PC USB charging a dead-battery Atrix.. Impossible? - Atrix 4G General

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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mA, not mAh

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

Related

Faster USB Charging?

I remember on my WinMo phones there was a program to speed up the charging through a USB port. Anyone know of a similar app, hack, what have you for our Heros?
all that ever got me was an overheated phone. and defective batteries
Negrito said:
I remember on my WinMo phones there was a program to speed up the charging through a USB port. Anyone know of a similar app, hack, what have you for our Heros?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you could try a wireless charger, or use the normal wall charger or get a 3rd party battery.
I use a 3rd party battery, and my phone charges from Dead, to full in under 2 hours. i think my brand battery is a radioshack one but i dont remember, and im too lazy to look lol
If the phone detects that it's hooked to a USB port, it'll charge more slowly because the typical computer port will only output 500 mA. A wall charger typically does a full amp.
codelockdown said:
you could try a wireless charger, or use the normal wall charger or get a 3rd party battery.
I use a 3rd party battery, and my phone charges from Dead, to full in under 2 hours. i think my brand battery is a radioshack one but i dont remember, and im too lazy to look lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No thank you, i dont need something else to carry around. I work next to a computer. it just sucks that if my phone is near dead in the am when i arrive to work it will have to be tethered to the computer most of the day to fully recharge.
kynetx said:
If the phone detects that it's hooked to a USB port, it'll charge more slowly because the typical computer port will only output 500 mA. A wall charger typically does a full amp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, thank you. i know. that's why i am asking for a program to trick the device into believing its always the wall charger while its plugged into anything with that program running.
Negrito said:
yes, thank you. i know. that's why i am asking for a program to trick the device into believing its always the wall charger while its plugged into anything with that program running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no point in "tricking" the device to think it's the wall charger because what you want is the phone to charge up, not to beleive it's charged up when it's not. The usb port will not output more than 500mA. The phone will only charge as fast as 500mA will get you, no matter what tricks we try to pull on them.
daveli said:
There is no point in "tricking" the device to think it's the wall charger because what you want is the phone to charge up, not to beleive it's charged up when it's not. The usb port will not output more than 500mA. The phone will only charge as fast as 500mA will get you, no matter what tricks we try to pull on them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, most USB 2.0 ports can unofficially support up to 1000mA (which is indeed out of spec), with the only limitation from the device itself which when in spec will not draw more than 500mA. This is why no2chem's Fastcharge worked on WinMo phones, by increasing the maximum limit on the device.
Rootwind said:
Actually, most USB 2.0 ports can unofficially support up to 1000mA (which is indeed out of spec), with the only limitation from the device itself which when in spec will not draw more than 500mA. This is why no2chem's Fastcharge worked on WinMo phones, by increasing the maximum limit on the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the clarification, It's good to learn something new every day
Rootwind said:
Actually, most USB 2.0 ports can unofficially support up to 1000mA (which is indeed out of spec), with the only limitation from the device itself which when in spec will not draw more than 500mA. This is why no2chem's Fastcharge worked on WinMo phones, by increasing the maximum limit on the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for this post, i couldnt remember no2chem's nick to save my life. I wonder how he feels about dev in android.
daveli said:
There is no point in "tricking" the device to think it's the wall charger because what you want is the phone to charge up, not to beleive it's charged up when it's not. The usb port will not output more than 500mA. The phone will only charge as fast as 500mA will get you, no matter what tricks we try to pull on them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know where you're coming from, but the phone will indeed pull more current when it detects it's on a wall charger. I specifically remember seeing it in the manual.
Has anybody heard anything new on this matter, I really hate not being able to charge at 1A from a computer USB anymore. 500mA is pretty much useless, especially in constant usage, it pretty much just maintains the current %.
from less than 10% to 100% in about 30 minutes when plugged into the wall...turn your phone off while charging!! itll charge so much faster!!
This was specifically about usb....
I seem to remember hearing you can tweak some usb wires (I guess remove the data pins) so the phone thinks it's on AC but I'd want to have connectivity as well as the swift charging. Otherwise I'd have to have two cords on me, though I wonder if the phone charges "AC speed" while off (since there's no mind to talk to the PC's OS)
Negrito said:
I remember on my WinMo phones there was a program to speed up the charging through a USB port. Anyone know of a similar app, hack, what have you for our Heros?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup, i remember that too, it was called fast charge.
iviyth0s said:
I seem to remember hearing you can tweak some usb wires (I guess remove the data pins) so the phone thinks it's on AC but I'd want to have connectivity as well as the swift charging. Otherwise I'd have to have two cords on me, though I wonder if the phone charges "AC speed" while off (since there's no mind to talk to the PC's OS)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know this does't work, as I have a cable with no data pins (it's a cheapy charge cable only) and it's still slow on a pc to charge.
Get a USB 3.0 port.
swears11 said:
Get a USB 3.0 port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ummm... you mean you would have to buy a whole new mobo with usb3.0 support.
I have a belkin travel power surge protector with 3 outlets and 2 usb ports on it. The phone, when plugged into it, doesn't detect that it is plugged into AC power and just charges at USB speeds. Anybody know why? Will it only charge at AC speed if it detects the HTC supplied Ac adapter?
danaff37 said:
I know this does't work, as I have a cable with no data pins (it's a cheapy charge cable only) and it's still slow on a pc to charge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a cheapy cable too and that might be why it's still slow. I don't use the cable anymore because my TP used to charge at like 200mAh with it.
swears11 said:
Get a USB 3.0 port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But the problem here is with the software not hardware lol, all someone has to do is change the value of "when connected to computer: Charge 1A" instead of "when connected to computer: Charge 0.5A" (simplified of course)
gunnyman said:
I have a belkin travel power surge protector with 3 outlets and 2 usb ports on it. The phone, when plugged into it, doesn't detect that it is plugged into AC poer and just charges at USB speeds. Anybody know why? Will it only charge at AC speed if it detects the HTC supplied Ac adapter?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because it was a stupid idea to ever limit the charge speed. lol
If only I knew how to program or to edit code, I'd so fix this for all of us >_<

