OEM charger is 2amps..but how much current can Note 2 draw?

[RL in Florida]

Just got my Note 2 yesterday (upgraded from an Epic), and noticed that the OEM charger is 2amps.

Does anyone know how much current the Note can draw?

The reason I am asking is, I have a lot of older car chargers and plug in chargers that push out lower amps (ranging from 0.4 amps to 0.7 amps). My old phone could draw 0.7amps on a charging cable, and only 0.5 amps on a regular usb cable.

If the Note can draw higher amps, I think I will have to upgrade my chargers. I could see the giant battery needing a long time to charge .

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Member282753]

I don't know the specific answer to your question, but in practice, anything less than 1A is too low IF you are using your phone in the car while charging. If I use maps or navigation so that the GPS is always on, any charger at 0.5 or 0.7 A will not keep up with the drain caused by the use, especially if the phone is in the sun and the battery is hot. I'd get something at 1.5A or even 2.1A made for the iPad.

 

[Elantric]

There is another missing piece of info:

If want your new Note 2 to re-charge in the shortest time - either in a car or home:

* I recommend a 2 Amp Charger , as it takes a lot a juice to charge that 3100mA Battery

also

* There are specific Micro USB "Charge ONLY" cables which are not capable of being used for data sync. (These have the USB data pins internally shorted - which tells the Note 2's circuitry to charge at the faster "AC Charger" rate.

If you use normal Micro USB data sync cables with your 2Amp charger - you only get the lower current "USB Charge" rate - which requires extended time to charge the phone.


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

Read the review:

Many USB port car chargers, including the Griffin Powerjolt Dual Universal USB Micro, claim they are capable of putting out 1 Amp of power on each port. But when connected using a standard USB cable, the phone only allows itself to be charged at the slower USB charging rate of less than

 

[ScandaLeX]

Just got my Note 2 yesterday (upgraded from an Epic), and noticed that the OEM charger is 2amps.

Does anyone know how much current the Note can draw?

The reason I am asking is, I have a lot of older car chargers and plug in chargers that push out lower amps (ranging from 0.4 amps to 0.7 amps). My old phone could draw 0.7amps on a charging cable, and only 0.5 amps on a regular usb cable.

If the Note can draw higher amps, I think I will have to upgrade my chargers. I could see the giant battery needing a long time to charge .

Thanks for any advice.

With the supplied charger you'll see your phone charge rapidly. I love not waiting hours to go from 20% to 100. The one I have in my car also charges very fast but I've had that one for a while and don't remember where it came from.

 

[RL in Florida]

I ordered the OEM product and it just arrived today:

Galaxy Note

the charger is rated for 0.7amps output...I am a little disappointed of course, since everyone is indicating 1amp or better would be desirable.

so I think I will look for a higher amp micro usb charger, and make sure that the Data cables are shorted out so I can get more than 0.5 amps

 

[menmyjeep]

I ordered the OEM product and it just arrived today:

Galaxy Note

the charger is rated for 0.7amps output...I am a little disappointed of course, since everyone is indicating 1amp or better would be desirable.

so I think I will look for a higher amp micro usb charger, and make sure that the Data cables are shorted out so I can get more than 0.5 amps

That item you purchased is a SPARE battery charger so the 0.7amps is ideal to "trickle" charge the battery back to full. You don't really need anything else stronger. The charger cord that came with the battery charger system is rated at 0.7amps like you said but if you read the specs on the back of the charging unit itself, you will notice that it is capable of accepting a much higher charge than the 0.7amps. So if you really need to charge your spare battery faster, the charging unit itself is good, you just need to upgrade the charging cable to a cable that has output larger than 0.7amps.

 

[PhilsGN2]

There is another missing piece of info:

If want your new Note 2 to re-charge in the shortest time - either in a car or home:

* I recommend a 2 Amp Charger , as it takes a lot a juice to charge that 3100mA Battery

also

* There are specific Micro USB "Charge ONLY" cables which are not capable of being used for data sync. (These have the USB data pins internally shorted - which tells the Note 2's circuitry to charge at the faster "AC Charger" rate.

