Chargers amd charging - General Questions and Answers

Is it bad to charge your phone with chargers other than the stock one. If so why? And whats the point jn different voltages
Sent from my Galaxy SIII

I would not to that, maybe that charger have different voltage
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

Charging with any other charger will affect your cellphone's charging timeif the stock charger you use has a higher voltage than the one you are charging with then the cell will charge at a lower rate and will take more time then the stock charger would take.
This may not harm if you do this once in a while, but on the other hand if you use a charger with higher voltage than the stock charger it will harm your cell for sure.
Point is, use the stock charger or any other charger with similar voltage.

Assuming that your phone uses a standard USB connector fir charging, the voltage will always be the same. It is the current which changes.
Using a charger which can deliver a higher current is not a problem as the phone will just take what it needs. Using one with too low a current will result in your phone charging slowly though.

Related

[Q] Faster Charger? Please advise

Hey,
I noticed that the droid charge has a bigger battery but it take a lifetime to charge.. is there a better charger I can get other than the one that came stock with the phone? Please let me know. I would really appreciate it.
The stock actually charges fast compared to USB...use a higher amperage charger with the stock usb cord (so it doesn't limit to 500ma). I use my Galaxy Tab charger...works great
Sent from my Droid Charge running GummyFroyo 1.9.1
kvswim said:
The stock actually charges fast compared to USB...use a higher amperage charger with the stock usb cord (so it doesn't limit to 500ma). I use my Galaxy Tab charger...works great
Sent from my Droid Charge running GummyFroyo 1.9.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I am using the USB in the pc and the battery has not moved once notch ... has to be the rom (gingerbread) or the combnation of usb cord and charger.
stepinmyworld said:
Well I am using the USB in the pc and the battery has not moved once notch ... has to be the rom (gingerbread) or the combnation of usb cord and charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PC USB ports do not do a good job charging phones. they don't have a lot of power going to them. In addition, if you're using your phone while its charging from your computer you will not likely see it charging at all since all the power its getting is going to whatever it is your doing.
The same is true of car chargers. I had mine plugged in in the car for 45 minutes using the GPS. It charged 2%. The point is, the only real effective way to charge your phone is by using a regular outlet.
streetlightman said:
PC USB ports do not do a good job charging phones. they don't have a lot of power going to them. In addition, if you're using your phone while its charging from your computer you will not likely see it charging at all since all the power its getting is going to whatever it is your doing.
The same is true of car chargers. I had mine plugged in in the car for 45 minutes using the GPS. It charged 2%. The point is, the only real effective way to charge your phone is by using a regular outlet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct about the pc charging; it only runs at .5 amps (500 ma) while the stock charger has 1 amp. However, the car charger really depends on what kind you're using. I use a 2A and it charges fine.
Sent from my Droid Charge running GummyFroyo 1.9.1
streetlightman said:
PC USB ports do not do a good job charging phones. they don't have a lot of power going to them. In addition, if you're using your phone while its charging from your computer you will not likely see it charging at all since all the power its getting is going to whatever it is your doing.
The same is true of car chargers. I had mine plugged in in the car for 45 minutes using the GPS. It charged 2%. The point is, the only real effective way to charge your phone is by using a regular outlet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok cool. so i could just look for a charger will higher voltage being delivered. I hope i get the right one that is compatible to the droid charge. Dont wanna burn the battery out etc
No, not voltage. Amperage. Big difference. Just get a charger with a USB port and a high amperage...I don't think you'll find a higher amp charger specifically compatible with the Charge.
Sent from my Droid Charge running GummyFroyo 1.9.1
kvswim said:
No, not voltage. Amperage. Big difference. Just get a charger with a USB port and a high amperage...I don't think you'll find a higher amp charger specifically compatible with the Charge.
Sent from my Droid Charge running GummyFroyo 1.9.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok thanks!
You need a charger that won't be seen as a USB connection on the phone. If the phone thinks that it is plugged into your computer, it will charge at roughly half the rate of the wall charger. Wall charger will charge at ~700mA I believe, and the USB/Computer connection will charge at ~400mA. You can find the actual numbers in the power regulator driver in the kernel source though.
