Database Users

PC USB charging a dead-battery Atrix.. Impossible?

I woke up this morning and the battery of my Atrix was completely dead. Since I was in a hurry to get to work I thought I'm going to charge using the computer in my office with the supplied USB cable.
It appears that the phone won't charge from 0% turned off! I had to borrow a Blackberry wall charger from a college and jump start the Atrix before plugging it to my computer's USB and start charging.
My iPhone 3GS would come back to life if plugged to the USB port after a complete discharge.
Is there a solution for the Atrix? Are there other android devices you know of with the same issue?
Thank you

my milestone also have this prob

The moto wall chargers run at 800+ma. This is more than the usual ~400-600ma that other chargers run at. Computer USB ports only supply 500ma MAX. The atrix doesn't seem to like anything under ~600ma and prefers 800-1000ma for some weird reason.
If you've got a well powered USB port, it will charge the phone. If it's underpowered, the phone won't even take the charge.
Yes, from a dead batt, the phone wont even wake up the charge circuit for anything under 600ma. I've experienced it as well.

Thank you. What about USB 3.0? I have that in my home PC. But it still sucks how I can't wake up the phone if the battery completely drained with all the USB around me at work or wherever when a wall-charger is not within reach.
Shouldn't the phone preserve the last drops of the battery before shutting down so it allows us time to start it up again and charge by USB 2.0?
I think it wouldn't hurt if Motorola made it shutoff at like 2% allowing us to charge the device and get it up using USB 2.0. Or maybe a dev can get around it as an optional tweak for users?!
That also made me think of something else. Would the alarm go off if the battery completely died while you were asleep? I know iphone, Nokia and probably many other smartphones does that (preserving last drops for this purpose).

all usb has the same voltage specs, 3.0 ports wont charge better than 2.0 ports on the same system, the only thing that will make a difference is the build quality of the hardware and the voltage regulation from the power management.
A powered usb hub would be your best bet if you can't get to a moto charger

diedemus said:
all usb has the same voltage specs, 3.0 ports wont charge better than 2.0 ports on the same system, the only thing that will make a difference is the build quality of the hardware and the voltage regulation from the power management.
A powered usb hub would be your best bet if you can't get to a moto charger
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I thought it's better to bring up this thread instead of opening a new one since I've been investigating the same issue.
We all know that Android phones and widgets especially can drain the battery unexpectedly.
I PM'ed kennethpenn if there's a way to automate a shutdown when the battery reaches a certain level so it can charge and wake up connected to a computer USB 2.0 port (As in if it can be implemented in his ROM). Kenneth replied that he's not sure, and I've been looking for an app that can do that.
Now before we go more on that, I wish to have your opinion on how important you think it is to sacrifice the last little drops of the battery in favor of being to charge/wake up your devices when you're on the go and may not have access to wall charger?
If there's an app that can allow it then I'm welling to do the tests and find the sweet spot of when to shutdown and if it would actually charge to wake up.
Thank you

I had the same problem yesterday, I only have the USB cord with me and I thought my phone was dead for real or defective. Thanks god for XDA ... The user manual did not say anything about computer usb power not being powerfull enough.
CyberPunk7t9, there is (a few) threads dedicated to improving Atrix battery life full of usefull tricks. I did not try it yet, but SetCPU might be of a great help too.

Remeber, the Atrix requires the Motorola usb drivers to be installed to charge the phone off a port. If the phone is off, your computer is not reconigizing that it was plugged in, so the drivers do not start. *I could be wrong* Happen to me last night though

it's a hardware issue on the computer side. without the moto drivers there telling the USB port to up the current coming out, your phone won't charge on it. most computer-based USB ports do not run high current for power purposes unless enabled. it cannot be solved with an app and mandating a shutdown at 2% is most likely going to cause more problems than solve. the solution is to not run your battery down, honestly. you shouldn't be for LiPo batteries anyway.
diedemus said:
all usb has the same voltage specs, 3.0 ports wont charge better than 2.0 ports on the same system, the only thing that will make a difference is the build quality of the hardware and the voltage regulation from the power management
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Click to collapse
It's not voltage that matters, it's current.

