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Power cord - annoying

So the power cord is really annoying. The brick has a cord coming straight out of it. I was hoping that I'd be able to swap usb cords. I know the Surface has higher power requirements but I was hoping I could swap USB cords and charge my phone with the Microsoft plug. I do this with my ipad 2 wall wart. Reading this over, I realize I'm probably full of ****.

moosic said:
So the power cord is really annoying. The brick has a cord coming straight out of it. I was hoping that I'd be able to swap usb cords. I know the Surface has higher power requirements but I was hoping I could swap USB cords and charge my phone with the Microsoft plug. I do this with my ipad 2 wall wart. Reading this over, I realize I'm probably full of ****.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree tha tthe power cord sucks. I connected it and then 20min later realized it wasn't charging because it wasn't seated just right. I wouldn't even mind a slow USB charge if I could hok it up when I go to bed.
Hopefully someone will realse a better charger 3rd party.

The badly-seated charger was mentioned in both of the more-detailed reviews (Ars Technica and Anandtech). The reason it's one piece is precisely to prevent people from plugging it into other USB periphs--and frying them with its higher voltage. As for a 3rd-party charger, it'll be a while, as MS has a patent pending on the connector.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/14/microsoft-magnetic-patent-application/

e.mote said:
The badly-seated charger was mentioned in both of the more-detailed reviews (Ars Technica and Anandtech). The reason it's one piece is precisely to prevent people from plugging it into other USB periphs--and frying them with its higher voltage. As for a 3rd-party charger, it'll be a while, as MS has a patent pending on the connector.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/14/microsoft-magnetic-patent-application/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure why they would want to patent it in its current design. It is a horrible implementation - whoever designed it at MS should be fired.
I am not sure if I am the only one, but I am having a hard time getting it seated just right to start charging my Surface. I connect it and it looks like its on, but you have to finagle it to get the surface to see it and switch to charging. I litteraly spent 3 minutes last night trying to get it to see it. Not very user friendly for people on the go, Maybe Apple will come up with better power cord for MS - LOL

guitar1969 said:
Not sure why they would want to patent it in its current design. It is a horrible implementation - whoever designed it at MS should be fired.
I am not sure if I am the only one, but I am having a hard time getting it seated just right to start charging my Surface. I connect it and it looks like its on, but you have to finagle it to get the surface to see it and switch to charging. I litteraly spent 3 minutes last night trying to get it to see it. Not very user friendly for people on the go, Maybe Apple will come up with better power cord for MS - LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't been having quite that much trouble, but I agree the cord is a little annoying to seat properly. I did notice today that the cord has a light on the top which is a more convenient way to see if its connected properly than checking the tablet.

moosic said:
I was hoping I could swap USB cords and charge my phone with the Microsoft plug.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since the Surface has a full-size USB port, can't you charge your phone from your surface while it's also charging (or not)? I know it's not quite the same, but I don't think we've ever had a tablet that could charge a phone before...

Jaxidian said:
Since the Surface has a full-size USB port, can't you charge your phone from your surface while it's also charging (or not)? I know it's not quite the same, but I don't think we've ever had a tablet that could charge a phone before...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So which way do you orient it - Light facing upward or light facing downward in relation to the tablets top and bottom in landscape mode. It works both ways but not sure which is easier to get it working yet.

yes, you should have no issue charging your phone through the usb port on the surface.
i agree that the connector is a little tough to get to click in, but i haven't had more than 5 seconds worth of effort to get it to go, it could all really be solved by them putting slightly stronger magnets into the connector or the port so that it pulls itself into the right position. part of the issue also seems to come from the angle of the sides since normally one tries to attach it perpendicularly to the screen, but it's a little bit more of an angle you have to guide it in with.

Isn't there a LED on it as well? If it's seated correct the LED would light up?

bmstrong said:
Isn't there a LED on it as well? If it's seated correct the LED would light up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
correct, it glows white when it is connected, it would be nice if it changed color when the device was fully charged, but it's not a huge deal regardless

It is still very tempermental to get connected compared to other designs - Hopefully there will be some third party option shortly. I spoke to MS about it and they said part of the reason for the design was to avoid broken connectors as occur often on laptops - Whatever they say, it is way to difficult to get it to charge right. Can you imagine asking someone else to plug your surface in - they will never figure it out without help

adiliyo said:
correct, it glows white when it is connected, it would be nice if it changed color when the device was fully charged, but it's not a huge deal regardless
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same thought...
It's nice to know when your device is fully charged without having to turn it on.

guitar1969 said:
It is still very tempermental to get connected compared to other designs - Hopefully there will be some third party option shortly. I spoke to MS about it and they said part of the reason for the design was to avoid broken connectors as occur often on laptops - Whatever they say, it is way to difficult to get it to charge right. Can you imagine asking someone else to plug your surface in - they will never figure it out without help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
while the break away ability of a magnetic connection is great in protecting the ports and devices from sudden and accidental disconnections, the implementation of the magsafe connection on macs is better done, and the only real difference is stronger magnets, if the connector could guide itself in via the magnets, i feel like no one would be complaining about it.
i have gotten better at helping it connect lately though...i've also realized it charges so fast that the light change isn't as necessary, if i have it connected for anywhere near an hour it's generally full or almost full when i unplug it.

wow, some of you guys are having so much trouble you wish for the designer to be fired? I haven't had one issue yet, I plug it in with the LED facing down, I just slide it along the side of the case and when the magnets stick I twist it whichever way it needs to be turned to straighten out. Once it clicks in and feels good I wave my hand under it to make sure I see white on my palm and it's good to go. Maybe a 5 second ordeal?

Imprezed said:
wow, some of you guys are having so much trouble you wish for the designer to be fired? I haven't had one issue yet, I plug it in with the LED facing down, I just slide it along the side of the case and when the magnets stick I twist it whichever way it needs to be turned to straighten out. Once it clicks in and feels good I wave my hand under it to make sure I see white on my palm and it's good to go. Maybe a 5 second ordeal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was having trouble before until I found a method that was consistent for me as well, and I pretty much do the same as you. Line it up parallel to the port and then twist it into place.

