Hey all, the Sprint Hero comes with a charger that uses the usb cable to plug in to the phone. My problem is two-fold:
First, I like having a usb cord on me to charge where ever I go, and I don't like/am bad at remembering to take the usb cord out of the wall unit and pack with me in the morning.
Second, The usb cord isn't very long for a device that's plugged into an outlet near the ground (read: nearly every outlet in existence) and the usb cable barely reaches my desk for the phone to rest on.
Is there a decent charger that doesn't need our usb cable and has a couple extra feet in length? I don't want to get a universal charger because I don't want to fry the phone's charging system, which happened to my old Vogue. Everything I have found online is a universal type charger.
Has anyone had any experience with a good wall charger for the hero?
Thanks,
- JustPyro
You are aware that a standard USB cable works with the Hero? No need to use the one that came with the phone.
Regards,
Dave
Buy a longer USB-miniUSB lead, plug that into your home charger, and then carry the shorter one that HTC supplies around with you.
I've also found the stock one too short so I got a longer one, I also got a 3 inch long one to keep with me for tethering at work.... fits in my pocket nicely and it doesn't need to be any longer when the phone is sat next to my laptop.
These days I rarely find anywhere where I can't quickly borrow a miniUSB lead to charge my phone, they're used on so many different devices. Oh, and don't be afraid of 'universal' chargers - the Hero works with these fine, since USB is a 'universal' standard and 5v is 5v no matter where it comes from.
i bought two extra usb cables from amazon, i can't link to them since i don't have enough posts yet, but they're the "EMPIRE USB Data Cable for Verizon HTC ThunderBolt" from amazon
i intentionally looked for some that said for use with thunderbolt in case there was something different than just a micro-usb cable; however, it does not seem that these cables charge as well as the cable that ships. it takes several hours even when trying to charge with the original AC adapter using one of these cables vs the ~1.5-2 hours with the cable that comes with. When trying to use a computer or a car adapter it just holds the charge steady, if using navigation it actually drops battery while plugged in!
is there something i'm missing here? they should all be the same right? can anyone point me to some that actually work? (preferably from amazon since i have gift cards there)
I've had the same problem.
Make sure you are getting the correct voltage. I think my issues are that USB is a slower charge than outlets and the "extra" charger I had was for my bluetooth which had a lower voltage.
strobieone said:
I've had the same problem.
Make sure you are getting the correct voltage. I think my issues are that USB is a slower charge than outlets and the "extra" charger I had was for my bluetooth which had a lower voltage.
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yeah, i understand that usb from the computer will be a lower voltage, which is what i thought the issue was at first. but then i tried using the original AC adapter with the replacement usb cable and it was slower than the original cable. i don't see why the cable would make a difference, but it definitely appears to.
i downloaded the current widget and can see that just swapping between the OEM cable and the aftermarket cable the charging current is quite different. ~+600ma with the OEM and -100ma to +300ma with the aftermarket (yes at times it was LOSING charge while plugged in using the aftermarket)
roppetty said:
yeah, i understand that usb from the computer will be a lower voltage, which is what i thought the issue was at first. but then i tried using the original AC adapter with the replacement usb cable and it was slower than the original cable. i don't see why the cable would make a difference, but it definitely appears to.
i downloaded the current widget and can see that just swapping between the OEM cable and the aftermarket cable the charging current is quite different. ~+600ma with the OEM and -100ma to +300ma with the aftermarket (yes at times it was LOSING charge while plugged in using the aftermarket)
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You should never use any other cable than the one provided with your Thunderbolt. On the site it may say that it "Works" with the Thunderbolt but that doesn't mean you are going to get the performance you need out of it. I have had that problem plenty of times with older cables and sadly it keeps me buying the slightly overpriced cables from Verizon so I know that I get what I need.
roppetty said:
yeah, i understand that usb from the computer will be a lower voltage, which is what i thought the issue was at first. but then i tried using the original AC adapter with the replacement usb cable and it was slower than the original cable. i don't see why the cable would make a difference, but it definitely appears to.
i downloaded the current widget and can see that just swapping between the OEM cable and the aftermarket cable the charging current is quite different. ~+600ma with the OEM and -100ma to +300ma with the aftermarket (yes at times it was LOSING charge while plugged in using the aftermarket)
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It sounds like a defective cable. Check to see how it's charging (AC or USB). If it says USB when connected to the HTC charger, the cable is bad.
