Phone will not charge while using Android-Wifi-Thether

iCrash · Apr 18, 2010

When using the wifi thethering for some reason my Hero will not charge. On the phone it says it is charging but the battery never reaches full capacity. It just stays where it was at before I plugged it in. I am using Fresh 2.0 btw

Nucleartx · Apr 18, 2010

The phone is using so much energy running 2 radios and it staying "awake" that it doesn't have any leftover to charge the battery fully.

iCrash · Apr 18, 2010

Figured so. Thanks for the reply. Is it bad for the phone or my USB port? The phone is actually pretty warm right now.

superlinkx · Apr 18, 2010

Get a battery status app from the market. Battery Status Free is a good one. Set it up to display an icon in the notifications bar. When the battery seems really hot, drag down the notifications bar. If it ever says overheat, turn off wifi tether and you may even want to turn off the phone, take the battery out, and let it cool. The wifi tether problem is known, and it has gotten a few fixes, but it will still overheat the battery if the computer is constantly using the connection. Try to limit what things have access to the internet connection, and stay away from large downloads. I have found that it will not overheat if tethered to a simpler internet device like an iPod touch, as these only get data as needed. Basically, only use wifi tether when you really have to, and try to limit its use. The battery overheating constantly is damaging to the battery and might cause phone trouble as well. A better alternative is probably PDAnet or another wired tether, as these will not overheat your batter.

iCrash · Apr 18, 2010

Oh wow, good thing I asked. I have PDAnet and thats what I normally use but I liked the wireless tethering because I could use multiple laptops. I guess I'll stay away from the wifi tether for now. Thanks

bill t · Apr 19, 2010

The battery temp routinely reads 43 degrees C on my Hero when I tether to it wirelessly, and I have seen 45 on occasion. I doubt that the phone is hurt, but wonder about the effect on battery life. As someone already noted, the battery drainage on wifi tether is very high.

pking · Apr 20, 2010

I've noticed this as well - the USB ports on your computer are current limited, and generally won't supply enough current to charge the phone and power both radios, as stated above.

If you can, try using a wall-wort charger as they can usually supply more current than the USB port on your PC.

On a previous version of the wifi tether I had the phone actually tell me to move it to a wall charger as the USB port was not supplying enough current, and the battery was low - meaning that it was using the USB power and still had to draw from the battery.

I think newer versions are more efficient, as I haven't seen this again, but wifi-tether definitely drains battery right quick.

Phone will not charge while using Android-Wifi-Thether

iCrash

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