I have a motorola 950 amp car charger I got off amazon for $5. It works well but if the screen is full bright and I'm running navagation I have seen the battery level drop. To keep up you need a 1+amp charger. That being said the harder you charge the batteries the quicker they will wear out.
imnuts said:
You need a charger that won't be seen as a USB connection on the phone. If the phone thinks that it is plugged into your computer, it will charge at roughly half the rate of the wall charger. Wall charger will charge at ~700mA I believe, and the USB/Computer connection will charge at ~400mA. You can find the actual numbers in the power regulator driver in the kernel source though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is pretty interesting. I'm not a phone dev or an electrician, but I assume these mA numbers are something that are 1) lower than what is actually safe and 2) might be able to be tweaked by a dev with nothing better to do. Not that you are even close to falling in that category, but I think many users would be quite interested in being able to get more charge out of shorter durations, albeit at the risk of burning out their phones.
Search for my responses here on charging cables... Sorry but I'm at 35,000 feet in an airliner and can't search very well to include a link. The "magic" to allow a charge current greater than 500ma is either in the stock AC charger or in a "charge only" cable. The data wires to the phone have to be shorted otherwise the phone will think that it is plugged into a computer and will start USB services and will limit the charging current. Cheapest to fabricate your own adapter!
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA Premium App
So it wont harm my battery at all to use my galaxy tab charger on my phone? What about in the long run will it degrade faster?
I think the phone has intelligent charging logic (like the newest iphones) so if you keep it cool it will take care of itself. YMMV however!
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA Premium App
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA Premium App
You could have a 10 amp charger, and if it is picked up as a computer/usb connection, the phone is going to pull the same amount of current as it would just plugging it in to your computer. The same goes for car and wall chargers that get picked up as a computer/usb connection. It doesn't matter what charge rate the charger supports, the phone is going to pull the same current as it is regulated to via the kernel. The only time it won't pull the full charge current it is setup to pull is if you have a charger that is rated for a slower charge rate than what the phone wants AND it won't allow charging above its stated capacity (any good charger should do this).
I have looked around (not much though) at how to make the charge rate faster before, but couldn't see how to do anything besides make the phone charge as fast over USB as it can via the wall charger. However, from what I have read, Li Ion batteries do better if they receive a slower charge to full and will not die as fast compared to being rapidly charged.
imnuts said:
You could have a 10 amp charger, and if it is picked up as a computer/usb connection, the phone is going to pull the same amount of current as it would just plugging it in to your computer. The same goes for car and wall chargers that get picked up as a computer/usb connection. It doesn't matter what charge rate the charger supports, the phone is going to pull the same current as it is regulated to via the kernel. The only time it won't pull the full charge current it is setup to pull is if you have a charger that is rated for a slower charge rate than what the phone wants AND it won't allow charging above its stated capacity (any good charger should do this).
I have looked around (not much though) at how to make the charge rate faster before, but couldn't see how to do anything besides make the phone charge as fast over USB as it can via the wall charger. However, from what I have read, Li Ion batteries do better if they receive a slower charge to full and will not die as fast compared to being rapidly charged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Slow charging is true to some extent, but there is no need to charge our battery's under 1.5amp.
And shorting the two data pins on the USB doesn't work it looks for a specific resistance, I saw the ohm load somewhere, but now of course I can't find it lol..
When I get really bored tonight I will edit this and figure it out. But yeah our phones can easily pull 800ma or more with full screen brightness and maxed out processor. So that would result in no charging at all on some chargers. I use a 2a wall charger that came with my evo and it charges very very quickly. Never more than 1 hour to full charge unless I am gaming on it while it charges lol. This is using the cord that came with the phone of course so that it knows it isn't in a data enabled usb slot.
MasterRy88 said:
