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Greetings Devs.
I found this software which promises to charge i products faster. So why not the nook? I know it works with the ipad/iphone/itouch, but not the NC (or anything else for that matter). I was looking in the ini file and managed to match up the class id of each product, and then I found the id for the NC and added this line:
HKLM, System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{3f966bd9-fa04-4ec5-991c-d326973b5128}, LowerFilters, %REG_MULTI_SZ_APPEND%, AiCharger
To both the install and uninstall filter. However, I cannot tell if it pushes extra power to just the ipad, or if it does to all of them.
Ideas? Tried digging around the sys file in hex, but nothing found. I think it would be nice if we could boost output a bit
USB Standard is 500mAh. If you somehow force your port to deliver more power you could fry it.
khaytsus said:
USB Standard is 500mAh. If you somehow force your port to deliver more power you could fry it.
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Well yeah, but no one is at least curious if this could help out at all? Maybe hardware manufactures cap it @ 5V, .5A and they override it? Maybe it provides a steadier draw somehow? Maybe they draw more power from the rails for powered-usb slots?
ace7196 said:
Well yeah, but no one is at least curious if this could help out at all? Maybe hardware manufactures cap it @ 5V, .5A and they override it? Maybe it provides a steadier draw somehow? Maybe they draw more power from the rails for powered-usb slots?
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Charging more than 500ma through the USB hardware is bad.
Lithium batteries charge at full amperage over the entire charge cycle, and just turn off the charge when they hit a certain voltage (~3.6v per cell on lipo IIRC?)
I don't think there is anything you can do from the computer side unless it tells the device itself to pull the full 500ma when it would try to pull less (for fear of overloading a USB interface, as there are usually 2 ports per USB port on a computer (IIRC.)
IMO, just use a powered USB hub?
Winmo custom roms had a quick-charge feature built in to a lot of them.
I don't think anyone fried anything.
This thread belongs in QnA though unless the op is actually developing something.
Did any naysayers even bother to look at the link? It is for Asus brand mobos only. And only certain ones are supported. Surely Asus isn't going to release an app that would fry the port...
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
lafester said:
Winmo custom roms had a quick-charge feature built in to a lot of them.
I don't think anyone fried anything.
This thread belongs in QnA though unless the op is actually developing something.
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Thinking of developing the software for it...
Syco54645 said:
Did any naysayers even bother to look at the link? It is for Asus brand mobos only. And only certain ones are supported. Surely Asus isn't going to release an app that would fry the port...
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
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As pointed out here, this is not JUST simply software. This is the software portion of a hardware feature on Asus motherboards. The boards have a separate controller in them that allows more amperage to specific USB ports for the purpose of charging particular, high amperage items (ipad, iphone) only. As also stated here, the USB standard is a fixed 5V .5A and this isn't something that can simply be modified via software as the controllers themselves would have problems managing higher draws (not really the physical ports).
The only application this would have would be to users with those specific boards IF the software can be hacked to allow that amperage on the Nook. It may also be worth mentioning that the Nook's internal connector is different and the higher power provided by the wall charger is not over the standard USB VCC pins on the connector. I'm not familiar enough with the wiring inside the device to say for certain, but the standard charge connections from USB may be a different path than the wall charger on a charge controller.
Quick Edit: This actually doesn't appear to be the same as their hardware specific version, which most likely makes it even less useful. It looks like this enables charging in multiple standby modes and most likely forces the port to full amperage; which is typically only done after the device negotiates with the system, initial port power is much lower. My device manager shows the Nook pulling it's full 500mA already, so unless you're trying to do a lot of charging while your computer is in standby, this isn't gonna be of much use.
Edit 2: Quick bounce around the internet shows this app as causing a bit of instability and BSODs. May not be everyone, so if you're still testing this let us know if you're stable.
Infraded said:
As pointed out here, this is not JUST simply software. This is the software portion of a hardware feature on Asus motherboards. The boards have a separate controller in them that allows more amperage to specific USB ports for the purpose of charging particular, high amperage items (ipad, iphone) only. As also stated here, the USB standard is a fixed 5V .5A and this isn't something that can simply be modified via software as the controllers themselves would have problems managing higher draws (not really the physical ports).
The only application this would have would be to users with those specific boards IF the software can be hacked to allow that amperage on the Nook. It may also be worth mentioning that the Nook's internal connector is different and the higher power provided by the wall charger is not over the standard USB VCC pins on the connector. I'm not familiar enough with the wiring inside the device to say for certain, but the standard charge connections from USB may be a different path than the wall charger on a charge controller.