Speed of charge

I've tried searching, but came up with nothing (not even on Google).
It seems to me that my HD2 charges up much quicker when connected to the mains than it does when charging via USB - is this correct ? I'd prefer to only charge via USB as, that way, the phone is still syncing, but it sometimes takes forever to get to full charge that way.
Just wanted to get others' opinions on this.
wilsojer said:
I've tried searching, but came up with nothing (not even on Google).
It seems to me that my HD2 charges up much quicker when connected to the mains than it does when charging via USB - is this correct ? I'd prefer to only charge via USB as, that way, the phone is still syncing, but it sometimes takes forever to get to full charge that way.
Just wanted to get others' opinions on this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The wall charger charges at 1 amp.
USB, with a powered USB socket, will max out at half that due to the 500mA standard that USB uses.
So, in theory, it should take twice as long to charge on USB alone.
Plus the 500mA limit on USB is spread across several physical ports, so if you have anything else plugged in then you'll be charging at an even lower rate.
Good to know - thanks, guys - I learnt something new today
Guess I'll charge via mains going forward.
Thanks again !
plus when connected to active sync the phone is on, when its I wall charger it will be on standby.
Despite HTC shipping a 1A charger (which is the most I've ever seen for a USB charger) Lion battery prefer not to get cooked while charging and would last longer if charged at 500ma.
rp-x1 said:
The wall charger charges at 1 amp.
USB, with a powered USB socket, will max out at half that due to the 500mA standard that USB uses.
So, in theory, it should take twice as long to charge on USB alone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
samsamuel said:
plus when connected to active sync the phone is on, when its I wall charger it will be on standby.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exact, the phone actually limits what it draws from an USB port to about 450mA (some safety margin). Then, is stays powered on and active (due to ActiveSync running), drawing approx 100mA. So it actually charges at about 450-100= 350mA, taking ridiculously long (4-5h) to charge. With the supplied charger it charges at 850mA.
Aterlatus said:
Plus the 500mA limit on USB is spread across several physical ports, so if you have anything else plugged in then you'll be charging at an even lower rate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong, each port gets 500mA.
airwater9 said:
Despite HTC shipping a 1A charger (which is the most I've ever seen for a USB charger) Lion battery prefer not to get cooked while charging and would last longer if charged at 500ma.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Li batteries support 1C charge without drawback (would be 1.32A for the HD2's battery).
Wrong, each port gets 500mA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Incorrect. The USB standard requires 500mAh nominal at any port when used alone. Manufacturers then decide whether they will "over specify" or not. You will not get 2mAh from a 4 port USB bus unless the internal power supply its built for it and many are not. Current is drawn by the device and if the draw exceeds the supply rating then there is a shortfall to all devices. It all depends on how well the equipment is specified and there its wide variation.
More details about charging here
pa49 said:
Incorrect. The USB standard requires 500mAh nominal at any port when used alone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read page 171 of the USB 2.0 specification:
Root port hubs: Are directly attached to the USB Host Controller. Hub power is derived from the same
source as the Host Controller. Systems that obtain operating power externally, either AC or DC, must
supply at least five unit loads to each port. Such ports are called high-power ports. Battery-powered
systems may supply either one or five unit loads. Ports that can supply only one unit load are termed lowpower
ports.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A port is either low power, in which case it can supply 1 unit load (100mA), or high power, which can supply 500mA. There's no spreading between ports, for each port if it's a high power one it must be able to supply 500mA at any time, if it's a low power one it will never provide more than 100mA. So there's no such thing as one that provides 500mA if used alone and less if others are connected... or the manufacturer is violating the spec.
Note that low power ports pretty much don't exist on PCs. They can be found on multimedia players with host function for example, which are just good to power a USB key or card reader.
Further on the page you can see that with hubs that don't have external power, the output ports are required to be low power ones, so that a 4-port hub can give one of the 5 unit loads it receives to each port, plus one for its own power, so you can't draw 500mA on any port of a bus-powered hub and be within spec.
Now if you could refrain from misleading users... can't count anymore how many times I've corrected you on your firm affirmations...

