Charging - so confused!

Girevik · Jun 8, 2015

So the charger that came with my G3 charges is crazy fast. The others I have not so much, and I needed one for work so I bought another OEM travel charger. The thing of it is, it doesn't seem to charge anywhere NEAR as fast as my other....the phone will even drain while I use the phone an it's plugged in. What could be going on here?

I suppose it's possible it's a knock off, but it looks identical to the one I have. That seems like an awful lot of effort to go through for an $8 charger.

legalkill · Jun 9, 2015

Every charger has an output rate measured in Ah or mAh (should be printed on the charger). For smartphone chargers you want 1-2 Ah output. Simple translation is that for 1 Ah charger you get 1 amp of charge in an hour. So for a battery that holds 3000mA or 3A it takes 3 hours to charge in perfect world situation. That said I think the oem charger has output of 1.8 Ah. Older chargers can range from 300 mAh to 800 mAh, more currrent chargers are usually from 1 mAh to 2.1 mAh (not counting the new rapid charging capable phones and chargers). Plugging into a computer USB 2.0 gives you 500 mAh usually and 3.0 is 900 mAh.

Be careful of dual port chargers, some share the output (if rated 1A total, if you plug two things in each gets 500mAh), some are true dual port with separate constant output.

Girevik · Jun 9, 2015

That's what's so confusing. This one I bought is the OEM 1.8A charger, but doesn't seem to power as nearly as quickly as the one that came with the phone. Is there a way to measure the actual output from the charger? I have a voltmeter, but wouldn't know how to use it to measure output from the USB.

legalkill · Jun 9, 2015

you can try to put probes on the pins but seems too small http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB

On new update the lockscreen gives an estimated charge time if left long enough. Must have a meter internally. You can do the comparison with that maybe.

Girevik · Jun 9, 2015

That's kind of what I'm using, but that can be dependant on what's going on in the background. I'd like something a little more scientific.

Klotar · Jun 9, 2015

Also, try the new charger with the old cable. If the phone now charges fast, the new charger is fine, new cable is the culprit. If the phone charges slow, new charger is the culprit since we know the old cable is fine.

EarlyMon · Jun 9, 2015

Wait a minute. Let's try some facts.

Voltage is pushed, it's fixed at the 5V standard.

Current is drawn by the device up to the limits of the safety circuit and the wire resistance.

No legitimate chargers are rated in Ah.

You can't calculate charging time from anything printed on one. Electrochemistry doesn't work that way.

Static measurements and measurements under load are two entirely different things. If you're untrained in metrology, keep your meter away from the phone unless your goal is conversion to paperweight.

Check out "Ampere"

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gombosdev.ampere

Note the instructions at the Play Store, it needs to be configured to use the old measuring method for the LG G3.

Chargers and cables vary wildly for quality, even within the same brand of chargers. Here's some measured results from another forum -

http://forums.androidcentral.com/lg-g3/469894-reason-why-lg-g3-charges-slowly.html

I've had excellent results buying from monoprice.com.

Girevik · Jun 9, 2015

Klotar said:
Also, try the new charger with the old cable. If the phone now charges fast, the new charger is fine, new cable is the culprit. If the phone charges slow, new charger is the culprit since we know the old cable is fine.

Yeah, I was using the same cable on both chargers. I know some "data" cables don't carry the full charge and assumed that was the issue. Unfortunately not.

EarlyMon said:
Static measurements and measurements under load are two entirely different things. If you're untrained in metrology, keep your meter away from the phone unless your goal is conversion to paperweight.

I wasn't going to do anything with the phone. I was just hoping to find out how much juice the chargers are spitting out. IF I can verify the new one isn't giving the same output as the original I was going to have it replaced. May do that anyway and see if another one gives me an better luck.

EarlyMon · Jun 9, 2015

Girevik said:
I wasn't going to do anything with the phone. I was just hoping to find out how much juice the chargers are spitting out. IF I can verify the new one isn't giving the same output as the original I was going to have it replaced. May do that anyway and see if another one gives me an better luck.

I understand - that's why I suggested the app that I did.

Girevik · Jun 9, 2015

Ok, now I'm more confused than ever. I downloaded Ampree and set it to "old method" and plugged in my original charger. It showed a nice, steady 10 mA. When I plugging into the new charger (with the same cable), the numbers were jumping all over the place but much higher. From a low of around 200 mA all the way up to 2000 mA. I would have expected higher numbers to mean faster charging, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Whatever is going on, I think the charger I have may be defective and I think I'm going to try and get a replacement.

legalkill · Jun 20, 2015

http://www.csgnetwork.com/batterychgcalc.html

Charging - so confused!

Android Enthusiast

Android Enthusiast

Android Enthusiast

Android Enthusiast

Android Enthusiast

Well-Known Member

The PearlyMon

Android Enthusiast

The PearlyMon

Android Enthusiast

Android Enthusiast

BEST TECH IN 2023

Smartphones

Best Android Phones

Upcoming

Best iPhones

Upcoming

Tablets

Best Tablets

Upcoming

Laptops

Best Laptops

Upcoming

Televisions

Best TVs

Upcoming

Game Consoles

Best Game Consoles

Upcoming

Wearables

Best Wearables

Upcoming

Smart Home

Smart Home Tech

Upcoming

Similar threads