Chargers: Do some work better than others?

storstygg · May 27, 2010

I have been about ready to toss my Eris out the window the past few days. The battery life went from OK to horrific (hoping it's not related to the 2.1 upgrade).

Does anyone have info on whether or not generic chargers work as well as the one that came with the phone? I feel like my old BB Pearl charger will give my phone a charge but not get it past 1/4 charge... yet when I plug into my MacBook via USB it charges quickly.

Also - how long does it typically take your Eris to charge fully when still on? (I usually have my GPS turned off).

Boulder257 · May 27, 2010

Interesting question. I see no reason why one charger would work better than another. They are all putting out the exact same amount of electricity. Instead, I think the amount of time it takes to charge would depend on how much energy your phone was using during the charging process. Therefore, if you turned it off, it would charge significantly faster than when it is on. Even more so, if you are in a weak signal area your phone is going to use more energy trying to connect than usual and the charge is going to take longer.

Lastly, the problem could be the battery and the fact that it doesn't hold a charge as long. But, again, I highly doubt it is the charger itself.

BlazeD OnE · May 27, 2010

Diff. chrgers do charge differently. Esp USB and wall chargers, and diff. wall chargers. I've seen this talked about before. search

MOS95B · May 27, 2010

In theory, anything that has a USB style plug will be the same as anything else in its class (wall charger, car charger, usb Port on a device). Theus the U in USB, which is "Universal"

In reality, there will be variances between any two devices. But, they should all fall within the USB standard, and perform pretty much the same as each other.

Since you mentioned BlackBerry, though, you also have to take into account if it is a "smart" charger or not. A genereic MiniUSB device charger should perform as well as the one that came with your phone. However, anytime something is branded, especially Crackberry stuff, you have to assume it was specifically matched to that brand/device. I believe the Crackberry chargers ahave a sensor built in that shuts them off when they sense the battery has reached a certain level, or is not performing "normally". So, it probably will not charge your Eris correctly. I doubt it will damage the battery, but as it is not sensing mormal activity for a Blackberry battery, it will try to "protect" itself or the battery

MrChips · May 27, 2010

While the voltage is the same at 5V, the current provided by different chargers is not the same. The USB spec calls for .5A available at the plug and many of the adapters will provide just that. The one that comes with the Eris provides 1A of current.

varkie · May 27, 2010

i bought a universal micro usb to usb cable and i cannot charge my phone with it, also bought a cigarette lighter phone holder (i-xt) that has a usb port and my phone will not charge through that either. i had an old iGo car charger for my motorola phone and i can charge the eris with that and it takes about the same time as the charger that came with the phone.

to fully charge the phone, with wifi and gps running, it takes 2 hours to go from from about 20% to 100% using the wall charger that came with the phone. if i plug it into my laptops usb port it takes about 8 hours to fully charge it. the iGo takes just slightly longer than the wall charger. phone is left on too.

forgot to add the battery life on mine also went to hell when i installed the v3 leak. i get about half the battery life i did with 1.5

ascasc · May 27, 2010

I bought this and the car charger doesn't work at all but the wall plug seems as good as the one that came with the phone.

Amazon.com: GTMax Rapid USB Car Charger + USB Home Travel Charger + Sync Tranfer…

I started using a Verizon mini-usb car charger that my wife got for her old BB and it works perfect.

tommy_ed · May 28, 2010

when plugged into a computer, USB usually only does a trickle charge. As for the wall chargers, my phone is a bit picky. There are probably 20-some chargers that fit eris (some from old motorolas, etc.) With some chargers the screen will simply not work. It charges, but nothing is touchable. I unplug the charger and it works fine. With other chargers everything is normal. Anybody else have that problem?

hallstevenson · May 28, 2010

When I use the wall charger (OEM) that came with my HTC SMT5800, my Eris will read a 100% charge but will drain in 5-6 hours of normal usage. If I use the wall charger (OEM) that came with the Eris, it lasts twice as long. I "tested" this more than once and determined "don't use that old charger".

You can't compare charging using a wall charger with charging via USB and a computer. With USB, there's no special "transformer" involved.

Chargers: Do some work better than others?

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