dummy battery for android phones - Hardware Hacking General

Hi,
I know this topic popped up couple of times, just wanted to renew it. I have bunch of devices that I use for development only and they charge all the time. One of them had its battery blown (literally, phone's back cover popped up). Apparently battery was heating all the time or smth... Which led me to think:
Is there dummy battery connected to DC adapter available for sale somewhere? My devices are Galaxy S3, S4 and S5. The way I see it, there could be number of options :
1. Tweak android ROM to make it not charge the battery and use USB - probably not applicable to me cause I want to be able to update to recent Android version all the time.
2. Insert some dummy circuit to fool the phone that battery is there and leave USB connected. I guess I need to be smart about it to make sure this thermistor always show low temperature etc etc...
3. Disconnect USB, insert dummy battery made of wood or plastic or smth with wiring to DC adapter. This dummy battery should also have thermistor terminal and whatever else is required to make the phone think the battery is charged and runs cool. Im surprised I couldnt find smth like that cause it seems pretty useful even for home (I have old phone at home for example that I use to play music only, I'd just hook it up to the outlet).
Would appreciate any idea
Cheers,
Dan
PS this topic is related: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1863303
Im curious, has anybody done that recently?

Related

Run Universal without battery? (i.e. on A/C Power only)

Hi there!
Does anyone know of a way to operate the Universal solely on A/C power when there is no battery inserted?
I often use my universal as a WLAN media player in the kitchen. It just sits there for hours playing music and I would like to remove the battery from it during this time to extend overall battery life.
Unfortunately the device does not turn on when there is no battery inserted.
This should be fairly easy, if I understood well, you don't want to let the battery in the universal (even if normally the battery chargers apply a tickle current charge when the batteries are already charged to mantain it fully charged), so you just need to connect your power supply directly to the uni's battery contacts -BEWARE the power supply MUST be 3.7V REGULATED / 1A minimum current-.
Personally, I do not like to change the way the objects are, so I would try to keep it like this in this case, this means, no extra holes in my PDA, no extra connectors, etc. so you need a pair of mini alligators clips or miniclips to connect your unit to the power supply, be sure to verify the correct polarity, it's clearly written in the battery's contacts.
Alternatively, there should be a way of doing this by using the uni's own battery charger through it's own mini USB connector, it's necessary to cheat the PDA and let him "think" he's got the battery inserted, this should be fairly easy to do also, but I'm out of my work, so I could provide a complete solution like this until late april.
bye
downloadtest82 said:
Unfortunately the device does not turn on when there is no battery inserted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why don't you use an old battery?
I use this way in this particolar circumstances!
Why don't you use an old battery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I used to do, unfortunately the old battery I have is so worn down by now it won't even support the boot process any more, and the A/C power regulator kicks in only after basic I/O drivers are loaded on the device.
Since the old battery dies before this process completes I can't use that any more.
I don't believe the Universal's "battery detection circuits" are all that complex, in most modern electronic devices they can be fooled by simply bridging some of the connectors in the battery bay.
I don't know if this is true for this device also, however. So I was wondering if anyone else ever tried before I toast my PDA...
downloadtest82 said:
Since the old battery dies before this process completes I can't use that any more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh.. I understand.. Sorry..
Well: be careful if you try to solve in other way..