I have a gigabyte board which has 'rapid charge' technology, meaning it supplies extra amperage to the usb ports...my battery was close to dying when I saw this thread so as a test I let it completely die and then I tried charging from usb.
Result: It worked.
I still don't get as quick of a charge from USB as I do from the wall but at least there is enough amperage to charge from a completely dead state.

diedemus said:
all usb has the same voltage specs, 3.0 ports wont charge better than 2.0 ports on the same system, the only thing that will make a difference is the build quality of the hardware and the voltage regulation from the power management.
A powered usb hub would be your best bet if you can't get to a moto charger
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get your facts straight!..............USB 3.0 IS a powered USB port!
USB 3.0 will charge more devices, quicker
Not only will USB 3.0 cables facilitate faster transfer speeds, but they’ll carry more power, too. The USB-IF recognizes the growing number of portable devices that charge via USB (cellphones, MP3 players, digital cameras), and have bumped the power output from about 100miliamps to 900 milliamps. That means not only will you be able to power more than 4 devices from a single hub, but the increase current will let you charge up heftier hardware as well.
Maximum PC
<edit> Also, my Atrix charges fine off the 3.0 ports on my HP laptop.

dcarpenter85 said:
I have a gigabyte board which has 'rapid charge' technology, meaning it supplies extra amperage to the usb ports...my battery was close to dying when I saw this thread so as a test I let it completely die and then I tried charging from usb.
Result: It worked.
I still don't get as quick of a charge from USB as I do from the wall but at least there is enough amperage to charge from a completely dead state.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a gigabyte UD7 in my PC. I wanted to use the rapid charge feature for a while. Still planned. Also the On/Off Charge feature to charge the iphone/ipod while the computer is turned off. I will probably assign some time to test those tomorrow.

CaelanT said:
Get your facts straight!..............USB 3.0 IS a powered USB port!
USB 3.0 will charge more devices, quicker
Not only will USB 3.0 cables facilitate faster transfer speeds, but they’ll carry more power, too. The USB-IF recognizes the growing number of portable devices that charge via USB (cellphones, MP3 players, digital cameras), and have bumped the power output from about 100miliamps to 900 milliamps. That means not only will you be able to power more than 4 devices from a single hub, but the increase current will let you charge up heftier hardware as well.
Maximum PC
<edit> Also, my Atrix charges fine off the 3.0 ports on my HP laptop.
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Click to collapse
I have USB 3.0 in my PC too. But as someone stated here, USB 3.0 does not provide more voltage than USB 2.0. Just more consistency I think.
But what matters, Can any of those solutions charge and start a completely dead Atrix?
Thank you for participating guys.

USB ports can only source 100mA unless the host and client agree to a higher current. If as mentioned the Atrix needs more then this to wake-up the phone with a dead battery then it can never request the higher current. This is also why the Moto drivers need to be installed to get the higher current.

CyberPunk7t9 said:
I have USB 3.0 in my PC too. But as someone stated here, USB 3.0 does not provide more voltage than USB 2.0. Just more consistency I think.
But what matters, Can any of those solutions charge and start a completely dead Atrix?
Thank you for participating guys.
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Click to collapse
you need a port or power source that will supply enough current to the phone. period. if your computer's ports don't do it, it won't work. go find a higher amp USB port.

Maybe try the usb 2 to 1 cable? So you plug it into 2 usb ports and than into the atrix

CaelanT said:
Not only will USB 3.0 cables facilitate faster transfer speeds, but they’ll carry more power, too. The USB-IF recognizes the growing number of portable devices that charge via USB (cellphones, MP3 players, digital cameras), and have bumped the power output from about 100miliamps to 900 milliamps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually USB 2.0 can supply 500 mA, but as someone said to get more than 100 mA, the host and device have to 'negotiate' which I think means driver support of some kind.
I have noticed in Device Manager says that my SGS plugged into my laptop as a mass storage device is only taking 100 mA, but it doesn't charge much slower than it does from a wall charger (which is actually pretty slow, almost 3 hrs for a full charge). Still if I do the math to charge 1500 mAh at 3.7V with 5v in 3 hours would take about 370 mA (assuming 100% efficiency, so the actual current draw must be higher).
If anyone knows a more accurate way of determining the current a USB port is supplying, since Device Manager seems to be wrong, that would be interesting information.
What's interesting here is that at 0% the device isn't even on and can't power up to negotiate a higher current draw. If it can't turn on with 100 mA from the charging port it's stuck, which I suspect is the problem here with the Atrix.