So it wont harm my battery at all to use my galaxy tab charger on my phone? What about in the long run will it degrade faster?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In electronics, when given a voltage source (as opposed to a current source) the Voltage is set to a fixed value. That is what our wall USB outlets are. Voltage sources
Think of Voltage like a waterfall. The water is always dropping from the same height. The voltage is always set to the same value.
The mA rating (the current) is determined by how much juice the phone can pull. Just because a charger is capable of supplying more current (say 1 or 2 amps), it doesn't mean that the Droid is going to draw that much current. However, if the droid is capable of pulling more current, it will benefit by charging faster.
Does that help at all?
*edit* Dang it. Didn't scroll down enough to see that imnuts posted already. Oh well, screw it. I'm leaving my post. lol. People who don't know about Voltage and Amperage need to hear the waterfall example at some point in their lives.
lane32x said:
In electronics, when given a voltage source (as opposed to a current source) the Voltage is set to a fixed value. That is what our wall USB outlets are. Voltage sources
Think of Voltage like a waterfall. The water is always dropping from the same height. The voltage is always set to the same value.
The mA rating (the current) is determined by how much juice the phone can pull. Just because a charger is capable of supplying more current (say 1 or 2 amps), it doesn't mean that the Droid is going to draw that much current. However, if the droid is capable of pulling more current, it will benefit by charging faster.
Does that help at all?
*edit* Dang it. Didn't scroll down enough to see that imnuts posted already. Oh well, screw it. I'm leaving my post. lol. People who don't know about Voltage and Amperage need to hear the waterfall example at some point in their lives.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't really understand this because voltage and amperage are different things...
Sent from my Droid Charge running GummyFroyo 1.9.1
skydeaner said:
When I get really bored tonight I will edit this and figure it out. But yeah our phones can easily pull 800ma or more with full screen brightness and maxed out processor. So that would result in no charging at all on some chargers. I use a 2a wall charger that came with my evo and it charges very very quickly. Never more than 1 hour to full charge unless I am gaming on it while it charges lol. This is using the cord that came with the phone of course so that it knows it isn't in a data enabled usb slot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you read anything I posted The phone is only going to pull a set charge rate, depending on what type of connection it sees. It doesn't care what power rating the connection has, it will pull as much power as it can, up to the limit defined in the power regulator of the kernel. You can use a 1A charger, or a 2A charger, doesn't matter, the phone is still only going to pull a set. The phone will pull 475mA via USB connection (your computer) or 800mA via an AC adapter (wall charger). Unless you figure out how to hack the battery driver to allow a faster charge, those are the two rates you get, regardless of how much power the wall charger can supply.
kvswim said:
I don't really understand this because voltage and amperage are different things...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A charger is going to provide a set voltage (5V I believe) and that is the only constant in the charging process for what is going into the phone. The amperage is going to be determined by the phone or the wall charger. The only time the wall charger will be the limiting part in charging is if its circuitry is setup to cut off charging over a certain level, and if it is rated for a lower charging rate, odds are, it probably won't cut it off and instead produce a fire hazard.
Something else people don't realize is that the charging rate isn't just bad for the battery if you charge to fast, pulling to much power in to charge the battery, especially while using the phone, creates a heat problem as well. While the phone will shut itself down before any major damage can occur, why would you even want to create a situation that could potentially damage the phone hardware?
imnuts said:
Did you read anything I posted The phone is only going to pull a set charge rate, depending on what type of connection it sees. It doesn't care what power rating the connection has, it will pull as much power as it can, up to the limit defined in the power regulator of the kernel. You can use a 1A charger, or a 2A charger, doesn't matter, the phone is still only going to pull a set. The phone will pull 475mA via USB connection (your computer) or 800mA via an AC adapter (wall charger). Unless you figure out how to hack the battery driver to allow a faster charge, those are the two rates you get, regardless of how much power the wall charger can supply.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what about car chargers? i have one that I think is 2A and it seems to charge my phone a bit faster than my wall charger
blazing through on my VZ Droid Charge 4G