USB Fast Charging?

Came from a TP2 and I could charge via USB at around 900 mA using fast charge driver.
Since I am a complete Android n00b, and an EVO n00b I have two questions.
1. Are there any apps out there that can show you how fast the battery is charging and discharging? I had one called Battery Monitor in WM, and I want an Android version of that.
2. It appears that USB charging is quite slow. Can anyone confirm the speed at which this phone charges via a USB port?
3. Is there a way to make this faster?
TIA!!
1. Are there any apps out there that can show you how fast the battery is charging and discharging? I had one called Battery Monitor in WM, and I want an Android version of that.
2. It appears that USB charging is quite slow. Can anyone confirm the speed at which this phone charges via a USB port?
3. Is there a way to make this faster?
A 1. I don't believe there is one (someone correct me if wrong), but there are apps to monitor your battery percentage.
A 2. Not sure, shouldn't be too long, how long is it taking yours?
A 3. I don't believe so.
Hero's Hero said:
1. Are there any apps out there that can show you how fast the battery is charging and discharging? I had one called Battery Monitor in WM, and I want an Android version of that.
2. It appears that USB charging is quite slow. Can anyone confirm the speed at which this phone charges via a USB port?
3. Is there a way to make this faster?
A 1. I don't believe there is one (someone correct me if wrong), but there are apps to monitor your battery percentage.
A 2. Not sure, shouldn't be too long, how long is it taking yours?
A 3. I don't believe so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks...Not sure how long it takes as I havent had the phone too long. I know while plugged into my computer last night it wouldn't charge very well.
Computers have much lower power than a wall socket. If you want to charge the EVO fast use the wall plug. Anyone who uses a Mac and the wired keyboard should know what I am talking about.
Please search before posting...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=591041
A USB port provides 500ma of power, you can get micro USB cable that will Y off and plug into two USB ports, providing 1000ma of power.
Grims said:
A USB port provides 500ma of power, you can get micro USB cable that will Y off and plug into two USB ports, providing 1000ma of power.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every computer I owned charged my TP2 at around 800-900 mA as long as the fast charge driver was on the phone.
So I know for a fact that it's possible. It's limited by the phone, not the USB port. Appreciate the reply, but did you read Negrito's link?
And Negrito, I did search... This forum.... No hits. I see the link you provided was in the Hero forum. I didn't realize that the fast charge USB issue was affecting other Android phones as this is my first.
supdawg said:
And Negrito, I did search... This forum.... No hits. I see the link you provided was in the Hero forum. I didn't realize that the fast charge USB issue was affecting other Android phones as this is my first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bad broseph, totally forgot im still subscribed to Hero threads. I just switched to the Evo Launch day.
Its not really an issue per se as that's how all phones normally operate. On WinMo we just got spoiled my No2Chems hack. Anyone know if No2Chem made the jump to Android?
I have seen a lot of familiar names on the Evo forum, like OMJ, and Caulkin!!! I cant wait until someone comes up with an untethered root option and how to bypass the NAND cause I know the ROMs are just going to be simply amazing.
Was digging around in the custom menus, can't remember which one, but one of the ones that you type ##numbers# and enter your MSL and there was a check box for USB charging. Mine was unchecked for some reason. I left it alone but wonder if that makes a difference?
I've tested a few charging scenarios and can tell you that using a wall charger that outputs 1000 ma will help speed up the charge.
These from Monoprice work very well:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10311&cs_id=1031106&p_id=6767&seq=1&format=2
want the same thing for the car?
try this one.
Here's the link to a micro usb cable at monoprice for $1.20.
There's a nice Rosewill 4 port charger, that will output 2000 ma IF you have only one device plugged in. With two devices plugged in, it falls back to 1000 ma (still really good). I have this in the kitchen for the kids to jack their various usb things in for charging.
The thing to remember is that the phone will pull as much as it can (most recent phones can pull between 750 and 1000 ma.) What will cause it to charge slower is not usually a software setting, it's having a port that will only put out 500 ma or less...which is what many computers output.
Sean
there is an option in settings /devolopment for usb charging doesnt ssy what it does though
I don't think mine has taken more than 4-5 hours to fully charge and signal strength isn't the greatest at my house so that probably has an impact on it as well... I've no idea if that's normal for a smartphone or if it's considered slow, I don't think my Sony Ericsson feature phone was any faster but the battery indicator on that thing was wildly inaccurate anyway.
