Database Users

Question about power routing

There's something I don't understand about the Uni's power routing circuit: when you take out the battery, and plug the charger, the red LED lights up, telling you there's something wrong with the battery(namely that it's missing...).
Now, if it can do that, it should be easily able to go one step further: instead of routing the charger input solely through the red LED, it should be able to route it through the rest of the device, circumventing the faulty/missing battery, and power the device directly from the charger.
Of course this need the wall charger, since the USB can't supply the required voltage. But this seems so easy(at least in theory...), why didn't they make I so?
Or am I missing something fundamental here...?

Anybody here that can help me? I'm quite curious why HTC didn't make it like that...

I wonder, is there anyone who can answer at least a part of my question?

Hi mzalan,
the battery seems to be deeply involved in the systems power management.
As far as i know, there's a special integrated device (DS2762) inside the battery package, that monitores the parameters of the lithium cell. This chip gives feedback from the battery to the system.
That might be the reason for HTC to take care that a battery is inserted.
Another reason may be that HTC engineers wanted to bother us .
Regards,
scholbert

mzalan said:
There's something I don't understand about the Uni's power routing circuit: when you take out the battery, and plug the charger, the red LED lights up, telling you there's something wrong with the battery(namely that it's missing...).
Now, if it can do that, it should be easily able to go one step further: instead of routing the charger input solely through the red LED, it should be able to route it through the rest of the device, circumventing the faulty/missing battery, and power the device directly from the charger.
Of course this need the wall charger, since the USB can't supply the required voltage. But this seems so easy(at least in theory...), why didn't they make I so?
Or am I missing something fundamental here...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The usual reason they don't setup the device to do the main power sourcing via the Mini USB is trace width on the port wasn't designed to handle the amount of current that the device takes as a whole. that's for 1. for 2. you risk the chance of causing damage to the device electrically that would be difficult to tell the diffrence between a genuinely failed device due to faulty components vs the numpty that kept turning the power off and then back on quickly cause they wanted to restart the device. .
thusly helping them determine which is their fault due to quality of the components and which is the numpty owner abusing the device.

[Q] metal strip on top under power

When I put my phone to the charger, the metal strip at the top is under power.
When I get a call and it's on the charger it's even worse and hurts my ear .
The same happens when I charge it by USB on my PC.
Is there anyone who has (had) the same problem or more important has a solution?
The phone has already been twice to repair but it's still not solved.
Greetz,
Ceefman

I have not experienced this problem. Please take it to your local HTC Centre or the shop where you bought you HD Mini, this is not normal behaviour. There are in fact a lot of defect units in HD Mini

Ceefman said:
When I put my phone to the charger, the metal strip at the top is under power.
When I get a call and it's on the charger it's even worse and hurts my ear .
The same happens when I charge it by USB on my PC.
Is there anyone who has (had) the same problem or more important has a solution?
The phone has already been twice to repair but it's still not solved.
Greetz,
Ceefman
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
me too. but I noticed that this issue was only with my old laptop (5-6 years old). honestly it seems that with my new laptop the mini doesn't fry my ears...

Ceefman said:
When I put my phone to the charger, the metal strip at the top is under power.
When I get a call and it's on the charger it's even worse and hurts my ear .
The same happens when I charge it by USB on my PC.
Is there anyone who has (had) the same problem or more important has a solution?
The phone has already been twice to repair but it's still not solved.
Greetz,
Ceefman
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In most modern power supplies/chargers there is a high value resistor and low value capacitor connected between the 'Mains' side of the unit and the output. This can sometimes cause this effect. If you run a sensitive part of the body (the back of the hand for example) along a metal cased item (such as a video recorder or hi-fi unit) you can sometimes feel it there too. I could be that your ear is sensitive enough to pick up this (very) slight voltage.
If you can feel it in your ear, but not in your fingers, it is most likely to be this small 'bleed' voltage and is normal. You could try a different make of charger (or as suggested above) a usb port from a computer and you might find that you are less sensitive to the values of resistor/capacitor fitted in these alternate power supplies.
The old style of power supply with a weighty transformer didn't need the 'bleed' resistor/capacitors and so you only noticed this effect when connecting an 'old' style item to a 'newer' one when you could sometimes see a small spark when the two were connected. Again you might sometimes see this effect when plugging an aerial lead into a TV or Video Recorder, for the same reasons.

Its very simple, your computer is not earthed correctly. I had the same problem with my last apartment, when I charged the phone thru my computer and touched the radiator with my foot the phone bite my ear.
The apartment had old sockets without earthing pins.
My phone has not breaked down due to this but I have problem with usb connection to my computer, it always find the phone as unknown device.
So if you pull a wire between you computer chassie and a radiator or sink this problem will disappear.
/J

[Q] Run NST just on USB charger and take out battery! ?