[Q] Are rapid/ultra/boost chargers safe to use?

I have an LG GT540 Optimus with LG IP 400 N, 1500mAh/3.7v battery.
My stock USB charger is rated at 300mA and I have another USB charger for my headset which rates at 400mA.
I have seen couple of chargers on Amazon that can go up to 500mA and came across car chargers that can go to even 1000mA.
Are these chargers safe to use? Do they have over heating problems or chances of damaging the battery? Do they affect battery life? Have any of you used one of these?
More amps if fine, more voltage is bad.
i think of it like this..
amps are only available, the device will take what it needs.
volts are forced from the charger regardless of the device.
mercianary said:
More amps if fine, more voltage is bad.
i think of it like this..
amps are only available, the device will take what it needs.
volts are forced from the charger regardless of the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really. A more than reasonable high current will cause over heating and possible melt-down.
High-voltage can be bad but almost all chargers use the USB voltage of 5-5.5V. So, it's fine.
Am just wondering if these high current chargers are safe and worth the money.
I would have thought the device had a limit to the Max current it would use to charge the battery avoid such things.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
mercianary said:
I would have thought the device had a limit to the Max current it would use to charge the battery avoid such things.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LG phones do have an overcharge protector fuse. However, most fuses have a high value that will trip only if a current that will instantly break the device are detected. Plus, most fuses depend more on voltage.
However, even if the fuse doesn't break, a high current may damage due to heat and stuff indirectly.

[Q] Charging phone using non-standard chargers

Currently using a HTC Sensation XE. It uses a 5V 1A output charger.
I have a couple of other chargers lying around at higher amperage (2.1A) and others at lower amperage (500-700mA). Was wondering if using either of those would be damaging to the phone/battery?
Another strange phenomenon I have encountered is, when using an Iphone charger (which has the same output as the original HTC charger), it takes forever to charge the battery (20% over a 8hrs). Any insight into the topics would be appreciated
As far as I know the charging current is controlled by the phones hardware. So if you connect a charger which can provide a current of 500mA-700mA, it will be bottlenecked by the chargers specifications.
However when you connect the 2100mA charger, the internal current-controller of the phone will limit the current to the best value for keeping the battery temperature acceptable.
Considering your iPhone charger, i'd say the connection causes the phone to think it's connected to a PC and limits its current to the default maximum current of the USB-port (500mA).