Wireless charging?

Any way to enable wireless charging? Possibly removing the back and with a touchstone similar to what's possible with the s3?
Swyped while swerving from my Samsung GS3

Similar to this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1962993
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Most places are declining to make this
We need moto to make these kinda features stock
The problem is the phone is not designed to be opened or the battery removed.. hence voiding warranty if u do so
That's why we prob won't see this for the RAZR HD and HD maxx
With the s3 u can just pop the back door off...this phone I have yet to see a breakdown... I really doubt the aftermarket companies that make those kinda product will want to invest in making a product that voids ur warranty just to install it
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using xda app-developers app

This is xda surely warranties aren't a concern? If i saw a tear down it wouldn't be hard to set it up with a touch stone like the s3 i would think?
Swyped while swerving from my Samsung GS3

Thatoneguy. said:
This is xda surely warranties aren't a concern? If i saw a tear down it wouldn't be hard to set it up with a touch stone like the s3 i would think?
Swyped while swerving from my Samsung GS3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If their is room
I forgot where I read it
But the two screws on the bottom come out then the screen slides up..as far as I remember.. lol
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using xda app-developers app

Not even worth trying, I attempted this mod on the Atrix HD which is done by connecting the positive terminal on the palm pixi to the +5v part on phone and it eventually worked but a usb had to be plugged into phone the usb wasnt plugged into anything but the phone wouldnt charge unless it actually detected a usb plugged in.

Unfortunately, I don't think it will happen. It is true that XDA doesn't care too much about warranties, but there is a big difference between hardware and software warranties. Accessory manufacturers aren't going to make something that you have to hack apart your phone for. What is worth more to you, a 30 dollar wireless charging accessory that you have to jimmy rig, or the warranty that protects your $650 investment? You can unroot easy enough to return to VZW but try explaning the wireless charging mod that's on there now.

I've been interested in getting a wireless charging solution for my phone, and while I have to look into it a bit more to figure out specifics for certain things, I think it may be possible to create a case that plugs into the USB port so we wouldn't void our warranties.
Designing the case wont bee too much hassle, a micrometer and some 3D modeling software. However we need to find a way to get a micro usb connector that has a 90 degree bend in it to go into the port without causing any sort of scraping. Possibly have the right hand side of the case hinged and secured by snaps on top and bottom? or have the connector itself removable.
So materials for a test setup would require:
Touchstone components
90 degree MicroUSB male connector
Soldering gun
Custom case
I don't have the setup to do this available to me right now, however I think the biggest problem would be getting a connector small enough to keep from adding a lot of bulk to the side of the phone. Heck, with it only supplying .42 A at about 4.8 volts, it may not be inconceivable to group 2 in a case for faster charging. I haven't worked with the touchstone charger myself before, so I don't know their size.
Anyways, food for thought, and a possible personal project once I get some more important things finished up.

Hi,
Signed up just to post my results so far.
Ive gotten razr HD maxx to charge through the USB port using a touchstone pixi back cover.
It works using the touchstone charging base but the usb wall wart that came with the razr hd. The amperage coming though was not enough using a motorola dedicated usb wall charger that came with my bluetooth headphones putting out 500mA. It charges a little slower using the induction charger. I need to figure out if this will work running off my cars electrical system as that is my main motivation for getting this to work.
To get the phone to go into charging mode you have to either short out the USB data wires or connect the D+ wire to a 2v contact on the touchstone pixi circuit. Connecting the usb D+ to the 2v contact hopefully will allow me to hardwire this setup directly to the phone and leave the usb port free if, assuming I can find enough room inside for everything.
The phone is charging right now on the touchstone base, estimate 2hr to full charge from 70%
Im going to try and shove it all inside the phone tomorrow.
DrunkenFerret said:
I've been interested in getting a wireless charging solution for my phone, and while I have to look into it a bit more to figure out specifics for certain things, I think it may be possible to create a case that plugs into the USB port so we wouldn't void our warranties.
Designing the case wont bee too much hassle, a micrometer and some 3D modeling software. However we need to find a way to get a micro usb connector that has a 90 degree bend in it to go into the port without causing any sort of scraping. Possibly have the right hand side of the case hinged and secured by snaps on top and bottom? or have the connector itself removable.
So materials for a test setup would require:
Touchstone components
90 degree MicroUSB male connector
Soldering gun
Custom case
I don't have the setup to do this available to me right now, however I think the biggest problem would be getting a connector small enough to keep from adding a lot of bulk to the side of the phone. Heck, with it only supplying .42 A at about 4.8 volts, it may not be inconceivable to group 2 in a case for faster charging. I haven't worked with the touchstone charger myself before, so I don't know their size.
Anyways, food for thought, and a possible personal project once I get some more important things finished up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I dont know if I can get this to work internally now due to soldeirng limitations.
There is just enough space to slightly force the phone back together (it does bulge) but the pins for the USB port are covered and recessed under the USB housing. There is not enough clearance for me to do a clean solder onto the contacts.
I can not find another trace for the 5v or D+ pin on the circuit board.
If i could remove the outer cover maybe but for now this is going to have to be a plug into the USB port/external mod until i either grow a bigger pair and try to remove the USB port or find alternate contacts to solder the leads onto.
EDIT: I actually just went for it and ground off the corner of the USB casing. And actually soldered the wires onto the pins. However the touchstone system will not allow this to work internally. The battey when laid on the coil will interfere with the EMF and cause an unstable voltage. It goes from a low of 4.8 to 5.5 v. Maybe someone thats an RF engineer can figure something out with the reflector.
Maybe if i get more motivation later ill check out a qi standard charging setup to see if its compatible. For now im going to find an outer case and just go with the usb plug use this externally.

Try picking up some foil tape and put it between the battery and coil. You should be able to pick some up at your local hardware or hobby shop. It may need to be touching the ground to be effective though. Depending on some things over the next month I might be able to start working on my own setup.