When I am at home using my laptop, I normally plug in the charging cable and take out the batteries. Now for some obscure reasons, I want to be able to do the same thing with NST (or any other eInk eReaders). Is it possible? If not, why not? Can we do something to make it a possibility?
This can be useful for instance for when I am at home... Whenever I know I want to use the NST in USB host mode (as an eWriter, Android tablet, gaming, playing music, GPS whatever), I'd like to take out battery and use it while directly plugged into wall charger or laptop usb port. Possible?

Why take out the batteries? They are doing no harm.
If you want to hang the Nook permanently on the wall, Ok.
If you patched u-boot.bin, you could get the Nook to boot without a battery.
You could also do hardware mods to the Nook to make it work that way.
See:
Curent drain on the Nook
Measuring battery current accurately
Nook Simple Touch - DOA Wont charge/turn on

Renate NST said:
Why take out the batteries? They are doing no harm.
If you want to hang the Nook permanently on the wall, Ok.
If you patched u-boot.bin, you could get the Nook to boot without a battery.
You could also do hardware mods to the Nook to make it work that way.
See:
Curent drain on the Nook
Measuring battery current accurately
Nook Simple Touch - DOA Wont charge/turn on
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was exactly that post of yours (and the other one you referred me to) which gave me this idea. It might be just emotional but I want to preserve my batteries as much as I can, when I am on wall charger, so I'll take batteries out. It's been mentioned that for Li-ion batteries you can safely leave batteries in while charging, but... oh well, me being me I guess!
I'm interested to know both how to do u-boot patching AND hardware modding for this purpose. I guess I have so much to read.
You're the man, oops, ehem... woman, dear Renate.

idoit said:
When I am at home using my laptop, I normally plug in the charging cable and take out the batteries. Now for some obscure reasons, I want to be able to do the same thing with NST (or any other eInk eReaders). Is it possible? If not, why not? Can we do something to make it a possibility?
This can be useful for instance for when I am at home... Whenever I know I want to use the NST in USB host mode (as an eWriter, Android tablet, gaming, playing music, GPS whatever), I'd like to take out battery and use it while directly plugged into wall charger or laptop usb port. Possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume you want to preserve your batteries. You will only affect this type of batteries life/effectiveness by constant charging at 100%. Even then it will take a long while to notice. Many newer laptops (last 3-4 years) will give you bios option to charge up to only 80%. This is the sweet spot for charging life.
That said leaving your battery in your laptop/nook gives you some serious benefits. The amount of power surges, brown outs and rf noise on power lines can seriously screw with your system. That click of turning a light switch on goes through to your computer. Ok motherboard will have some filtering etc but I'd still rather have a battery protecting me. As to brown outs and surges these can cause corruption. I get a lot of power cuts and I wish there was a minimum power off length. e.g. If power is disrupted it must be off for at least 2 seconds. This lets devices power off and then switch on. The problem is where power dips for 0.5 second. This is enough time to affect your system. Possibly affect contents of your active memory and harddrive cache. Your system keeps on running and slowly overtime gets shredded.
Bottom line how much does a battery cost? Any battery for laptop is going to be <£50. How much does your laptop cost?
As to a device bursting into flames if you use a third party battery or charger its a possibility otherwise very unlikely.

Crispy3000 said:
I assume you want to preserve your batteries. You will only affect this type of batteries life/effectiveness by constant charging at 100%. Even then it will take a long while to notice. Many newer laptops (last 3-4 years) will give you bios option to charge up to only 80%. This is the sweet spot for charging life.
That said leaving your battery in your laptop/nook gives you some serious benefits. The amount of power surges, brown outs and rf noise on power lines can seriously screw with your system. That click of turning a light switch on goes through to your computer. Ok motherboard will have some filtering etc but I'd still rather have a battery protecting me. As to brown outs and surges these can cause corruption. I get a lot of power cuts and I wish there was a minimum power off length. e.g. If power is disrupted it must be off for at least 2 seconds. This lets devices power off and then switch on. The problem is where power dips for 0.5 second. This is enough time to affect your system. Possibly affect contents of your active memory and harddrive cache. Your system keeps on running and slowly overtime gets shredded.
Bottom line how much does a battery cost? Any battery for laptop is going to be <£50. How much does your laptop cost?
As to a device bursting into flames if you use a third party battery or charger its a possibility otherwise very unlikely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks once again for your comprehensive well-thought-about response.
About the bottom line, you're absolutely right. I read somewhere that the most killing factor for laptop is heat and one part that heats up most is batteries. One of the reasons I took it apart was this. I have to admit that I'm not electrically knowledgeable enough to claim anything. Just trying to be as green and liberally conservative as possible.
By the way, worth a watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD6AiWP2VsY