USB 3.0 has the potential to charge at 900mah but yes it’s still 5vdc, the phone will not pull more than 500mah unless it detects the data lines are bridged. This is a safety feature so it doesn't blow your usb2.0 ports as the phone wasn’t built with usb 3.0 spec in mind. If you have a 3.0 usb port you can make a fast charge cable with the data lines cut and bridged, make sure you cut them and they aren't still connected to the host side or you might kill your port.

callen81 said:
USB 3.0 has the potential to charge at 900mah but yes it’s still 5vdc, the phone will not pull more than 500mah unless it detects the data lines are bridged. This is a safety feature so it doesn't blow your usb2.0 ports as the phone wasn’t built with usb 3.0 spec in mind. If you have a 3.0 usb port you can make a fast charge cable with the data lines cut and bridged, make sure you cut them and they aren't still connected to the host side or you might kill your port.
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mA, not mAh

dLo GSR said:
mA, not mAh
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I'm so used to talking about batteries I guess I left the "h"ours in, haha.

[Q] Charging Craziness

I can't figure this phone out with regard to charging.
1) Won't charge via computer USB (I've heard the reasoning for this - still seems stupid)
2) Charging w/ 1amp 5V wall charger - phone screen is non responsive to touch, but phone charges (unplugging it unfreezes the screen)
3) 1amp accessory USB charger, won't charge the phone at all.
Are the charging limitations software or hardware based. I can't come to terms with the fact that this phone can't at least charge by USB. It doesn't need to be lightening fast, but it should at least charge.
Is there anything that can be done?

are u using OEM charger and USB cable ?

charging by USB
My phone charges with just the USB cord and a PC, It is a bit slow to charge that way, but it charges. Are you sure you are using a powered USB port?

it will charge via USB, you just need to install the motorola drivers. it needs more current than the original USB standards allowed for. USB can provide that current now, but you need the drivers.

Not OEM
None of the above are OEM chargers and the cables are no OEM either (Wouldn't think the cable has anything to do with it).
Since i am out and about a bit, i have to have a portable battery powered backup charger, i also carry a wall/car charger that is capable of doing both at the same time.

cable has nothing to do with it. The power requirements are strict for this phone, and it's all down to the proper way to charge the battery.
I know for a fact that the generic energizer car charger i picked up with interchangeable ends for different USB types works perfectly for this phone. It might be worth it to just jump on ebay and grab another OEM battery instead of trying to run around with chargers.

have you measured the output of those 1a chargers? i have an adapter from china that says 1a but only puts out 0.3a and doesnt charge my atrix either.

I am still using the chargers I had from my blackberry 8900. The bb wall charger works great. The car charger (att) with the flip cover over a usb makes my phone hot as hell but it still charges.

Think i've also found that, once you have the motorola drivers installed on your computer, disabling the data connection to the phone (as in selecting "None" for the USB connection option in the notification pane after you connect the phone) seems to allow the phone to charge a fair bit faster over USB. Kinda makes sense too when you're thinking about it... since it wouldn't be constantly accessing the phone as a storage device.

Yes some wall chargers dont work i.e. the two I had from my Nexus One, BB chargers seem to work well as I believe they needed more juice to charge in the first place, for the usb cable, the best solution to try is getting the updated usb drivers as mentioned.

Custom charger?

I recently bought a custom 2 amp charger after the stock one died. Anyways, whenever I plug it in, I noticed that it would ask me whether I wanted to access the USB storage. Apps that need the SD card similarly, would terminate (ex: music).
Is there any way to solve this and to make the phone realize that this is a power outlet charger and not a USB charger? I think that the Epic drew about 650 milliamps or so charging and much smaller over PC (I think about 350 to 400 ish IIRC). It seems to currently only be charging at PC USB speeds as well and not the same rate as the stock charger.
Thanks in advance.

There's a way for the phone to tell if it's connected to a PC or AC adapter depending on a resistor shorting out two pins. Make sure you don't have anything other than the +5V and Ground connected.

I had the same thing happen with a car charger. Bridging / shorting the data pins causes the Epic to see the charger as a regular charger, and not usb for data or charging. This can also be done in the cable, itself, however, then you have the problem of having to cut part of your USB cable and re-tape or heat-shrink tube it.
There's a couple threads discussing similar problems/solutions:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=908363
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=709226

[Q] original cable not charging fast enough

I just realized my original cable doesn't charge my phone fast enough and I drain battery while using it. I swapped for a Motorola micro usb, and it works.
I downloaded an app to show mA rate, and with original cable it goes at about 360 or 450 mA. When I use Motorola cable it goes to 1900mA and proceeds to raise battery %.
What can cause this? The plug looked little dusty, I stuck a twist tie in and out (like on bread bad) and tried to clean it, but there's no difference.
Also there's no pin 4 on my cable, the ID pin I think. That seemed to be common for Samsung, so guys, what do you think caused cable to go bad, or am I missing something?
Also I use BlackBerry charger it says 800mA, this will charge it.
Thank you.