Tried that but no go.
With the foil covering the coil, the voltage fluctuates before the battery is even placed over it. I hope you can get it working internally, ive since used an otterbox commuter case to hold it all together.
DrunkenFerret said:
Try picking up some foil tape and put it between the battery and coil. You should be able to pick some up at your local hardware or hobby shop. It may need to be touching the ground to be effective though. Depending on some things over the next month I might be able to start working on my own setup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

In what order are you putting the components? Phone, battery then coil. Or phone coil then battery? Basically is the coil between the hardware and battery, or is the coil between the back panel and battery.
I can see where the issues would arise if it is between the battery and hardware. Both would be giving off EM waves if the device is on. If it is between them, try moving the coil to between the back panel and the battery.
Right now I can't afford to try an internal mod where I could kill the phone if I screw up, so until a couple things settle down for me I will only be attempting an external mod that fits in a case. If I can get the design right I may be able to make it so there is still a USB port available.
*Edit*
I'm sourcing/pricing components right now and you've already given me the voltage output, but how about the current provided by the coil? What I'm planning involves building a small circuit that would short the D+ wire only when there is no USB cable connected.

Anyway we can get some pics of the project in progress?
Swyped while swerving from my Droid Razr Maxx HD

Thatoneguy. said:
Anyway we can get some pics of the project in progress?
Swyped while swerving from my Droid Razr Maxx HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I don't have the components at the moment to start my project physically, however as I said I am finding the parts I'll need. Apparently its a PITA to get male micro USB connectors without bulk orders, or importing from China. I'd prefer a SMT (surface mount for circuit boards) but those appear to be next to impossible. Anyways I've been able to find pretty much everything I need and just a matter of time till they get in.
My plan is to provide a clean circuit that would use the USB port on the phone to charge using the coil, while adding a new USB port into a phone case to still allow USB data and charging. However as the coil can create fluctuations in voltage and current, I want to have a setup that allows for it to be isolated while it is plugged in through USB.
Attached is just a quick circuit diagram I made using EveryCircuit, I need to refine it still, but just an example. Heck if you have the app rebuild it and you'll be able to see what it does. Left side is USB cable input, with a switch at top to simulate plugging in and unplugging, while the right is the phone side with the power source being the coil. The light/loads are to simulate the data lines and power lines and show whether the circuit works.
When I get the parts together I'll take pics and post a tutorial. I have some 3D modeling experience so I may even be able to design a custom case to put everything into.

DrunkenFerret said:
In what order are you putting the components? Phone, battery then coil. Or phone coil then battery? Basically is the coil between the hardware and battery, or is the coil between the back panel and battery.
I can see where the issues would arise if it is between the battery and hardware. Both would be giving off EM waves if the device is on. If it is between them, try moving the coil to between the back panel and the battery.
Right now I can't afford to try an internal mod where I could kill the phone if I screw up, so until a couple things settle down for me I will only be attempting an external mod that fits in a case. If I can get the design right I may be able to make it so there is still a USB port available.
*Edit*
I'm sourcing/pricing components right now and you've already given me the voltage output, but how about the current provided by the coil? What I'm planning involves building a small circuit that would short the D+ wire only when there is no USB cable connected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the coil was sandwiched between the back case of the phone and the battery. The metal in the battery is influencing the flux going through the charging coil. The base is not always on, it only turns on when the charging coil is present. If not present the base seems to send out a pulse every so often to detect the presence of the charging coil inside the phone.
The issues arise once the battery is laid across the coil, the base begins to oscillate and the voltage begins to alternate. Also the coils seem to only work within a specific frequency range, but i dont have a signal generator or oscope to confirm this.
According to the battery charging app the base is putting out ~6-700mA to the phone with an 1A charger plugged into the base.

Need some help with otg + charge mod

Dear XDA, i really need your help,
I am planning to make this (see thubnail)
i want to make a custom case for my htc one s. (I know it will be a little bigger but that's ok)
I want to charge my phone using a usb cable or a micro usb cable, and at the same time doing OTG. I don't know what resistor i will use yet (tips?)
Also add an extra battery. It is an old phone battery. So if i want to charge from the battery i need to stop the solar cell and guide the electricity through the 5v regulator to charge. What ya think?
I am new to modding so please comment cause i need a lot of help to make this one succeed!
Greetings, pro-one1000
sent from htc one s ville

Don't mean to be negative but I see a couple issues right of the bat. First, where are you going to get a 5 volt charger? I would guess most dc chargers are going to be 12, 24, or 36 volts. I don't think they'll run on significantly less. The solar panel is only going to output about one half of one watt. Assuming no friction loss or inefficiencies that would hardly slow your phone's discharge.
If you want to power the phone and hub I would suggest a small sealed lead acid battery. They're available in 12 volts in many sizes. Easily enough power to keep phone totally charged. Will work with cigarette lighter car chargers so you won't need to customize that part. Depending on the size it'll last a week to a month non-stop. Unfortunately, it probably won't fit in your pocket but if you carry a book bag or briefcase you could hide it there... I use a battery like this at work when I'm using a lot of phone battery and moving around too much to plug in.
Good luck with which ever route you choose!
Sent from my HTC One S using xda app-developers app

thanks
lampel said:
Don't mean to be negative but I see a couple issues right of the bat. First, where are you going to get a 5 volt charger? I would guess most dc chargers are going to be 12, 24, or 36 volts. I don't think they'll run on significantly less. The solar panel is only going to output about one half of one watt. Assuming no friction loss or inefficiencies that would hardly slow your phone's discharge.
If you want to power the phone and hub I would suggest a small sealed lead acid battery. They're available in 12 volts in many sizes. Easily enough power to keep phone totally charged. Will work with cigarette lighter car chargers so you won't need to customize that part. Depending on the size it'll last a week to a month non-stop. Unfortunately, it probably won't fit in your pocket but if you carry a book bag or briefcase you could hide it there... I use a battery like this at work when I'm using a lot of phone battery and moving around too much to plug in.
Good luck with which ever route you choose!
Sent from my HTC One S using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply!
First about the charger, i will use my 5v 1amp charger (micro usb) or an usb male to male usb cable from my pc to charge. So i'll be able to get a charger.
You're i think right about the solar panel, i need to find a better one indeed, trying to get one cheap on ebay! If i try to search for a "smal sealed lead acid battery" i get 40 dollar + big cases of batteries, could you please give a example in the form of an ebay-link?
Anyway thanks a lot and when i have ordered the parts i will try to upload the stuff!
Greetings

