Some micro USB cables charge faster than others, why? - Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I made myself a custom car dock for my GS3 so I could use my Titan Kraken case modified to take an extended battery. The setup works great, but I've noticed something very strange. I have an NFC tag in the dock to launch Carhome Ultra. I was noticing that on my 30 drive home from work, my battery (which is charging in the new dock) would discharge about 2%. I was using a generic micro USB cable plugged into my Ravpower DC adapter, which maxes out at 2.1 amps, which is plenty. As an experiment, yesterday on the way home, the first 15 minutes I had the generic cable plugged in. After it dropped a percentage point, I unplugged the generic cable and plugged in a cable I got with a Mophie that I had. The last 15 minutes of the trip it went up 2 percentage points. Keep in mind, same DC adapter, same phone & battery and same apps running.
Can anyone explain why this is? I have experienced the same drop with at least 2 other cables. The Mophie cable and one other that I have will 'keep up' with the power demands and actually charge the battery too.
Just wondering what I should look for when buying USB cables in the future.

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[Q] loses 450mAh while using GPS

Has anyone noticed that phone does not charge while using GPS. The charging indicator is on but when I look at the stats it says discharging at -450 mAh. Is this the way it is and if so, is there a fix? 1 hr 42 m with 73% display on battery use and 43% charge remaining, but was plugged in the entire time while driving under an hour home. I am using the same Motorola high performance charger that every other phone is charged fully even when using GPS.
are you absolutely sure the charger is giving the full 1A?
What sensor app are you using to see the battery discharging?
Mine charges normally with gps on.
Sent from my HTC
LTE 4G Rezound
I was curious so I tested this with "Battery Monitor" I have it plugged into my laptop currently which only gives +500mA. and not the +1A that you get from a wall/car/high power usb port.
the app is showing +257mA with GPS on and functioning normally.
So charging good here... Might be something with your motorola charger? It could have a sensor in it to detect 'trickle charging mode' that is improperly engaging when connected to the HTC causing the charger to put out a minimal 'sustain only' level of amperage.
good luck!
you need a charger putting out 1A ... most car chargers put out 500mA so find a good one off monoprice
Here's what I'm doing. I have a Belkin 2.1A(2100mAh) USB car charger dongle. The problem is, once i connect the USB cable to it the phone registers it as "Charging USB" and does notcharge anywhere near as fast(power-wise) as if the phone was registering it "Charging AC". I'm not keen on using a power inverter to get the full AC charge so instead i am going to go pick up a cheap micro USB cable, splice it open, then disconnect the data wires(green & white ones) & then tape it back up. By disconnecting the data wires, the phone will no longer think it's a USB connection and then charge via AC, getting the best charge possible.
that should work ^ if thats the problem
I've found that using the included USB cable with a Belkin dual port USB car charger allows the phone to charge as if it were plugged in to a wall. I'm guessing the included cable has a different layout than standard Micro USB cables.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
dawynkoop said:
I've found that using the included USB cable with a Belkin dual port USB car charger allows the phone to charge as if it were plugged in to a wall. I'm guessing the included cable has a different layout than standard Micro USB cables.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm guessing that I have the same belkin dual port (2.1amp and 1amp ports) and the best I've seen out of it is about 250mah charging. This is using the supplied usb/micro hdmi whatever cord for the phone.
I have seen discharge rates off the charger of 750mah which is the highest I've seen on any phone. I'm guessing if you are using the nav on your phone with the screen on, it will probably still be using battery while plugged in.
thatsricci said:
I was curious so I tested this with "Battery Monitor" I have it plugged into my laptop currently which only gives +500mA. and not the +1A that you get from a wall/car/high power usb port.
the app is showing +257mA with GPS on and functioning normally.