Quick Edit: This actually doesn't appear to be the same as their hardware specific version, which most likely makes it even less useful. It looks like this enables charging in multiple standby modes and most likely forces the port to full amperage; which is typically only done after the device negotiates with the system, initial port power is much lower. My device manager shows the Nook pulling it's full 500mA already, so unless you're trying to do a lot of charging while your computer is in standby, this isn't gonna be of much use.
Edit 2: Quick bounce around the internet shows this app as causing a bit of instability and BSODs. May not be everyone, so if you're still testing this let us know if you're stable.
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You have to use the nook's cable to quick charge. I believe it's the same on the USB side but different on the NC side.
Thanks Infraded for the helpful reply. I did a quick search and it seemed it caused more trouble than it's worth (BSOD, etc). I'll dig deeper.
I had the same issues with my iPad. If your motherboard vendor supports it, they have a BIOS update that adjusts the USB ports to charge things like the Nook and iPad.
khaytsus said:
USB Standard is 500mAh. If you somehow force your port to deliver more power you could fry it.
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Some dell laptops (my 5400 has it) have an option in bios for USB Power Share, where they allow USB devices which know if they are connected to to wall chargers or USB plugs to charge as if they were on wall chargers.
Its epic win.
In the NC teardown, didn't they discover that the Nook Color actually uses a custom micro USB connector which is backwards compatible with the standard? It goes on to say that the NC charges only through a pair of 12V pins on the USB cable that is provided with it out of the box, and in fact when you connect your NC to your computer it is *not charging at all* even if your ROM says it is. This is consistent with my experience where the battery only goes down when plugged into my PC.
Needless to say you would need some pretty serious hardware hacks to get your PC pumping 12 volts to the USB cable.
mthe0ry said:
In the NC teardown, didn't they discover that the Nook Color actually uses a custom micro USB connector which is backwards compatible with the standard? It goes on to say that the NC charges only through a pair of 12V pins on the USB cable that is provided with it out of the box, and in fact when you connect your NC to your computer it is *not charging at all* even if your ROM says it is. This is consistent with my experience where the battery only goes down when plugged into my PC.
Needless to say you would need some pretty serious hardware hacks to get your PC pumping 12 volts to the USB cable.
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Um, no. The wall charger puts out 5 volts @ 1.9 Amps. Take a close look at the bottom of your own charger...specs are right there. Supposedly, the nook will only charge when the amperage is at least 1.9 amps. In practice it will charge as much as can minus the current it is drawing...usually more than a standard port can put out(.5A).
ie standard port = .5A
Nook draw is ~ .45A
total for charging is .05A....barely noticeable or in worst case not even enough to keep up.
Not to mention that many ports shut down entirely if they think they are sending out to much current.
send 12 volts into your nook and you will have found one of the few ways to brick it
edit: what these"hacks" for the usb ports do is raise the limiting on them to higher values..say 5 volts @ 1A or rarely 1.5A
Two of SMSC's family of transceivers supports up to 1.5A from dedicated charger ports.
Furthermore, I'm charging my nook color from my netbook right now with a standard non-OEM usb cable. So I don't think you need the standard one
Some basic info here:
http://www.smsc.com/media/Downloads/Product_Brochures/usb333x_334xfs.pdf
ace7196 said:
Two of SMSC's family of transceivers supports up to 1.5A from dedicated charger ports.
Furthermore, I'm charging my nook color from my netbook right now with a standard non-OEM usb cable. So I don't think you need the standard one
Some basic info here:
http://www.smsc.com/media/Downloads/Product_Brochures/usb333x_334xfs.pdf
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Yeah, I'm thinking that the extra pins in the stock cable are mostly for the led in there. Going back to work monday and ordering a spare for teardown purposes with my first check. I'll let you all know exactly what I find out.
mthe0ry said:
In the NC teardown, didn't they discover that the Nook Color actually uses a custom micro USB connector which is backwards compatible with the standard? It goes on to say that the NC charges only through a pair of 12V pins on the USB cable that is provided with it out of the box, and in fact when you connect your NC to your computer it is *not charging at all* even if your ROM says it is. This is consistent with my experience where the battery only goes down when plugged into my PC.
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Except that it does charge on ANY source. If the NC is running and active it uses MORE CURRENT THAN 500mAh, so it won't charge any, but it's still getting 500mAh of juice.
