Dangers of cheap chargers

[ninjakyle]

I was planning on getting some cheap chargers to keep at home/office/car/backpack.

Is there any risk to the DI if I get a cheap charger? Are there specific numbers that I should look for?

 

[esn]

I have used blackberry and Motorola chargers so far and no issues. Verizon told me any micro usb charger will work.

 

[cuban11182]

Check the voltage, as long as its 5V its alright. In fact most cell phone chargers put out 5V. If you want to double check, look at the HTC plug that came with the phone. On the back it says it all.

Why spend more money than is necessary?

 

[ninjakyle]

I was thinking about getting something like this:
car and wall charger from meritline

Throw a couple of those in the cars and travel bags just in case.

But I would hate to save $15 and fry the DI or ruin a battery or something.

 

[nstallion]

Check the voltage, as long as its 5V its alright. In fact most cell phone chargers put out 5V. If you want to double check, look at the HTC plug that came with the phone. On the back it says it all.

Why spend more money than is necessary?

The voltage will be the same. The amperage however tends to vary with different chargers. This will affect how quickly your device charges. Compare the amperage (it will usually be listed in milliamps - mA) of whatever you are looking to buy with what it says on your stock charger.

For example, my Droid's stock charger is 850mA but I have a Seidio media dock which has a 1.25A/1250mA charger, so it charges faster.

USB ports on your computer are probably only 100mA. This is why the phone charges incredibly slowly if you just plug it in with USB.

 

[ninjakyle]

Would there be problems if there are too many mA?

 

[kyler13]

Just go to monoprice.com and get their wall or car usb chargers. They are like a buck and change and you can pick up the associated usb cable to go with it. I have the 1000mA model and it works fine with the incredible. Plus you can use these with anything that charges over usb. Oh, they ship usps so its cheap. For the $15-20 you'd spend on one at verizon or elsewhere shipped, you can outfit your cars, home, and office. It's a no-brainer.

 

[flatstick96]

Just go to monoprice.com and get their wall or car usb chargers. They are like a buck and change and you can pick up the associated usb cable to go with it. I have the 1000mA model and it works fine with the incredible. Plus you can use these with anything that charges over usb. Oh, they ship usps so its cheap. For the $15-20 you'd spend on one at verizon or elsewhere shipped, you can outfit your cars, home, and office. It's a no-brainer.

Specifically, which product(s) did you get from monoprice? I want to make sure I get the right thing.

Thanks...

 

[kyler13]

Punch in product ID "3523" and "4874". One is a car charger and the other a wall charger, both 1000mA. Then just get any color/length micro-to-standard USB cable(s) you desire.

 

[flatstick96]

Punch in product ID "3523" and "4874". One is a car charger and the other a wall charger, both 1000mA. Then just get any color/length micro-to-standard USB cable(s) you desire.

Great - thanks!

Ordering one each of those and 2 of item #5457, with shipping, comes to $7.99 - not bad.

Yesterday at the VZW store the guy tried to sell me an extra wall charger and a phone charger for $29.99 EACH - a total of $65 after tax.

I like the $8 price point much better.

 

[DroidPower]

I like to stick with official name brand accessories. No Bootlegs... thats just me.

 

[armoredsaint]

The inc output charge is 1 amp aka A and from using other chargers like a bb one which is iirc 750 mA which is just slower.

 

[BigTimeNexusFan]

I got one off ebay (came from China so took a while to get) for 3$. It works just fine. As long as it puts out 5 volts and is a micro usb you should be fine.

 

[cuban11182]

I used a generic usb one for my vehicles. I think I purchased it on sale for 5 bux or so. All I do is take my cable with me into the truck, until my eBay 3 charger (6 bux) set comes.

 

[computerpro3]

Here's the deal:

It's fine to get cheap micro usb chargers that charge the battery in the phone. This is because the charging algorithms are handled via software inside the phone.

It's NOT fine to get cheap chargers that charge the "loose" battery when it's outside the phone. Lithium ion batteries are not only easily damaged when charged past 4.2v, but become an explosion risk. Many of those cheap chargers have simple charging circuits based on time as opposed to an actual vsense circuit. Even the cheap ones that do have a vsense circuit tend to miss termination sometimes, and they won't have a temperature sensor as a backup. They will just continue to trickle charge the battery and if you leave it unattended you'll wind up with a potential bomb on your hands.

 

[CyberVike]

Here's the deal:

It's fine to get cheap micro usb chargers that charge the battery in the phone. This is because the charging algorithms are handled via software inside the phone.

It's NOT fine to get cheap chargers that charge the "loose" battery when it's outside the phone. Lithium ion batteries are not only easily damaged when charged past 4.2v, but become an explosion risk. Many of those cheap chargers have simple charging circuits based on time as opposed to an actual vsense circuit. Even the cheap ones that do have a vsense circuit tend to miss termination sometimes, and they won't have a temperature sensor as a backup. They will just continue to trickle charge the battery and if you leave it unattended you'll wind up with a potential bomb on your hands.

Yeah I've been burned by ebay chargers (car chargers to be exact) twice. Never again. If I have to pay a little more for some piece of mind then it's worth it IMO.

 

[armoredsaint]

so do you guys think my blackberry car charger is fine for the inc i assume?

 

[flatstick96]

so do you guys think my blackberry car charger is fine for the inc i assume?

It sounds like CP3 is saying that as long as you're leaving the battery in the phone when you're charging it, then you'll be fine with chargers other than those sold specifically for the DI.

As to whether your BB charger, specifically, will work with this phone, I have no idea (I've never owned a BB) - if the BB charger is Micro USB, I'm guessing it should work.

 

[photographx]

I like to stick with official name brand accessories. No Bootlegs... thats just me.

They come from the same factory sometimes...

 

[tbeas]

I like to stick with official name brand accessories. No Bootlegs... thats just me.

Monoprice is a very reputable dealer. I wouldn't exactly consider them bootleg.

 

[TheSultan]

I once bought a few cheap car chargers for my Blackberries....the danger was that they were a waste of money. I could drive for 45 minutes and not get anymore battery power out of it. Not that I think that's the case with all cheap chargers, but I probably won't go that route again myself.

 

[woop]

I like to stick with official name brand accessories. No Bootlegs... thats just me.

Monoprice has been around for years and ALOT of people use them, so they're reputation as a good dealer is well documented.

 

[5150]

I wonder if this one would work with a monoprice chord, it is a htc charging plug

Amazon.com: HTC AC Adapter Wall Charger w/ Detachable USB Cable (CNR5310) For HTC Touch Diamond Pro Fuze: Cell Phones & Service

 

[FierceDeityLink1]

I wonder if this one would work with a monoprice chord, it is a htc charging plug

Amazon.com: HTC AC Adapter Wall Charger w/ Detachable USB Cable (CNR5310) For HTC Touch Diamond Pro Fuze: Cell Phones & Service

Looks like the same one that came with the Touch Pro2, so it's probably 5V/1A and should work just like the regular charger that comes with the Incredible.