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Kensington 4-port Charger and Treo Pro

Does anyone have experience using 3rd party chargers with the Treo Pro or HTC devices in general?
I've purchased a kensington 4-port USB wall charger. It's an interesting concept which allows you to plug in up to 4 USB cables (iPods, iPhones, Treo Pro) and only use one outlet. A neat trick when you have multiple phones and devices in your family.
My problem is that the kensington won't charge the Treo Pro. When I plug it in, the LCD lights up, but the charge indicator does not appear nor does the tone sound that it has been plugged in. Note, as far as I can tell the Treo Pro charger outputs 5v DC exactly the same as the Kensington charger.
I've read several posts that lead me to believe that HTC does something to their devices that only allow certain chargers to work or that their USB cables have a certain pin-out that allows them to charge. Anyone have any advice?
Thanks!

Well, I got my wall charger and car charger from Officemax. The charger brand is "Just Wireless". Both are working fine for me. Before, I tried to use the sync cable to plug the regular USB power adapter for wall or car charger, some work, some don't. It seems Palm modified the micro-usb cable...
So my suggestion, if you are looking for charger for Treo Pro, you should look for compable with Moto R9 (which using micro-usb plug, too) I used to have one Moto charger, It worked in my Treo Pro!

jbinmn said:
My problem is that the kensington won't charge the Treo Pro. When I plug it in, the LCD lights up, but the charge indicator does not appear nor does the tone sound that it has been plugged in. Note, as far as I can tell the Treo Pro charger outputs 5v DC exactly the same as the Kensington charger.
I've read several posts that lead me to believe that HTC does something to their devices that only allow certain chargers to work or that their USB cables have a certain pin-out that allows them to charge. Anyone have any advice?
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There's really nothing "special" going on here. It's all in the USB spec. http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Power
That said, there are few other devices that demand a dedicated charger (or a communicating host), so in that sense it is special.
The problem being that the TP won't draw more power than agreed upon with the host (or in this case the carger). And since your charger doesn't tell the Treo that is has power to spare, the Treo trying being a good little device won't start charging.
Now, for the charger to tell the Treo that it is, in fact, a dedicated charger and "go ahead, draw as much power as you want up to 1.8A" it would only have to short its data pins.
Now that is something YOU could do to get the charger to work with your Treo. Either open the charger and solder the data pins (the two middle ones in a normal sized usb socket). Or if you can't for some reason, slice a micro-usb cable open and short the two data (usually the thinnest (green/white maybe)) wires inside.

I got a couple of desktop chargers from ebay for about £8 each. Work fine.

frause said:
There's really nothing "special" going on here. It's all in the USB spec. http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Power
That said, there are few other devices that demand a dedicated charger (or a communicating host), so in that sense it is special.
The problem being that the TP won't draw more power than agreed upon with the host (or in this case the carger). And since your charger doesn't tell the Treo that is has power to spare, the Treo trying being a good little device won't start charging.
Now, for the charger to tell the Treo that it is, in fact, a dedicated charger and "go ahead, draw as much power as you want up to 1.8A" it would only have to short its data pins.
Now that is something YOU could do to get the charger to work with your Treo. Either open the charger and solder the data pins (the two middle ones in a normal sized usb socket). Or if you can't for some reason, slice a micro-usb cable open and short the two data (usually the thinnest (green/white maybe)) wires inside.
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Hi!
Yep i just bought two kensington 4 port chargers and looks like it doesnt charge the TP
Im about to buy a microusb cable to do the trick you suggested, (i cant seem to open the Kensington 4 port!), any reference websites you could suggest that could explain abit more about the shorting of the data wires inside? Just like to read up abit more before the cable arrives
Thanks!

shorting two center pins solves problem
Thank you for the details. I was able to get two car chargers to work with Palm cables after opening them up and shorting the middle pins with a dab of solder. I opened up a non-Palm cable and discovered only two wires, red and white, and no surprise: it did not work even with the "fixed" adapters. So you need to have pins shorted, and a cable that can return the short to the Treo from the adapter, or if you have a cable with all leads inside you could short the two wires instead and leave the adapter alone. However, if you only have two wires inside the cable you would have to short inside the micro plug, which is a little cramped to work in. If you have only two wires in your cable (hard to tell really without cutting it open; too small to get a continuity probe in there), and/or an adapter without the pins shorted, the Treo will not pull current and charge itself.

