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Extremely slow charging

Has anyone had a problem with extremely slow charging? I would plug my phone in and wake up 6 hours later and the phone is still not charged. It's even worse now with the extended battery. 7 hours worth of charging and I'm only at 85%. I'm rooted and using the de-bloat rom without the kernel, but it was like this even before the root. Has anyone else encountered this strange issue. I have been using the stock HTC charger.

mine charges in a couple hours using the wall charger and wifi hotspot. In the car or via computer USB, it charges very slowly and if wifi hotspot is on, it loses charger over time.

I typically turn my phone off to charge; speeds things up 2-3 fold.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App

loztboy said:
Has anyone had a problem with extremely slow charging? I would plug my phone in and wake up 6 hours later and the phone is still not charged. It's even worse now with the extended battery. 7 hours worth of charging and I'm only at 85%. I'm rooted and using the de-bloat rom without the kernel, but it was like this even before the root. Has anyone else encountered this strange issue. I have been using the stock HTC charger.
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Mine doesn't even take an hour . Power it off and try it that way and see how long it takes.

damn mine charges super fast compared to my nexus s i had

If you have plug to the computer it might take longer but not 6 hours, on the wall it only takes like an hour or two to be fully charge.
If it's an issue just take it back and get another one.

Yeah I might have to return this phone. Do you think it matters whether I use the cable that came with the phone, or a regular usb cable to charge.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

You need to look at the power ratings of the adapters you're using. This behemoth phone can receive 1000ma, while many car and home chargers (like Droid1) are only rated at 500ma. I'm still trying to figure out what the power draw is on the phone when just idling (battery monitor widget is hard to understand), but if the phone draws 250-500ma with regular usage, its going to lose charge plugged into USB (rated at 500ma per port) and running hotspot (drawing closer to 600ma). That's -100ma.
These numbers are guesstimates. I'm not sure if the cable itself can pose limitations, but would suspect that as long as there's no shorts in the wire, it would be able to handle any of the above currents.

fronc said:
You need to look at the power ratings of the adapters you're using. This behemoth phone can receive 1000ma, while many car and home chargers (like Droid1) are only rated at 500ma. I'm still trying to figure out what the power draw is on the phone when just idling (battery monitor widget is hard to understand), but if the phone draws 250-500ma with regular usage, its going to lose charge plugged into USB (rated at 500ma per port) and running hotspot (drawing closer to 600ma). That's -100ma.
These numbers are guesstimates. I'm not sure if the cable itself can pose limitations, but would suspect that as long as there's no shorts in the wire, it would be able to handle any of the above currents.
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yeah i find it impossible to charge the thing on USB, and it takes forever plugged into the wall with the charger it came with.
Had an evo, and it would almost full charge (from the time it said to plug it in, so 15%) in about an hour and a half. The thunderbolt seems to take 3 hours ish for me. I know I can turn the phone off, but since it usually charges over night its not a big deal, I just think it is interesting that it is so different.

yeah I'm one of the folks who charges FAST. It has really surprised me...I actually thought everyone was charging super fast until this thread.

fronc said:
You need to look at the power ratings of the adapters you're using. This behemoth phone can receive 1000ma, while many car and home chargers (like Droid1) are only rated at 500ma. I'm still trying to figure out what the power draw is on the phone when just idling (battery monitor widget is hard to understand), but if the phone draws 250-500ma with regular usage, its going to lose charge plugged into USB (rated at 500ma per port) and running hotspot (drawing closer to 600ma). That's -100ma.
These numbers are guesstimates. I'm not sure if the cable itself can pose limitations, but would suspect that as long as there's no shorts in the wire, it would be able to handle any of the above currents.
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+1 on looking at your adapter. Use the one that comes with the phone or make sure that it's rated at 1000mA/1A or more. I tried a MicroUSB adapter I had lying around that came with a bluetooth headset; turns out it only puts out 200mA, so the phone would take forever to charge on it.

ufmace said:
+1 on looking at your adapter. Use the one that comes with the phone or make sure that it's rated at 1000mA/1A or more. I tried a MicroUSB adapter I had lying around that came with a bluetooth headset; turns out it only puts out 200mA, so the phone would take forever to charge on it.
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with an output of 200mA I would be amazed if you could get this phone to charge at all, without having a custome kernel and underclocking the processor. If anything I would see it maybe staying same battery percentage.

Overall I feel this phone does charge really slow. It is way slow charging on a computer. I was charging it and just doing some light texting and after 4 hours the battery only went up by like 25%.
I have a second wall charger rated at 1000mAH, and after 30min it went up like 10%. This was with the phone off btw. With it on, but not in use, it went up like 4% over 30min. I'm kind of surprised how long it takes to charge. I've had no problems charging it at night. Plug it in before bed, and its full when I wake up. How does the 1400mAH battery size compare to other phones?
I did a little math too, the battery is a 5.18 W/hr battery. So with a 1AH charge at 5V, you'd expect the phone to charge in 2 hrs if only about 50% of the electricity is getting retained by the battery.