totally dead wizard after battery drain

Hi,
That's the first time I am not able to find in this great forum a solution for a problem with one of my 2 wizards (i love this machine...)
Yesterday, one suddenly did not power on. I knew that the battery was pretty low, so I guessed was just discharged. But once I plugged it at home to the wall charger, no amber light appeared, nothing powered on! When I replaced the battery with a fresh one, nothing changed... and when I tried the "bad" battery with my second wizard+wall charger, I confirmed the battery was almost empty (2%), but worked fine.
I tried to plug the mobile to the computer, but nothing... to soft-, hard-resets... the bootloader reset... but my wizard did not respond electrically or electronically to anything... any idea what could be happening? any possible solution? I do not remember exactly which rom I was wearing now, if that matters... probably a FariaWM6_realthing_crossbow
thanks to all in any case
marcos
Maybe out of sight accident
why you leave alone your lovely wizard and so aprecciated mmmm....
its xtrange but as you say i think this kind of forum may helps you with software... took it to a cellphone repair center... they has multimeters to know where does the energy stops... maybe a little electronic component has burn it down. or try the not original and official wall chargers withj specific mhz and amperage, try something more hard.
hope i help you
more news
After being overnight without the battery, this morning I tried a "resurrection"
I just put back the battery, did a softreset, and it worked!... really!? no... just the first two screens (HTC welcome and machine tests) It did not go forward, and a second reset it did not work either... now it's again like yesterday, just dead
I think there is something else than just an electronic problem, but who knows. I recommend you not to let the battery too low!
Marcos
Charging a completely dead Wizard battery
Delapena,
I've had this problem a bunch of times with my Wizard (Cingular 8125 branded version). I was able to get it working again using the instructions of a VERY helpful person(s) who I want to give credit to but cant remember right now (sorry in advance) so just FYI this works for me, but the credit goes to the original poster (will edit later if I recall).
Easiest method (if available):
1) Locate your STOCK 5vdc/1.0A wall charger.
2) Remove stock battery, put it in a ziplock bag, place in freezer for 5-10 min or so. This should minimize the internal resistance of the battery to boost VDC across the terminals (in case you ran the battery very, very very dead).
3) After the battery is good and cold, put it back in the phone; DO NOT PRESS THE POWER BUTTON!
4) Plug the 5vdc/1.0AMP STOCK WALL CHARGER into the phone.
5) Charging indicator (solid amber LED) should light up after 5-10 seconds with no other indications (no screen, no beeps, just solid amber LED ON).
It's my understanding (may be wrong) that the 1.0amp wall charger uses/supplies 5vdc one one or more of the mini-usb plug pins than the standard USB->mini-usb cable used for standard data-transfer on standard USB-spec devices. Also, the wall charger sources a full AMP of current at 5vdc, as opposed to the 0.5amp each USB host IC is allowed to source (e.g. the USB host IC on your motherboard/front/back of computerbox).
...reply to this if you want the comprehensive method. Ill research if above doesnt work / you dont have the charger. Swamped at present though; if you need the full blown recharge-the-battery-from-the-stoneage method ill look it up---dont want to give you invalid info.
If you dont want to wait (i'd understand, been there), try searching around a bit if you havent already found what your looking for.
Reply back if you need more help, otherwise, good luck and replace your battery with a new one asap!
Cheers
(again, no credit to me on this one, got this solution from somewhere else on the forum a long while back...credit to original poster!!)
Sir,
I didnt read what you had already tried. My wizard is rebooting constantly as well. My thought is that my battery is so old that the battery charging chemistry is so out of whack that the battery charging / voltage sensing circuit is all sorts of confused as to where the (really old worn out) battery is on its charging curve.
I'm guessing that my phone is rebooting because the battery fails to supply adequate voltage at x.xx amps of current draw to the phone's internal voltage regulator. When the IVR cuts out, the phone poops its pants.
I'm currently looking for a battery replacement myself.
more... but less