If you use normal Micro USB data sync cables with your 2Amp charger - you only get the lower current "USB Charge" rate - which requires extended time to charge the phone.

Ive been dealing with slow charge for the last couple weeks your post was very helpful thanks much.
ATT sent me a none 2.0 cable back in November I will now be charging my device with.

As far as slow charge with original hardware.
Ive replaced Original charger block , Battery , Cable and USB connector ribbon.
Issue still occurred so what could be going wrong ? Main board or Software ?
I'm thinking main board , many reporting this issue are 3 + month GN2 owners

 

[twister6]

Charging 101

Charging speed depends on 4 factors: the capacity of your battery (in mAh), the output of your charger (in A), the charging speed of your phone (in A), and the usb charging cable you are using.

For example with Note 2. Stock battery is 3100 mAh (3.1Ah - charging capacity of 3.1A per hour), stock wall charger is 2A (it will supply 2A per hour at 5V which is standard usb interface voltage), Note 2 charging speed is 2A (it can take advantage of full 2A per hour charging speed), and stock usb cable is a thick cable with thicker power wires (creates less resistance so there is no loss at full charging speed).

So in ideal situation of you charging Note 2 with all stock equipment you will get 3.1Ah / 2A = 1.55 hours to charge battery from empty. Since external charger connects to the phone through usb port (5V) and the battery is actually 3.7V, there is internal conversion of voltage inside of the phone which results in additional losses due to efficiency. So even with 2A external charger (wall or car) you are getting more like 1.6-1.7A of current. So realistically we are talking about 3.1Ah / 1.6A ~ 2 hours of charging. This is IDEAL situation.

Now, if you are using a wall or a car charger that is rated at 0.7A - it will take even longer because you have about 20% loss due to usb port conversion and then you have to substitute 1.6A in the above equation with whatever 0.5A you have left. PLUS, if you are using a cheap or regular PC usb cable (those are intended for 500 mA current, pc usb port standard) - thin wires will create more loss. Or, if you have an extended 6200 mAh battery or 9300 mAh battery, you are changing numbers in equation again to make charging even longer.

Basically all these 4 factors will affect the charging speed. Also, keep in mind, if for example you are using 2A wall charger but your phone can only charger at 1A rate - your device will NOT draw more than 1A per hour from the charger. But if you are using 2A device with 0.7A charger, you only be drawing 0.7A per hour to charger your device.

Last but not least, someone made an app for Samsung phones which tells you the average current you are drawing during charging: Galaxy Charging Current . Only works with Samsung phones and perfect for our Note 2!!!

 

[vosg]

Just got my Note 2 yesterday (upgraded from an Epic), and noticed that the OEM charger is 2amps.

Does anyone know how much current the Note can draw?

When charging from the stock charger, it draws 1698 mA.

The reason I am asking is, I have a lot of older car chargers and plug in chargers that push out lower amps (ranging from 0.4 amps to 0.7 amps). My old phone could draw 0.7amps on a charging cable, and only 0.5 amps on a regular usb cable.

If the Note can draw higher amps, I think I will have to upgrade my chargers. I could see the giant battery needing a long time to charge .

Thanks for any advice.

You are correct. When I charge from a USB port on my laptop; or when I use wireless charging (optional kit), it draws a mere 466 mA and it takes much longer to reach full charge.

 

[PhilsGN2]

Charging 101

Charging speed depends on 4 factors: the capacity of your battery (in mAh), the output of your charger (in A), the charging speed of your phone (in A), and the usb charging cable you are using.

For example with Note 2. Stock battery is 3100 mAh (3.1Ah - charging capacity of 3.1A per hour), stock wall charger is 2A (it will supply 2A per hour at 5V which is standard usb interface voltage), Note 2 charging speed is 2A (it can take advantage of full 2A per hour charging speed), and stock usb cable is a thick cable with thicker power wires (creates less resistance so there is no loss at full charging speed).