.7 Amp vs 1.0 Amp Charger

So the One X comes with a 1.0 Amp charger. The charger would not fit(too long) in the spot where I have been using my Samsung charger.
I compared the two and saw the only difference is the .7 A to 1.0 A. looked up if it was ok to use. Some even reported longer battery life with the slower charger. Makes some sense just lasts longer.
Maybe I am crazy but it seems like I get better battery life from the .7 charger.
I have went back and forth a few times....But of course not enough days to really tell.
thoughts?
Definitely overthinking it. It will just charge slower.
eallan said:
Definitely overthinking it. It will just charge slower.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, what he said.
To think of it another way, you can charge your phone via a USB connection to your computer, but it's much slower. This is because USB only provides 0.5 (or maybe it's 0.2?) Amps.
However, going with an adapter that's HIGHER than 1.0A could cause damage.
In the long run, slower charges will likely make your battery last more cycles. But on a per-cycle basis, it should not give better battery life.
If you run your battery down, the smaller charger (and definitely the case for PC USB because they max out at 500ma) may not be able to charge at all. In normal cases, it is fine.
Higher than 1a won't damage anything. .7 might not actually charge the battery 100% depending on if the phone thinks it is usb(500ma charging mode) or ac charger(wont charge properly).
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA
c5satellite2 said:
Higher than 1a won't damage anything. .7 might not actually charge the battery 100% depending on if the phone thinks it is usb(500ma charging mode) or ac charger(wont charge properly).
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. The voltage is what really matters. The phone won't draw more than it can to charge. If it draws 1A while charging and you put it on a 2A charger, it will pull 1A. But if the voltages don't match up and there isn't a protection circuit for that type of problem, you could fry the electronics with a higher amperage.
100% on the voltage! That is the important one. .7a shouldnt be recognized as a real ac charger resulting in the phone thinking it is USB 500ma charging mode which is the same as pc, slow. If the device thinks the .7a charger is ac charging mode, the battery probably will never charge to 100%. In fact if you were at 100%, and the phone was in ac charging mode with a .7a charger, it would drain your battery! More than 1a, the phone will only draw what it is capable of. Some aftermarket chargers will still charge in USB 500ma mode because the phone won't recognize them as ac charging 1a mode. I had an old HTC charger once that did funny things to my inspire, it would open navigation every time it was plugged in(thought it was a car dock I guess). Use real OEM chargers if possible. They will charge the fastest, and you won't have issues. The real HTC chargers at 1a are much faster than the aftermarket chargers I have tried. I have a good Kensington 1a car and wall charger, and the HTC blows them away as far as speed!
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA
c5satellite2 said:
100% on the voltage! That is the important one. .7a shouldnt be recognized as a real ac charger resulting in the phone thinking it is USB 500ma charging mode which is the same as pc, slow. If the device thinks the .7a charger is ac charging mode, the battery probably will never charge to 100%.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, AC charging mode or PC USB mode is not determined by amprage or volts (all use 5v). It is determined by how the data pins are terminated. Most non-Apple chargers terminate data pins the same way so they will be recognized as AC charger. Apple chargers are the ones that may not be recognized by the phone as AC chargers because Apple terminates data PINs different than everyone else. Regardless of the charging mode, they all can charge to 100% if they can initiate the charge.
LiIon battery charging circuitary is much more complicated than your normal AA chargers. It is regulated internally so that slightly variations of input voltage won't affect the charging. It has to internally control the charge process precisely so that it can terminate the process at the exact moment (overcharging results in explusion).
Input power supply being 0.7A or 1A has no bearing on the level to which the battery is filled. Even input voltage has no bearing! The only impact to the system will be the rate at which you can charge.
Not true. Some chargers make the device think it is a real ac charger, but do not provide enough to charge to 100%. And yes it has to do with pinout. Some ac chargers aren't recognized properly and results in USB charge mode even if they have more than 500ma available. Even if your pc provides more than the USB standard of 500ma, it will only draw 500ma and charge slowly.
Don't mess with the voltage, it WILL damage your device! The previous post should be ignored, and deleted.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA
I use my touchpad charger and its 5.3v instead of 5v and its definitely charging my phone faster than the HTC stock charger. No affect on battery life though.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
5.3v or 5v is ok because there is a little leeway, and I'm sure the 5.3 isn't exactly 5.3 anyway. If it was, the extra .3v is probably within range, and is not blowing things up, just stressing them a little more, making some heat, and wearing them out slightly quicker.
Try a 12v charger, see what happens. LOL.
