Accessories Droid - Compatible car/wall chargers??

[Crush_Buds]

Okay so I've seen some threads asking about chargers but they seem to not answer my question 100% clearly. So here it is:

Can I use my old LG Dare or Motorola Razr chargers? Both the car and wall adapters? I am well aware that the USB cable works, but is it safe to use either one to charge my Motorola Droid without harming the battery??

I cannot seem to easily find any documentation on this online and I would love to not have to purchase yet another car charger. Any proof would put my mind at ease because I really don't want to damage my incredible new phone. Thanks ahead!

 

[Watashi]

All USB power is the same AFAIK. So as long as it's just a wall/car plug that you plug your USB cord into, then you should be fine. I used a friends Nokia charger the other night with no problems.

 

[smegoul]

I had a car charger with USB to mini-usb for a GPS unit. I used this unit with my Treo 700P. I assumed I could use this cigarette lighter with the USB cable supplied from Verizon to charge my Droid in the car. No luck at all.
I know the cable is OK since I used it both with the wall adapter and the media dock.
I bought a car charger from Verizon and it works perfectly.

So NOT all car charger/USB/mini-usb combinations work the same.

Phil

 

[shotinthenads]

I am using a micro usb wall charger from a blue-tooth headset and it works fine for the Droid.

 

[OctoMom]

I had a car charger with USB to mini-usb for a GPS unit. I used this unit with my Treo 700P. I assumed I could use this cigarette lighter with the USB cable supplied from Verizon to charge my Droid in the car. No luck at all.
I know the cable is OK since I used it both with the wall adapter and the media dock.
I bought a car charger from Verizon and it works perfectly.

So NOT all car charger/USB/mini-usb combinations work the same.

Phil

I just accidentally purchased a Palm Pre charger and cable and it worked for me on the Droid. It's micro USB BTW.

 

[Redflea]

I'vebeen using a moto wall charger with my Droid. I found that it charged at about 1/3 the speed of the Droid wall charger. Trying another moto charger from my e815 to see if it's any better

 

[baddriver]

I can verify that the droid will work with the OEM LG Dare wall charger. The same isn't true when plugging the Dare into the droid charger. When I plug the Dare into the droid charger it gives me the 'charger not recommended' message and wont charge. jerks

 

[scorrpio]

A regular-sized USB connector has 4 pins(+5vdc, data-, data+, ground). Housing could be considered an extra contact but it usually replicates the ground lead. Mini and micro USB has 5 pins: +5vdc, data-, data+, ID and ground. On generic cables and chargers, ID pin is either not connected at all, or coupled to ground. Some brands, driven by strange desire to have only THEIR brand accessories to work, play tricks with the ID pin. For example, for most Moto devices to accept a charger, its ID pin must be coupled to ground via a 200kOhm resistor. Oh, and a 'standard' Moto car power adapter shorts ID to both data pins - which tells the device to go into car mode (i.e. screen stays lit) - but WILL NOT CHARGE it. In order to charge my Q on the road, I ended up taking a cable off a moto wall charger and soldering a standard USB plug to it - which let me use my 120VAC and auto 12V -to-USB adapters.
FWIW, I found this package on amazon for $3.50, it has a wall charger, a car charger and a data cable, and claims A855 compatibility. Did not test the car charger yet, but the wall and data cables work fine.

 

[baddriver]

FWIW, I found this package on amazon for $3.50, it has a wall charger, a car charger and a data cable, and claims A855 compatibility. Did not test the car charger yet, but the wall and data cables work fine.

link please

 

[BCK]

There are 2 kind of charger. Mid-rate Charger and Fast rate charger. Look at the charger label. Mid-rate is around 400mA charge current and the Fast rate is about 800mA-1A charge current.

Both is fine to use but obviously to charge fast, use the Fast rate charger. BT charger normally is the mid rate charger.

 

[scorrpio]

Amazon.com: Rapid Car Charger + Home Travel Charger + SYnc Transfer USB Data Cable for Verizon Motorola Droid A855 Cell Phone: Cell Phones & Service

Ok, it's 3.99, not 3.50.

 

[DrDroid]

you can use generic chargers, but be sure that it has circuit for overcharging protection so you don't overheat your battery. most of them have that nowadays. just staying in 800mA or less.

 

[Crush_Buds]

Thanks all

 

[baddriver]

you can use generic chargers, but be sure that it has circuit for overcharging protection so you don't overheat your battery. most of them have that nowadays. just staying in 800mA or less.

what bs are you spreading? the device controls charging not the usb cable or power adapter

 

[johnlgalt]

Not sure about the overcharge protection, but it would be nice to see a rapid charger (if the DROID allows fast charging) - on the 5V that USB supplies it can take forever (relatively speaking of course) to charge the device.

In another thread someone related that microUSB can be both 4 or 5 pin, so that specification needs to be examined more closely to verify if this is the truth or not - my understanding was that mini could be 4 or 5, but micro was 5 pin only (as it was developed as a standard rather than an adaptation).

Finally, I have a microUSB charger for the Motorola HS690 headset, and it charges my DROID perfectly fine. After I get the all in one charger (car and home and USB) as well as a few of those longer gold plated USB cables from monoprice I think I will be set.

 

[cflow]

would it be safe to assume that we can use the 1000ma chargers?

