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Help Motorola Atrix 4G Charging Issues.

NolePhin

Newbie
Feb 24, 2011
37
1
Hey guys, just wondering if anyone has had this issue or might have an idea on how to solve it.

The wall charger seems to be working fine, but if I try to plug the USB cable into my laptop, it doesn't seem to be charging the phone. The voltage icon comes up on the battery signal but when I actually check the battery options under the phone settings the battery life doesn't actually improve.

I updated the drivers from the Motorola Media Link program that the phone came with but nothing seems to solve this charging issue.

Any information on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
 
Just bought the Atrix today. Earlier in the day I used the USB cable to charge the phone and it indicated that it was charging properly. When I got a chance to do more with the phone later in the day, it was getting very hot. At the same time the battery was getting low. I plugged the phone in to charge and it acted as if it was not plugged in - I kept getting warnings that the battery was low and need to be charged. I tested a different charger and also double checked with a different device to make sure that the charger really was working. At this point when I plug the phone in to charge the green light comes on briefly and then goes away. I believe the phone is dead and will be returning it tomorrow.

Motorola denied that there were problems with overheating and the power management during testing. I am beginning to think there was more truth to the rumors than Motorola wants to admit...
 
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I'm having the same issue. USB doesn't seem to charge it. I had it plugged into my PC overnight one one that I set to not ever go to sleep, and the battery was dead. I've tried on both my desktops and on my notebook and still nothing. Wall charger is the only thing that works.

Also, this morning it was blazing hot. last night I went to sleep around midnight, the phone had just finished charging and i put it next to my bed. Woke up this morning and the battery was at 10% and smokin' hot. I'm gonna call Motorola today and see what they have to say about it.
 
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I think Motorola did a bit of a rush job on this because I bought one on opening day and had to exchange it twice because the fingerprint sensor/power switch was misaligned so bad you could see it. Add on top of the fact that the thing runs HOT and for some reason doesnt seem to recognize its charging on usb. benchmark scores are impressive but to be honest i didnt notice a difference in real world performance. I ran PSX4droid and the performance was mediocre at best. I could chalk it up due to using 2.2 instead of gingerbread but it didnt detract from the overall feeling that I wasnt impressed. I say for all of you who bought them, return them and wait a couple of months for them to get their shit together.
 
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I recently tried to charge the phone by plugging the USB into my laptop again, and this time it seemed to charge it at least somewhat. I plugged it in when the battery manager said it was at 70% and it charged to 80%. Although I left it charging for at least 30 minutes after it would not display more than 80% battery life. I am just going to charge it to 100% through the wall mount and see how the battery lasts today. I'll get back to you with my results.

Let me know what Motorola says when you call them. If things don't seem to clear up by Friday/Saturday, I will be most likely returning the phone which is unfortunate because coming from an Iphone I really enjoy the Android OS.
 
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I have also had all of the same charging issues mentioned above. I talked with ATT and did a factory reset. That helped...until right before my eyes I lost connectivity, my battery life dropped 40% (and quickly drained down to 15%). I called Motorolla and they were absolutely no help. Called Best Buy and am returning this phone hoping it was just a lemon. When it worked it was great.
 
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I am returning this phone cause it is definitely defective. I charged the phone to 100% at 12:15 pm. By 6 pm the phone is under 15% battery life. I must have a lemon cause even for a dual core processor this is horrendous battery life. To make things worse I've barely used the phone. Since im at work I haven't done much but send a few texts and open the browser a couple of times. The only widgetsl I have are a weather one and facebook and twitter streaming.
 
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Does sound like an issue with your phone. I've certainly not had any issues with mine. Battery only went to 40% after 2 days of off-and-on wifi use and bluetooth music streaming.

I must of gotten a lemon. Let me ask you Bonsai, are you able to charge the phone through the USB cable into say your laptop or a USB port in your car? I am also having trouble with that, cause my phone doesn't seem to charge unless it is plugged into the wall mount.

Also, did you download any drivers or anything from the Motorola website or are you using the Atrix straight out of the box?
 
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I must of gotten a lemon. Let me ask you Bonsai, are you able to charge the phone through the USB cable into say your laptop or a USB port in your car? I am also having trouble with that, cause my phone doesn't seem to charge unless it is plugged into the wall mount.

Also, did you download any drivers or anything from the Motorola website or are you using the Atrix straight out of the box?

I can charge using my pc or car as well as the wall charger.

Straight from box. Did not download anything. There are, somewhere on the phone itself, install docs for the motorola phone portal. I just plugged the phone into pc usb port and it started the install.
 