Thanks for the help, brhestir. But did not work for me. Actually, I tried with the 3 batteries I have, which actually work OK in my second wizard.
The only thing I am able to "slighlty" reproduce till now:
1) Wizard remains several hours with any battery plugged
2) I put the battery back
3) I switch it on or do any kind of reset
4) Just sometimes, the machine starts up, but gets hanged up after the first screens
5) most of the times, after this... the screen turns white slowwwwly, till it switches off
6) only once, I managed to get the bootloader screen, which stayed like that with any problems... but the computer cannot connect to it, so impossible to change the rom.
Next step: to dismantle the machine (prior step before throwing it through the window)
Marcos
brhestir said:
Delapena,
I've had this problem a bunch of times with my Wizard (Cingular 8125 branded version). I was able to get it working again using the instructions of a VERY helpful person(s) who I want to give credit to but cant remember right now (sorry in advance) so just FYI this works for me, but the credit goes to the original poster (will edit later if I recall).
Easiest method (if available):
1) Locate your STOCK 5vdc/1.0A wall charger.
2) Remove stock battery, put it in a ziplock bag, place in freezer for 5-10 min or so. This should minimize the internal resistance of the battery to boost VDC across the terminals (in case you ran the battery very, very very dead).
3) After the battery is good and cold, put it back in the phone; DO NOT PRESS THE POWER BUTTON!
4) Plug the 5vdc/1.0AMP STOCK WALL CHARGER into the phone.
5) Charging indicator (solid amber LED) should light up after 5-10 seconds with no other indications (no screen, no beeps, just solid amber LED ON).
It's my understanding (may be wrong) that the 1.0amp wall charger uses/supplies 5vdc one one or more of the mini-usb plug pins than the standard USB->mini-usb cable used for standard data-transfer on standard USB-spec devices. Also, the wall charger sources a full AMP of current at 5vdc, as opposed to the 0.5amp each USB host IC is allowed to source (e.g. the USB host IC on your motherboard/front/back of computerbox).
...reply to this if you want the comprehensive method. Ill research if above doesnt work / you dont have the charger. Swamped at present though; if you need the full blown recharge-the-battery-from-the-stoneage method ill look it up---dont want to give you invalid info.
If you dont want to wait (i'd understand, been there), try searching around a bit if you havent already found what your looking for.
Reply back if you need more help, otherwise, good luck and replace your battery with a new one asap!
Cheers
(again, no credit to me on this one, got this solution from somewhere else on the forum a long while back...credit to original poster!!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow i just ran into the same problem today.. my battery was low tried to plug into the cigar lighter but the fuse was blown due to another object i had plugged in so i didn't get a chance to charge it, the phone was fine all day until i left work it was completely dead.. no amber light for the charger.. have you had any luck?
hi everyone,
i solved this problem by creating a sort of bypass for the battery...
i bought a special battery used for some circuits experiments which is 4,5v..
i connected the + and - with the phone contacts, with the battery plugged...turn on the phone until the orange light is on and leave it until charge is full...
this is cause phone needs a minimum of charge to start recharge circuit...
Yes the same problem on every post
The thing of cooling batteries is an old but knowledge charging fast option but it brokes your performance batt drain so i recomend a new full battery ok? is the only way or...... charge the one you have fully fully.
and try again! tu plugin the batt once at time and again and again it wouldnt boot cause its too low to begin the OS and let you charge with the wallcharger... to charge with the wall or usb you need a bootable and functional OS ok?
hope you can find a way to charge your batt at least sufficient to boot the OS ok?
bye
well good news! 20 minutes in the freezer + 5v + 1a = win
CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mp86 said:
well good news! 20 minutes in the freezer + 5v + 1a = win
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So dont ever let the batt drains to the hell down forever hahaha.
+ Que PPC said:
So dont ever let the batt drains to the hell down forever hahaha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol it was an accident i thought it was charging in the car!

