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XDA2 Replacement/Spare Batteries

I'm researching batteries with a view to getting the best life possible out of an XDA2 between recharges.
What replacement/spare batteries do people use and what is their power (mAh) rating?
What other things can people tell me on this?
I'm not averse to back-packs etc.
TIA

I have one of the batteries available on eBay. Seems the same as the original battery. I carry the spare in my belt case.

I got mine from www.pdamods.com and have been using it for three months now, must say better than the original and in fact looks like an original !!!

I have three batteries. One came with the unit, I bought another from the same shop, the third I bought 2nd hand. All appear identical and all 1200mah. I swap them through my XDA II every week or so so that they each get drained and recharged regularly. When not in use one is on charge in my desktop cradle in the office, other in my briefcase.
All seem to last about the same amount of time.
Must admit though since buying an integrated car kit for my XDA II (plus GPS) I do not have to swap batteries as often.
Ed

You can find batteries at 1400mAh, same size as the original and officially 20-30% increased autonomy.

Battery question
Thanks everyone for all the help you've given to me in the past. I have a couple battery related questions:
1. I just got a new battery from PCPockettechs. It is rated 3.8VDC 1200 mAh. The current battery in my XDA II is rated 3.7VDC 1200mAh. I have not tried the new battery yet and am worried that the extra 0.1VDC might cause it some harm. Does anyone know or have experience with this difference? Am i worrying for nothing?
2. The extra battery charger that is in the cradle - it does not appear to be working (the light does not come on). Does the XDA II battery have to be fully charged before it starts charging the extra battery? Does the cradle need to be plugged in to the AC (I have the EU cable which I cannot use) before it will charge or can it just be connected via USB as I do now?
Thanks again,
Sean

Hi,
When I purchased mine from www.pdamods.com it worked straight out of the box. Unless it is completely flat it should work even if charged for a short while, however you should charge it for 18 hours on the first charge.

Re: Battery question
senmc said:
Does the cradle need to be plugged in to the AC (I have the EU cable which I cannot use) before it will charge or can it just be connected via USB as I do now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far a I know you have to use the AC adapter. USB won't work.

Not true, I charge it with the USB, however NOTE it does take longer

The MDAII charges on USB only too.
Not sure about charging an extra battery (that is what the question is about I think)

thanks guys. Yes, the MDA II or XDA II both charge in the cradle just on USB... however, will it also charge the extra battery just on USB? I don't think it will unfortunately.
On my other question: does anyone know if the 0.1VDC difference will make a difference? The battery appears to be the right size, shape, same connectors, etc. as the original battery - the only difference being this 0.1VDC.
Anyone with some good electrical/technical info that they could share would be great. It would put my mind at ease - or stop me from making a big mistake!

The MDA II charges on USB (in the cradle).
But for the extra battery to charge in the cradle you need to plug in the power (and then the light will turn on!).

SDA won't power on: How to determine a working battery

I woke up to find my SDA powered off and unable to power on, which was odd considering it was plugged in to a (Motorola) charger.
Since the orange charge light doesn't come on at all, I suspect it's just a dead battery. I've touched the battery contacts to a battery tester with no response - as if the battery is totally dead, which is promising. However, I can't be sure I'm doing it correctly since I've never tried this on a battery I know is working.
There are 4 contacts on the battery, and I'm wondering if there's more to it - like needing to have 2 contacts touching the positive lead and the other 2 touching the negative lead.
Can someone try testing their battery and see which contacts give a live (charged) result?
Thanks

kentchristopher said:
I woke up to find my SDA powered off and unable to power on, which was odd considering it was plugged in to a (Motorola) charger.
Since the orange charge light doesn't come on at all, I suspect it's just a dead battery. I've touched the battery contacts to a battery tester with no response - as if the battery is totally dead, which is promising. However, I can't be sure I'm doing it correctly since I've never tried this on a battery I know is working.
There are 4 contacts on the battery, and I'm wondering if there's more to it - like needing to have 2 contacts touching the positive lead and the other 2 touching the negative lead.
Can someone try testing their battery and see which contacts give a live (charged) result?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Normally you shouldn't try to use chargers not designed for your phone. What has probably happened is that there wasn't enough current output in the charger, and it completely drained your battery. Your battery is probably fine. Get a proper SDA charger and try charging it again. You can even take it to a store and ask them to plug it in for 15 minutes while you browse the new phones.