The Wikipedia USB Spec referenced by frause above says in part:
" A Dedicated Charging Port can supply a maximum of 1.8*A of current at 5.25*V. A portable device can draw up to 1.8*A from a Dedicated Charging Port. The Dedicated Charging Port shorts the D+ and D- pins with a resistance of at most 200O. The short disables data transfer, but allows devices to detect the Dedicated Charging Port and allows very simple, high current chargers to be manufactured."
An interpretation of the reported observations and this spec is that a charger can communicte to the device under charge the maximum current the charger is able to supply. This communication occurs by the charger either "shorting" the data pins or not. Non-shorted data pins indicates that the charger is capable of at most 500 mA. Its possible that the Treo Pro(TP) is smart enough to know it should conserve power when being charged from a low current charger. One way for the TP to conserve power would be to not power the LED on the TP if there is only 500 mA available for charging.
NOTE THAT IF THIS INTERPRETATION IS TRUE THEN IT IS ACTUALLY DISADVANTAGEOUS TO ARTIFICIALLY SHORT THE DATA PINS.

Phone Charging

Do the phones charge faster plug into the wall then plug into a usb port on a computer?

Yes. The wall charger outputs more amps than the usb port on your pc.

Im not sure but my phones been charging slower than before. i was running damage control 2.05 and charging was quick. But with Fresh 2.0d i feel like it charges slower. anybody else? or just me.

Rsoehelk said:
Im not sure but my phones been charging slower than before. i was running damage control 2.05 and charging was quick. But with Fresh 2.0d i feel like it charges slower. anybody else? or just me.
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I sort of feel this too, especially charging on the USB port. It seems to take hours to get a green LED.

your computer, and most aftermarket chargers, have usb ports with 500 mA power. The USB charger that came with the phone, and most iphone usb chargers, are 1A (or 1000mA)
I've been thinking, and I don't know for sure if it will work, but sounds good in theory, if you could splice in another usb end on the power +/- 5V only (outer wires I think?), and plug it into another usb port that is not shared with the other one, to double the amperage. After all, it would be wired in parallel then... just not completely sure if it would fry the computer but I don't think so

winmo has a fastcharge hack that i would love.
it charges through usb at the same speed as the wall.

danaff37 said:
your computer, and most aftermarket chargers, have usb ports with 500 mA power. The USB charger that came with the phone, and most iphone usb chargers, are 1A (or 1000mA)
I've been thinking, and I don't know for sure if it will work, but sounds good in theory, if you could splice in another usb end on the power +/- 5V only (outer wires I think?), and plug it into another usb port that is not shared with the other one, to double the amperage. After all, it would be wired in parallel then... just not completely sure if it would fry the computer but I don't think so
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Click to collapse
Wish I could find my stock charger.

Fresh 2.0d definitely charges slower via the wall wart. I noticed this right off the bat. Don't know why.

How to speed up USB charging in Touch HD

I was always wondering how to speed up this unacceptably slow USB charging (If you are in a low signal area with bluetooth ON then the battery is drained far more quicker than the laptop can charge it ending up with a flat battery ). Finally I tested the output from the pins of the wall charger and my Laptop. Even when the laptop is powered off (no data exchange) the USB charging is very slow. The HD seems to send a ~1v pulse through D+ channel when to connect it to USB port (even when powered off the device seems to check if it is a USB data port), but with the charger it does not!, so we need to break this communication.
So I put a thin plastic film over the D+ and D- terminals of the USB cable and voila the device charges much faster..(slightly slower than wall charger - 25% slower, can be accounted for by the lower power output of the laptop USB port, the voltage of laptop usb port is 150-200 mV lower).
While I am typing this my HD has gained 9% charge with screen on!! . Natively it charged atmost 1% by this time with screen off.
Now I am looking for a permanent mod for my spare USB cable hacking off the data lines.
For those in a hurry with nothing but a HD with flat battery USB cable and a computer at hand, worthwhile using a thin paper over the inner two pins of the USB cable on PC side and plugging it in. (You do this at your own risk).
Hope it helps others too. Let me know your experiences.
With my Desktop USB port, charge rate is better than wall charger if you block the data pins. The port seems to be capable of 1.5 amp at 4.96 v
Also ensure that the USB cable snugly fits the mini USB port on HD.