So in ideal situation of you charging Note 2 with all stock equipment you will get 3.1Ah / 2A = 1.55 hours to charge battery from empty. Since external charger connects to the phone through usb port (5V) and the battery is actually 3.7V, there is internal conversion of voltage inside of the phone which results in additional losses due to efficiency. So even with 2A external charger (wall or car) you are getting more like 1.6-1.7A of current. So realistically we are talking about 3.1Ah / 1.6A ~ 2 hours of charging. This is IDEAL situation.

Now, if you are using a wall or a car charger that is rated at 0.7A - it will take even longer because you have about 20% loss due to usb port conversion and then you have to substitute 1.6A in the above equation with whatever 0.5A you have left. PLUS, if you are using a cheap or regular PC usb cable (those are intended for 500 mA current, pc usb port standard) - thin wires will create more loss. Or, if you have an extended 6200 mAh battery or 9300 mAh battery, you are changing numbers in equation again to make charging even longer.

Basically all these 4 factors will affect the charging speed. Also, keep in mind, if for example you are using 2A wall charger but your phone can only charger at 1A rate - your device will NOT draw more than 1A per hour from the charger. But if you are using 2A device with 0.7A charger, you only be drawing 0.7A per hour to charger your device.

Last but not least, someone made an app for Samsung phones which tells you the average current you are drawing during charging: Galaxy Charging Current . Only works with Samsung phones and perfect for our Note 2!!!

The problem occurs with stock charging hardware device doesn't charge as spec in your excellent posting.
Sometimes AC wall charge displays USB charge ,This can be seen by viewing battery settings info.
I Unplug charger . plug back in and AC charge displays with varying charge current values 700 , 1000 , 1200 etc and if I'm lucky 1800.
I can rule out Charger Block , USB cable , Battery & USB board ribbon because Ive replaced them with new OEM.

This charge issue is all over the web tons of complaints.
I'm betting main board being the culprit seeing I factory restored 4.0.1 & still having slow charge issue.


Adding,
Using a generic none 2.0 cable I'm getting 1800 on every charge

 

[zmorrow]

Very long story short.

Do not underestimate the cable.

I have 1.0 chargers that will put out 1400mA current to my Galaxy note 2 just by changing the cable.

The factory charger and cable would not keep up with the current draw while using navigation, I am thinking the cable was defective.

I started using an app in the google play store called "Galaxy Charging Current" and it shows me how much current i'm getting on my charger.

My current car setup was putting out 700mA, I swapped the cable and it went to 1.2mA, I started using a 1800mA Kindle Fire charger (wall only, not usb) and got 1800mA. My phone never charged faster.

I then read an article where you can modify a USB/Data cable to just a Charge cable by shorting out the data wires inside the cable. I tried it on an old usb cable and it actually worked. I went from 800mA on that cable to 1200mA just with the modification.

Fast forward to today, I purchased a 2.1A charger at Best buy yesterday (RF-AC1U2N) and got 1800mA with it. The cable itself increased the mA I get on all my other 1.0A chargers oddly enough. 1200-1400 on average from a 1.0amp charger.

So in short. Do not under estimate the cable. It makes a HUGE difference.

 

[sealover1]

Very long story short.

Do not underestimate the cable.

I have 1.0 chargers that will put out 1400mA current to my Galaxy note 2 just by changing the cable.

The factory charger and cable would not keep up with the current draw while using navigation, I am thinking the cable was defective.

I started using an app in the google play store called "Galaxy Charging Current" and it shows me how much current i'm getting on my charger.

My current car setup was putting out 700mA, I swapped the cable and it went to 1.2mA, I started using a 1800mA Kindle Fire charger (wall only, not usb) and got 1800mA. My phone never charged faster.

I then read an article where you can modify a USB/Data cable to just a Charge cable by shorting out the data wires inside the cable. I tried it on an old usb cable and it actually worked. I went from 800mA on that cable to 1200mA just with the modification.