I'm assuming the 5v charger you're talking about it a car charger; which means it would have an input voltage of 12 - 14 and won't run on 3.7 (and even if it could run on the lower voltage the amperage would go up dramatically draining the usable power in the battery in minutes. And I wouldn't connect anything to a USB port for two reasons: first, if you connect two batteries in parallel (red to red and black to black) and they're not identical one will usually drain the other as they try and equalize (unless you isolate them from each other). Second, I don't think most USB ports (USB 3.0 i believe has provisions to receive power) are designed to receive power on a computer and your schematic doesn't include anything to prevent back feeding power to the computer.
There are many solar chargers I've seen that would give you the output you need - I've seen them designed to trickle charge RVs, boats, cars, and motorcycles - but I think they would be way to larger for what your looking for.
And I guess I should clarify what I meant by small... Was a bad choice of words for a cell phone forum, I guess. I meant small relative to other lead acid batteries; i.e. car or boat batteries. This is similiar to what I use:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/12VOLT-5AMP...US_Rechargeable_Batteries&hash=item589ef11aed
Attached is a pic of my batteries and the adapter that gives me a cigarette lighter type receptacle. And I use a spare motorcycle float charger to keep them charged. And because they're 12 volt batteries they'll power and accessory that is designed to run in a car.
I guess I should probably have asked what is your ultimate goal? And do you carry anything where you could stash the battery?
giesse1996 said:
Thanks for your reply!
First about the charger, i will use my 5v 1amp charger (micro usb) or an usb male to male usb cable from my pc to charge. So i'll be able to get a charger.
You're i think right about the solar panel, i need to find a better one indeed, trying to get one cheap on ebay! If i try to search for a "smal sealed lead acid battery" i get 40 dollar + big cases of batteries, could you please give a example in the form of an ebay-link?
Anyway thanks a lot and when i have ordered the parts i will try to upload the stuff!
Greetings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thanks for your reply,
After thinking I want to use a second1-5 volt boost regulator attached a small high capicity battery of 3.7 volt. (like a galaxy sIII battery or something. So if i put the switch to on the extra battery should charge with 5v my phone battery. Or i could charge my phone directly from a high efficient solar cell with 5v.
I indeed have no idea how to prevent backfleeding. Do I need diodes / light emmitting diodes for this? And indeed the batteries you mentioned are way to big. I am planning to use an old battery from an other phone with the 5v boost regulator mentioned above. Further i don't understand where you see a computer in my scheme?
Your mod ( i think i it deserves that wonderfull name) with the 12v battery is a good idea. Very handy when going out without a charge point. I usually go to school and am probably able to put the large battery in there, but as i mentioned i want to keep it a "phone case".
My ultimate goal is to make the tiniest possible case for the htc one s ville with,
- a very small usb hub 4 port for 3 female ports and inside a micro sdhc memory for more storage.
- Add the charge ability, so i don't need to take the phone out of the case to charge
- be in otg mode and charging mode at the same time (i guess the hardest challenge)
optionary:
- Add a battery so when i get the actual phone out of the case the solar cell can keep providing power to the battery
- Add a solar cell
- make it actual work with multiple switches
Really appreciate your help!
Greetings,

I misunderstood "First about the charger, i will use my 5v 1amp charger (micro usb) or an usb male to male usb cable from my pc to charge" to mean you might have a computer available to charge. I guess you just meant the cable itself. Understood.
I'm not an electronics expert by any means but yes I believe diodes will prevent the current from flowing in an undesirable direction but they won't prevent one battery from draining another. Two batteries connected in parallel can drain each other and the diode will slow that but I don't think it will eliminate it. Might be able to mitigate the affect by opening one of your switches when the auxiliary battery is not in use. When two batteries are wired in parallel they are frequently connected to an isolator that has three terminals (for a two battery setup). Terminals one and two go to batteries one and two and terminal three goes to the system it's connected to. Batteries one and two never 'see' each other and therefore cannot affect or drain each other.
Not sure I have anything else that can really help... GOOD LUCK! And post pics and details if you build a working prototype.

Thanks again!
I'll try to order a couple extra diodes with low consuption, that plus the switches will hopefully do the job. I ordered yesterday the parts out of China, so it'll take a month to get it in my hands. Now I have more time to consider how it can be assembled all together, but if i get anything i will post it directly!! If it works i may try to make a tutorial for other people so they could also enjoy more ports on their phone!
Greetings

Hard wired 12V TO 5V / 3A DC Power Converter Micro USB Charger | PROJECT NOW COMPLETE

EDIT: SCROLL DOWN TO POST #12 WHERE I SHOW YOU HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN FULL-1900 mAh CHARGER!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=43663686&postcount=12
-=========================================
Has anyone used this particular item before? Or can recommend a similar hard-wire unit that operates at 2A to 3A?
http://www.amazon.com/DROK-Converter-Connectors-Adapter-Recorder/dp/B00D6B6CJI
I'm thinking about getting one for my SUV and Motorcyle to charge the S4 at normal 1900 rates like the OEM wall-charger. Get that FAST charge.
Yes, I know about cig lighter chargers. No, that is not what this thread is for.

hello did you buy it?

