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When Nexus S is off why do I see a white battery with "!" symbol?

Hi all, I'm not talking about the recovery triangle with the exclamation point, but when charging the S in my car, I noticed that the battery icon in the notification tray would charge for a few minutes, then stop charging and the battery icon would just go static at 75%.
So I turned off the phone, and was then presented with a black background and white battery icon, with a flashing exclamation point.
I unplugged, and plugged back in, and the battery started indicating it was charging via ascending white stripes, But then it stopped and changed to an exclamation point again.
The battery was only 50-75% full.
Could it have been overheating in my windscreen (I'm in LA)? Or is there some other issue with the charger. What does the ! mean?

Is your battery original? Maybe your charger is not supported. Not sure about this. Can you take a screenshot?
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App

I think that your car charger doesn't deliver enough power to charge the Nexus S battery. Some smartphones are draining more power then they are becoming from the charge unit when connected to the car.

brainmaster said:
I think that your car charger doesn't deliver enough power to charge the Nexus S battery. Some smartphones are draining more power then they are becoming from the charge unit when connected to the car.
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This does not explain the error when charging with phone off.
I would exchange the phone under warranty if possible.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

obsanity said:
Is your battery original? Maybe your charger is not supported. Not sure about this. Can you take a screenshot?
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
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You cannot take screenshots when powered off
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Then use a camera and take a photo?

I've seen this once it was from a bad flash I had to flash the rom again just to get rid of it what rom are you on?
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

matt2053 said:
You cannot take screenshots when powered off
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
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I know that. Screenshot means that you take a picture shot of the screen.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App

It's never a good idea to leave a phone, or any electronics, in a hot car during the summer. The combination of a hot car and heating up the battery while charging could be bringing the phone's temperature too high. It could be the charger isn't wired up for the standard micro usb charging. I've seen this with lg chargers and phones and data cables. It could be a bad flash.
If it can fully charge inside on an ac charger, then I might suspect the charger in the car. If it acts the same with a different car charger then it could be the phone. Try a 12vdc usb female charger with a data cable plugged into the phone. Try flashing the phone back completely to stock and do more process of elimination.

Thanks.
This is a brand new phone with original battery, stock ROM, not even rooted.
The charger worked fine always on its previous owner, a Nexus One. It is hard wired into my car so not easy to change.
I wonder if the Nexus S has overhead protection that stops charging?
A screenshot is quite a challenge ;-)
Edit: Here's the answer!: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google Mobile/thread?tid=09793bd3fcb30e61&hl=en

43 degrees Celsius is the trigger point where it starts/stops taking a charge because of heat.

Heat
Its a samsung battery protection system the same system that wont let u over charge the battery once the battery gets too hot it will go in to this protected mode wit the exclamation mark
had it on both my samsung vibrant and the nexus s 4g