Yeah - I lost the original charger, but I've been charging with this Motorola one (output 5V / 550 mAh) and via USB for the past 6 months without problem. I still think it may be the battery because it was at 50% when I went to sleep.
What are the output specs of the original charger?

kentchristopher said:
Yeah - I lost the original charger, but I've been charging with this Motorola one (output 5V / 550 mAh) and via USB for the past 6 months without problem. I still think it may be the battery because it was at 50% when I went to sleep.
What are the output specs of the original charger?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stock HTC charger (model ADP-5FH K) has output of 1A at 5V. But if you had no trouble charging before it shouldn't be a issue, unless the charger/battery is faulty.
If you have a multimeter you can verify this. To check if your battery is charged place contacts in (+) and (-) contacts on your battery and it should show ~3.7V. I just tried this.

s!lencer said:
The stock HTC charger (model ADP-5FH K) has output of 1A at 5V. But if you had no trouble charging before it shouldn't be a issue, unless the charger/battery is faulty.
If you have a multimeter you can verify this. To check if your battery is charged place contacts in (+) and (-) contacts on your battery and it should show ~3.7V. I just tried this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, silencer. I don't have a multi-meter, but I was using the battery tester as a way to gauge whether it was putting out any current at all, and it sounds like it's not. You were testing the 1st and 4th contacts?
I have read elsewhere that if your battery goes below 10-20% you won't be able to charge it with anything but the stock charger, so I think that's the problem, but I'll probably order a new battery as well just in case.

Yes I check the voltage between first and forth contact. What sort of battery tester are you using? Is there a digital read out display?
You can also try a USB to mini-usb cable to see if the battery get charged. From what I can remember USB ports are designed to give 500mA at 5V, but I have charged my phone when it was flat using a USB cable.

To follow-up in case anyone has this problem in the future: I ordered a new original charger (ADP-5FH) off eBay and with it, the phone's orange charge light came on right away and after giving it a full charge my phone is back up and running.
I'm inclined to think that it's not the difference in mAh of the original charger (1000mAh) vs USB charging (500mAh), but that there is something unique to the original charger which can "turn on" the charging when the battery is completely dead - perhaps something communicated by one of the extra pins in the mini-USB connection.

Charging via PC

Hi guys,
I know if you unplug a charging phone in and out a lot it kills the battery, however my question is (as this was a big battery killer on my nokia n95) if I plug my touch pro into my pc and it has charged, will it then run purely off external power?
On my n95 it would charge, use a tiny bit of power on the battery and very shortly charge again. Obviously if my battery dipped again by a whole bar id want it to kick in the charger but that was crazy.
I'd like to leave my touch pro plugged in a lot for activesynch etc and charge at the same time so it would be nice to know if it's going to kill my battery.

I find that when the battery is charged the USB power will stop charging it. I charge overnight with my PC off on USB and come back and the full charged status is on.

Your PC should be able to provide 500mA through the port if the Touch Pro requests it, however the standalone charger is rated at 1A (1000mA) so if you are worried about using your device while charging then perhaps use it with the external charger.
I see no reason why your battery wouldnt be charged adequatly by the USB port though, generally you would be using less than your are getting from the usb port.

Scribe said:
I know if you unplug a charging phone in and out a lot it kills the battery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
erm... where did you hear that?
no it doesn't
maybe you mix it with the car ignition eating too much gas if you do it a lot?

Well, it used to be that way with the old NiCd batteries. Nowadays it's not an issue anymore.