Could this be also the problem why (my) Blackstone doesn't receive a TMC-signal with HyperGPS & iGO8 while charging in my car?
It's a genuine car charger from HTC, so I should say these pins are already "shut" from connection, or am I wrong?

I have a usb cable that is dedicatet for charging. It dosent have D+/- wires. With this cable on my laptop the charge time form about 20% is more than half of regular USD cable..
The cable was supplied with a car BT handsfree.
Regarding the TMC issue Im not shure, Try asking the guys that developed HyperGPS they might know, if not they might be able to fix if they arent aware of the issue

Interesting tip, thanks... I've lost my charger and have been finding it a pain to charge it using the USB port on my laptop.
I cut a small strip of paper from one end of a sticky note, and stuck the adhesive end to the outer flat surface of the USB plug to secure the strip in place. Seems to have done the trick, because the charging light is on and the PC hasn't detected the device. As for how long it takes to charge... will have to wait and see.
Also, I was wondering if there was any difference in charging speed (i.e. when charging via USB normally without using this trick) between activesync and file transfer mode?

Bricked Desire HD - power issues!

My battery discharged while I was travelling - it went to <10% and shut off by itself. I left the original HTC microusb over seas and so I used my old Motorola microusb to try to charge the phone. After leaving it overnight a number of times I thought the battery was dead. I ordered a new battery (from Mugen) and tried to charge that.
All I get is a flashing orange/red light. The phone does not turn on.
I have tried charging on both the AC charger and via PC usb port.
Are all MicroUSB cables universal? I can't get a straight answer about this from HTC's customer support. Every time I call someone gives me a different answer which leads me to believe that they have no clue what they are talking about.
Is there anything I can do to remedy this?
The HTC AC charger is rated at 5V 1A, while my old Moto charger is rated at 5.1V 850mA. Could I get a charge by using slightly higher voltage with lower amperes?
I really would like to avoid sending it back to manufacturer warranty so if there is any other alternate route I can take please let me know.

I have some cheap MicroUSB cables and they seem to charge very slowly compared to the HTC one. There may be a difference, but I suspect the cheap cables are just plain cheap.

No the Motorola charger wont have done it any harm, 0.1volt wont make a difference, and charging at a lower current is less likely to cause damage.

Could I have damaged the phone by using a different companies' cable?
Is there a chance that the phone is FUBAR? Should I be able to turn it on if its plugged into a power source even if the battery is dead?

please excuse the bump
need to know
*bump*

I've actually tried all the different combinations of charging and they all seem to work fine
I've tried a cheap microUSB cable with the official charger, official microUSB cable with iPhone charger, cheap microUSB cable with PC, another cheap microUSB cable in my friend's car, and even a Nokia microUSB cable in all the mentioned combinations
They all just gave different current readings (from CurrentWidget) but in the end they all worked well. I'm not sure if a Motorola microUSB would have modifications that cause incompatibilities though

I also tried different Micro-USB Cables and my DHD still works normally.

me too have the same problem. I got a total of 3 diff USB cable. One give me 330mA, one give me 120mA and one gave me only 50mA. i do not mind spending the money if i know how to choose a USB cable which can give me 330mA everytime i charge. Anyone knows how to spot the correct ones?

Neurosis said:
me too have the same problem. I got a total of 3 diff USB cable. One give me 330mA, one give me 120mA and one gave me only 50mA. i do not mind spending the money if i know how to choose a USB cable which can give me 330mA everytime i charge. Anyone knows how to spot the correct ones?
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Any Blackberry USB cable should work..

used Motorola cable many times. No issues.
Might be a fluke that u busted ur phones charging system.

The USB cables are all the same and have no effect on charging current. The charging current is determined by how the two data lines within the cable are terminated in the charging device. If the data lines are left open ciruit, the phone interprets this as being a USB charger and will therefore only draw a maximum of 500mA to prevent damage to a PC's USB port. Chargers that are capable of delivering more current (such as a wall charger) connect the two data lines together. The phone then interprets this as being a charging device which is capable of delivering a higher current and will draw greater than 500mA. If you look at "Menu - Settings - About phone - Battery" it will state either "Charging (USB)" or "Charging (AC)" depending on what you are charging from.

[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.