Very strange charging issues with non-OEM cables

[SilverGS]

I bought a bunch of micro USB cables from monoprice.com (some 6 ft and 9 ft) so that I can charge my Note 2 in the car or in the house.

Here's the strange part, sometimes the cables work (as in the Note 2 starts charging) and sometimes the Note 2 does not get charged at all. Exactly the same cables used with my sons Galaxy Nexus never have any issue. As soon as I plug in my sons phone to any of the cables, it begins to charge. Simple and straightforward.

With the Note 2, it appears to be so finicky, I just don't get it. The port is a universal micro USB and I'm using the OEM wall plug, so why should the cable not work in my Note 2 but works with other devices? I have a Nexus 7 tablet, and I don't have any of these wacky issues with that either.

Anyone else experiencing this? Is this some weird bug in the software on our Note 2's????

 

[Elantric]

My recommendation,
You will need a Micro USB which is compatible an Android Tablet - not the cheap generic type.

Also there are specific Micro USB "Charge ONLY" cables which are not capable of being used for data sync.
I ordered a couple of these:
Amazon.com: Naztech Micro USB Charging Cable - BlackBerry, Cal-Comp, HTC, LG, Samsung, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson: Cell Phones & Accessories

I also recommend a 2 Amp wall charger , as it takes a lot a juice to charge that 3100mA Battery

 

[PetiePal]

Exactly that Naztech cable. It works with them all. It's got "data shorted pins" which means it's charge only but it will charge as true AC.

 

[SilverGS]

My recommendation,
You will need a Micro USB which is compatible an Android Tablet - not the cheap generic type.

Also there are specific Micro USB "Charge ONLY" cables which are not capable of being used for data sync.
I ordered a couple of these:
Amazon.com: Naztech Micro USB Charging Cable - BlackBerry, Cal-Comp, HTC, LG, Samsung, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson: Cell Phones & Accessories

I also recommend a 2 Amp wall charger , as it takes a lot a juice to charge that 3100mA Battery

Exactly that Naztech cable. It works with them all. It's got "data shorted pins" which means it's charge only but it will charge as true AC.

Thanks guys. What about recommendations for a cable that does both charging and data sync?

The charge only cables are kinda pointless, because I would then need to keep track of which cable is which. I'd rather just get good quality charging and sync cables.

I've never had quality issues with the cables from monoprice.com even though their prices are low, the quality is pretty high. I used them all the time for charging cables I needed when I had my previous phones (iPhone 4 and iPhone 3G).

 

[PetiePal]

An official Samsung cable replacement.

 

[edlex]

I've been using my old Palm pre cables since day one with no problems.

 

[SilverGS]

An official Samsung cable replacement.

I'll have to look that up and see if they come in any lengths longer than 3 feet. I need one 6 ft and one 9ft

 

[SoulSmilen]

I'll have to look that up and see if they come in any lengths longer than 3 feet. I need one 6 ft and one 9ft

The 2amp charger is the most important factor. This beast of a battery laughs at less... literally. Cuz while it's laughing it's using power, so you won't get a charge.

 

[drexappeal]

The 2amp charger is the most important factor. This beast of a battery laughs at less... literally. Cuz while it's laughing it's using power, so you won't get a charge.

Where's the least expensive place to pick up 2amp charger/cables?

 

[james27007]

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has the same issue. I only used to use it once a week, then put it on the cheep 0.5A charger and never noticed there was an issue until I started using my Tablet every day. It was always going dead quickly. Found out it uses and needs a real 2A charger; got a replacement for $30 and it fixed the issue.

Going to make charging in my car a task now. Oh well, I still can't wait till Friday when my Note 2 arrives

 

[Elantric]

Where's the least expensive place to pick up 2amp charger/cables?

Amazon - I like that compared to Ebay as most products have hands on reviews


Amazon.com: Xentris 2-Amp Micro-USB Travel Charger - Retail Packaging - Black: Cell Phones & Accessories

Xentris 2-Amp Micro-USB Travel Charger - Retail Packaging - Black $15.99

 

[SoulSmilen]

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has the same issue. I only used to use it once a week, then put it on the cheep 0.5A charger and never noticed there was an issue until I started using my Tablet every day. It was always going dead quickly. Found out it uses and needs a real 2A charger; got a replacement for $30 and it fixed the issue.

Going to make charging in my car a task now. Oh well, I still can't wait till Friday when my Note 2 arrives

You can get a car charger that puts out enough, too. I left mine at work, but I think my wall/car combo from Sprint puts out 1.6 amps dc for the car.

 

[drexappeal]

I'm gonna have to do a little more research on chargers, as well as all my cables before buying another charger. I'd prefer a dual port plug that I can use any microUSB cable with, but the problem is the universal dual ports that are available all seem to split 2amps (e.g. 1 amp each port).

As for USB Sync cables...I've seen devices before that didn't work properly when plugged in. From time to time, when I'm charging through my computer, it doesn't have enough juice coming from the USB port to charge, so I have to unplug, then re-plug, but this is something to think about with the Note 2 that I never really had to before.

 

[nlitenme]

I'm gonna have to do a little more research on chargers, as well as all my cables before buying another charger. I'd prefer a dual port plug that I can use any microUSB cable with, but the problem is the universal dual ports that are available all seem to split 2amps (e.g. 1 amp each port).