My EVO seems to charge just as fast w/the included HTC adapter as with a generic Philips one I had, as well as one of those retractable cables. I was afraid that cable wouldn't be very well shielded and it wouldn't charge right but it seems fine, I'll only be using it when I travel anyway.
Negrito said:
My bad broseph, totally forgot im still subscribed to Hero threads. I just switched to the Evo Launch day.
Its not really an issue per se as that's how all phones normally operate. On WinMo we just got spoiled my No2Chems hack. Anyone know if No2Chem made the jump to Android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No one has seen nor heard from No2Chem in months... Some people think he may have died
I could charge my Touch Pro 2 in about an hour or two using a standard usb plug on any computer I owned.
Might I add the Touch Pro 2 and the EVO share the same identical battery. The EVO obviously draws more current..... I found while using my EVO while plugged into a computer, it barely charges at all. My guess is its discharging while charging at a very similar rate.
Contrary to what most of you are saying, the ma rating of the charger really makes no difference as the phone (and prior htc phones) will pull <500ma if they detect they are plugged into a computer or non-official charger and 1a if they detect an htc charger (which can even damage 500ma chargers). The way this is detected is through grounding of one of the microusb pins in the official charger (and indeed many generic chargers but not all will be detected this way). Absent this grounding (I forget which pin), it will charge at a slower speed. I know of cheap 500ma chargers which have been caused to smoke by attaching a cable with that grounding fooling the phone into thinking it is an oem charger. Many chargers labeled 1a will charge at the 500ma rate as well.
Also, modern computers are fully capable of outputting 1a of power through the usb port. While the spec indeed is 500ma, with a proper cable (or the fastcharge driver for windows mobile), you can force a 1a power draw without any issues. Cheap usb hubs or cheap usb power ports may run into issues.
I'd love to see a solution for android but I don't think one exists.
Actually the HTC battery Widget will show you if you are on AC (1A) or USB (500ma) charge. You can get this widget from the market (not sure why it is not included in the phone in the first place).
I think that the grounding pin is likely the trick and I will be searching the web to see if I can locate it. I have an older battery pack from APC that can output 1.6A but the only way to get the EVO to charge as if it was on "AC" is to use the HTC plug, and then quickly, before the charge light goes out switch to my alternate source. This seems to trick the EVO into thinking that it is still plugged in to the official charger.
This is of course trickier with my car charger, which has been very frustrating - using the phone for navigation and plugged in via usb usually has the battery draining rather than charging!
I wish there was an easy way to fix this, my old phones always attempted to pull as much current as they needed.
My friend uses a 2A charger for his HTC touch pro 2, and it uses the same battery as the EVO if u guys didnt know.
i havent tried it on my evo, but being its from htc too (and uses the same battery)... id expect it to work with that much current.
I currently use a 900mA one in my car, and i do notice that if i use something less than that i tend to get feedback from the audio jack that connects to my cassette player
Found a discussion on this on the android forums relating to the HTC Desire:
<Too new of a user, system won't let me post the link>
I opened a car charger and shorted pins 2 and 3, and the phone did show charging over AC (2 and 3 are the data pins, 1 & 2 are power). My multimeter was acting up, so I am not sure whether the EVO is actually pulling more current - it does appear to be charging faster.
If you try this make sure of 2 things:
1. You charger is capable of 1A.
2. If you choose to short the pins on a USB cable make sure this cable never gets plugged in to your PC.
Rennat said:
Computers have much lower power than a wall socket. If you want to charge the EVO fast use the wall plug. Anyone who uses a Mac and the wired keyboard should know what I am talking about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what you mean! Haha
supdawg said:
Came from a TP2 and I could charge via USB at around 900 mA using fast charge driver.
Since I am a complete Android n00b, and an EVO n00b I have two questions.
1. Are there any apps out there that can show you how fast the battery is charging and discharging? I had one called Battery Monitor in WM, and I want an Android version of that.
2. It appears that USB charging is quite slow. Can anyone confirm the speed at which this phone charges via a USB port?
3. Is there a way to make this faster?
TIA!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For your Q #1 search the market for Battery Indicator, great simple app that gives you a battery percentage and how long you have been plugged in or unplugged.