CZ Eddie said:
Has anyone used this particular item before? Or can recommend a similar hard-wire unit that operates at 2A to 3A?
http://www.amazon.com/DROK-Converter-Connectors-Adapter-Recorder/dp/B00D6B6CJI
I'm thinking about getting one for my SUV and Motorcyle to charge the S4 at normal 1900 rates like the OEM wall-charger. Get that FAST charge.
Yes, I know about cig lighter chargers. No, that is not what this thread is for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this hardwired into my WRX:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CDL-WaterPr...35?pt=US_Power_Inverters_&hash=item1c34627e83
I ran it off the clock circuit (my clock is dead anyways) but any switched 12v source will do. It charges my car integrated Nexus7 without any issues, and at the faster rate.
I have another powering a servo and an aux USB port, but unfortunately I ran so much wire to get it into the center console by the handbrake it charges at USB rates.

paolopaulpaul said:
hello did you buy it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not yet.
Caferacer said:
I have this hardwired into my WRX:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CDL-WaterPr...35?pt=US_Power_Inverters_&hash=item1c34627e83
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that's a great price! Does it charge at ~1900 rates? Here is an app that will tell you the charging rate:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ccc71.bmw&hl=en

Just bought this one for $9 shipped.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-waterpr...34?pt=US_Power_Inverters_&hash=item3a7a051922
It's a waterproof box so it'll be better on my Motorcycle. I'll let you guys know how it works out by next week sometime.

There was a thread somewhere that explained why some chargers won't do the 1900mah charge. He figured out where and what size resistors to put across the wires to enable it. I think it was in a car dock thread, I'll try and find it.
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)

CZ Eddie said:
Not yet.
Wow, that's a great price! Does it charge at ~1900 rates? Here is an app that will tell you the charging rate:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ccc71.bmw&hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That app won't show the mA on my N7 but does show it charging near the same % as a fast charger.
MonkeyTime said:
There was a thread somewhere that explained why some chargers won't do the 1900mah charge. He figured out where and what size resistors to put across the wires to enable it. I think it was in a car dock thread, I'll try and find it.
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the shorting/grounding of the data pins that activates 'fast charge' mode on some phones. Nexus 7's and my E4GT (Sprint S2) when I used it didn't require the pins to be shorted to charge faster. Mostly it was the charger (duh) and the quality/length of the cable that affected the charge speed. As well, most of the heavy 1A plus chargers short the data pins in the charger itself so you can use any cable. I believe the S4 doesn't require it as well, but don't have any data to confirm it.
The way I wired mine was to sacrifice a USB female port from a USB extender, and attached the power leads and shorted the data leads. Figured it couldn't hurt. The converter doesn't care if it's putting out 500mA or 3A. It's not intelligent like some chargers in what current it doles out.

Caferacer said:
shorted the data leads. Figured it couldn't hurt. The converter doesn't care if it's putting out 500mA or 3A. It's not intelligent like some chargers in what current it doles out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yours is the second post I've seen where someone has shorted the data pins on a charging-only setup. Is there a reason for doing that?
Ehh, n/m. I remembered the "Google before you ask" mantra...
This explains it nicely:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/194362-wont-charge-over-usb-car.html
MichaelBR said:
There are some reasons why it won't work, and some ways to solve it. First, let's understand how it works:
The USB cable has four pins. The inner two pins are where the data goes through. THe outer, power.
When the USB cable is plugged in to a computer, the data pins are connected normally and the phone knows it can only draw certain amount of power
When the cable is plugged in to a charger, the two middle pins are shorted, and the phone knows that it's NOT going to be sendind/receiving data, so it can draw as much power as it can. That's why it charges faster with the charger than when plugged in to a computer
Most chargers short the two pins. Some cables have a switch to do that.
There are different cable cauges as well, with different power capacities.
Some USB chargers, notably car chargers and some low-end (i.e. not good brand) chargers that don't draw from the car/don't give the phone as much current as it needs.
So, if any of below, the phone won't charge, or won't charge fast enough. Or, worse: it may appear as charging, but actually losing battery charge!
Cable too long or incorrect gauge
Middle pins not shorted for some reason
Charger doesn't deliver enough current
And the solutions are:
Don't use cable extensions, cables that are too long. Stick with the cable that came with the phone or with the charger
Get a good car charger, that delivers the right amount of current
I imagine you just got the cable from your original wall charger and plugged it in to the car charger. If you did that, then chances are the cable is OK, and the charger is the culprit. If this is the case, then get a better charger. Check how much current that charger can deliver. Check how much current your device actually needs.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

CZ Eddie said:
Yours is the second post I've seen where someone has shorted the data pins on a charging-only setup. Is there a reason for doing that?
Ehh, n/m. I remembered the "Google before you ask" mantra...
This explains it nicely:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/194362-wont-charge-over-usb-car.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be clear, there is no indication it is *required* for the S4. Mine quick charges just fine without shorted data leads. However I did this because my friends have a variety of phones and it only took a few minutes to do.

Caferacer said:
That app won't show the mA on my N7 but does show it charging near the same % as a fast charger.
It's the shorting/grounding of the data pins that activates 'fast charge' mode on some phones. Nexus 7's and my E4GT (Sprint S2) when I used it didn't require the pins to be shorted to charge faster. Mostly it was the charger (duh) and the quality/length of the cable that affected the charge speed. As well, most of the heavy 1A plus chargers short the data pins in the charger itself so you can use any cable. I believe the S4 doesn't require it as well, but don't have any data to confirm it.
The way I wired mine was to sacrifice a USB female port from a USB extender, and attached the power leads and shorted the data leads. Figured it couldn't hurt. The converter doesn't care if it's putting out 500mA or 3A. It's not intelligent like some chargers in what current it doles out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Caferacer said:
To be clear, there is no indication it is *required* for the S4. Mine quick charges just fine without shorted data leads. However I did this because my friends have a variety of phones and it only took a few minutes to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I agree with what you posted in general terms, below is the link to the thread I was talking about. He did some testing and found the pins aren't just shorted, but shorted w/ 82K resistors to get the maximum charging current.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2274321

Will it damage the phone to have a 3A charger plugged into it? Also If it does not damage would it be able to run the camera as a "blackbox" and not die? I currently have a 2a charger and when i use the black box software it dies after about an hour or so.