If you're looking for a dual port car charger that puts out a dedicated 2+ amps to 1 port, this may work for you - Amazon.com: Mediabridge High Output Dual USB Car Charger For iPad and iPhone (3.1 Amp): Cell Phones & Accessories

The description says that it may not work with anything that's not iOS, but reading many of the reviews shows that it does work with many Android devices.

 

[drexappeal]

If you're looking for a dual port car charger that puts out a dedicated 2+ amps to 1 port, this may work for you - Amazon.com: Mediabridge High Output Dual USB Car Charger For iPad and iPhone (3.1 Amp): Cell Phones & Accessories

The description says that it may not work with anything that's not iOS, but reading many of the reviews shows that it does work with many Android devices.

Yeah, I added that one to my wishlist, but wanted to continue doing research. I also want to check what my OEM Motorola car dock charger is, but it doesn't specify on the Motorola website.

 

[ScandaLeX]

If you're looking for a dual port car charger that puts out a dedicated 2+ amps to 1 port, this may work for you - Amazon.com: Mediabridge High Output Dual USB Car Charger For iPad and iPhone (3.1 Amp): Cell Phones & Accessories

The description says that it may not work with anything that's not iOS, but reading many of the reviews shows that it does work with many Android devices.

I wish these were made shorter. I don't have a lot of room in the front so I try to keep the look in my car as minimal as possible.

 

[nlitenme]

I wish these were made shorter. I don't have a lot of room in the front so I try to keep the look in my car as minimal as possible.

You could try a generic power socket or something like this - Amazon.com: BESTEK car cigarette lighter socket usb car charger Cigarette Lighter adapter dc to dc charger usb car adapter socket car splitter adapter 3 way plug socket usb outlet three way car splitter charger: Camera & Photo

If you really want a clean look, cut the plug off, wire it directly to your fuse box & mount it under the dash. If you don't know how to do that properly/safely, bring it to a car stereo shop & they should be able to do it fairly quickly.

 

[ScandaLeX]

You could try a generic power socket or something like this - Amazon.com: BESTEK car cigarette lighter socket usb car charger Cigarette Lighter adapter dc to dc charger usb car adapter socket car splitter adapter 3 way plug socket usb outlet three way car splitter charger: Camera & Photo

If you really want a clean look, cut the plug off, wire it directly to your fuse box & mount it under the dash. If you don't know how to do that properly/safely, bring it to a car stereo shop & they should be able to do it fairly quickly.

Thank you. I purchased a shorty from Sprint; just don't know where I laid it down at.

 

[nlitenme]

Thank you. I purchased a shorty from Sprint; just don't know where I laid it down at.

Maybe it's too short if you can't find it.

 

[PetiePal]

I wish these were made shorter. I don't have a lot of room in the front so I try to keep the look in my car as minimal as possible.

Griffin Technology makes one that's nearly FLUSH with the outlet. It's only 1amp output though. Kensington makes a 2.1 amp one though in two form factors.

Larger This one has 2 ports, worth the extra length but much shorter than the one discussed in this thread.

Smaller. Super micro one!

 

[drexappeal]

Larger This one has 2 ports, worth the extra length but much shorter than the one discussed in this thread.

Thanks for posting this. I like it, but I noticed on the picture that it doesn't indicate which is the 2 AMP port and which is the 1amp...LOL.

Never thought I'd be looking for this type of accessory...hahaha.

I think this one would be the correct one for Android though (or does the Kindle Fire have some sort of weird proprietary microUSB):
http://www.kensington.com/kensingto...lt™-duo-usb-car-charger-for-kindle®-fire.aspx

 

[PetiePal]

Thanks for posting this. I like it, but I noticed on the picture that it doesn't indicate which is the 2 AMP port and which is the 1amp...LOL.

Never thought I'd be looking for this type of accessory...hahaha.

I think this one would be the correct one for Android though (or does the Kindle Fire have some sort of weird proprietary microUSB):
Kensington - Smartphone - Universal Smartphone Accessories - Car Mounts & Chargers - PowerBolt

AS I was posting that I totally thought of the same thing. I think the bottom port is the 2.1 amp, you see the little different in the picture to signify it.

But honestly the easiest way is to go to your battery info in settings and see if it's charging via "AC" or "USB." AC is the 2.1, and USB will be the 1 amp

 

[drexappeal]

AS I was posting that I totally thought of the same thing. I think the bottom port is the 2.1 amp, you see the little different in the picture to signify it.

But honestly the easiest way is to go to your battery info in settings and see if it's charging via "AC" or "USB." AC is the 2.1, and USB will be the 1 amp

Just did a search for 3.1amp usb charger on amazon and look what I found:

Amazon.com: 3.1A Dual USB Car Charger Adapter for iPad iPad2 iPhone iPod (White): Cell Phones & Accessories

I think I'll be swooping this one up.

 

[drexappeal]

Wow, interesting what you can find with the right search keywords:

Amazon.com: Monoprice 4 Port USB Wall Charger 2.1A - Black: Cell Phones & Accessories

Amazon.com: Qmadix QM-DMCH4.2-AP-WH USB Twin Tablet Charging 4.2 Amp Kit - Car Charger - Retail Packaging - Black: Cell Phones & Accessories

 

[ScandaLeX]

Thank you sooooooooooo much. I was just thinking today that I'd like to have one in white. You know I'm a huge fan of the color and now your link. Feels like new Note 2 day all over again