and wall chargers are not at fault, it is a phone issue.
Why? Has motorola put something in their chargers that 'talks' to the phone, and allows for faster charge speeds? 0.5a is awful!
Secondly, does anyone know of cables that I can buy, which will support fast charging for the motorola? I have looked at genuine motorola cables, but there is no way to tell one from the other.
Thanks!
Paul
P.s. charge speeds were the same, whether the phone was switched on or off.
Welcome @agour
I've come up to a similar conclusion with a lot less data (thus I didn't share them).
I caught power consumption at the wall outlet when charging my device with two chargers: Motorola stock charger and a Samsung Adaptive Fast Charger.
The Samsung has the following specs: 5V 2A or 9V 1.67A with fastcharging capable device.
Using Samsung Adaptive fast charger and Samsung 1.5m cable : 6W, so the device charges at something like 5V 1.2A...
Using Samsung Adaptive fast charger and the cable provided with my XT1676 : 11.3W (which is coherent with the max 9V 1.6A, and would mean the charger provides 2.2A if at 5V which more than the specs.)
Using stock charger and stock supplied cable : 11.3W ==> fast charge for similar reasons as above
Using stock charger and Samsung 1.5m cable : around 6W ==> low power charge
I'd need a USB multimeter to confirm those data. (mostly due to the variable voltage that can provide fast charge adatpers)
matmutant said:
Welcome @agour
I've come up to a similar conclusion with a lot less data (thus I didn't share them).
I caught power consumption at the wall outlet when charging my device with two chargers: Motorola stock charger and a Samsung Adaptive Fast Charger.
The Samsung has the following specs: 5V 2A or 9V 1.67A with fastcharging capable device.
Using Samsung Adaptive fast charger and Samsung 1.5m cable : 6W, so the device charges at something like 5V 1.2A...
Using Samsung Adaptive fast charger and the cable provided with my XT1676 : 11.3W (which is coherent with the max 9V 1.6A, and would mean the charger provides 2.2A if at 5V which more than the specs.)
Using stock charger and stock supplied cable : 11.3W ==> fast charge for similar reasons as above
Using stock charger and Samsung 1.5m cable : around 6W ==> low power charge
I'd need a USB multimeter to confirm those data. (mostly due to the variable voltage that can provide fast charge adatpers)
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Interesting! It's suprising how much difference the combinations can make.
I don't think I have experienced this on a phone before, however I have never felt the need to test it...
I tested the original cable that came with the phone, and an off the shelf 'genuine motorola cable'. The stock cable is still the fastest, however the secondary cable still worked very well.
Interestingly, one of my powerbanks will charge at 2.2a from pretty much EVERY powersource and cable combination. This is with 7 cables tested, and 3 USB wall adapters.
Shame that motorola doesn't allow their phones to draw maximum power from hardware that can provide it..
agour said:
Interesting! It's suprising how much difference the combinations can make.
I don't think I have experienced this on a phone before, however I have never felt the need to test it...
I tested the original cable that came with the phone, and an off the shelf 'genuine motorola cable'. The stock cable is still the fastest, however the secondary cable still worked very well.
Interestingly, one of my powerbanks will charge at 2.2a from pretty much EVERY powersource and cable combination. This is with 7 cables tested, and 3 USB wall adapters.
Shame that motorola doesn't allow their phones to draw maximum power from hardware that can provide it..
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Click to collapse
If I have some time, I may test internal impedance of the cables, it is possible that the device somehow probes the cable (or the cable + charger) and then decides if it can or not draw that much power without overheating/melting the cable; and then it will negotiate the quickCharge with the charger.
there has been a discussion about quick charge on this thread a while ago (before I got this devices : https://forum.xda-developers.com/g5/help/quick-charge-3-0-support-t3632457)
Lenovo adds the following that I have not tested:
Lenovo said:
If your device is below 78%, but it does not begin Turbo charging when you plug it into the Turbo Charger, try uplugging and plugging back in using one fluid motion.
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It is quite obvious that especially cheap cables will charge phones much slower as the resistance is too high, even if the phone does not perform any checks. Those cables are basically too thin. Resistance limits the current (amps) that can flow. Newer phones most likely just look at the charge current during the first x seconds (or less) and then decide wether to enable fast charging or not to keep the cable from heating up. A wire with high resistance is basically a heater. So it's a necessary safety feature (from the companies POV).
Regarding the power bank, it may be possible that this particular design provides a voltage slightly higher than the nominal 5 volts (still fine for most devices), which helps overcome the resistance. That is also the reason why the Samsung fast charger provides 9V: You don't need a cable as thick as with 5V.
Keep in mind that the USB specifications only recently got updated for such high charging currents, so it is advisable to use only the cable that comes with the phone as USB cables in general don't need to provide such high currents by spec!
71n4 said:
It is quite obvious that especially cheap cables will charge phones much slower as the resistance is too high, even if the phone does not perform any checks. Those cables are basically too thin.
Resistance limits the current (amps) that can flow. Newer phones most likely just look at the charge current during the first x seconds (or less) and then decide wether to enable fast charging or not to keep the cable from heating up. A wire with high resistance is basically a heater. So it's a necessary safety feature (from the companies POV).
Regarding the power bank, it may be possible that this particular design provides a voltage slightly higher than the nominal 5 volts (still fine for most devices), which helps overcome the resistance. That is also the reason why the Samsung fast charger provides 9V: You don't need a cable as thick as with 5V.
Keep in mind that the USB specifications only recently got updated for such high charging currents, so it is advisable to use only the cable that comes with the phone as USB cables in general don't need to provide such high currents by spec!
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That sounds correct, although my Samsung wall adapter is fast charge capable, and was provided with a cable (and not a cheap one), that basically can't be use for fast charging with the G5, that looks silly...
I have a 45w usb-c travel charger for my laptop. While traveling, can I safely use this to charge my 5t?
I have poked around a bit and have not been able to get a firm answer from they. Can I do this?
You will definitely be able to charge it but it probably will be limited to 10/12 W. So no fast charging but at least charging
Check your charger to see the output spec. On my Dell 30W charger, it says 20V/12V/5V~1.5A/2A/2A. So it can be used to charge 5V devices, but not as fast as dash on 1+5t.
My charger has similar values. I tried it out and it worked! Thanks for the input!
Almost no point. Anyways most devices choose how much current they draw from a power source. just be wary that high voltage are dangerous (most of phones have circuit protection)