SUCCESS!
I got the little black box in from eBay.
Gave it a quick/test wire setup. This is NOT indicative of the end result which will be soldered & have shrink tubing, etc.
Okay, first I grabbed my stock S3 data/charge cable.
Snipped off the standard USB end.
Cut off the ends of the pin 2 & 3 wires since they were not being used anymore (data pins).
Then attached the red (power) from the S3 cable to the yellow (power) lead from the little black box. And did the same for the black (negative) leads.
Then hard wired the red & black from the little black box to my motorcycle battery terminals.
On the first test, I only got 460mAh.
Then I decided to short the 2 & 3 pin wires (green & white) on the S3 cable together (attach them to each other). This gave me 1120mAh!
Next I took the tin-foil and wire braid from the S3 cable and tied them together with the negative lead on the S3 cable. This gave me 1220mAh!
Still not satisfied, I then cut down the 5' S3 cable and made it a 1.5' cable.
AND THIS RESULTED IN A FULL 1920mAh!!!! Right on.
That is exactly the same mAh as the stock S4 wall charger & cable combo give me. Very stoked about this. So now I'll do a nice clean install on the bike and then duplicate it for my car dock sometime soon. FULL CHARGE AHEAD!
Crxdc said:
Will it damage the phone to have a 3A charger plugged into it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it will be fine. The phone only draws 1900mAh. If the phone were drawing 3000mAh then there might be a problem.

All done and installed now. And working great!
Negative battery connection (I forgot to shrink tube it but will do that later).
Braided negative wire (~16 to 18awg?) running under gas tank to front of bike.
I wish I would have waited till I got black zip ties in. I hate white zip ties.
The braided wire at the right side of pic that goes up above the gas tank is the pos/neg wire lead that plus right into the phone.
2A inline fuse connecting via blade connector (sorry MC) to a previously used power-on-ignition wire.
This goes to (+) on the little black box.
Note the shrink tube over the braid over the crimp connector (wire goes to top-right of screen).
Phone sitting next to the phone dock I made out of a holster that came with my phone case.
You can see the braided/shrink tubed MicroUSB connector already plugged into the phone.
It's not showing a charge though, because the ignition key is not turned on.
Phone is inserted into stable dock (it will never fall out unless I crash hard).
Ignition is turned on and battery is charging!
And proof that it's charging at the full 1900mAh. Success!

CZ Eddie said:
All done and installed now. And working great!
Negative battery connection (I forgot to shrink tube it but will do that later).
Braided negative wire (~16 to 18awg?) running under gas tank to front of bike.
I wish I would have waited till I got black zip ties in. I hate white zip ties.
The braided wire at the right side of pic that goes up above the gas tank is the pos/neg wire lead that plus right into the phone.
2A inline fuse connecting via blade connector (sorry MC) to a previously used power-on-ignition wire.
This goes to (+) on the little black box.
Note the shrink tube over the braid over the crimp connector (wire goes to top-right of screen).
Phone sitting next to the phone dock I made out of a holster that came with my phone case.
You can see the braided/shrink tubed MicroUSB connector already plugged into the phone.
It's not showing a charge though, because the ignition key is not turned on.
Phone is inserted into stable dock (it will never fall out unless I crash hard).
Ignition is turned on and battery is charging!
And proof that it's charging at the full 1900mAh. Success!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome.

Hard wire phone charger and Bluetooth Receiver to car battery plan...
Hello,
I'm planning to install the following in my car along with new stereo head unit:
1) CraigsDocks Samsung Galaxy S4 docking charger, with USB power out
2) Rocketfish Bluetooth Music Receiver (with aptX), with DC 5V power out (connected to 3' 5V to USB power cable)
Plan to use this to convert (found on EBAY - I can't post links here in XDA yet/new user): Dual USB Cable Connectors Power Adapters 8-22V 12 V to 5V/3A DC Volt Converters... to connect directly to my car battery to power both the Samsung charger and the Rocketfish.
I'm new at this and I'm wondering if you all think this will work, or if I'm missing any steps, or if there are other better suggestions?
Thanks for your help!

ebrowni said:
Hello,
I'm planning to install the following in my car along with new stereo head unit:
1) CraigsDocks Samsung Galaxy S4 docking charger, with USB power out
2) Rocketfish Bluetooth Music Receiver (with aptX), with DC 5V power out (connected to 3' 5V to USB power cable)
Plan to use this to convert (found on EBAY - I can't post links here in XDA yet/new user): Dual USB Cable Connectors Power Adapters 8-22V 12 V to 5V/3A DC Volt Converters... to connect directly to my car battery to power both the Samsung charger and the Rocketfish.
I'm new at this and I'm wondering if you all think this will work, or if I'm missing any steps, or if there are other better suggestions?
Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks good to me. :good:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-USB-Ca...064?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51af639938

ebrowni said:
Hello,
I'm planning to install the following in my car along with new stereo head unit:
1) CraigsDocks Samsung Galaxy S4 docking charger, with USB power out
2) Rocketfish Bluetooth Music Receiver (with aptX), with DC 5V power out (connected to 3' 5V to USB power cable)
Plan to use this to convert (found on EBAY - I can't post links here in XDA yet/new user): Dual USB Cable Connectors Power Adapters 8-22V 12 V to 5V/3A DC Volt Converters... to connect directly to my car battery to power both the Samsung charger and the Rocketfish.
I'm new at this and I'm wondering if you all think this will work, or if I'm missing any steps, or if there are other better suggestions?
Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just realize that if you wire it to your batter there will be a small draw from the converter and chargers even when not in use. If you let your car sit for a week or long weekend you might come out to find the battery dead. I personally wouldn't wire anything directly to the battery, especially since you didn't mention an inline fuse. Find a switched 12v lead inside the car. Not only does this protect your phone, charger, and car, but it also means you don't have to run anything through the firewall, which is a pain.
You can either tie into the cig lighter wiring, or find something else (I used my clock circuit since it runs to a 10A fuse and is switched).