Phone not charging while using GPS due to overheating

This is a continuation of the discussion that was started here. Since I do not want to crowd that thread with an offtopic subject, I am continuing here. I am quoting the relevant posts from that thread also.
unni_kmr said:
One issue bothers me a lot. I cannot use the phone for navigation for more than 2 hours even with car charger connected. In about 2 hours, it drains out fully. My latest theory is that after about 30 mins of charging, the battery starts heating up, and so it stops charging.
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mtdew said:
User error or bad unit I have zero issues with my GPS or car charging. Also what amperage is your car charger capable of outputting.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2
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unni_kmr said:
I am not 100% sure in terms of the amperage. But I tried with a car charger capable of charging a laptop, using the wall charger and cable which came with the phone. I was sitting in the passenger seat, phone was in my lap (not mounted in windshield) and Google Maps was running in navigation mode. For the first 15 minutes or so, I saw that the phone was charging. The charge level increased by 1% or 2%. After I think 20 minutes, it stopped charging. CPU-Z app was showing battery status as
health: over heated or heated (don't remember clearly the text)
power source: connected
status: not charging or discharing
Phone's back was very hot. I unplugged the USB cable and connected it back, and it started charging again! I waited for it to cool down, removed the phone case, repeated this and got the same result.
This is why I believe the phone is doing something to protect it from over heating. I am not sure though.
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mtdew said:
Amperage is important son too little it will discharge, I think it will limit if too much. Nav can cause some heat for some of these guys but I've never heard of it getting that high my guess is something was wrong.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2
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acejavelin said:
I have gotten my last few chargers at Sam's Club, they are about $10, and are rated at [email protected]
In an older phone I had a similar issue where my phone would overheat and not charge properly, once I got a new charger I cut the end off the old one and read the voltage with a meter, it was putting out almost 7.1v (should be 4.75-5.25vDC for USB 1.0-2.0 standard, and 5.25-5.75vDC for USB 3.0), pretty sure that is what caused it... cheap components equals cheap quality and flaws. Current rating should be irrelevant, as long as it meets the devices minimum requirements (most modern phones are [email protected]), even if a charger is rated at 2, 3, or even 5 amps, the device should not draw more than it can handle. Current is drawn, not pushed, a device will draw the needed current at the expected voltage, you can't really "over-current" a device by using a power source that is rated at the proper voltage but a higher current. Similar instance can occur by using a charger that has too low of a current rating, the device will try to draw more current than the adapter is rated at and the adapter will eventually fail or fall out of specifications.
Some other good chargers are by Anker, PowerGen, or RAVPower, and of course a Samsung branded adapter will work well, most all of these can be purchased for $8-$15 on Amazon. If the adapter is not rated with a current rating, then skip it, it is probably only 600ma-750ma and will be more headache than it's worth in the long run.
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bps119 said:
Good to see that we're getting a new user who actually does their homework. :thumbup:
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2
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technoid1964 said:
The Skyrocket (and several other Samsung phones) need special "type 2" chargers. Apple charges are type 6, so if it says compatible with Apple, don't use it as it may not work. If the two center pins on the USB port doesn't have a 50 ohm resistor across them (or not shorted) , the Skyrocket will only draw 350 mA. Samsung and older Curve BlackBerry chargers have the resistor. At 350 mA, the phone draws more than the charger is providing, and the charger circuitry heats up trying to keep up with demand.
Jrockttu has a great thread under General called "Fix your Skyrockets battery life"
I've MOD'd all of my chargers, now my phone is happy with the screen on all day while driving and it stays charged, or charges slowly...
Tim
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app
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To eliminate the possibilities mentioned above, I bought the following:
1. Car Charger: PowerGen Black 3.6Amps / 18W Dual USB Car charger
2. USB Cable: Mediabridge USB Charging Cable
I also installed this app (Skyrocket Charger Info).
Summary of what happened:
With new car charger: Fast Charge (A/C) - Charging at 898 ma
With old car charger: Charger Wakelock - Charging at 497 ma
When connected to mains using factory charger: Fast Charge (A/C) - Charging at 898 ma
When connected to PC USB port: Slow Charge (USB) - Charging at 497 ma
Even with this new charger, phone stops charging once it heats up.
The full story:
Once I plugged in the phone to the new car charger using the new USB cable, the app showed the charging current as "Fast Charge - Charging at 898 ma". This is the same mA value it shows when I plugin into the mains with the phone's factory charger. I drove around with maps for around 15 minutes. Once I stopped, I saw that charge level had dropped by around 9%. I immediately launched CPU-Z app. It was showing battery overheated & not charging (see attachment 1). The phone was hot.
I removed the charger. After I think 1 minute, the battery status became 'good'. I plugged in the charger again. It started charging. While I was looking at the CPU-Z screen, battery status changed from 'good' to 'overheated' and 'charging' to 'not charging'.
Attachments:
(Please note that these screenshots are from another test where I had driven for around 30 minutes, and is not based on the above story.)
1. Phone state once I stopped the car. Charger is connected, but phone is not charging. Note that ignition is on.
2. After removing the charger.
3. After connecting the charger again. Within a few seconds of taking this screenshot, it changed to what is shown in attachment 1.
So I guess I can't do much about this, right?

I can't remember if you replaced the battery or not.... That could also be any issue if it's getting old and can't absorb the charge as fast as it used to... It will heat up quicker.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app

How old is your battery? And how many times a day do you plug it in?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app

Sorry. I somehow missed your replies.
technoid1964 said:
I can't remember if you replaced the battery or not.... That could also be any issue if it's getting old and can't absorb the charge as fast as it used to... It will heat up quicker.
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I will try to purchase a new battery if its not too costly.
hotbyz168 said:
How old is your battery? And how many times a day do you plug it in?
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My phone and battery are now 18 months old. When I am in office, I charge it twice. It doesn't drain much, but I keep it fully charged just before leaving office.