I use micro-USB cables I got from Monoprice, no problems.
mike.s said:
It sounds like a defective cable. Check to see how it's charging (AC or USB). If it says USB when connected to the HTC charger, the cable is bad.
I use micro-USB cables I got from Monoprice, no problems.
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It's not defective, it's just not designed for charging. OP, always make sure it says it is a charger cable, not a data cable, when you buy one.
WeaselWeaz said:
It's not defective, it's just not designed for charging.
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BS. You have no clue what you're talking about. The TB follows the USB charging specification.
The thing about USB (Universal serial bus) cables is that they are UNIVERSAL. It doesn't matter where you get them from, what they say, or what they are branded. They have to meet certain specs (including materials and current capacity) in order to get the USB label.
If you're having a problem, I am 99% sure the cable is not the issue.
Try out monoprice.com. I've used them for years. You can get 3 wall chargers, 5 USB cables and 2 car chargers (all 1A) for like $25, shipped.
Edit: QFT
mike.s said:
BS. You have no clue what you're talking about. The TB follows the USB charging specification.
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necosino said:
The thing about USB (Universal serial bus) cables is that they are UNIVERSAL. It doesn't matter where you get them from, what they say, or what they are branded. They have to meet certain specs (including materials and current capacity) in order to get the USB label.
If you're having a problem, I am 99% sure the cable is not the issue.
Try out monoprice.com. I've used them for years. You can get 3 wall chargers, 5 USB cables and 2 car chargers (all 1A) for like $25, shipped.
Edit: QFT
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yeah, i'm with you, that's why i posed to see if there was something i'm missing and didn't know about. i'm a computer engineer so i know a cable is a cable is a cable, which is why i was like wtf when these didn't work the same.
thanks all, at least i know i didn't miss something and these should work the same.
ive had this problem on every phone. takes forever to charge through usb.
A USB cable is a USB cable is a USB cable is a USB cable.
If you are doing seat of your pants checks on charging, etc, they are never going to be accurate. CPU usage, network usage, etc while the phone is charging will affect how quickly it does charge. The stock charger provides 1000mA to charge the device, if you are using it, or another app is doing something (downloading data, using cpu, etc) it will not charge as quickly because power is being drained as it is being charged.
There is too much that would cause a slower charge state that you can't compensate for by a seat of the pants judgement on charging.
Its all about the mA.
No, thats not a storm. Its just my Thunderbolt layin down this post.
I have the same issue. I have tried four different usb cables with the oem charger and only two charge normally, the oem and one that I had with an old phone that I put a mini to micro adapter on to fit. The other two, one actually micro one mini to micro adapted, charge extremely slow. Yes a cable is a cable, but given I use the oem charger, the only differing things are the cables.
For what it's worth, I hate to burst your bubbles but not all USB cables are equal. And, in fact, not all phones are optimized for USB cables. Just because a cable looks like a USB cable and works as a USB cable doesn't mean that it is ONLY a USB cable. There are quite a few devices out there that can be charged (albeit slowly) with a USB cable but can be charged quickly with a cable that you only think is a USB cable. Take the Nook Color, for instance. The cable that it comes with looks like a USB cable on all accounts, but it's not. I forget which (both are techniques currently used) but either it has extra pins or has a data pin repurposed to provide additional power so it can charge faster. There are quite a few devices out there that are like this, and it seems like the number of these devices just keep growing and growing.
Now these "non-USB" devices still support USB standards, and can be charged via USB standard cables. However, they are optimized for non-USB standards and charge faster with these non-USB cables.
I'm honestly not sure if our Thunderbolts are such a device or not, and if the cables that they come with are such cables. They very well could be, and what the OP claims goes along with that theory. But honestly, I simply do not know.
EDIT:
Oh, and one more example. Go take a look at the custom "USB" cables that Team Blackhat had made that can power Motorola devices in CWM without a battery in the device. This is yet another example of where a USB cable isn't a USB cable.
Having the data pins connected to 5v sources is part of the charger itself; it has nothing to do with the cable.