If you turn off the screen, it'll slowly charge.... Around 10%/hr.
And I suspect that the 1.9A from the stock charger+cable comes from all 3 pairs, the standard pair + the two extra in the B&N cable, but it's possible that the stock cable only charges the extra two pairs. Regardless, it does charge from a standard cable on any USB port. The B&N ROM does not show charging unless it's charging at 1.9A.
ace7196 said:
Two of SMSC's family of transceivers supports up to 1.5A from dedicated charger ports.
Furthermore, I'm charging my nook color from my netbook right now with a standard non-OEM usb cable. So I don't think you need the standard one
Some basic info here:
http://www.smsc.com/media/Downloads/Product_Brochures/usb333x_334xfs.pdf
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I can also confirm nook will charge off a standard USB (at least while I've got CM7), using the stock BN cable, and definitely faster than 10%/hour. Have been doing so off my work computer for a while now. I recall that this did NOT work while the NC was virgin unrooted, however, although occasionally there'd be this weird "bump" in batt level to 100% when first connecting. Have not seen that effect since going to CM7.
last night as a test I let my nook go to 10% remaining. Then I used my daughters LG Ally cable on the stock charger for 1 hour. It charged to 24%. Then I drained back to 10% and used the stock cable for 1 hour...result?....44%. There IS something special with the stock cable. I don't think there is any magic to the charger other than the amperage.
deadbot1 said:
last night as a test I let my nook go to 10% remaining. Then I used my daughters LG Ally cable on the stock charger for 1 hour. It charged to 24%. Then I drained back to 10% and used the stock cable for 1 hour...result?....44%. There IS something special with the stock cable. I don't think there is any magic to the charger other than the amperage.
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Uh.. Yeah. As said a hundred times, the cable has 4 extra pins for charging on the MicroUSB side.
I spend a lot of time tethering and just using my phone with the charger on... But if I spend too much time on it the phone still dies... I look at my battery usage and even though it IS charging the graph is still going down... Any word?
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
Do you have it plugged into the wall or through the USB port?
The phone uses more mAh than the USB port is capable of providing if you are doing almost anything with the phone. The wall charger can have a hard time keeping up at times too.
Thaxx said:
I spend a lot of time tethering and just using my phone with the charger on... But if I spend too much time on it the phone still dies... I look at my battery usage and even though it IS charging the graph is still going down... Any word?
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
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I had the same problem with my EVO and the issue seems to still exist on the EVO 3D. Essentially, as posted above, when plugged into a computer, the phone charges at a lower mA than it does when plugged into the wall. Tethering uses both the WiFi radio and the 3G/4G radio which consume more power than the charging is able to supply, hence you'll see the phone slowly die even though it is charging.
I haven't really seen a good long term solution for this. I know, in an attempt to mitigate power consumption, the CPU can be down clocked and ran at a lower speed (SetCPU common App used for this purpose and free on XDA), but not sure how significant the impact it will have on the power drain.
It really would be interesting to see some detailed stats on how much power each radio in the EVO 3D consumes when used alone and when used together.
Hope that helps!
Thanks both of you but I do charge it though the ac adapter... Its gotten to the point where I got the screen all the way down and only using 3g so it barely charges... I can't even use netflix that way
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
Thaxx said:
I spend a lot of time tethering and just using my phone with the charger on... But if I spend too much time on it the phone still dies... I look at my battery usage and even though it IS charging the graph is still going down... Any word?
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Are you wifi or USB tethering?
Because wifi tethering will chew through battery like nobody's business. When tethering through wifi, you are operating both the 3G/4G radio as well as the wifi radio, and doing so pretty extensively. To boot, the 3G/4G reception where you are may not be ideal, so the radio has to try harder to maintain a signal.
I've had two other smartphones that I tethered daily with, and in both cases the battery would slowly drain even while plugged into the stock charger for the phone, so that by the end of my workday the battery would be around 30-50% despite being plugged in the whole time.
You may want to get a 3rd-party charger with a higher mA rating (something in the 1500mA range), which may help.
saltorio said:
Are you wifi or USB tethering?
Because wifi tethering will chew through battery like nobody's business. When tethering through wifi, you are operating both the 3G/4G radio as well as the wifi radio, and doing so pretty extensively. To boot, the 3G/4G reception where you are may not be ideal, so the radio has to try harder to maintain a signal.