Phone can overheat when under direct sunlight with GPS, screen and CPU working (the most power-consuming activity on the phone happens to be navigation), and also charging. Nothing unusual in that - its internal temperature in this case can reach beyond 100 degrees C. The battery can't charge when above 60-70 degrees C, because it can get physically damaged or even explode.
Concealing the phone from direct sunlight might work.
Limiting the CPU frequency might work.
A new battery might work.

Wireless charging question

So I have a USB cable that lights up only when device is charging. It turns off the led light when the device is charged...
I'm using the same cable and USB adapter on my wireless charger.
Now at night my cable stays lit up always even when fully charged. It doesn't turn off anymore. So they're is constantly a charge going to it.
When I pick it up its warm. Not hot. No complaints. But is it safe for the battery to constantly get juice even if its 'charged' and can't get anymoee
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

Bump
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

imablackhat said:
So I have a USB cable that lights up only when device is charging. It turns off the led light when the device is charged...
I'm using the same cable and USB adapter on my wireless charger.
Now at night my cable stays lit up always even when fully charged. It doesn't turn off anymore. So they're is constantly a charge going to it.
When I pick it up its warm. Not hot. No complaints. But is it safe for the battery to constantly get juice even if its 'charged' and can't get anymoee
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
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Yes it is, there's a charge controller by Texas instruments that regulates the charging current
i know what cable you're talking about its those LED flowing cables i have one, anyways the wireless charging puck or dock always draws power while the phone may not its tickle charging as in keeping it at 100% its not overcharging it its topping it off
its 100% completely safe.

Nexus 5 not charging properly (?)

While I'm using my phone it keeps discharging. Screen is on minimum brightness, all apps closed, charging with original charger. Stock ROM, same happens with franco and ElementalX kernels. Haven't tried with stock ROM, but that would probably be even worse. Is there an app to check my charger, IE an app that would show charging amperage or something? Thanks
EDIT: The beggining of the post sounds so dumb What I wanted to say is that the phone keeps discharging while charging and using it at the same time. I'll just leave original text like this, it may make some people laugh

well, it depends what you are doing. if its discharging while using and you are only reading a web page, then its not supposed to. but if you are charging and using, and its discharging while you are gaming, thats normal. also it would matter if you are charging it via ac or usb(check how your phone shows the connection). if usb, than it discharging while using is very normal.

simms22 said:
well, it depends what you are doing. if its discharging while using and you are only reading a web page, then its not supposed to. but if you are charging and using, and its discharging while you are gaming, thats normal. also it would matter if you are charging it via ac or usb(check how your phone shows the connection). if usb, than it discharging while using is very normal.
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Just browsing on 3G. Sometimes listening to music too. It discharges even faster if I'm listening music with my headphones too. All I'm using is chrome beta or Flow for reddit. I'm using xposed, all location and wifi scanning **** turned is off...

Stats

ashirviskas said:
Just browsing on 3G. Sometimes listening to music too. It discharges even faster if I'm listening music with my headphones too. All I'm using is chrome beta or Flow for reddit. I'm using xposed, all location and wifi scanning **** turned is off...
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right, but does your phone tell you its connected usb or ac? usb has a much lessor charge, and using it while its charging usb can easily drain the battery. oh, and xposed comes with a multitude of undocumented issues. most probably wont affect you, but some possibly can, the modules.

simms22 said:
right, but does your phone tell you its connected usb or ac? usb has a much lessor charge, and using it while its charging usb can easily drain the battery.
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AC. I know about all these things, it's just that my discharge rate while charging seems not to be normal. It is 1.2 A charger, but it isn't behaving like one... Or am I just not used to nexus and that thing is totally normal?

ashirviskas said:
AC. I know about all these things, it's just that my discharge rate while charging seems not to be normal. It is 1.2 A charger, but it isn't behaving like one... Or am I just not used to nexus and that thing is totally normal?
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1.2 amp charger is pretty weak, im using a 2.1 amp. yea, i know the stock charger is 1.2, but google also sells a 1.8 amp charger for the n5, they advertise more power and a faster charge.