So charging good here... Might be something with your motorola charger? It could have a sensor in it to detect 'trickle charging mode' that is improperly engaging when connected to the HTC causing the charger to put out a minimal 'sustain only' level of amperage.
good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Possible, but says AC charging in Battery Monitor widget. I will post a few pics.
Here are a few Pics. you can see a couple of things.
-Charger rated at 950 MA out. and no other phone I have owned lost a charge while driving including TBolt, Charge, Bionic.
-Shows as AC charging
- Spikes of good charging detected
Put on Normal power mode today on the way in. live wallpapers did not wrok, just flickered. 3G on vice 4G. Battery still went down, but above 90% on 40 minute drive in. Screen low but on. Bluetooth speaker.
Maybe it is the iBolt car mount. See review online. will try without dock this afternoon on my way home.
-----------------------------------------------------
User: marc frederick, Nov 25, 2011
Pros: Options for different backs
Cons: Does not charge the phone while it is in use
Try playing pandora when the phone is 100 charged. After 45 minutes on the car mount (and yes it is plugged into a charger and all indicatros show it is charging) and the charge level is 84. Using the same charger but plugged into the phone, playing Pandora for 45 min starting charge level 68. Ending charge level is 100.
Yeah, something is telling that charger to not give you full juice
Rezound
ok, drove home off the window mount and just on charger, all same except full brightness on screen.40 minute drive. came up 7% battery vice down from 100 to 43%. nedd a few trials to confirm, but looks like window mount is throttleing juice.
thatsricci said:
are you absolutely sure the charger is giving the full 1A?
What sensor app are you using to see the battery discharging?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have seen spurts up to 913 with GPS off and screen just turned on. Using battery monitor widget. Not on window mount, just charger.
I can confirm. The car dock will not charge your phone atleast not with the screen on and nothing else running but battery monitor widget.
I bought one and tested it extensively yesterday. I used a Verizon 1a charger and a generic 1a charger. With the dock and both chargerz the phone DIScharged(as in LOST battery power) at between 100ma and 200ma. Without the dock using the same chargers and changing nothing on the phone the phone charged at between 50a and 300ma.
I did the test several times to eliminate any random things the phone may have been doing in the background.
After doing that controlled test I played with it some more and no matter what I did I could not get a positive charge with the dock attached even in airplane mode with the screen backlight at minimum. Without the dock using the same chargers i ran Pandora and a police scanner both outputting through the phone speaker, gps, wifi, mobile all on, and screen on auto and still had a very small positive charge.
Moral of the story DO NOT BUY THIS DOCK unless you dont mind it just being a piece of plastic that holds your phone in place.
I wonder if there's a quick mod to it to get it working right. Like the soldering of the USB chargers I've seen.
Rezound
I just went ahead and bought an extra battery so I wouldn't have to charge in the car. Only takes 20 seconds to pop in a new battery.
Can charge both batts while I sleep at night.
Sent from my Galaxy Tab 10.1
I was looking for a high current charger for my Android tablet and there was a review that talked about compatibility. Some of the high cap chargers appear to be designed for Apple products and the pin wiring is subtly different. So, on some non-Apple products, the charge is only recognized as a lower power, 500mah charger and the users reported that some devices would normally charge and others would not. Some of the dual port charges also split the power. The 2.1 amp port and the 1 amp port cannot be used at the same time, depending on what is plugged into them. This was also brand specific. I ordered the Amazon Basics 2.1 amp dual charger and will see how that works. I have noticed a difference in charge rates between my Motorola charger left over from the Blackberry and the Verizon OEM one. The VZW one is faster.
I do the same thing I have been doing since my Windows phone days.
I use the AC cord plugged into a 12v to AC adaptor(screen set to 100% bright and no timeout).
I drove 6 hours last week ruuning Google Maps/GPS & my battery was 100% charged when I got to my destination.
~John

[Q] charging drains my battery

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.

Help understanding USB cables...