Guide to fix the issue of phone not charging

If your battery isn't charging properly, don't immediately assume your phone charger or your battery is broken.
Based on personal experience, the problem and solution may be much simpler than you think.
If your phone or tablet isn't charging properly or at all, take a look at these 12 ways to fix a phone that won't charge.
Why a phone doesn't charge
The problem occurs in various degrees. Either your phone won't charge at all when it is plugged in, or it will only charge very slowly (sometimes barely faster than it is discharging). It’s a very common complaint, so here are a few solutions.
1. Do-It-Yourself USB port fix
The quickest, easiest, and often most successful solution, is to do a little DIY repair on your actual hardware. The problem is often that the metallic surfaces inside the USB port and the micro USB charger are not making good contact, either through a manufacturing defect or because of the continual plugging and unplugging of the charging cable.
All you need to do is shut down your device, remove the battery if possible and use something small, such as a toothpick, to 'lever up' the little tab inside the USB port on your Smartphone or tablet. Do so very carefully and gently, then reinsert your battery and plug it in again. Nine times out of 10 this is all that is required.
2. Remove lint, candy and dust
Do you keep your phone in the pocket of your jeans? If so, lint could be the culprit: we've lost track of the number of times the reason for unreliable USB charging turned out to be lint from the pocket of our Levis.
We've seen phones with charging ports choked with chocolate after they were chucked in a handbag alongside a packet of sweets. A can of compressed air can blow out the offending irritants and get your USB connection back to normal.
3. Switch cables
The flimsiest part of a charger is the cable, not the adapter that plugs into the wall socket. Apple users are particularly vulnerable here because Apple's proprietary (and expensive) Lightning cables appear to have a life expectancy of around 15 minutes. But all cables have a tough life, and endless flexing and curling can take its toll. Substituting a random USB cable for the one that came with your phone is another shortcut to an unenjoyable charging experience.
The easiest way to diagnose a faulty cable is to try a different one and see if that works properly with your device. If it does, you know the original cable was at fault. If it doesn't, that's another potential villain we've ruled out.
4. Diagnose a dodgy adapter
If the cable doesn't seem to be the problem, check the wall plug adapter – especially if it's one where the charging cable can be removed. We've encountered issues in multiple chargers where the USB port becomes a little loose after endlessly plugging in and unplugging the cable.
Also check whether the same charger/cable combination works on a different device because this will help you eliminate the possibility that it is your device at fault, rather than the cable or charger. You should also make sure there isn't a problem with your wall socket.
5. Remember – safety first
Don't charge your phone near water or in excessively hot or humid conditions. Also, if you're replacing a charger or cable, be wary: the internet is stuffed with reports of cheap third-party chargers that went bang in the middle of the night or turned smart phones into toast. As with any electrical equipment, make sure that anything you buy complies with all the relevant safety standards.
To give you an idea of how much energy is stored in your battery, check this video out (but don't try it at home).
A previous version of this article warned users of charging devices overnight, but I want to clarify that this is not because you can overcharge your device. Modern smartphones have measures in place to prevent damage when batteries continue to be charged at 100 percent capacity.
That said, charging a battery does generate heat and, if a smartphone is in a tight space – like under a pillow or inside a case – there is a chance it could become too hot. Essentially, if you're going to charge your phone overnight, just make sure it's out in a safe place.
6. Replace the battery
Batteries don't last forever, and after a couple of years they start to struggle to hold a charge. The more often you discharge and recharge them, the sooner they'll need replacing. If your battery's busted after just six months, it's probably faulty and you should make a warranty claim for a free replacement, but if the battery's older than two years, it's probably approaching the end of its lifespan.
Some defective batteries are easy to spot because they start to bulge or leak fluid. If nothing like that is obvious from the outside, remove your device's cover and inspect the battery (if you can; some devices have sealed battery compartments).
If the cover doesn't come off, you could try laying the device on its back and spinning it. A bulging battery will deform the case – you might not be able to see this bulge, but it might be enough to allow your phone to spin. If you suspect your battery might be swollen or leaking, get your phone to a repair shop and buy a reputable replacement.
7. Charge from the right source
Charging from a wall socket will always be faster than charging via PC or laptop, because computers' USB ports don't deliver very much power. A wall socket can deliver twice as much power as a USB port, and fast chargers it can deliver as much as five times the power – which means much, much faster charging. So if your phone is charging slowly and you're connected to a laptop: there's your problem.
If your wall charger doesn't appear to be delivering the goods, check that it's appropriate for your device. A charger from another phone might not deliver the right amount of juice — for example, a charger for a Bluetooth headset won't put out as much power as one designed specifically for smart phones. In the case of recent high-end phones, you might have a phone that supports fast charging but a charger that doesn't deliver it. Read the fine-print.
8. Update or roll back
Software updates and new Android versions can wreak havoc with your battery life, especially when upgrading an old device to current software. Newer devices are often optimized to take advantage of the latest software, whereas a two-year-old device can struggle when it gets updated.
If this happens to you and you can't troubleshoot the problem, consider rolling the device back to an earlier Android version; though be warned that this carries security risks. The latest software versions are always recommended to keep your device protected, and while the risk of keeping your smartphone on an older version is often negligible, it’s worth noting.
Similarly, sometimes device battery life can be significantly improved by an update, so if you think you might be way behind on your Android software version, head to Settings > About phone to check for an update.
9. Switch it off
Using battery-intensive apps/features while you are charging your device will affect how quickly it gains battery life. If you are charging while Skyping somebody at 100 percent brightness, the device will naturally take longer to charge than it would with its screen, Wi-Fi and 4G turned off.
Switch the device to airplane mode, or off completely, when you are charging if you want to see the fastest energy injection. Think of it making your device take a power nap.
10. Calibrate your battery
Sometimes the battery level your device 'thinks' it's at is wrong. The effect of this is that your phone may function differently, including limiting performance before it needs to or taking an hour to chew through the last two percent of battery.
We’ve already written an extensive guide on how to calibrate your Smartphone battery, so I won’t retype it all here, but this is a thing to try before completely ditching your defunct power pack.
11. Check your battery pack's voltage and amperage
This tip was pointed out in the comments below by Patrick and it can help you quickly identify a defective cable. Download the free Amperage app from the link below and open it. Now, connect your charger and the interface should go green and the text at the top should say "measuring". If you don't see this, or nothing happens, it means there is no current going to your device.
If it identifies a current, the app will now show the charging statistics for that charger, including the minimum and maximum load levels (in milliamps), voltage and maximum current. This is also a great way to find out which of your chargers is performing best.
Try connecting the different charge packs you own, including portable battery packs, to see which has the highest maximum charge value, or the highest average (the app makes it fairly easy to get an idea of this). It's not an exact measurement but it's an indication if nothing else and the app is completely free.
12. What about water damage?
A number of people in the comments asked about battery problems caused by water damage. If your phone fails to charge after falling in water you don't have many options: your best bet is to try and replace the battery – if that's even possible.
You should, however, try to prevent this from ever happening. Read our article explaining what to do when you drop your phone in water to find out the first steps you should take when trying to rescue it.
If all else fails, double-check that you have the power point switched on. That is the first thing they will ask you if you call your manufacturer for help, which might need to be your next step if none of these solutions has worked for you.
This guide is not specific for Honor 5X. This is for all mobiles.