:angel:
simms22 said:
1.2 amp charger is pretty weak, im using a 2.1 amp. yea, i know the stock charger is 1.2, but google also sells a 1.8 amp charger for the n5, they advertise more power and a faster charge.
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It would be nice if google sold those in my country... Funny thing is that my ~10$ dual usb car charger charges my phone 2x times better than this ”original” one.

The stock charger should be able to keep up with heavy usage, let alone basic web browsing. I can play intensive 3D games and still get a trickle charge. Something is wrong with either your charger or the device. The tricky thing is that all the current meter apps measure current by checking the net current on the battery... which means you're obviously going to have a negative current since your phone is discharging. The only accurate way is to get a USB ammeter. Do you have another charger from an old phone you can try? That would be my first step here.

ashirviskas said:
:angel:
It would be nice if google sold those in my country... Funny thing is that my ~10$ dual usb car charger charges my phone 2x times better than this ”original” one.
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sounds like the charger might be going bad, they can go bad fairly quickly, and often. try a different charger as said above.

UPDATE:
Original charger is ****. Overnight it charged my phone to 88%. No wakelocks, no sync, just wifi. When I woke up, it discharged to ~70s. Then I said f this ****, plugged my old 0.5 A charger and it charged my phone faster with screen on than the original one on deep sleep. I don't like this.

Go to the general sub forum. There Is a thread with the best charger you can get. The folding blade charger. Charges your phone from %15 to full in just over an hour. 3 for $5 free shipping in USA. I got 6

Battery Drains Faster Than Charges

My battery seems to drain faster than it charges. I bought the phone off of craigslist and it did not come with the original charger and cable. I did have a nexus 4 and its original charger. I use the Nexus 4 charger, which is rated at the same 1.2a. Is it the charger or is there something wrong with my phone? I read a lot about slow charging and ppl searching for the right charger. I just want to be able to use the phone at night with a low battery and plugged in. Otherwise the battery does last a long time and seems healthy. I am able to go the whole day without a charge but i then cannot use it while I am home. Any advice is appreciated. I could prob RMA it if needed.

Just do a fresh install using Google's own images and see if it fixes the issue
Sent from my Android L Nexus 5 via Tapatalk

Ben36 said:
Just do a fresh install using Google's own images and see if it fixes the issue
Sent from my Android L Nexus 5 via Tapatalk
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This is a fresh install. I originally received the phone with Android L Preview. It was buggy and there was an unknown service consuming a large amount of battery power. I did a fresh install of 4.4 from Google.

I had the same issue with the stock nexus 5 charger. Turned out something went wrong and it wasn't providing enough current about 250mAh. I switched charger to a higher one and everything works as it should, charges in about 1.5hours. I suggest you download GSam App that shows the current while charging.

In settings/battery, when the device is charging, does it show USB or AC charging?
If USB charging, get a different charger and/or cable.

I got that app and I'm a little unclear on the readings. I see a positive number and a negative number. I got a -623 on the charger I have been using at work which is for a dell venue and I believe 2 or 2.1a. That one does seem to charge the phone OK. I'm at home now on my nexus charger and I have 431. I have a 131 not plugged in.
It says ac not usb

Have you looked here?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/help/battery-life-help-troubleshoot-battery-t2785128

upndwn4par said:
Have you looked here?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/help/battery-life-help-troubleshoot-battery-t2785128
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I started to read that but my issue is really with charging. My battery lasts a long time. I can go all day without a charge but then by the night it's in the teens. This normally would be OK but that plugging it in doesn't stop the drain. I do a lot on my phone before going to sleep, laying in bed. Now I can't because the phone just dies even while plugged in. I ordered the blackberry playbook chargers mentioned in another post. Ill have to see when the come in.

use a toothpick and clean the contacts on the usb, look for any lint and such... sometimes a bad connection may not let it charge properly.

Just use another charger, or cable and check the mA readings. - 1000, give or take, is good. Much less and it's the cable or charger.
Gsam can show you the value in the main screen... And it's a great app in general. ?