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

Aftermarket chargers question

Since I got my note 3 I've been charging it with my old AC chargers I bought on ebay which is a generic micro-usb charger (I got a couple of them laying around the appartment). I use my old chargers often because the samsung USB cable which was provided with the phone is always pluged into my desktop computer, and I didn't want to go trough the hassle of moving the cable all around the house to charge my phone.
Well anyway, so far I've notice charging times were pretty long(6-8hours), but I shrugged it off because I simply thought a bigger battery require longer to charge. But this weekend I slept off at my in-laws and I brought my samsung cable and AC adapter. I looked up with better battery stats and notice the charge time was around 3times as fast. (2hours or so for a 100% charge). Dammmn!
So why am I getting long charges with my ebay chargers?
Is it because they are cheap china product?
Is it because they don't have the USB3.0 port?
I'm thinking the USB3.0 has nothing to do with charging times if it's pluged with an AC adapter right? So my long charge time must be because of cheap products? Ok then, but if I want to buy additional chargers, or even a cradle for my bedside table. How can I know if they will have the best charge time? Am I forced to buy samsung branded stuff just to make sure?
Cause I'd be interested in something like this :
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/For-Samsung-Galaxy-Note-2-3-Cradle-Sync-Dock-Mode-2-1-amp-Otterbox-Fits-/251362752408?pt=US_Cell_Phone_PDA_Chargers&hash=item3a86633798&_uhb=1
but I'm not gonna buy it if it takes double/triple charging time..
Patbach said:
Since I got my note 3 I've been charging it with my old AC chargers I bought on ebay which is a generic micro-usb charger (I got a couple of them laying around the appartment).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Note 3 should charge in just over two hours with either USB 2 or 3 cables. If you download https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.abmantis.galaxychargingcurrent.free&hl=en that will tell you the charging current. It should be 1200mA with the screen on and 1800mA with it off (trick is turn the screen off for 10s then back on and refresh and you should see 1800mA).
As long as the charger can deliver 1800mA and you are using a decent quality cable that should be all you need. Plugged into a USB port you'll only see 450mA on either USB 2 or 3.
Usually the ones that charge this quickly have an output of 2 amps. That is the output of the charger that came with the phone.
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note III.
Prevous Owner/Hacker of... numerous other devices!
CraigAmey said:
The Note 3 should charge in just over two hours with either USB 2 or 3 cables. If you download https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.abmantis.galaxychargingcurrent.free&hl=en that will tell you the charging current. It should be 1200mA with the screen on and 1800mA with it off (trick is turn the screen off for 10s then back on and refresh and you should see 1800mA).
As long as the charger can deliver 1800mA and you are using a decent quality cable that should be all you need. Plugged into a USB port you'll only see 450mA on either USB 2 or 3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow thanks there lots of useful stuff

Oukitel K10000 Max Charging issue

Hi,
So I've got a brand new phone very recently: less than 7days ago.:
I'm overall very satisfied, the battery holds charge for 3 days of normal use etc, but I'm having an issue with the charging;
I'm using Oukitel's OEM Cable and wall adapter and get approx 25% with 8-9h of charging. It's worth noting that the "flash charge" worked the first time, getting me from 30% all the way up to 60 in maybe 2h (supposed to be a ........9V2A/12V 1.5A charger), I then unplugged it to get to work. Data pins do work well, I'm able to transfer files and the phone recognises if it's plugged over AC or USB. I'm having the exact same speeds as my 5V 2.3A wall adapter, so i'm thinking the flash charging doesnt work at all anymore.
I have factory reset the phone 3 times now and unplugged the wall adapter for exended period of times to empty capacitors.
I'm really out of ideas and don't really want to send it back because of the cost and time (almost took a month to get there!)
I've sent a message to the support a couple days ago but no answer yet, I think it's hopeless. Anyone having better ideas than me?
I'd really appreciate ANY feedback, even if 20% get me through the day easily.
Thanks for your time.
PS: The phone doesnt heat up AT ALL while "charging" with any of my adapters, including OEM, and i'm having no other type C cable to test with.
I guess the Charger's data pins could be the issue, I have taped data pins of my usb cord and the phone thinks it's charging over AC everywhere, I don't know what to do to verify this though.
(edit) By touching the USB cord, i've noticed window's disconnect sound, I think the cable could be not stable enough and "disconnect/reconnect" with the charger often enough that the flash charge doesnt kick in, I'll try different positions tonight and keep this updated.
OUKITEL K10000 max
That was the cable, bought a fast charge adapter and cable and it now works. Using new cable on old charger works. To anyone having the same issue, just buy a new cable. z

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