My apologies, whilst lithium ion's don't have memory they do still lose overall power by each charge and discharge, even if it's not a complete one.

my 5 years old LOOX 720 disagrees with you

also my 5 year old HP IPAQ disagrees.
battery is as new and i charged it whenever i wanted.
same situation with my HTC Artemis, i bought it since the first day it went on sale and battery is as new!

Upquark said:
Well, it used to be that way with the old NiCd batteries. Nowadays it's not an issue anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This issue has come up so many times ..... i post again a link to a website with details on how to maximise a li-ion batterry. It clearly states that it prefers small discharges, with full discharges in every 30 charge cycles.
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

Anyone have this portable charger & PPC Tech's 5 Pin Adaptor?

Just Mobile 4400 mAh Charger: http://www.expansys-usa.com/d.aspx?i=166301
PPC Tech's 5 Pin Adaptor: http://www.expansys-usa.com/d.aspx?i=145975
Found another: http://www.tang-shop.com/universal-external-battery-powerbox.html DO NOT TRUST THIS SITE!!!
I want to buy a portable charger, anyone have any experience on this brand?
Can you recommend what you are using? Can it charge fast? I read some chargers can't charge fast.

I'm having real problems with portable chargers for the X7510
I have a U2O 13200 mAh charger for my Advent netbook, which also has a USB output for mobile devices at 5V/ 1000mA, but unless the X7510 is on standby, or in screenoff mode, it won't charge fully and takes an age. Likewise for my Maplin minicharger, though that's no real surprise.
The only reliable way to charge mine without the wall charger, is to plug it into my Brodit active holder in the car! For some reason the X7510 seems to draw more current than USB can supply when turned on- not something I noticed with the X7500.

NeilM said:
I'm having real problems with portable chargers for the X7510
I have a U2O 13200 mAh charger for my Advent netbook,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This looks nice. Sad that it does not work well with the X7510.
Does it maintain the battery level if you have your X7510 turned on while charging?

NeilM said:
I'm having real problems with portable chargers for the X7510
I have a U2O 13200 mAh charger for my Advent netbook, which also has a USB output for mobile devices at 5V/ 1000mA, but unless the X7510 is on standby, or in screenoff mode, it won't charge fully and takes an age. Likewise for my Maplin minicharger, though that's no real surprise.
The only reliable way to charge mine without the wall charger, is to plug it into my Brodit active holder in the car! For some reason the X7510 seems to draw more current than USB can supply when turned on- not something I noticed with the X7500.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder if the USB adapter on this link (post #7) can fix your charging problem: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=387531&highlight=usb+chargers
or how about using the original active sync chord to charge?

I might go for this charger: http://www.tang-shop.com/universal-external-battery-powerbox.html
Then I will also buy the PPC Tech's 5 pin Adaptor: http://www.expansys-usa.com/d.aspx?i=145975

Thanks for that info- may try the adapter. I'd just seen a similar post on Modaco about the Omnia and Diamond CDMA phones and the fast charge/trickle charge problems. 1st I'd heard about the differing pinouts!
I've tried all the different USB cables- the X7510 is only supplied with a standard USB cable (at least mine was) though my Diamond has the enhanced one. Neither makes any difference. My problem is not really that it won't charge from the power pack, but that if left turned on, the power pack stops charging after a time and I have to press the charge button again to restart it.
USB via the PC just about manages to trickle charge it, unless its set to Disk Drive mode, in which case it is faster; screenoff/standby is faster still.
Keep us updated!