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yeah I must have gotten a golden egg, lol I have had not have had lick a problem with my Atrix besides with the google earth app, thats updated, my charges fine, I always have mine on performance mode, and I can take my phone off at 4:30 am and be good until 9:00 pm when i go to bed, I aleast make 10 calls a day and bunch of email checking, some net browsing. I thank my luck stars:) its always fast and no lagging
 
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I took the phone back to the store I bought it and the guy there replaced my battery with a new one. He said if it didn't work that he would just replace the phone. So I guess I am giving it one more day to see if it was the battery.

For some reason, my computer is having a hard time updating the drivers. I keep getting an "unsuccessful driver installation" message when I plug my phone into my laptop.

Any ideas on why this is?
 
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Nole I had all of the same exact issues you explained. It's amazing. I actually returned my phone last night (wasn't taking any chances) also and when I plugged the new phone in via USB last night it recognized all drivers and brought up a Motorola Sync program (that didn't happen before). I still think mine may be having issues with taking a chage via anything besides the wall mount though. I'll check again tonight and let you know.
 
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Well I charged the phone to 100% and set out to work. From about 11:30-12:00 till 6:00 pm the phone went from 100%-20%. That's with light to medium use. (1-2 calls max some web surfing and downloaded a few apps) Taking the phone back tomorrow morning and getting a new one. I hope that will bring an end to this. I really love the phone minus the battery and charging issues. It would be a shame and disappointment to go back to my Iphone 3GS as I love the android OS much more.
 
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Initially, I thought the USB charger didn't work as well (which is why I searched for this forum). However, it DOES work...but very poorly compared to the wall charger. It took almost one hour for my phone to go from 30% power to 40%. I wonder if it also has to do with the angle of the usb cord as well (??). I guess by plugging in the usb charger, you're only getting a trickling of voltage to your phone. Definitely need to use the wall charger for best results, but the usb charger does seem to work, albeit at a very very painfully slow and minimal pace (if at all). I'll update my post if it continues to go up from 40%.
 
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Initially, I thought the USB charger didn't work as well (which is why I searched for this forum). However, it DOES work...but very poorly compared to the wall charger. It took almost one hour for my phone to go from 30% power to 40%. I wonder if it also has to do with the angle of the usb cord as well (??). I guess by plugging in the usb charger, you're only getting a trickling of voltage to your phone. Definitely need to use the wall charger for best results, but the usb charger does seem to work, albeit at a very very painfully slow and minimal pace (if at all). I'll update my post if it continues to go up from 40%.

I've had a similar issue with the usb charger. It takes a long time to see any progress. The usb charger on my Iphone wasn't that bad not to mention I rarely needed the usb charger since the phone lasted all day even jailbroken. Like I said im getting a. new one tomorrow hoping it solves these issues.
 
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OK so after returning my phone and exchanging for a new one I couldn't be happier. All charging issues solved. Must have been a lemon but I am still nervous so will be keeping a close eye on it until my 30 day window for returning is up. Another random question though for you all. Did anyone happen to have the Sirius XM app downloaded? I was reading a thread about that app on Sprint network and how it was causing all the same problems I was having with my phone (rapid battery drain, loss of network connection etc.). I am wondering if this app was causing my problems and not my phone. I hope not because I need Howard.
 
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Kasperg, glad to hear your phone is working fine after the replacement. Unfortunately I am on my second Atrix and the battery life hasn't seemed to improve much. I've had it for about 24 hours and I am going to try it out for a couple more days. If problems persist I will go back and try one more Atrix. If the problems aren't solved by the third one I think I am just going to wait for the Thunderbolt or something. I rather pay the AT&T fee to break the contract than go back to the Iphone 3GS. After getting a taste of the Android OS I don't want anything else.
 
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I let my battery discharge (accidentally) and only had my USB cable to charge the phone. No such luck..... The Ready light come s on when I plug it in, but when trying to power up the green light would intensify and then go into a steady blink for about 20 seconds and then nothing. Chatted with AT&T and basically, they wanted me to troubleshoot with actions I had already tried. I do think the USB may not trickle enough power to recharge. However, when I have used the USB to keep my charge current when in use, it seemed to work just fine, but very slowly would recharge. I am thinking it may just be for data transfer versus a charging item. .......... Just call me Mr. Dead Phone for a while, Hopefully the Wall Charger will solve the problem.

Hey guys, just wondering if anyone has had this issue or might have an idea on how to solve it.

The wall charger seems to be working fine, but if I try to plug the USB cable into my laptop, it doesn't seem to be charging the phone. The voltage icon comes up on the battery signal but when I actually check the battery options under the phone settings the battery life doesn't actually improve.

I updated the drivers from the Motorola Media Link program that the phone came with but nothing seems to solve this charging issue.

Any information on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
 
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