Great USB cable for full charge from PC

I picked up this cable at bestbuy last weekend before a camping trip to use in with my usb charger in the car. I got outside and noticed that while using it it showed up as an ac charger. So far, every PC ive used it on recognizes it as an AC adapter and therefor charges at full power. I had seen an earlier thread about a way to accomplish this, and i know it isnt done via a hack, but if you have 20 bucks, you have a solution to the problem.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...p=&qp=&list=n&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960
Just noticed this should prob be put under accessories, but it didn't feel like the right spot for it. Mods, if it belongs there, please move it.
Thanks,
replaced link as links with prices from bestbuy do not seem to work. The item is the usb cable./
Added pics of a standard usb plug charge and the one i mentioned. You can see the grey rocketfish cord shows up as AC
linky no worky.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow, it doesn't work for me either, give me a sec and ill look it up another way. It is the Rocketfish usb charger with mini adapter.
There is no difference in charge time between computer usb and wall charger usb.
apristel said:
linky no worky.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try it now, wouldn't let me copy pasta a link straight to the product. Click the link above, and its the second usb cable in the third row...can't miss it. Only downfall is its only 4 ft, but..
Bielinsk said:
There is no difference in charge time between computer usb and wall charger usb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well please disregaurd my post, i was under the impression a standard usb cable plugged into the pc pulled 500mw and while in the ac charger, 1000mw or 1W.
i thought there was a difference in time, because it seems to take all day to charge from pc. charges alot faster from the ac adapter.
Bielinsk said:
There is no difference in charge time between computer usb and wall charger usb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate to be the one to break this to you, but you're incorrect. First, a computer's USB port only has to put out 500 mA (that is the spec) - the HTC wall charger puts out 1 A (that's 1000 mA) (EDIT Thought I would add that these are both @ 5 V, so you have 2.5W or 5W of power...Power, current, and voltage are not interchangeable /BSEE lol). Second, the phone can tell when it is charging from the stock charger and when it is charging from a non-OEM 1000 mA charger or a 500 mA charger / USB port (it will say charging via AC or USB on the battery status page in the About Phone page of Settings).
So to the OP what you're saying is, this cable makes the phone think it's charging via it's AC charger? Have a picture? (not a screenshot, a picture of the phone screen showing AC while plugged into this charger).
TorxT3D said:
i thought there was a difference in time, because it seems to take all day to charge from pc. charges alot faster from the ac adapter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does, i was just being sarcastic. The above mentioned cable will allow you to pull full draw from your usb port on your pc.
phobos512 said:
I hate to be the one to break this to you, but you're incorrect. First, a computer's USB port only has to put out 500 mA (that is the spec) - the HTC wall charger puts out 1 A (that's 1000 mA). Second, the phone can tell when it is charging from the stock charger and when it is charging from a non-OEM 1000 mA charger or a 500 mA charger / USB port (it will say charging via AC or USB on the battery status page in the About Phone page of Settings).
So to the OP what you're saying is, this cable makes the phone think it's charging via it's AC charger? Have a picture? (not a screenshot, a picture of the phone screen showing AC while plugged into this charger).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that, i try hard not to be a **** to people, but you handled it quite well. I will add a screenie to the front page shortly. I had made a custom cable myself and removed the two inner pins (data+ and -) to achieve this purpose. But keep in mind, when using this usb cable i posted, you can not sync to your pc-it will only charge-hence the fact my battery profile shows ac charger when using it. Give me a little to get to a camera to take a pic of the cable and a pic of the battery profile.
added pics to the first post
Computer USB can only output a certain amount of power, it isn't going to increase power with a cable.
I use Juice Plotter to see exactly what my battery life is, and how long it will take to charge. There is no difference in the charging time between USB and Plugged in.
Now on USB it will take longer because the screen is off and I am normally fustsing with it a lot, where when it is plugged in, I am not touching it at all and normally shut the screen off.
So even if a USB puts out 500mah and a wall charger puts 1000mah, I don't believe the phone has any type of switch to its micro USB to allow it to sense the mAh and adjust the charge. Else I would think your screen shots would show different numbers.
Bielinsk said:
Computer USB can only output a certain amount of power, it isn't going to increase power with a cable.
I use Juice Plotter to see exactly what my battery life is, and how long it will take to charge. There is no difference in the charging time between USB and Plugged in.
Now on USB it will take longer because the screen is off and I am normally fustsing with it a lot, where when it is plugged in, I am not touching it at all and normally shut the screen off.
So even if a USB puts out 500mah and a wall charger puts 1000mah, I don't believe the phone has any type of switch to its micro USB to allow it to sense the mAh and adjust the charge. Else I would think your screen shots would show different numbers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every windows mobile phone ive ever used could be manipulated to allow the usb port to pull 1000mw. It is a hack and there is work on finding it in the android system. I am hoping this cable bypasses that and if i can find any program that shows charge current, i can know for sure. Android os uses parameters to decide how much current to pull as does windows mobile.
Bielinsk said:
There is no difference in charge time between computer usb and wall charger usb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then why does my EVO take twice as long to charge when connected to my laptop, smart guy?
-------------
Sent from my HTC EVO 4G using Tapatalk Pro.