I've noticed that mine takes about 1hr 45ish mins to charge from completly dead. My Droid used to be an hour at the most.

i just checked on the adapter it came with, it's 200 mA...did people get better chargers than me or something? Mine takes forever to charge also...been stuck at 99% for 30 mins
EDIT: nvm, i was looking at input, not output...still isnt moving from 99% to 100% though

jbh00jh said:
Mine doesn't even take an hour . Power it off and try it that way and see how long it takes.
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WTF are u talking about 0-100% or like 70-100%?

lorijuan1024 said:
damn mine charges super fast compared to my nexus s i had
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@lorijuan1024 im with you man the Nexus S took forever...... To charge

its impossible for me to charge it through the computer, it went up 5% over 3 hours, wasnt on hotspot, sending texts.

Mine charges fine on anything, I am using my old fascinate charger.

Charging speed seems to fluctuate for me... sometimes I get lucky and its fast. Other times, not so much.

TBolt discharges while using in car as navi/pandora

When using in car, playing music from Pandora, and using google navigation phone uses more power than what charger can provide. Ive got it on a fast charger, so its supplying more current than a standard one,....its not overheating because when it does the charge light blinks green then red. Screen is on all the time during navigation and set at 30%. Anyone have same experience? My Droid X would keep charging in same situation. This is going down in charge %. I was using das bamf rom, just switched to Perfect Storm 1.2, maybe will make a difference?
Also when plugged in to power its underclocked to 768mhz.

Would switching kernals make a difference?

What is the amp output of your car charger? I'm pretty sure you need at least 1amp to feed this device while using GPS and data. maybe 750ma will do it, but most recent phones, tablets, mifi devices, etc. require at least 1a.

Same thing is happening to me, I dont think the charger puts out enough juice. I've ordered a verizon 2amp dual USB adapter, hopefully it will put out enough to charge the device.

ilogik said:
Same thing is happening to me, I dont think the charger puts out enough juice. I've ordered a verizon 2amp dual USB adapter, hopefully it will put out enough to charge the device.
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This is the charger,..
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Rocketf...&skuId=1114106&st=phone car charger&cp=1&lp=9
Not sure of its output.
Let me know how the 2 amp works for you.

I use the one sold at the Verizon Corp stores and use Pandora daily with no issues when charging.. Chrages up if it was under 100 and stays at 100 when it gets there..

wctaylor79 said:
I use the one sold at the Verizon Corp stores and use Pandora daily with no issues when charging.. Chrages up if it was under 100 and stays at 100 when it gets there..
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But I am using GPS with screen on the whole time, curious if you are too?

Turn your screen off. Navigation and Pandora will keep playing and your battery will slowly charge.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

I guess your right,...it must be more of a power hog than my X was using the same charger.

I've used Last.fm streaming with GPS navigation and screen on for multiple hours at a time without any battery drain. I don't know what car charger I'm using (an unofficial one that I bought for my Moto Droid), but I've been running the Das Bamf kernels for the most part. Even before I installed any of those kernels I never noticed any battery drain while plugged.

Same problem here.
I have a Belkin micro-charge 1A. Can't use navigation and Pandora without losing charge. I had the same problem with the iPhone before I bought the 1A charger, the 500mah wasn't powerful enough.
And turning off the screen when you're in navigation mode defies the purpose.
Do you turn off the screen of your Garmin or Tomtom while navigating? I didn't think so...
Let us know if a 2A charger does help.
Thanks for the feedback.

I called Rocketfish to try and find out just how much powa the charger I posted earlier put out. They didnt know, lol. They said usually its posted in their system, but that one wasnt.
But, after thinking about it, I had the screen on 100% brightness because of glare I was getting. Will tone it down and went to utkanos kernal and see how that rides out.

You need to get a charger with more power. I got one made for an ipad. It has 2 USB ports. Made by scouche or something like that. Had this issue with multiple chargers even on my droids.

this is completely normal for other phones too, like the nexus one. using NAvigation with the car dock pulls more power than the charger can supply, so the phone slowly drops while charging. not much can be done about it. i bought a 1.3 amp car charger. helps a bit.

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.

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. ?

Car Charger Problem

My car charger is having problem keeping up when i'm driving.
When i drive i have enabled: bluetooth (the nexus is connected to my car), location, tomtom app, 3g and brightness at 100%.
I was using a samsung car charger at first (750mA output) and then i bought a motorola p513 (950 mA output) but none of this chargers solved my problem.
I tried different roms and kernels but the battery still drains ( i lose about 10% per hour).
I was wondering if there's any solution to this, no matter how expensive (or maybe some particular kernel/rom configuration for this situation).
The strange thing is that, if i remember correctly, my old galaxy s4 with the samsung charger didn't lose any battery at all.

Bluetooth, location, mobile data and max brightness. What did you expect?