Seriously the 5.3v might actually be closer to 5v than a charger labeled 5v and therefore could result in better charging. Remember, input voltage varies as well. Your electricity could go under 100v or as high as 120v. Our electric grid is not very consistent. Supply is constantly being adjusted to meet demand, resulting in widely varying voltages. I have seen it dip into the low 90v range on hot summer afternoons, and rarely in the 115v-120v range where it should be. The 5.0 volt charger would result in the best performance if it was actually putting out a TRUE 5v. A high quality charger, with high quality, consistent, 115v input power that is properly rated is ideal. In reality it doesn't exist.
5.3v close enough, might actually be better. One way to tell, put the voltmeter on it!
If you have access to volt/multimeter, could you post your ac voltage at the outlet and the dc voltage coming out of the 5.3v charger. Could be interesting. How many amps is the charger also? Might have to get one.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA
Dont have that but this is the link to it
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0055QYJJM
I'll provide the exact specs when I get home.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
Can you clarify what you mean by this?
c5satellite2 said:
Not true. Some chargers make the device think it is a real ac charger, but do not provide enough to charge to 100%.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Either an input power provides power or it doesn't. The only reason it would "stop" is if the charger in the phone runs out of headroom and I have yet to see this with any AC/DC or USB supply.
The whole issue of whether or not the phone identifies the power supply is an entirely separate discussion. But once it does identify and begin charging it will do so until completion.
---------- Post added at 12:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:05 PM ----------
c5satellite2 said:
The 5.0 volt charger would result in the best performance if it was actually putting out a TRUE 5v.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not true. Take two AC/DC adapters...
A) [email protected] = 4.24W
B) [email protected] =4.00W
The HTC One X has an internal switching charger with dynamic input power limiting. So it will actually be able to draw MORE current from Adapter A than Adapter B. Also, because the charger in the One X is a switching charger there will be negligible extra heat generated and no excessive wear and tear.
how did you know?
racerex said:
Can you clarify what you mean by this?
Either an input power provides power or it doesn't. The only reason it would "stop" is if the charger in the phone runs out of headroom and I have yet to see this with any AC/DC or USB supply.
The whole issue of whether or not the phone identifies the power supply is an entirely separate discussion. But once it does identify and begin charging it will do so until completion.
---------- Post added at 12:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:05 PM ----------
This is not true. Take two AC/DC adapters...
A) [email protected] = 4.24W
B) [email protected] =4.00W
The HTC One X has an internal switching charger with dynamic input power limiting. So it will actually be able to draw MORE current from Adapter A than Adapter B. Also, because the charger in the One X is a switching charger there will be negligible extra heat generated and no excessive wear and tear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Htc has input power limiting? Internal switching charger? Where did you get this information?
The plugpack will be voltage regulated(to protect from overvoltage with under designed load) not ampage regulated.
The battery charges via voltage float, the higher the voltage the quicker the charge, but the voltage is regulated anyways so there is no fast and slow charge. It is charging or it's not. The charge circuit steps up and down the voltage to give fast/slow charge not the plugpack in mobile phones.
1.0a versus 0.7a just means the rated output is lower. It does not change the load. All that happens is the 0.7a will be running over its rated output which results in running hotter and potential running undervoltage.
Running 0.7a is not good if the battery charge circuit will draw 1.0a by design. Your plugpack just becomes a firerisk.
You should always match the designed specifications, eg 12v 1.0a.
The device expects a 12v(or close) input and should be able to draw 1.0a without issue.
If you over or under volt the charge circuit it could blow up, if you over draw the supply it might melt.
is it ok to charge 0.7A battery with 1.0A charger
omer101 said:
is it ok to charge 0.7A battery with 1.0A charger
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you not read the thread?
Sent from my Evita

Does the battery performance vary by using different chargers?

Does the battery performance vary when charged the phone with usb cable, or wall charger provided for galaxy r or some other samsung charger?
I noticed that when I charge through usb cable, it takes long time to charge and the phone discharges soon.
I used another charger and it charges sooner and gives more backup.
With galaxy R's wall mount charger it gives 12-13 hours on data network.
Is this a normal behaviour??
One more thing i wanna know is when does the "on battery" statistics gets reset? Is it only after 100% charge?
Buddy as i have experienced yes.
The voltage provided by the chargers matters i think.
Correct voltage at a consistent level is a must for any device
The non branded chargers at times made my touchsreen unresponsive too.
And charging from a usb cable makes my battery vanish faster.
i think any high end phone charger supplied by samsung should do well or equal to that given with our device.
Sent from my GT-I9103 using xda app-developers app
I think, Adam will explain it better coz he is doing something(i have forgotten) in electric science.
Sent from my GT-I9103 using Tapatalk 2
Adam has already explained this in one of the threads...plz use search.

Categories

Resources