I've had two other smartphones that I tethered daily with, and in both cases the battery would slowly drain even while plugged into the stock charger for the phone, so that by the end of my workday the battery would be around 30-50% despite being plugged in the whole time.
You may want to get a 3rd-party charger with a higher mA rating (something in the 1500mA range), which may help.
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The charging unit on the phone will down grade to one amp even if you get a 1500 ma charger. I have a iPad charger rated st 2.1 amps and still charges as fast as the stock charger. This is built in protection. I may be wrong..
life64x said:
The charging unit on the phone will down grade to one amp even if you get a 1500 ma charger. I have a iPad charger rated st 2.1 amps and still charges as fast as the stock charger. This is built in protection. I may be wrong..
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Ah, that's good to know.
ive never had a phone that keep keep up with charging while wifi tethering. 4g phones are especially bad because of the wimax radio
Success100 said:
ive never had a phone that keep keep up with charging while wifi tethering. 4g phones are especially bad because of the wimax radio
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It kinda makes sense...if WiFi tethering and mobile network on easily will exceed the normal thereshold of over 1 amp...hence battery gets hot and chrarger is working overtime in trying to power the phone with every thing going on and charging the battery with ma usage exceeding regulated power. I never thought of it like that.to bad I cannot diet this way...
life64x said:
It kinda makes sense...if WiFi tethering and mobile network on easily will exceed the normal thereshold of over 1 amp...hence battery gets hot and chrarger is working overtime in trying to power the phone with every thing going on and charging the battery with ma usage exceeding regulated power. I never thought of it like that.to bad I cannot diet this way...
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Yeah, it's a similar issue to what can happen is using Google Navigation:
GPS + constant data + screen + graphic rendering = drain
I picked up a 1A car charger just to help combat that, though apparently Google is working on this very issue themselves:
http://www.google.vu/support/forum/...n&fid=4cc9c887d2e027120004a7f6a622a7be&hltp=2
life64x said:
The charging unit on the phone will down grade to one amp even if you get a 1500 ma charger. I have a iPad charger rated st 2.1 amps and still charges as fast as the stock charger. This is built in protection. I may be wrong..
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I don't think that's right. I bought a rapid charger off Ebay and definitely notice the difference from the other Samsung charger I was using. Maybe the Samsung was only rated less than 1 amp, I don't know, but this charger will take my phone from under 50% to about 95% in the half hour drive to work.
I had the same problem as the OP. Running the GPS and Nav apps for the duration of the trip would leave my phone with less juice than when I started. After the new power cord it's a few percentage points higher at least.
I bought this one. For $3 bucks I figured I couldn't go wrong since it was a U.S. seller and had high feedback.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300518663951&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
ScottSNX said:
I don't think that's right. I bought a rapid charger off Ebay and definitely notice the difference from the other Samsung charger I was using. Maybe the Samsung was only rated less than 1 amp, I don't know, but this charger will take my phone from under 50% to about 95% in the half hour drive to work.
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Depends o the amperage of the charger being used. Many older chargers and stock chargers from all but the most recent phones are in the 500mA to 750mA range. The data on the charger should list it's output.
A lot of USB car chargers need to be modded to get the full power out of them. They basically tell the phone that it's connected to a computer and to only take ~500mA. When you mod them, the phone will pull ~1A.
There's a thread somewhere around that talks about it and shows how to do it, I think it's in the EVO 4G forum. Basically, you short out pin 2 and 3 so the phone knows it's not connected to a computer.
Night·Fire said:
A lot of USB car chargers need to be modded to get the full power out of them. They basically tell the phone that it's connected to a computer and to only take ~500mA. When you mod them, the phone will pull ~1A.
There's a thread somewhere around that talks about it and shows how to do it, I think it's in the EVO 4G forum. Basically, you short out pin 2 and 3 so the phone knows it's not connected to a computer.
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I thought that had to do with getting iPhone chargers to work on the every other device on Earth? Something about Apple speccing the ground differently or something?
I know that with the vast majority of older iPhone-intended chargers, they simply won't charge any other USB device I've tried (my old Xperia X10, my mom's Sony eReader, the EVO 3D, my friend's Samsung Galaxy). If they were simply being limited to 500mA, they'd still charge, just not particularly fast.