Android Security Patch

Hey guys, my partner just did the November security patch from Google on her T-Mobile Priv. The phone would not take a charge and eventually powered off; couldn't power it back on and still wouldn't take a charge from several different chargers on several different wall outlets. When I got home I attempted to plug it into my computer hoping that I could at least access the onboard data and save that. The computer wouldn't even register anything was plugged in. After a bit of frustration she made a half cocked comment about doing a battery pull to which I replied that the phone is a unibody. However, I was wrong. Where as the phone isn't meant to come apart for the consumer, it can be accomplished. I was able to disconnect the battery from the board, wait about 30 seconds, then plug it back in and reassemble it. Plugging the phone into the computer let me access the onboard storage and quickly grabbed the important files off of it, the phone said it was charging but the percentage was going down. Plugged the phone into a regular charger off a wall with a 2 amp plug and it appears to be charging properly now. The reason I'm writing this is to find out if anyone else had a similar problem with the November security patch or if there was an app update from Blackberry that nearly killed the phone. As a side note, I don't know for sure if the battery disconnect actually fixed the issue or if I did something different when I powered it back on. If you end up needing to perform a battery pull, make sure you have non-magnetic tweezers or small needlenose pliers and a T5 torx bit. This is the YouTube video I glanced at to get the battery cover off
https://youtu.be/lRj_F7b4JvE
Thanks guys, maybe this will help someone else out or maybe there's a more specific answer to the problem we had.