NeilM said:
Keep us updated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I'll post my update and review. I'll be ordering them today. Hopefully this will work

Hi all, I travel a lot by train and I am always using my flint to watch videos etc.
I have two Emergency chargers and I manage to use both of them happily,
A couple of things i will note down are,
They both power the device and I cant get a decent charge out of either of them but the flint will drain the external battery first. e.g. If I am watching a video I plug in either of the batteries and the flint will deplete those before it starts using its internal battery.
I have noticed a decreased charging time (Faster Charge) when the phone is in storage drive mode. I have no idea how this would help its just something I have observed while using the chargers.
On the odd occasion the flint will attempt to Sync to the batteries!? Again this is complete madness, the only explanation I can think of is the phone assumes its plugged into my PC.
The chargers i use are,
Emergency Charger
I like this one because it takes standard AA batteries which are available everywhere. It provides about 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minuets of constant power on a Standard Duracell AA.
FreeLoader Solar Charger
This one i bought ages ago the solar panels are not up to scratch so i charge it via USB. It provides 1 hour of constant power.
Hope this helps you out; let me know if you need any other info.
Regards
Atomiser

Now I'm interested in this, too. I'm planning on doing a cycle ride from John O'Groats (Nothern tip of the UK) to Land's End (Southern tip) - commonly referred to as a JOGLE.
During my JOGLE I will be using GPSed (www.gpsed.com) to track my progress. This means I'll be using the data connection to upload every five minutes or so, as well as constantly using GPS to log the route.
Needless to say I don't quite expect my battery to last the 6 to 8 hours of cycling I'll be doing every day, so I need to look into some other methods of charging my x7510.
Also, cycling in the UK means that solar chargers are more often than not somewhat less useful than what they'd be in sunny climates, like Turkey.

Atomiser09 said:
Hope this helps you out; let me know if you need any other info.
Regards
Atomiser
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The information is definitely useful. Thanks.
NanoRuler said:
Needless to say I don't quite expect my battery to last the 6 to 8 hours of cycling I'll be doing every day, so I need to look into some other methods of charging my x7510.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe NeilM's suggestion of U2O 13,200 mAh battery charger is an excellent option for your need.
When I get my charger, I will try and charge without the PPC Tech Adapter and see if it will fast charge or not. If it won't, I will then use the Adapter and see if it works.

Nanoruler- you have a PM

Don't trust tang-shop.com
DON'T TRUST TANGSHOP.COM
I tried contacting them after placing my order and no response. I already allerted my credit card provider and I will report them to the BBB.
Off to look for another charger.

cktlcmd said:
When I get my charger, I will try and charge without the PPC Tech Adapter and see if it will fast charge or not. If it won't, I will then use the Adapter and see if it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I decided to skip this proceedure and use the PPC Tech 5 pin adaptor with the 4400 mAh from Just Mobile. I will then ran a movie in continous loop and see how long it will take for the charger to be depleted.
UPDATE:
I ran a movie in loops with BT headset stereo ON for sound. My X7510 was fully charged with green indicator lights and so is the battery charger. The Just Mobile 4400 mAh Charger lasted 5 hours until my X7510 had to rely on its own battery power.
I also connected the PPC 5 pin USB. Basically my X7510 used up the power of the charger first, as I can see the green indicator light on my X7510 for the full 5 hours.
I would definitely recommend this charger to anyone. It is small, about the size of 2 AA batteries stacked side by side. It is well made and the finish feels like it is coated with rubber to give you a none smudge surface probably to avoid sliding off the table. I give it 10/10.

Excellent news!
Do you think the PPCTechs cable makes a difference? Not got around to trying one yet!

NeilM said:
Excellent news!
Do you think the PPCTechs cable makes a difference? Not got around to trying one yet!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, I'll test it too just for you. I will only use the cable provided by the Just Mobile Charger 4400 mAh, since in my first test I already made use of PPC Tech's 5 pin adaptor. I just finished charging my X7510 from the wall outlet so it has its green indicator light on. I am now waiting for the green indicator light to turn back on after attaching the charger so I can start the test again. Will update you guys with the result.
Update:
10 minutes passed and I don't see the green indicator light. I have my X7510 setup so that if it is charging the screen is turned on with full brightness. It makes me think the 5 pin adaptor does make a difference.
30 minutes passed.... all I saw was the orange indicator light (my device is charging). I think it is safe to assume the PPC Tech's 5 pin adaptor DOES WORK. The charger can't keep up with the demand of my device, with just the screen turned on with full brightness.
I will now attach the 5 pin adaptor and wait....it took 15 min for the green indicator light to show.
CONCLUSION: The PPC Tech's 5 pin adaptor does work for fast charging the X7510.