Faster USB charging?

Just got a new motheboard which has high output USB charging for iPhones, pads etc.
Can this work on N1 ?
http://gigabyte.com/MicroSite/185/on-off-charge.htm
edit: driver link is at the bottom for all the hackers. Hopefully its just changing string from apple to android hehe
kazprotos said:
Just got a new motheboard which has high output USB charging for iPhones, pads etc.
Can this work on N1 ?
http://gigabyte.com/MicroSite/185/on-off-charge.htm
edit: driver link is at the bottom for all the hackers. Hopefully its just changing string from apple to android hehe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully not, I dont want my nexus one to be iphone.
But as you know nexus one is using qualcomm motherboard.
But aslong cyanogen and fm transmitter is working there is no problem wiith your phone.
Dear lord what a crappy reply. Stick to disney mate.
It should, it basically just converts the USB port from .5 amps to 1 amp, like a wall charger.
elkyur said:
Hopefully not, I dont want my nexus one to be iphone.
But as you know nexus one is using qualcomm motherboard.
But aslong cyanogen and fm transmitter is working there is no problem wiith your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WTF??? May want to lay off the halucinogenics
elkyur said:
Hopefully not, I dont want my nexus one to be iphone.
But as you know nexus one is using qualcomm motherboard.
But aslong cyanogen and fm transmitter is working there is no problem wiith your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol I seriously hope this is a joke!
I agree with JCopernicus, it should definitely work.
I installed the software in the first post but it still charges very slow compared to wall outlet
Slightly OT, but I've got a USB adapter that plugs into the wall that came with my iphone and when I plug the N1 USB cable into this to charge the N1, it still charges very slowly compared to using the proper wall adapter, why is this? Does this iphone adapter restrict the voltage or something?
Generally, "charger detected" is a circuit that has USB data pins shorted together. So when the phone's USB device probes the lines and detects them shorted, it knows it's connected to a power supply.
But since USB max current spec is 500mA, the current draw is restricted - either by the phone or by the supply.
There might be some other connectivity trick that allows the phone to know it can draw x2 current from the socket and won't damage anything. Most phones probably don't limit the current draw and count on the board to do it. Some boards don't limit the current output, or limit it higher. And the fast chargers provide pulsing voltage - which isn't like USB.
So for the board to be able to charge the device, it needs to detect a device that can use pulsing voltage, and enable such voltage on the socket. It doesn't detect Nexus as such a device, I believe, and that's why the charging is slow.
Faster charging with USB
Building on Jack_R1's response, I believe that the phone is limiting the charge rate. You can make the phone "realize" it is connected to a charger rather than a data connection by shorting the 2 middle USB pins together. I have done this in several car chargers, and the N1 About/Status shows charging (AC), which is the faster charge mode. While you can short the pins in the larger end of a dedicated USB cable, if you can disassemble the connector, I found it much easier to open the charger itself to short the pins.
i also have a gigabyte mobo that has this feature but i havent gotten around to test it out yet. I dont think it would work because the feature is software based and will only bump up the voltage if the program detects an iphone connecting to your computer. Gigabyte doesnt want to be liable if they bump up voltage on every device you plug in and fry something.
btw I have tried charging my n1 from my computer and its extremely slow. started charging at around 5pm on sunday and at 11pm it went from about 23%-97% lol.
Yes, USB charging is very slow. It's actually good for the battery, though.