-edit-
OK, I think I found the issue (from Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus):
Non-standard devices
Some USB devices require more power than is permitted by the specifications for a single port. This is common for external hard and optical disc drives, and generally for devices with motors or lamps. Such devices can use an external power supply, which is allowed by the standard, or use a dual-input USB cable, one input of which is used for power and data transfer, the other solely for power, which makes the device a non-standard USB device. Some external hubs may, in practice, supply more power to USB devices than required by the specification but a standard-compliant device may not depend on this.
Some non-standard USB devices use the 5 V power supply without participating in a proper USB network which negotiates power draws with the host interface. These are usually referred to as USB decorations. The typical example is a USB-powered keyboard light; fans, mug coolers and heaters, battery chargers, miniature vacuum cleaners, and even miniature lava lamps are available. In most cases, these items contain no digital circuitry, and thus are not Standard compliant USB devices at all. This can theoretically cause problems with some computers, such as drawing too much current and damaging circuitry; prior to the Battery Charging Specification, the USB specification required that devices connect in a low-power mode (100 mA maximum) and communicate their current requirements to the host, which would then permit the device to switch into high-power mode.
In addition to limiting the total average power used by the device, the USB specification limits the inrush current (i.e., that used to charge decoupling and filter capacitors) when the device is first connected. Otherwise, connecting a device could cause problems with the host's internal power. Also, USB devices are required to automatically enter ultra low-power suspend mode when the USB host is suspended. Nevertheless, many USB host interfaces do not cut off the power supply to USB devices when they are suspended since resuming from the suspended state would become a lot more complicated if they did.
There are also devices at the host end that do not support negotiation, such as battery packs that can power USB-powered devices; some provide power, while others pass through the data lines to a host PC. USB power adapters convert utility power and/or another power source (e.g., a car's electrical system) to run attached devices. Some of these devices can supply up to 1 A of current. Without negotiation, the powered USB device is unable to inquire if it is allowed to draw 100 mA, 500 mA, or 1 A.
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There's also a good discussion on it here: http://superuser.com/questions/7765...connected-with-my-pc-to-charge-my-droid-phone
I've searched high and low, and can't believe it's not a bigger issue on our device ( and many other deivces).
I have usb 3.0 ports (spec says 900mA max draw). So I should someway be able to achieve these higher rates of charging...
Is the issue the rezound not asking for more from the USB Host? Or is the issue my usb host driver not giving more?
I'm led to believe it's the rezound...
It can't stream 4g, and play full screen video and at least maintain it's charge off of USB.
I really want to resolve this.
The Rezound is a USB 2 device. As such, it can't request more than 5 USB 2.0 unit loads (=500 mA). It will draw more from a proper USB charging port.
Someone in another thread turned me on to this cable:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VYBCAY/ref=oh_o00_s00_i02_details
It forces an AC charge on chargers that were showing up as USB (i.e. iphone charger). I imagine it'll do the same thing from any USB port... I believe it shorts the center pins within the cable.
It's sort of an expensive cable... but I plan on getting at least one more. Too many cheap chargers don't give AC, and this phone NEEDS it.
That's not how USB works (if properly implemented). A USB 2.0 port shouldn't deliver more than 100 mA, unless the attached device enumerates (has an actual USB conversation), in which case it may deliver up to 500 mA. The numbers are a bit higher for USB 3.0, but same concept. That cable (which violates USB specs) makes the phone think it's connected to a charging port. It would work fine with a real USB charger (but isn't a good idea, anyway). It will cause the phone to try and draw more than a USB data port can deliver. If used with a USB device which follows the spec, it will be worse than a regular data cable, and the device will only provide 100 mA. Best case, the phone might charge a bit faster than with a regular USB cable, worst case, you screw up the device you're charging from.
Better to just get a proper charger which follows the spec. You can get an OEM 1A charger through Amazon for like $7, cable included. Why screw around with questionable, non-standard stuff?
mike.s said:
The Rezound is a USB 2 device. As such, it can't request more than 5 USB 2.0 unit loads (=500 mA). It will draw more from a proper USB charging port.
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If this is the case, then I get it.. and I'll ask...
what's taking so long for these devices to be usb 3.0 compliant? it's not like the standard was set yesterday
ah well... another year or three i guess!
thatsricci said:
If this is the case, then I get it.. and I'll ask...
what's taking so long for these devices to be usb 3.0 compliant? it's not like the standard was set yesterday
ah well... another year or three i guess!
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It is because they haven't fully utilized the speeds of USB 2.0 by any means what so ever.