Thats great! <getting credit card out and calling Expansys!>
For reasons unimportant here, I only have an HTC Diamond charger. When I use that with the X7510, it keeps turning the power on (ie it won't charge in standby), so this may be related to the USB config. I'll try the PPC Techs version!

NeilM said:
it keeps turning the power on (ie it won't charge in standby)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure you programmed your device to shut off when charging?
Because on mine, I have it setup so that the screen is always on and in full brightness when charging or syncing via cable.

cktlcmd said:
Are you sure you programmed your device to shut off when charging?
Because on mine, I have it setup so that the screen is always on and in full brightness when charging or syncing via cable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I need to recheck the config!

Fast-charge adapter
cktlcmd said:
Just Mobile 4400 mAh Charger: http://www.expansys-usa.com/d.aspx?i=166301
PPC Tech's 5 Pin Adaptor: http://www.expansys-usa.com/d.aspx?i=145975
Found another: http://www.tang-shop.com/universal-external-battery-powerbox.html DO NOT TRUST THIS SITE!!!
I want to buy a portable charger, anyone have any experience on this brand?
Can you recommend what you are using? Can it charge fast? I read some chargers can't charge fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have experience with a device RELATED to that 5-pin adaptor. It is called "HTC Advantage Lil Sync DUO Pro HandsFree & Charging Adapter" (http://www.ppctechs.com/HTC-Advanta...c-DUO-Pro-HandsFree-Charging-Adapter_1008.htm). I have used these for years with HTC Advantage x7501s. I would have to say they are ALMOST correct when they say:
"In some cases, your HTC Advantage will not charge from an AC/DC adapter or other charging accessory when the battery life is below 30 percent. Our Lil Sync® Duo Pro Adapter will charge your device from a completely drained battery."
I've never had it get that bad, but it can be very slow to charge once it gets below 20%. And using a high-current adapter doesn't help. (A high-voltage one might charge faster. Use at your own risk.) Using the Adapter_1008 with the switch set to F will often get it charging even from a computer's USB port. But not always.
I've only had an Athena 1.5 (Ameo 16GB from T-Mobile UK) for a day, so I have limited info. It does acknowledge it is charging with the switch in either the S or F position, so it is a fair guess that it uses the same pinouts for charging. YMMV.
I have found that the HTC x7501s are just plain weird about recognizing headphones, with or without the adapter. I have built various hypotheses about it, and the machines have disproven every one.

[Q] Using an external battery to power phone: Some problems...

I hope this is the right forum for the topic.
First I want to describe my situation:
I want to use an older phone as a webcam. The webcam is outdoor and there was no power source available.
So I bought a solarpanel which has an inbuilt USB charger for phones. The solar panel works great and it doesn't take long until the battery is full.
The problem is that the sun is not allways there when you need it I needed a battery with higher capacity that the phone (webcam) can be used longer without the need to get charged. So I bought two 5000mAh batteries from Amazon, connected them in parallel and changed them with the orignal battery from the phone. (btw. the phone is a Huawei Ascend Y201 Pro)
The problem is that the phone won't charge the battery. I found out that the third pin in the phone is to monitor the battery. If that pin is not connected the battery won't be charged.
Do you have any idea how to solve this problem?
First I thought about buying one of these external battery packs. But all that I found have a button that has to be pressed in order to charge the battery. But that is not possible because the phone (webcam) should work autarkical.
Some have an autostart function but after the battery is full it is required to replug the phone in order to get the battery charged again. Is there an app maybe that can disconnect and reconnect the USB connection without unplugging the cable?