Caferacer said:
Just realize that if you wire it to your batter there will be a small draw from the converter and chargers even when not in use. If you let your car sit for a week or long weekend you might come out to find the battery dead. I personally wouldn't wire anything directly to the battery, especially since you didn't mention an inline fuse. Find a switched 12v lead inside the car. Not only does this protect your phone, charger, and car, but it also means you don't have to run anything through the firewall, which is a pain.
You can either tie into the cig lighter wiring, or find something else (I used my clock circuit since it runs to a 10A fuse and is switched).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your clock circuit is switched?
I agree with the firewall being a pita, but I'm not a huge fan of tapping on to other circuits either. With nothing charging, what would be drawing any current? If there's anything, it would have to be minimal. It also allows you to charge a phone/device with the car not running, sometimes very handy (and a modification I've made before for just that reason). An inline fuse is also a must, good point!
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)

MonkeyTime said:
Your clock circuit is switched?
I agree with the firewall being a pita, but I'm not a huge fan of tapping on to other circuits either. With nothing charging, what would be drawing any current? If there's anything, it would have to be minimal. It also allows you to charge a phone/device with the car not running, sometimes very handy (and a modification I've made before for just that reason). An inline fuse is also a must, good point!
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, my clock circuit has a switched lead to wake up the clock as well as a hard wired lead to retain the time. Both run to the same 10A fuse.
There is a small transformer in the converter and the receiver bluetooth will stay on. They have a small energy draw which is not negligible over a long period of time. At the very least I would include a dash mounted switch to completely shut the charger and receiver off. For instance I have a bluetooth OBD adapter (Not too much unlike your bluetooth receiver) that drained a 2 year old car battery over a week I left the car sitting while I was on vacation. For day to day driving it's not a problem but my OBD adapter isn't hardwired and I can just remove it when I know the car will be sitting.

Thanks
Caferacer said:
Just realize that if you wire it to your batter there will be a small draw from the converter and chargers even when not in use. If you let your car sit for a week or long weekend you might come out to find the battery dead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oooh, good point! Makes sense to me. I have never done a mod to my car's audio system so I'll be paying a professional installer. I'm so glad to have this information before I shop around at the good places here and get some offers!
Thank you!

Nexus 9 keyboard folio faulty

Hi I bought 2 keyboard folio from eBay brand new but it is like it haves a faulty battery. When I try to pair it with the tablet through NFC I press yes on the "do you want to pair the Nexus keyboard" but after some seconds it fails. But when I put the keyboard to charge it works. After I pair the devices and use the keyboard when I unplug it it stops working straight away. So I was wondering if this happened to anyone else and if it is any key combinations to hard reset the keyboard or something like that?
More people having the same issue!!!!!!!!
https://productforums.google.com/fo...ce=footer#!msg/nexus/miyKVULMUWo/7vH_5T0OGwAJ
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Has anyone found a way to replace the battery or fix the charging issue, battery not charging?

Has anyone tried using a portable external battery charger to power the keyboard, how long does it last?

Until you unplug the external battery.
Sent from my HTC 10 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

I opened the keyboard and the battery seems to be dead because I tried to charge it with another charger and nothing was happening. On the keyboard I put another battery 400mah but still wasn't charging so I thing the board is faulty too. I will take a picture of the battery and upload it because I tried to find one but I couldn't.
Sent from my HTC 10 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

vincenzo697 said:
I opened the keyboard and the battery seems to be dead because I tried to charge it with another charger and nothing was happening. On the keyboard I put another battery 400mah but still wasn't charging so I thing the board is faulty too. I will take a picture of the battery and upload it because I tried to find one but I couldn't.
Sent from my HTC 10 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please upload any pictures you can, would be really helpful.
I was considering buying a simple small portable battery charger 1500-2200-4000~ and using it, but it would discharge too quickly, attempting to charge the faulty one in the folio. Also considered taking the folio battery/charging component and splicing in portable battery charger..
Another option I thought of, is using a male to male micro usb cable from the Nexus 9 to the folio.

I am using a generic micro usb charger works fine. I also bought a male to male micro usb cable attached to the Nexus 9 and folio, also works great. The keyboard hardly registers drawing any power.

Sorry for the late reply. That's the original battery of the keyboard which i tried to find but couldn't. The hard part is that it needs to be 1.5mm to 2mm of thickness Max so the keyboard top part can close normally. The other pictures is the modification I made replacing the battery but with a thicker one. It wasn't charging so that's why I came to the conclusion that it must be the board too that it is faulty. I connect the - and + cables from the charger to the exposed cables to charge the battery and that's it.
Sent from my HTC 10 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

That's a lot of hardware. So the battery may be good and its the charger that's faulty. Thanks for the images!

clockcycle said:
That's a lot of hardware. So the battery may be good and its the charger that's faulty. Thanks for the images!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NO. The battery too is faulty. Because I connect it straight to the charger and it doesn't charge.

Maybe?
vincenzo697 said:
NO. The battery too is faulty. Because I connect it straight to the charger and it doesn't charge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey... Just bought a brand new one with the same issue straight out of the box.
Have you tried measuring the original battery with a multimeter?
The battery protection circuits will sometimes protect the battery from undervoltage by not letting them charge any more as it potentially damages them...
One way to attempt to recover the batteries is to remove the protection PCB and charge them with a LiPo charger at super low amps till they get up to like 3.3v then letting the original charger and battery protection finish charging it... (Kinda dangerous if battery really is damaged)
These things sat on shelves for years.... I can't imagine the batteries didn't drain.
Edit: did you take the keyboard apart??? Lol... Is it glued together??
I took mine apart... This is not a reversible process lol... Checked battery voltage and sure enough... 0 volts.... There's no Li-Ion charger that will ever try to charge that battery as there is a risk of fire.
Looks like HTC cheaped out on the battery protection circuit and it didn't cut off the battery below 3.3v and let it get to 0v... Gonna have to try to recover the battery using my lab power supply to trickle charge it... My lipo charger complains and won't charge it at all.