[Q] cannot charge droid X even on AC adapter, after successful rooting and SBF flash

I'm a hardware engineer/software developer, it should not be this hard. Have Droid X with Android 2.2.1, after rooting using SuperOneClick with PDANet for Android, it would no longer charge, even on AC adapter, battery discharged during phone call. I did a lot of research online, have done as detailed below, but still not charging, and am awaiting delivery (a week away!) of a an external Droid X battery wall charger. I AM ABLE TO USE MY PHONE ONLY FOR NOW USING THE HACK INVOLVING OVERLAYING THE BATTERY WITH CUT OPEN POSITIVE/NEGATIVE LEADS OF A USB CABLE AND INSERTING INTO PHONE!!!
After establishing the USB/battery hack, I did the following (none resulting in battery charge restored):
Removed root authority from apps intended to calibrate CPU and Battery, removed these apps entirely from phone.
Removed root authority from ALL rooted apps, removed all such apps from phone.
Unrooted phone
Downloaded RSDLite 4.8, 64 bit Motorola Drivers and VRZ_MB810_2.3.34_1FF_01.sbf (latest I could find) -- all onto Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit, no problem flashing the new SBF, which is replaced Android 2.2.1 with only some minor cosmetic difference from what I started with. Yet still will not charge, even on AC adapter.
Downloaded the Motorola PC/USB charging drivers referenced on several website. But they are NOT compatible with Windows 7 and will not even install. I don't really think these would fix my issue anyway since I cannot charge even with AC adapter.
(Please note that the battery was pulled on numerous occasions and I did remove the bare USB positve/negative leads from the battery before attempting to get it to charge either from PC or wall charger again.)
Can somebody please advise? I regret ever having rooted the phone, but in fact, only after I rooted it was the first time the battery completely discharged while in use. The battery also ran down way too fast after rooting. I have read some users experiencing this issue with a completely unhacked/unrooted phone. And since I am now experiencing this with a newly-flashed SBF and unrooted phone, I just have to wonder.
Is there really any point to reflashing the bootloader? (It is version 30.04 by the way.)
I really DON'T need the phone to be rooted, though having Samba would have been cool as would complete access to the Linux command shell. Am willing to try some more steps with flashing, drivers, et cetera, if anybody can suggest a proper solution.
Otherwise, what I really need to know is ... once I have flashed Android 2.2.1 back onto my phone, will Verizon be able to know that I hacked it ... if indeed it seems the only solution is to depend on warranty to get a new phone? Are there other steps I need take? (I would likely remove my 16 GB micro-SD card and replace with a 2 GB one anyway so no trace of apps/backups would be there.) The battery has had a lot of scotch tape stuck on/removed in past few days. I am thinking therefore that I want to avoid taking this phone directly into a Verizon store for service.
I also rather wonder if all this cut-open USB cable jumpstarting may be affecting the battery. For all I know, the battery was flawed anyway. I guess that, once I receive the external charger, I can verify whether the battery itself is capable of holding a charge.
The good thing here is that it really DOES seem difficult to actually brick the Droid X. Well, unless one crosses wires when laying a cut-open USB cable over the battery leads in order to jumpstart.
You sound more like a heart surgeon than a software engineer....wow!
Unless you have a wall charger you might as well stop what youre doing, so you dont risk killing the patient. If you were connected via USB to your PC then this is exactly where the problem lies. You prolly do not have enough juice in the battery to do anything. An easy test of this would be press the volume down, camera, and power buttons all at the same time. This should throw you into the bootloader, and if you do not have juice in the battery it should tell you that the battery is low and cannot program.
The ONLY way I have been able to get my DX to power up in this condition is to connect it to a wall charger and go from there. As a side note I invested $60 and bought an Energizer Energi 2000K power pack. It comes with a standalone battery, tips for every conceivable device, and wall/car charger. All in one small handy pack. A must have for all us geeks!
Steve
I thank you for the post. It is clear my battery is discharged. This is why I used the USB splice procedure I found on this and other websites to jumpstart and flash, which works just fine. I rather suspect that, once I have the charger, it will not solve the problem. Rather, I will just be stuck charging externally. Some have solved this issue by reflashing an SBF (which I did). Others by installing new PC-based Motorola USB charging drivers. These are not compatible with Windows 7 and anyway my problem persists even when charging from AC adapter.
I hope what you surmise is correct. However that would reveal an immense flaw in the phone. Cannot: cannot charge up when battery completely discharged. I have trouble believing this is the case.
For now, I am having to continue to use the USB cable splice just to make crucial phone calls, as this is my only phone. Otherwise, my poor Droid X remains off and in a safe place. I don't believe the spliced/hacked power interface hurts the phone at all ... but it probably is not very good for the battery. However, occasional phone calls are a necessity. I am in utter withdrawal not being able to text and do all the other non-voice things I am accustomed to.
Because I have read a number of posts where people found themselves in my situation even though they had not rooted their phone ... in some cases after upgrading to Android 2.2, in some cases not ... I am really wondering if it could be true the Droid just can't cope at all with a depleted battery. Unless one uses an external charger, the battery depends on having a running operating system to charge. The OS seems to require the battery to have some power itself in order to charge. Not exactly a classic "deadlock" situation but something like it.
O, woe is me. Wish I were a surgeon ... I could afford to just buy a new Droid X and forget about all this mess. Got this one from Verizon for just $70 -- they would charge me hundreds for a replacement.
SOLVED! (for me anyway)
This is so typically stupid. One can go to extremes and the problem is so OBVIOUS!!!!!
I was using the wrong AC/USB adapter. Like everybody else I have about a billion of these things now and they all look just alike. I almost didn't even bother to do this, but did go look through my drawer of chargers and located the Motorola one. As soon as plugged in, the thing started to charge right up. I removed all the temporary wires from the battery, put it back into the Droid X, put on the cover, and it is currently charging right back to where it was.
(I am glad however that I spent the $8.00 for the external wall charger, because a Verizon tech did verify for me that the battery has to have some minimal charge in it for the phone to charge at all. Thus, if the battery were every to totally discharge, an external charger might be a good idea.)
This kind of stupidity is so typical in the computer field. Once, when I was in college and programming FORTRAN for the biochem department, I wasted a whole weekend slaving over what turned out to be just two variable names joined into one, where there was not a comma at the end of one line ... blah blah blah.

