What the bleep is going on!

[HotPepper]

Old bionic had since release till about 2 months ago ~ when i took it in because it wouldnt charge

Got my refurbushed or whatever its called from verizon. Worked good and charged great for a month now the last 4 days my phone wont charge!

What could be the problem now im nervous of being late to work as my phone is my alarm

Somenights it will be stuck charging at 20% or be dead-_- aggravating

Also my upgrade is almost here whats a good smartphone to go to? Nothing over the top but nothing cheap either

 

[Thom]

Did the replacement Bionic come with ICS installed or did you do the upgrade on it? If you did the upgraded did you do a Factory Data Reset?

What are you using to do the charging? USB connection on a computer or wall charger that came with your Bionic or something else?

What cable are you using?

Is the battery the battery from the original Bionic?

If I was going to upgrade today I would choose the Razr Maxx HD.

... Thom

 

[doogald]

I agree with Thom on causes. It's quite possible that there is a problem with your charger, battery and/or cable (did the replacement phone come with a replacement charger?)

You could also get an extra battery and an external battery charger and swap batteries. Here is a Motorola charger that works with the Bionic battery: Amazon.com: Motorola Battery Only Charger for BF, HF, BW, and HW Series Batteries - Bulk Packaging - Black: Cell Phones & Accessories

I also agree with Thom on the Razr Maxx HD, especially if battery life is important. Since being purchased by Google, Motorola seems to be more focused on lighter Android customizations and relatively quick version upgrades (though it's hard to say if that will continue with the next version update; these are always dice rolls, if it's important to you, even for the Nexus phones.) I'd also consider the Samsung Galaxy S3, which has a replaceable battery pack. I hear that the battery life on the new HTC Droid DNA is very low if you use it for any sort of media playing or heavy internet use. The Galaxy Note 2 looks fine if you don't mind the large size.

 

[HotPepper]

Did the replacement Bionic come with ICS installed or did you do the upgrade on it? If you did the upgraded did you do a Factory Data Reset?

No it came with GB and i had to install the OTA. After the ota installed i did do the FDR

What are you using to do the charging? USB connection on a computer or wall charger that came with your Bionic or something else?

Im using the wall charger with the plug in USB port on it. (i think they all come with them) then im using attached to that an extender, If i read the code thats on the chargers sticker can that tell you what phone it was intended for? Wasnt sure if that came with my bionic or OG droid

What cable are you using?

Above

Is the battery the battery from the original Bionic?

Yes this battery is the one i had from my 1st bionic

If I was going to upgrade today I would choose the Razr Maxx HD.

Good choice sir

... Thom

...Hot Pepper

 

[HotPepper]

the cable im using has the code

SKN5004A

11133-0403532

 

[rdsok]

Typically when a battery starts getting old, they simply don't hold a charge as long but they will usually charge... Still, they are usually only good for about 2 years so yours is due to be replaced pretty soon anyway.

The charger that comes with the Bionic has a 5.1v 850mah output... the one that came with the OG Droid was less than that and isn't enough to charge with.

 

[Thom]

I'd try it without the extender. Use the charger that came with Bionic and 3' cable that came with the Bionic only. If it was still failing I would replace the battery.

The Motorola cables I am using have a Motorola logo molded into the plug and have the numbers ...

AFDL0427
AFHV891

... one came with the Bionic and one with the Droid X. Both are OK for the Bionic

... Thom

 

[HotPepper]

TBH i did not recieve a charger with my bionic! -_-

Ok i will try it without the extender though i dont think that will make a difference

As i tried today to take my cable and plug it into my usb adapter for a ciggarette light in my car.

I was at work for 4 hours today. Before i went in it was at 5% 4 hours later it was at 20%

So either the cable itself or the battery. But im thinking cable is screwing up the USB charing port on phone

Because why would my phone fully charge quickly when i first got it then now it wont charge and at all. im reffering to my new bionic i just got a month ago

 

[Thom]

Maybe you don't remember the past exactly.

USB ports on computers charge about 4X slower than the wall charger.

You should have gotten a wall charger, 3' cable, and battery with your original Bionic. They shod be the benchmark you work from. If they are not working correctly the obvious culprit is the battery (they do wear out).

... Thom

 

[HotPepper]

Maybe you don't remember the past exactly.

USB ports on computers charge about 4X slower than the wall charger.

You should have gotten a wall charger, 3' cable, and battery with your original Bionic. They shod be the benchmark you work from. If they are not working correctly the obvious culprit is the battery (they do wear out).

... Thom

Swear to you i did not get a wall charger with me phone

 

[Thom]

The original Bionic comes in a box that someone got way too much money for and it contains the charger, 3' cable, Bionic (with back) and battery.

Was your original Bionic a replacement from Verizon?

... Thom

 

[HotPepper]

Anyone have a spare wall charger there willing to sell?

I cant cough up 30$ for a damn charger... thats insane!

 

[drca001]

[FONT=&quot]Motorola USB to wall charger, [/FONT]$4.50 on Amazon, search on part number [FONT=&quot]SPN5504A. I just bought two on Amazon, and ended up getting one free from Motorola (to replace one that burned out). I figure at that price I can afford to have one or two extra on hand.[/FONT]

 

[Thom]

Anyone have a spare wall charger there willing to sell?

If it was not in the box when you got the Bionic I would report it to the Verizon store where you got it and ask them to provide it.

The 3' cable should also have been in the box. You need both.

... Thom

 

[BigRedGonzo]

...
The charger that comes with the Bionic has a 5.1v 850mah output... the one that came with the OG Droid was less than that and isn't enough to charge with.

I have two OG Droid chargers and both charge my Bionic without issue. From almost dead to full charge in a couple of hours.

BigRedGonzo

 

[beefyy]

If it was not in the box when you got the Bionic I would report it to the Verizon store where you got it and ask them to provide it.

The 3' cable should also have been in the box. You need both.

... Thom

I totally agree with this. I used a HTC charger with my bionic on vacation one time and it messed up my phone. Did not charge the phone very well at all, and when I went into the battery details, it looked as if it hadn't even been on a charger.

 

[rdsok]

If it was not in the box when you got the Bionic I would report it to the Verizon store where you got it and ask them to provide it.

Probably only a good solution if the phone had been purchased recently. Likely, probably only a few days to a month after purchase. The longer the timeframe after that, the more it appears that the missing item was lost or broken instead.

 

[HotPepper]

Ok so i bought a new battery and a bionic charger all for 10$! Love ebay

My question now is could using the wrong charger or maybe there was something broke on my charger on the end where it could lead to a damaged charging point on my phone?

 

[Thom]

Do you also have the 3' cable with the Motorola logo in the plug? This is very important also.

Using a third-party charger or cable MIGHT NOT cause any problem at all.

Using a third-party charge or cable COULD cause any kind of mayhem.

Many people use third-party chargers and cables and have no problems and will tell you it is a good way to save money. They were the lucky ones.

The approach ...

Get the OEM charger and cable.
Use them and that is your benchmark.
Try other things if you like and you can always return to the Motorola equipment if you run into trouble.
You can damage the battery and/or Bionic with problems from some third-party equipment.

What makes Motorola so good ... they have stringent quality control and the bad units just don't make it out of the factory.

... Thom