Every USB cable has 4 pins: two 5v+, a gnd and a 5v- if the second + and - aren't connected to a source in the charger, you will only get a 0.5A charge, and it will go slow. If the charger DOES have them connected, you get the full 1A, and a much faster charge.
If the charger or cable is anything different then it is not USB. End of story. I know some phones have extra pins in the USB location for video out, for example, but those don't interfere with the standard USB pins.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using Tapatalk
necosino said:
Every USB cable has 4 pins: two 5v+, a gnd and a 5v-
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Wrong, kinda. Check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nook_Color#USB_port
The Nook Color uses a modified connector with two depths. The first depth is compatible with micro-usb (5-conductor), while the second depth has 12 conductors. This change was made to increase the amount of power available to charge the larger battery of the Nook Color when using the included cable.
Because of this, the USB cable included with the Nook Color is physically incompatible with other devices employing standard micro-usb connectors. However, the Nook Color itself is physically compatible with standard micro-usb cords.
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Now I realize that calling this a "USB Cable" might be stretching the definition of "USB Cable" (hence the "wrong, kinda" comment) but more than likely, most people have no clue that one cable is different than another, so the end result is that, for all practical purposes, we DO have different types of USB cables.
necosino said:
Every USB cable has 4 pins: two 5v+, a gnd and a 5v- if the second + and - aren't connected to a source in the charger, you will only get a 0.5A charge, and it will go slow. If the charger DOES have them connected, you get the full 1A, and a much faster charge.
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Close, but not quite.
The pins are +5, Ground, +D and -D. All power is drawn through the +5 and Ground lines. The D lines are used for data transfer.
Per the USB specifications, a device can only draw 100 mA without enumerating (negotiating via USB, implies both ends have "intelligence"). If it can enumerate, it can negotiate for up to 500 mA (e.g. plugged into a PC which has a "driver" which recognizes the phone).
There are also specifications for DCPs (Dedicated Charging Ports). For these, the D+ and D- pins (the center two in a full sized USB connector) on the charger must be connected together with no more than 200 Ohms. These ports must provide at least 500 mA, but can provide more (micro-USB connectors are rated to 1.8 A). That's how the phone knows it can draw more than 100 mA from a "dumb" power adapter.
The TB follows the USB charging spec. Here are some things that can happen.
If it's plugged into a charger which doesn't follow the USB spec (D+ and D- not connected together, these are fairly common), it can only draw 100 mA. It doesn't matter if you bought a "2.5 Amp USB charger," if the charger doesn't follow the spec, a device which does isn't supposed to draw more than 100 mA. That's enough to charge it very slowly when the screen is off and it's idling. If the phone is doing anything, the battery will actually be discharging. This is a problem which seems to be common with many car chargers. A lot of device will ignore the 100 mA spec limit, and draw whatever they can, which is why they will charge from an improper adapter.
It's plugged into a PC with no driver - same thing.
It's plugged into a PC with a driver - it can negotiate and pull 500 mA. This is enough to charge while running in almost all cases (it might be on the edge if streaming video via 4G with GPS on, etc.) It will charge, but not as fast as it could.
For all of the above, a TB will show "USB" as the charging type.
It's plugged into a USB DCP. By spec, these must be able to deliver at least 500 mA. The AC adapter shipped with the TB is marked 1.0 A, and the phone won't draw more than 1.0 A (the most I've seen it use to charge the battery is ~800 mA). This will allows the fastest charging. With a DCP, the TB will show "AC" as the charging type.
Cables can have the same effect - all USB cables are supposed to be basically the same. But, some manufacturer's play loose with the spec. They may have "USB" cables with resistors or other changes inside which signal different things to a device. They may not have proper gauge wiring. It may just be a bad cable. Etc.
I've charged the TB with the stock AC charger using both the stock cable, and one I got from Monoprice. Works fine. I've also got a USB hub I converted to a charging station (follows the spec for USB dedicated charging ports), and that works fine with both the original and the Monoprice cables.
I have run into "flaky" cables, where they only work right if jiggled around a bit. Maybe they've been flexed too much, and have an intermittent connection. Maybe the contacts have gotten dirty. I don't worry about it, I just throw those away, you can get new ones from Monoprice for less than a buck.