That and USB 3.0 is, in fact, fairly new, and with all new technologies it costs money.
Your $300, or $200 depending on when you bought it, phone would probably be an extra $100 - $200 with USB 3.0 technology, which itself is really only like USB 2.0.1 speeds at best.
Sent from the resounding Rezound
USB 2.0 does 480 Mbps "raw," real world, closer to 320Mbps (40 MBps).
That's faster than LTE can provide, and it's faster than a Class 10 SD card, which are the two fastest/most data intensive uses for USB on a phone. There's absolutely no need to add the cost of USB 3.0 to a phone at this time.
Charging when plugged into a PC is a convenience. Use a dedicated USB charger if you want performance. You can get such a charger, either AC or car, for less than $10. There's simply no problem here.
Speed was never what I was interested in, but charging for sure is.
It's convenient, especially when I'm on the go to use my laptop (which has an extended battery) and my phone at the same time (tethering/streaming) and it's nicer if the phone could charge/maintain it's battery level while doing what I need it to do! Even a dedicated charging port on the laptop that can power while the laptop is turned off should be able to give me max charge, so when I plug it in and drive down the road I get a good charge instead of a so so usb charge.
I'm more than willing to pay for this convenience I do carry the wall wart charger in my bag too for those times when I do need a fast charge, but it's silly to me that I need to use two plugs at the coffee shop... I suppose I could also carry an ac plug splitter, but yeah, now i'm just carrying more with me!
Edit: case closed though, now I understand why we can't get max charge from usb 3.0 ports, because it's the device specs that are limited. Stay Calm, carry on, I'll live!
I have four chargers that follow the same basic design, plug-in socket at one end, USB port at the other so you have to use the USB-data cable to charge the phone. I have one for my son's Sony Xperia Go, my ASUS Transformer Infinity tablet, my old HTC Wildfire and my even older Sony Ericsson Xperia X1i... what I'm wondering is that since they all use the USB standard, could they be interchanged without damaging the battery of the phone/tablet? Can one assume that the voltages and currents and everything (I'm no electrical guru obviously) are the same? Oh and I do actually own a SGS2 but that uses a different kind of charger anyway so it's irrelevant really...
Should be the same.
Sent from my A100 using xda app-developers app
pietpodlood said:
I have four chargers that follow the same basic design, plug-in socket at one end, USB port at the other so you have to use the USB-data cable to charge the phone. I have one for my son's Sony Xperia Go, my ASUS Transformer Infinity tablet, my old HTC Wildfire and my even older Sony Ericsson Xperia X1i... what I'm wondering is that since they all use the USB standard, could they be interchanged without damaging the battery of the phone/tablet? Can one assume that the voltages and currents and everything (I'm no electrical guru obviously) are the same? Oh and I do actually own a SGS2 but that uses a different kind of charger anyway so it's irrelevant really...
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Regarding the voltage one can assume that a charger with an USB port always will supply a voltage of 5 volts.
However the wattage of the chargers will differ. This is not really an issue as the charging current is basically controlled by the capabilities of the device to be charged (your phone) and not by the capabilities of the charger. This holds true as long as the charger is able to keep up with the current requirements of the device. This too is generally not a problem at all.
When it comes to the time it takes to charge a device, things can differ quite much.
Assuming you do not have a kernel like for example Siyah installed (and tweaked charging settings) your phone will set the charging current according to what it detects on the USB port. If it detects a standard USB port (Laptop for example) it will charge with a lower current. If it detects a dedicated charging device it will draw much more current and the charging will hence take less time. This detection (USB port or dedicated charing device) depends on the impedance between the two data lines D+ and D- of the USB cable. A dedicated charging device will have a low impedance or to put it simple: a charger should have a short between D+ and D- to be detected as such. This short is part of the charger not part of the USB cable (this allows you to charge the phone with any standard USB cable).
At any time you can use Settings > About Phone > Status to check the Battery Status. If it shows Charging (USB) then a standard USB port has been detected and charging will take more time. If however it shows Charging (AC) then a dedicated charger has been detected and charging will take less time.
Last but not least you might experience one more difference between the chargers: the amount of noise (ripple on the 5V DC) they generate. The less the better. The ripple on some chargers is that bad that the touch screen will be absolutely unresponsive during charging. The original Samsung and many other chargers are fine, but I have some low cost models here that make using the touch screen during charging impossible.
Generally I would answer your question like this: yes, chargers with USB connectors are interchangeable. However the charging result might differ quite much.