Maybe someone with some know how can look at the driver files for this 3x tech and see how it checks if its an Apple device. Then fool the check and presto!
Shame I don't know how to do any of this
There is a simple hardware (don't worry, it's on the cable) mod for faster charging; however, make sure the phone has good air vent (it means NO CASE when charging).
1. modify your microUSB cable, disconnect the data connector the A (host) plug, then shorten the data connector to the B plug. (This can charge N900 properly, and speed up n1 charging).
2. modify your powered (with AC adapter plugged) USB hub. Simply shorten the #2 and 3 connectors on USB jack. Make sure you cut the copper strip going to the chip or malfunction may occur.
These modification can greatly speed up the charging, but phone will produce a lot of heat (that's why you must have the phone "naked").
I don't understand this. If the phone + battery are capable of being charged at 1000 mAh from the wall charger then why need extra cooling when asking for 1000 mAh from a PC USB socket?
Mine's still defo getting only 500 mAh from the PC USB despite it being able to give up to 2700 mAh for iPad!!! All I want is my 100 mAh charge.
Because what he suggests isn't a proper charging but rather removal of slot power control, and will damage the battery / phone, if succeeds.
Proper charging at 1000mAh requires pulsing voltage - his hack doesn't provide that. Your MB does, but it requires SW intervention to turn it on.
So can someone brew the intervention ?
martinl1030 said:
i also have a gigabyte mobo that has this feature but i havent gotten around to test it out yet. I dont think it would work because the feature is software based and will only bump up the voltage if the program detects an iphone connecting to your computer. Gigabyte doesnt want to be liable if they bump up voltage on every device you plug in and fry something.
btw I have tried charging my n1 from my computer and its extremely slow. started charging at around 5pm on sunday and at 11pm it went from about 23%-97% lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are not doing anything to the voltage, simply allowing more current to pass.
And as said in this thread, any typical data USB cable will charge very slowly. And most standard USB ports charge well less than the max specced 500mAh, in fact my subnote at work I found charged my old phone at around 150mah one time when I was dead and needed to top off and it's all I had available.
i'm not sure of the pinout on the micro USB port but i'm pretty sure that that the Mini USB-B port that was used on phones like the G1 used shorting the -Data pin to the unused 5th pin (actually pin 4 on the connector pinout) to activate AC charge mode. some devices actually require a resister of a certain value to be placed across them to work(i know older motorola phones did like IDEN's)
one thing people often forget but should not forget is that current is drawn from the device using power. its not forced on the device. voltage is forced on a device and while a variance is usually ok for devices depending on how they were designed generally its not a good idea to exceed +1.5v on any low power DC device. 120V AC devices are designed to actually work in a much wider range like 100-130V but thats because of the power supply/nature of AC power. it always varies and in japan they use 100v 60hz AC so many electronics power supplies are designed to work in the full range to save costs and only have to make 1 unit for all (same deal with 220-240 switches on PC power supplies)
the reason why you don't want to do this mod is you could damage you PC's motherboard by pulling too much current from its circuits. USB spec is 500ma. performing this type of mod on a power adapter (car or AC) that does not get recognized as an AC charger by the phone is a safer way to go. worst case senario is you break the charger (unless you mess up on the pinout then you could damage you phone too though)

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