[Q] Droid X Battery Hard wire to car.

Hello,
this is a bit of a custom job. I want to take my Droidx and make it a dedicated display in my car. My issues are the battery is shot and buying another is more investment than I prefer. also the battery is not going to work for what i'm doing because it will not be on charge as frequently as it need to get a full charge.
so here is what i want to do. I want to hard wire the battery terminals to a 3.7 vdc source and use that as the primary power to the phone. and use the usb power to wake it on entry and while the ignition is on. right now i've got the usb cord without the battery and it works fine. but I wanted to maybe use the battery/usb to wake it. Anyone able to power the phone on the terminals for the battery?
Thanks
-xpbr2000
xpbr2000 said:
Hello,
this is a bit of a custom job. I want to take my Droidx and make it a dedicated display in my car. My issues are the battery is shot and buying another is more investment than I prefer. also the battery is not going to work for what i'm doing because it will not be on charge as frequently as it need to get a full charge.
so here is what i want to do. I want to hard wire the battery terminals to a 3.7 vdc source and use that as the primary power to the phone. and use the usb power to wake it on entry and while the ignition is on. right now i've got the usb cord without the battery and it works fine. but I wanted to maybe use the battery/usb to wake it. Anyone able to power the phone on the terminals for the battery?
Thanks
-xpbr2000
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone works without a battery. Maybe bypass it and connect to USB?
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda premium
You'll need to have a battery or something to keep it from just turning off when you turn off the car, won't you? I looked into doing something like that with the RasPi, and I you're not supposed to just remove the power supply.
Or can you wire it to wear it has power when the car isn't running?
sghsmorgan said:
You'll need to have a battery or something to keep it from just turning off when you turn off the car, won't you? I looked into doing something like that with the RasPi, and I you're not supposed to just remove the power supply.
Or can you wire it to wear it has power when the car isn't running?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if i could figure out what the battery supplies the phone then i could wire a 3.7v source to the battery terminals on the phone.
I've had this system wired up for a couple months and it works great. the only issue i've had is the age of this battery makes it not take a charge. so in the heat of the day i get in the car and the battery temp is 100+ the phone is dead because the battery doesn't operate. and the charger can't charge the hot battery and keep the phone powered. I never liked the idea of a battery inside the car. heat + battery = boom (maybe not but it could cause a big mess and damage the phone.
the question i need answered is what is required for the phone to run? what do each of the battery terminals do? obviously one is ground (marked) and one is positive (also marked) the middle terminal has to do with a temp or charge signal. it doesn't power on just the positive and negative to the best i can test it. maybe i'm doing it wrong.
and i have looked at a rasPI. we have one. but i can find a capacitive touch screen that is small enough to fit in my dash (4th gen camaro) without deleting my radio which isn't going to happen. plus they are expensive. idk y tablets and such are cheaper with the same type screen plus the hardware of the tablet.
Almost! Cept with a Hero!
OP: If you still have the battery, you should be able to find the Amperage listed in mHa near the voltage on the batteries sticker. After you have these 2 values you should be able to construct a small circuit to drop your cars internal voltage down to the appropriate level. Hook it up to the 12v from your car at Ignition/Accessory if you want it on whenever you can use the radio, or to the Constant 12v, after the fusebox, to have it usable whenever your car doesn't need a jump! Best of Luck!
So, I'm actually trying something similar right now except with a HTC Hero with a bloated battery that refuses to hold a charge. I've tried several times to boot the phone with just the USB cable, but all I get is a red battery icon : / I'm looking to just hardwire this stupid thing to a plug or even a 9v alternative. This is gonna be used around my house for various things
As of my posting this, I've found 3 threads on slightly similar topics, none with very good/any info tho. Thank you in advance for any help!