Could have just gone bad. Batteries go and all the time. I just had o swap out my sisters amdnmine for new ones because they wouldn't hold a charge for more than 6-7 hours. So its possible you just had a faulty one. Btw the phone is meantnto charge slowly. The faster your battery charges usually means the battery is giving out. But in your case you found out it was the data cable.

Could u tell me which app you used to show mA charge rate.

farookh said:
Could u tell me which app you used to show mA charge rate.
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Click to collapse
Yeah sure.
Galaxy charging current lite
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.abmantis.galaxychargingcurrent.free

Its your wall mount. Try plugging the original USB into the moto box. It should charge fine. If not try the obvious (original box to moto USB)
Happened to me on my s3 and my s4. Sucks.. i know..

Daisflaque said:
Its your wall mount. Try plugging the original USB into the moto box. It should charge fine. If not try the obvious (original box to moto USB)
Happened to me on my s3 and my s4. Sucks.. i know..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No pretty sure it's the cable. Used cable on 2A nexus charger, and it only did 300 mA.. I wonder where I can buy a good 4 or 5 foot usb cable for not too much money? The default usb cable length (3ft) is usually too short to reach the outlet for me. =(

I just googled this.. cheap 6ft samsung micro usb.. great prices from local places like walmart and amazon.
Although you might wanna add 2000mah. Lol

300Ma means your USB cable has no Power wire and you are just getting power from Data wires
460Ma is what you would get from a Data USB port
1A is what you get with a good USB cable and Charging Data port
1.2-1.9A is what you get with a good USB cable and Wall/car charger that can provide 2.1A.
good USB cable= 2core for power with 24AWG wire size and 2 Data wires at 28AWG.
Not longer than 6feet

Charging cable

Hi all,
Have a couple of the dash chargers but only one cable, I've got a tonne of other USB C cables, but anything but the dash cable will only charge slowly, not even normal charging?
Can buy more but seems like a waste.
Is there any risk to using the non dash cables.
Is there a way to force dash charge?
No guesses please, if someone actually knows about this stuff I'd like to hear from you.
Thanks.

dladz said:
Hi all,
Have a couple of the dash chargers but only one cable, I've got a tonne of other USB C cables, but anything but the dash cable will only charge slowly, not even normal charging?
Can buy more but seems like a waste.
Is there any risk to using the non dash cables.
Is there a way to force dash charge?
No guesses please, if someone actually knows about this stuff I'd like to hear from you.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone still charges normally on a third party USB C cable. There is no risk of damage with normal USB C cables, but I'd go with well reviewed cables and not just any third party solution.
No, you can't force dash charge. Only the provided cable dash charges.

azeem40 said:
My phone still charges normally on a third party USB C cable. There is no risk of damage with normal USB C cables, but I'd go with well reviewed cables and not just any third party solution.
No, you can't force dash charge. Only the provided cable dash charges.
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Click to collapse
Just odd that it always says charging slowly. Even when it's just the cable that's been changed.. Bit crap.
Kernels used to be able to allow quicker charging over USB, might be possible to get more out of the standard non dash cables.

dladz said:
Just odd that it always says charging slowly. Even when it's just the cable that's been changed.. Bit crap.
Kernels used to be able to allow quicker charging over USB, might be possible to get more out of the standard non dash cables.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, the USB C on this phone doesn't support USB PD (Power Delivery), so it won't charge faster on the normal cable. I find that strange, since the 2 year old Nexus 5X and 6P had USB PD.

I use a non oneplus usb c charger at bed time and it charges at normal speed since launch and I have had no problems. The only thing that makes it show up charging slowly is if I plug it into my computer. From what I recall the Dash Charge cables have extra pins in them at normal usb to C cables do not.
dladz said:
Hi all,
Have a couple of the dash chargers but only one cable, I've got a tonne of other USB C cables, but anything but the dash cable will only charge slowly, not even normal charging?
Can buy more but seems like a waste.
Is there any risk to using the non dash cables.
Is there a way to force dash charge?
No guesses please, if someone actually knows about this stuff I'd like to hear from you.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

frigidazzi said:
I use a non oneplus usb c charger at bed time and it charges at normal speed since launch and I have had no problems. The only thing that makes it show up charging slowly is if I plug it into my computer. From what I recall the Dash Charge cables have extra pins in them at normal usb to C cables do not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apple Mac chargers x2 of them charge slowly, HP elite X2, few others, namely slightly aged Samsung ones, can't think of any that charge normally, different cables.
Even the original dash charger with a different cable charges slowly.