Elluel said:
Bluetooth, location, mobile data and max brightness. What did you expect?
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Well considering that my old galaxy s4 didn't lose any battery in my car with that same "configuration" i thought that the nexus 5 could keep up too.
Anyway, does anyone have any advice??
Maybe some rom/kernel combination or something to buy?

riki66 said:
Well considering that my old galaxy s4 didn't lose any battery in my car with that same "configuration" i thought that the nexus 5 could keep up too.
Anyway, does anyone have any advice??
Maybe some rom/kernel combination or something else?
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Different device.
With your configuration, your device will last about 2–3 hours in that state. It takes about 1.5–2 hours to charge up a Nexus 5 from 0% with a 1.5–2A AC charger. With a 950mA car charger (which is more likely to be charging at only around 500–800mA), it'll hardly keep up.

Elluel said:
Different device.
With your configuration, your device will last about 2–3 hours in that state. It takes about 1.5–2 hours to charge up a Nexus 5 from 0% with a 1.5–2A AC charger. With a 950mA car charger (which is more likely to be charging at only around 500–800mA), it'll hardly keep up.
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Ok so i'm screwed basically........
Will reducing brightness to around 50-60% help??
What would you advise to do to have no battery drain??
I bought this device when my galaxy s4 died and i thought it was better but i was wrong apparently...

riki66 said:
Ok so i'm screwed basically........
Will reducing brightness to around 50-60% help??
What would you advise to do to have no battery drain??
I bought this device when my galaxy s4 died and i thought it was better but i was wrong apparently...
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Click to collapse
Reducing brightness will probably help a chunk.
Also, make sure it says "charging via AC" instead of "charging via USB".

Elluel said:
Reducing brightness will probably help a chunk.
Also, make sure it says "charging via AC" instead of "charging via USB".
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Click to collapse
It says "charing via AC" with both my chargers.
I'll probably buy a new phone.. i was thinking about the new galaxy s6 but i need to be sure that it will keep up with the battery drain.
I almost forgot, a friend of mine is using this "configuration" with a moto e (2014) that he paid around 80 eur and it can keep up just fine in the car.
It's a shame that this 350 eur phone can't....

riki66 said:
It says "charing via AC" with both my chargers.
I'll probably buy a new phone.. i was thinking about the new galaxy s6 but i need to be sure that it will keep up with the battery drain.
I almost forgot, a friend of mine is using this "configuration" with a moto e (2014) that he paid around 80 eur and it can keep up just fine in the car.
It's a shame that this 350 eur phone can't....
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Click to collapse
The Moto E is a low-end device with a lower-resolution screen and lower maximum battery capacity.
You will be hard pressed to find a device that will keep up if you're using it with Bluetooth, location, mobile data and maximum screen brightness all at the same time.
Maybe look into getting a device that uses Qualcomm's quick charge (and get a car adapter that also uses it), if your charging rate while torturing the battery is that crucial to your daily routine.

Elluel said:
The Moto E is a low-end device with a lower-resolution screen and lower maximum battery capacity.
You will be hard pressed to find a device that will keep up if you're using it with Bluetooth, location, mobile data and maximum screen brightness all at the same time.
Maybe look into getting a device that uses Qualcomm's quick charge (and get a car adapter that also uses it), if your charging rate while torturing the battery is that crucial to your daily routine.
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Ok, thank you very much for your help.
I got one last question: i just remembered that i have an amazon car charger which has 2.1A as output... will this keep up with the battery drain??
I'm asking because i remember reading shomewhere that android car chargers have a 1000mA charging limit.... so will this 2.1A charger be helpful in any way??

riki66 said:
Ok, thank you very much for your help.
I got one last question: i just remembered that i have an amazon car charger which has 2.1A as output... will this keep up with the battery drain??
I'm asking because i remember reading shomewhere that android car chargers have a 1000mA charging limit.... so will this 2.1A charger be helpful in any way??
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Probably not entirely, but the battery should only go down very slowly.

Elluel said:
The Moto E is a low-end device with a lower-resolution screen and lower maximum battery capacity.
You will be hard pressed to find a device that will keep up if you're using it with Bluetooth, location, mobile data and maximum screen brightness all at the same time.
Maybe look into getting a device that uses Qualcomm's quick charge (and get a car adapter that also uses it), if your charging rate while torturing the battery is that crucial to your daily routine.
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Click to collapse
Elluel said:
Probably not entirely, but the battery should only go down very slowly.
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Ok thanks again, you've been very helpful.

riki66 said:
Ok thanks again, you've been very helpful.
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You already have your answer, but I will add that I use an iPad for navigation, and a good car charger can't keep up with the charge.
My vehicle has a receptacle in it, that keeps up with the rate of drain on my Nexus. It must be a limit to how much amperage the cigarette lighter can pull.

Elluel said:
Probably not entirely, but the battery should only go down very slowly.
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Quick update, i tried using the 2.1A charger by amazon and something strange happens.
In the morning when i start my commute of 1 hour and 30 minutes with my phone fully charged i arrive at my destination with about 90% battery.
But when i commute back with the phone's battery at around 30% i arrive back home with my battery at around 60%!!!!!! How is that possibile????
If it's charging that much on my way back shouldn't it keep the phone charged on my morning commute???
I tried the amazon phone charger for a week and it's been happening every day.
I use the same "configuration" all the time (100% screen brightnees, 3g, gps and bluetooth).