 

[baddriver]

would it be safe to assume that we can use the 1000ma chargers?

yes, anything more than 850ma will work for sure. I've had success with a dare charger at 700ma. less may work too.

 

[dlrooney]

FWIW, I found this package on amazon for $3.50, it has a wall charger, a car charger and a data cable, and claims A855 compatibility. Did not test the car charger yet, but the wall and data cables work fine.

Did you test the car charger yet to see if it works ok? Thanks

 

[hagar852]

I used my bb storm charger yesterday out of desperation and it worked fine.

So I guess you can chalk one up for bb storm being ok I guess

 

[tincan77]

So my take away from this thread if I want to get a car charger for my droid: any microUS+ with a 5v output will probably work, but 5v at 400-500amps will charge slower than 5v at 800-1000amps. Anything else that an electrical amateur like me should know?

 

[Jedakiah]

In summary of the following post, you do not have to worry about over or under amping you Motorola Droid. You can feel free to plug it into any USB Micro-B charger and it will safely charge. If that device outputs 850mA or more, your phone will charge as fast as the factory charger .

The Motorola Wall Charger that comes with the device outputs 850mA via a standard USB port. In addition the device will also charge if plugged into your computer; and the USB specification calls for 500mA output from each port, that way up to five devices can be plugged in. Each USB device is only supposed to draw 100mA (however, in reality many usb devices such as smartphones can and do draw more when it's available). What this means is that your device will definitely not be damaged by plugging it into a charger that outputs as little as 100mA, although charging with that little of power output might literally take forever.

And as far plugging your phone into a charger that outputs well over 850mA, don't worry about that either. Unlike voltage, the more amperage the merrier because the device will only take what it needs of the available resources.

I have safely charged my Droid numerous times from a 1000mA USB port that I purchased for my car. And I have also charged it from a powered USB hub that is shared with other devices.

 

[tranzz]

what bs are you spreading? the device controls charging not the usb cable or power adapter

ease up a little man! Not all USB charged devices DO manage their charging circuit in the device, and certainly not all devices that use a mini-USB type connector manage their charging in the device, and THOSE devices use their own device specific charger/cable sets.

I think we're coming to the conclusion that the droid isn't as picky as some phones with usb charging, and that's good.

car chargers for phones have improved a bit over the last couple years, and using USB circuit power for charging is not totally straightforward as you can see.

Do we know (is there a published spec) of the power usage of the phone? Of course using an audio headset with volume control introduces a variable power demand for that function, but max power demands of the audio system, GPS polling, display, and CPU would tell us the minimum useful charging circuit current (power really).

 

[agemme27]

I bought one of those cheap 12v cigarette lighter to usb adapters for my car and using my usb cable that came with the droid i am able to charge my phone. 1000mah=FAST!!! but there was a bad smell the first time i plugged it in. Phone works, charges and holds a charge still and no unusaul problems. I ordered 5 of those mini to micro adapters on ebay and i'm hoping i can get some use out of all those old chargers i have lying around.

 

[Matth3w]

In summary of the following post, you do not have to worry about over or under amping you Motorola Droid. You can feel free to plug it into any USB Micro-B charger and it will safely charge. If that device outputs 850mA or more, your phone will charge as fast as the factory charger .

The Motorola Wall Charger that comes with the device outputs 850mA via a standard USB port. In addition the device will also charge if plugged into your computer; and the USB specification calls for 500mA output from each port, that way up to five devices can be plugged in. Each USB device is only supposed to draw 100mA (however, in reality many usb devices such as smartphones can and do draw more when it's available). What this means is that your device will definitely not be damaged by plugging it into a charger that outputs as little as 100mA, although charging with that little of power output might literally take forever.

And as far plugging your phone into a charger that outputs well over 850mA, don't worry about that either. Unlike voltage, the more amperage the merrier because the device will only take what it needs of the available resources.

I have safely charged my Droid numerous times from a 1000mA USB port that I purchased for my car. And I have also charged it from a powered USB hub that is shared with other devices.

Sorry to drag this thread from the dead, but would this work:

http://www.accessorygeeks.com/uni-usb-dualwallcharger-1000-bk.html

How does amperage factor into the equation?

 

[grimah1w]

Scorrpio, what is a Q?
PM sent for advice on Droid charger pin question. Thanks!

A regular-sized USB connector has 4 pins(+5vdc, data-, data+, ground). Housing could be considered an extra contact but it usually replicates the ground lead. Mini and micro USB has 5 pins: +5vdc, data-, data+, ID and ground. On generic cables and chargers, ID pin is either not connected at all, or coupled to ground. Some brands, driven by strange desire to have only THEIR brand accessories to work, play tricks with the ID pin. For example, for most Moto devices to accept a charger, its ID pin must be coupled to ground via a 200kOhm resistor. Oh, and a 'standard' Moto car power adapter shorts ID to both data pins - which tells the device to go into car mode (i.e. screen stays lit) - but WILL NOT CHARGE it. In order to charge my Q on the road, I ended up taking a cable off a moto wall charger and soldering a standard USB plug to it - which let me use my 120VAC and auto 12V -to-USB adapters.
FWIW, I found this package on amazon for $3.50, it has a wall charger, a car charger and a data cable, and claims A855 compatibility. Did not test the car charger yet, but the wall and data cables work fine.