I'm having the same problem. Just bought one of these on Amazon for $30 and was excited to use it. How did they charge $130 for this when it came out?? This is useless. I'm going to have to return this junk. Any solutions before I do?

The solution is easy.
I have effected this repair on multiples of the nexus 9 folio keyboard.
Someone said earlier that the charging circuit is bad in addition to the cell being at 0v. This is simply not true. For the charging circuit and the cell to both be bad you will have likely hit the lottery in a bad way, or shorted and caused damage yourself.
Truth is that as mentioned before their protection circuit on their $130 keyboard was not up to the task. I make the assumption also that they overpriced these so heavily they sat until their hardware choices became apparent by making them DOA after the cell's voltage fell too low.
Someone stated that opening the keyboard is irreversible, this is also untrue, it only requires a bit of skill and patience.
Take it for what it is, because I would never recommend someone to revive a cell that had been sitting below 3.2v, it's just unsafe, but this is what worked for me as I didn't feel like digging through china stock to find a matching cell.
The cell is at 0v, so the fix is simple, connect another similar chemistry (3.2v-4.2v) cell in parallel (between the protection circuit and the cell.) I just used and 18650 from a laptop battery. Let's call this a "jump start." Start the charging and disconnect the second cell. Red charge LED should remain solid and charge cell 1 to 4.2v and you are good to go.
As far as the details, we know that the cell is on the left side, so only heat and slice adhesive from just beyond the corner to the center, slide your tool under the cell to remove the adhesion from the main body and carefully slip the cell out far enough to get at the contacts in order to get between the protection circuit and the cell.
main points
1 DO NOT PUNCTURE THE CELL (ALUMINUM TEARS EASILY)
2 DO NOT DAMAGE THE RED AND BLACK LEADS FROM THE PROTECTION CIRCUIT TO THE MAIN BOARD
3 DO NOT PRY OPEN THE OUTSIDE CORNER NEXT TO THE CELL AS THIS CORNER IS MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO DEFORMATION THAN OTHER AREAS
Probably best left to a skilled tech, but it can certainly be done.
The adhesive htc uses is much like hot glue, so after scraping the old glue out reseal and press with a hot glue gun (precision tip recommended,) easy peasy.
On a final note, shame on you htc (and google.)

k2thec said:
The solution is easy.
I have effected this repair on multiples of the nexus 9 folio keyboard.
Someone said earlier that the charging circuit is bad in addition to the cell being at 0v. This is simply not true. For the charging circuit and the cell to both be bad you will have likely hit the lottery in a bad way, or shorted and caused damage yourself.
Truth is that as mentioned before their protection circuit on their $130 keyboard was not up to the task. I make the assumption also that they overpriced these so heavily they sat until their hardware choices became apparent by making them DOA after the cell's voltage fell too low.
Someone stated that opening the keyboard is irreversible, this is also untrue, it only requires a bit of skill and patience.
Take it for what it is, because I would never recommend someone to revive a cell that had been sitting below 3.2v, it's just unsafe, but this is what worked for me as I didn't feel like digging through china stock to find a matching cell.
The cell is at 0v, so the fix is simple, connect another similar chemistry (3.2v-4.2v) cell in parallel (between the protection circuit and the cell.) I just used and 18650 from a laptop battery. Let's call this a "jump start." Start the charging and disconnect the second cell. Red charge LED should remain solid and charge cell 1 to 4.2v and you are good to go.
As far as the details, we know that the cell is on the left side, so only heat and slice adhesive from just beyond the corner to the center, slide your tool under the cell to remove the adhesion from the main body and carefully slip the cell out far enough to get at the contacts in order to get between the protection circuit and the cell.
main points
1 DO NOT PUNCTURE THE CELL (ALUMINUM TEARS EASILY)
2 DO NOT DAMAGE THE RED AND BLACK LEADS FROM THE PROTECTION CIRCUIT TO THE MAIN BOARD
3 DO NOT PRY OPEN THE OUTSIDE CORNER NEXT TO THE CELL AS THIS CORNER IS MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO DEFORMATION THAN OTHER AREAS
Probably best left to a skilled tech, but it can certainly be done.
The adhesive htc uses is much like hot glue, so after scraping the old glue out reseal and press with a hot glue gun (precision tip recommended,) easy peasy.
On a final note, shame on you htc (and google.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to try this repair on my keyboard. do you have pictures where to connect the wires.
I have a laptop battery
i have the case pulled apart
Just want to make sure that the wires are in the correct place.

The folio battery has a USB jack at one end and a switch (on/off perhaps) and a blue light at the other. What's happening when the blue light blinks?

Lindommer said:
The folio battery has a USB jack at one end and a switch (on/off perhaps) and a blue light at the other. What's happening when the blue light blinks?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i meant if i take the keyboard apart.
I ordered another on off ebay, but i used the suggestion i thiunk i saw on here. I have a microusb OTG plugged into the nexus 9 and running a usb to the keyboard. it is supplying enough power to run he keyboard. also it does not seem top drain much power at all.
I'm typing this message on the folio keyboard. if the other keyboard folio has the same issue then i can at lease use this solution to use the folio.
now i need to order a shorter usb to microusb cord so i dont have to rubber band the cord and look sloppy when carrying it around

Thanks for that. But what about the blinking blue light?

Lindommer said:
Thanks for that. But what about the blinking blue light?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is paring mode if in not mistaken.

Nah, it's definitely a charging light. Doesn't blink when pairing but does when a USB charging lead is plugged in. Goes off after a couple of minutes, which confirms what we all know: the keyboard doesn't/won't charge.

Picked up one of these new from Ebay. It doesn't seem to want to charge and will only work when plugged in with charger. Anyway to get it working? Guess it's a return