Fast forward to today, I purchased a 2.1A charger at Best buy yesterday (RF-AC1U2N) and got 1800mA with it. The cable itself increased the mA I get on all my other 1.0A chargers oddly enough. 1200-1400 on average from a 1.0amp charger.

So in short. Do not under estimate the cable. It makes a HUGE difference.

this makes a lot of since. downloaded Galaxy Charging Current as well and I'm only getting 200ma from my charger and its meant to be 2.1amp output but my phone is draining really quick when using google maps sat nav.

indoors I get 700ma and can use google maps and it will still charge, if I can get this in my car will be happy. just ordered a good quality charge only cable 1m and a good quality 2.1a cigar charger to replace my old cheap one so will see what happens in few days

 

[bleedGreen]

So this is what is showing on my note 2 rooted.....attach to a 1a socket for usb car.....

 

[sealover1]

I got the same app now and plugged into a 2.1a car usb it only reads 200mA in my car but it wont charge when using google maps... plugged into the charger indoors it reads 700mA but it does charge still when using google maps.

So I,m saying you need 700mA to use google maps and to get a charge.

I have just bought a good quality car charger and a charge only 1m usb lead both good quality so will be able to test the diff between cheap chargers & leads.

what I bought is below with the description will let you know the results when I get them...

PortaPow 2.5A Truly Universal Dual USB Car Charger iPhone Android Micro Twin 4 5

(Both USB sockets have their data lines shorted as per the official charging spec, so unlike rival designs it will charge not only Apple iPhones and iPads at high speed but also Android smartphones and other micro USB devices. Since the two sockets are identical, you don't have to worry about which one you plug into. It won't put your device into 'data connection' mode so you can still use your device during charging. It is also EMC certified, so it is less likely to produce interference when playing audio through your car stereo. 12-24V input is supported, meaning it works fine with car, motorbike and truck sockets.)

PortaPow High Speed Fast Charge Only 1m 100cm 20AWG Micro USB Cable for Android

(This will allow you to charge micro USB smartphones, tablets and other devices such as the Raspberry Pi, Google Nexus or Blackberry Playbook at full speed from a powerful charger or computer USB socket.

• Follows the 'Dumb USB' specification', so allows you to get the full power from a mains or car USB charger which does not follow this specification, such as an Apple iPhone/iPad charger. Our mains chargers and many others already follow the Dumb USB specification, however this low resistance cable may still result in faster charging than ordinary cables.
• A normal cable only allows charging at 0.5A from a computer, this allows you charge upto 2-3x faster.
• If you have purchased a powerful mains or car USB charger but find that it gives poor performance or does not work with your micro USB device, this cable will most likely solve the problem.
• Prevents your device going into 'data transfer' mode when connected to a computer, acting as a 'USB Condom' to prevent data theft / viruses when charging from an unknown USB socket. It works with all devices which charge from a micro USB socket including smartphones and satnavs from Samsung, HTC, Google, Sony, TomTom, etc.
• 20 AWG thick low resistance copper cable for high speed 2A charging with lower power loss than standard cables 24 or 28 AWG cables.
• Thicker plastic housing with extra reinforcement at both connector ends where cables commonly become worn
• Allows the fastest possible charging speed for the OnePlus One and Asus Transformer T100 - use together with a good quality mains charger such as the original version.
• Updated 6th January 2015 - Now with higher quality TPE casing, more flexible, environmentally friendly and tactile than cheaper PVC plastic. The cable is now embossed with 'PortaPow Fast Charge/ No Data' and has red connectors to show it is a genuine PortaPow Charge Only Cable.)

 

[sealover1]

incredible unbelievable difference just with the new lead 3 times as fast charging rate from 200mA to 800mA (see below)
PortaPow High Speed Fast Charge Only 1m 100cm 20AWG Micro USB Cable for Android

with the new charger (see below) as well my charge rate went up to 1600mA
PortaPow High Speed Fast Charge Only 1m 100cm 20AWG Micro USB Cable for Android

so if anyone is having this problem this works a treat I,m over the moon I can now use my google sat nav and it still charges my phone with the screen really bight & blue tooth on and even the music playing