[Q] USB Charge/Connection issue

Hey all,
I have a Galaxy Nexus which recently started to act up on his USB port saying it's constantly connecting /disconnecting to the charger with no cable present.
Device: Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Edition: Maguro GSM
OS: CM10.2 nightly + CM11 Alfa
Chargers: OEM, generic, battery & laptop
Cables: OEM & generic
Reproduceable: sometimes
This week I noticed my phone did not react immediately when I plugged it into the charger. Mostly after some fiddling (bending the cable away from the screen) it would start charging. After pulling the cable or removing the charger from the wall, it would generally take 5 to 10 sec for the phone to realize I pulled it- this used to be instantly.
Strangely, when the phone said it cannot charge it can be connected to a computer as Media Device without any problem. Charging only happens after the fiddling again.
Looking into BBS, it cannot give any stats because it says the device is connected constantly to a charger. Android original battery monitor stats are also a mess but it does not say I am connected always.
Every now and again the phone also starts making notifications as if he was constantly connecting and disconnecting - leading to frustrated looks of the people on my train...
Cleaned out the port - no success
Hit it on the train table - no success
Reset, battery pull, flash, different OS - no success
After this all I think it will be a hardware issue. Nothing seems bent and no pins seem to be sticking out. Removing the back and checking the mother board showed everything still intact and all connectors still in place.
I'm guessing now the micro USB connector of the phone has somewhere some corrosion or a pin out of place but not visible to the untrained eye.
Can someone shed some light please?
2 screenshots to show you what I mean.
No, I am not up for 9 hours and lost only 10%... Battery life has become horrible since this issue. It just thinks it's constantly hooked up to a power source and I think it's no longer power efficient because of this. I already disabled charge connection sound because it was driving me crazy ...
Please help if you know even half a solution. I can also post a photo of the connector but the problem is that there's not much to see there...
I think you have problem with charging circuit >>if you have solid knowledge in electronics you can simply replace it
replacing this port in attached pic will solve your problem .... otherwise you can fix your own port because I think one of your USB port pin are touching the ground chase of your motherbord
Thanks for the reply. Somewhat saw it coming I would have to replace something...
I already looked on some sites like ifixit to see what I could do but I thought to have seen that the Motherboard was in one big piece.
Could you please give me the website where you found this or the name /article code of this component?
Thank you
sigixv said:
Thanks for the reply. Somewhat saw it coming I would have to replace something...
I already looked on some sites like ifixit to see what I could do but I thought to have seen that the Motherboard was in one big piece.
Could you please give me the website where you found this or the name /article code of this component?
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try to follow the steps on the link it is very helpful http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repairing+Samsung+Galaxy+Nexus+(Verizon+LTE)+Micro+USB+Charge+Port+%26+Main+Mic/9641
and you have nothing to do with the motherboard just take the old charging port and install the new one
Ordered a new part. Hopefully it'll work...

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