Thanks Mike S (Also my initials, lol) That's what I get for posting after staying up a bit too late.
well i just ordered two micro usb cables from monoprice. we'll see if those fare any better.
the only thing i can guess is the power wires are a small gauge in the cables i bought from amazon. monoprice has two different kinds, some use 28awg for both data/power and then they have some that have 24awg for power and 28awg for data. i'm hoping that getting the bigger wire for the power will solve the issue.
also, i've been using juiceplotter and you can visibly see the slope of the charge change when switching just between these cables i bought vs the stock one when using the HTC charger so i'm pretty certain it's the cable.
roppetty said:
i've been using juiceplotter
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Battery Monitor Widget will do that, and more, including telling you whether it's charging AC or USB.
You can also check the charging type from Home Settings/About Phone/Battery/Battery Status.
I've been having a charging issue for a month or so, I'm not sure what to think about it.
Let me explain quickly, that I don't like to fill my pockets with micro usb cables or AC chargers whenever I go out. As such, I usually just acquire a few extra chargers or usb cables and just leave them where I am most likely to need them. I'm sure this is common.
Charger 1 : Samsung AC charger, came with phone. Lives by my bed.
Charger 2 : Blackberry AC charger, acquired from work. Lives in kitchen.
USB 1 : $1 cable from Amazon. Lives in the car, plugged into 12vDC lighter to USB adapter.
USB 2 : $1 cable from Amazon. Lives on my desk at home. Plugged into PC.
USB 3: Blackberry cable. Found at work. Lives at office.
On to the problem.
Somehow, Charger 1, USB 1, USB 2 seem to drain my phone. If I plug in to charge overnight and power is at 45%, when I wake up, I'm at 12% or some other number. Battery App indicates that it has been "charging" I could unplug and replug the charger a few times and then monitor the charge level, if it drops, I unplug and replug again, reboot phone perhaps, it may or may not fix the problem. Problem has gotten worse and these no longer seem to charge phone.
Charger 2 seems to have worked more consistently, but not always. Seems to have gotten worse.
USB 3 is the only cable that consistently charges without problem. It is a blackberry branded cable, much lower gauge wires (read: thicker) than the cheap $1 cables from Amazon or the Samsung OEM charger.
I've tried charging with phone off, does not seem to make a difference.
I'm running Doc Masters v6, problem was also present in v5. Since issue is same with power off, I don't believe this is a ROM issue and have not tried Odin to stock.
Is this sign of the USB port going out? Anyone tried to replace/repair microUSB or have similar experience?
About the part about replacing a microUSB port, I had to do this because my connection was getting flaky, then I messed it up altogether. I sent my phone to MobileTechVideos and they sent it back to me with the port replaced.
I may try sending it to repair. Sounds like a pretty reasonable price and quick turnaround. Dunno if I can take going back to my G1 for a week while I wait though.
Provided I don't misplace the only USB cable that will charge my phone, I should be ok for a while.
Ok, So I figured USB cables were pretty straight forward, but apparently i'm wrong, so maybe some of you can shed some light on this?
I have purchased several of those external battery type things to carry around when I need extra juice and am away from power for an extended time and I have found the following regarding cables very odd..
With the stock samsung wall charger/cable I get around 1000ma charge rate. Good...
If I take the above cable and use it with an external battery device I get 500ma.. Bad...
If I use the coiled cable that comes with the external battery I get 800ma charge rate.. Huh?
If I use the short straight cable that comes with the external battery I get 900ma charge rate.. Double Huh?
The external battery has a 1000ma charging port that I am using. (as well as a 2A)
When traveling around i'd like to bring just 1 cable instead of many cables each for a different device as these are all Micro USB and supposed to be standard, and I realized that some cables have the data pins shorted for extra power above an beyond the "standard" 500ma charge from a computer USB port.
What I don't get is how some of the cables deliver more than the normal 500ma from one device but not the other? Either the extra pins are shorted or not?
I know some of you will say who cares about 500ma or 1000ma, but I am using a 5400mah battery in my Note, and 5 hours vs 10 hours recharge time is a pretty big difference.