I've previously been able to charge my phones (a droid Charge and the S3) with the USB plug in car with out any problems. It was slower than the A/C charger, but got the job done. But recently, I noticed that the S4 was taking forever to add any charge to the battery when plugged into the car's USB (Its a 2012 Ford Focus with My Ford Touch). I tested the USB line with the "Galaxy Current Charging" App and saw it was only registering 460 mAh (which is the same as when the phone is unplugged). I also tested my cigarette lighter charger which showed 860 mAh. (BTW, I tested the USB cord using my 2 Amp stock S4 A/C charger and it showed 1900 mAh, so I don't think there is anything wrong with the USB cord, itself.)
So, is there a problem with using the standard USB plug in our cars to charge the S4?
Thanks in advance,
Rich
richs10 said:
So, is there a problem with using the standard USB plug in our cars to charge the S4?
Thanks in advance,
Rich
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If you're really getting 860ma, you should be OK. The problem is that most 12v car adapters end up delivering about half that current. As you've already figured out, the S4 can accept up to about 2000ma (or 2A), but only when using a 5V/2A adapter (like the one that comes w/the device) AND only when using a compatible cable (use a non-stock cable with the AC adapter and you'll probably see more like 950ma than 1900).
You might want to try this Motorola auto charging cable http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S5Q9CA/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . It's rated at about 1A, which is about half the level that the S4 can accept, but still pretty good. I haven't measured the exact output, but I can tell you that it's faster than any other car charger I've owned before.
You may also want to search online for an adapter that can achieve closer to 2A.
Andy:
I have that exact Motorola cigarette lighter charger and it works fine. My problem is trying to charge the phone in the car using the car's usb plug and a 'usb to micro usb' cord. That is where I have run into the problem with the S4. I could do this with my older phones, but the usb plug in the car only seems to supply the 460 mah with the S4. Any ideas why?
richs10 said:
Andy:
I have that exact Motorola cigarette lighter charger and it works fine. My problem is trying to charge the phone in the car using the car's usb plug and a 'usb to micro usb' cord. That is where I have run into the problem with the S4. I could do this with my older phones, but the usb plug in the car only seems to supply the 460 mah with the S4. Any ideas why?
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Because the usb spec it wasdesigned under limits it to a maximum of 500 mA. It is a given that charging will be excruciatingly slow at that low of a current draw if it even charges at all.
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richs10 said:
Andy:
I have that exact Motorola cigarette lighter charger and it works fine. My problem is trying to charge the phone in the car using the car's usb plug and a 'usb to micro usb' cord. That is where I have run into the problem with the S4. I could do this with my older phones, but the usb plug in the car only seems to supply the 460 mah with the S4. Any ideas why?
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Click to collapse
There's a product review on Amazon, where the reviewer provides a pretty good summary that might help explain. He claims that if the device does not 'recognize' the charging source with certainty, it may default to 500ma to prevent potential damage to the charge source (which could be e.g., a PC). The recommendation seems to be to use a special charging cable that would demonstrate to the device that a low-current source is not connected.
(here's an excerpt)
"...The USB power spec is for 0.5 Amps at 5 Volts... or 2.5 Watts. This was great up until the last couple years when devices have gotten really power hungry, particularly smartphones and tablets and to a lesser extent dedicated GPS's. Some of these devices use over 2 Amps, particularly the tablets like the iPad (or in my case the HP Touchpad).
Manufacturers of these devices therefore had a dilemma. If they had their devices pull more than 0.5 Amps, they risked damaging the power source, which could be a computer, that was only prepared to source 0.5 Amps. Thus the manufacturers have used tricks to determine whether their device is connected to an unknown source, at which point they purposely only draw 0.5 Amps, or to the dedicated charger that was provided with the device, where they can draw all the power they need.
There seem to be two common tricks used. The first is to short the two data-wires together in the charger. This is what most non-Apple devices do. Since a computer or older device wouldn't have done this, the device can assume it is safe to draw all the power it needs..."
In a subsequent discussion about the review, one of the commenters went on to recommend this charging cable - note that, per above, it's a 'shorted' cable, so it can only be used for charging (not data xfer). You might want to give it a try: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VYBCAY/ref=cm_cd_asin_lnk
That will not work if the source itself is limited to 500mA. The shorted data pins on the cable only allow the PMIC to draw a higher current if the source is capable of providing it.
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