I just want one long cable that will charge at close to 1000ma from anything
While I don't know a great deal about USB cables, I do know that even our stock cables are cheap at best.
A year or so ago, I had an HTC cable go bad and decided to buy a high capacity cable.
I went online , to monstercable.com and found a 6 foot long brute..
It was nearly double the wire strand size, and used gold plated connections.
I could charge my phone in just under an hour ...using my stock HTC adapter.
I'm convinced that the resistance in the cable is your main issue. And a quality cable will solve it.
I paid $29.00 for the cable plus shipping, and I still use it today ....g
None of my micro USB cables will charge my E970 without a "slow charging" notification except for the cable that came with the phone. Even the venerable 6' monoprice cable isn't up to the task. HTC cords aren't cutting it, either. Does anybody have any 6'+ (ideally a 10') micro B cables that will charge the phone without slow charging? My monoprice 6' cables (i have a bunch) barely keep the phone from losing charge when serving up LTE hotspot, where as the LG cable charges it whilst doing whatever I can to suck down as much current as possible.
Also, I really don't want to short data cables. Somehow the stock LG cable does full current while maintaining data capability, and that's what I'm looking for.
DeathmonkeyGTX said:
None of my micro USB cables will charge my E970 without a "slow charging" notification except for the cable that came with the phone. Even the venerable 6' monoprice cable isn't up to the task. HTC cords aren't cutting it, either. Does anybody have any 6'+ (ideally a 10') micro B cables that will charge the phone without slow charging? My monoprice 6' cables (i have a bunch) barely keep the phone from losing charge when serving up LTE hotspot, where as the LG cable charges it whilst doing whatever I can to suck down as much current as possible.
Also, I really don't want to short data cables. Somehow the stock LG cable does full current while maintaining data capability, and that's what I'm looking for.
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OEM LG cables can be found almost anywhere used so that shouldn't be a problem. Otherwise, you may be looking at the wrong end of the cable. I have a spare tablet plug charger that puts out up to 2 amps and that seems to be what works best for me no matter what the cable. You might want to look for one of those instead of just buying more cables.
FWIW....I had the opposite result. The cable and adapter which has been near my bedside for the last year (for my HTC EVO 4G) kept giving me the slow charging notification on my me LGOG. If I used the LG adapter and cable all was well, but it was shorter than I wanted. I changed out the adapter and kept the older long cable and still got the slow charging notification. It seems most of my existing cables have this issue...even when using the new LG adapter.
I have not looked into power capacities on the usb cables since I charge each night and don't need to recharge during the day. Didn't expect there to be a throughput difference, but the new LG cable does seem to be different.
Sent from my LG-E970
What is the part number for the oem charger and USB cable?
I use a Samsung charging cable with my LG plug and it charges regularly. I love the Samsung cable because the mirco-usb plug is asymmetric so I always plug it in correctly the first time, every time. Even in the dark. The cable is pretty long too. I don't use the Samsung plug because it only outputs 0.7A though.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0049IE70I/ref=wms_ohs_product
I also use a cheapo USB male to female extender that I got off eBay at my gf's place and it charges just fine too.
I'm having the opposite problem, I have had my phone for a month, out of no where the original charger is throwing up slow charging icon. Wierd
Sent from my LG-E970 using xda app-developers app
ripbabey said:
I'm having the opposite problem, I have had my phone for a month, out of no where the original charger is throwing up slow charging icon. Wierd
Sent from my LG-E970 using xda app-developers app[/QU
Same problem here, just started about a week ago. It doesn't matter what cable I use it keeps switching between slow charge and regular charge.It charges without problems when the phone is off though. Also when I plug my phone into my pc it keeps disconnecting every few minutes. I'm starting to think its a problem with the phone itself and not the charger or cord as they work fine with all my other devices just not the Optimus G
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I use all sorts of cables and so far the only time I see "Slow charging" is when it's plugged into my laptop or one of my USB hub. Those are the only times I could narrow mine down to.
In the car I use cheapo monoprice cable and charger, in the bedroom it's using the charger and cable from my HTC inspire. By my PC I have a Belkin 6 plug 2 usb wall charger installed with the stock cable, and at the office an iPhone 1G wall plug. I don't think I have even plugged in the oem charger that came with it.