My In-Car Charge Testing Results w/Froyo 2.2

[NilsE]

I spoke to a Verizon rep about this and he said yes it may drain if battery using navigationk but it will never cut off. Someone needs to verify this.

Hypothetical situation and the numbers are not accurate but I believe the "bottom line is".

ASSUMPTIONS:

A phone drains at a rate of 20% per hour when using navigation with screen and voice on with no charger.

Attach a charger and the rate of drain drops to 10% per hour.

The phone runs off the battery not the charger

You are using it for 11 hours

BOTTOM LINE: Phone is dead at 10th hour

The major assumption is that the charger is charging the battery and not running the phone which is something a lot of people believe.

The good news for me is that out of 3 USB car chargers I have a "no name" USB charger that actually increases the charge when navigation is on and not discharging. the rating on it is 5v +/- 2% and 1000mAh. I have no idea where I got it but I remember having it with my Dare and Omnia.

 

[LiquidBreadMan]

I spoke to a Verizon rep about this and he said yes it may drain if battery using navigationk but it will never cut off. Someone needs to verify this.

It will definitely "cut off". Any battery will cut off when it's lost its charge.


I've said this on many forums... The issue is the charger, not the O/S upgrade and not the phone. A lot of you are using after market chargers that claim 1 amp output, but the charger has to be wired properly to be used as something other than a trickle charger.

Think of it this way... HTC builds a phone. They know there are hundreds of manufacturers out there that are creating after-market chargers. Most of them are using crap parts and barely keeping to even the generic specs for a charger. How do you protect the phone?

HTC phones look for a certain signature. Basically a 200 ohm short on the USB cable's power circuit combined with a 1 amp output. When the phone sees this, it assumes that it's plugged in to a stable power source (wall charger) and accepts the full 1 amp. Battery status (in the settings menu) will indicate that you are charging from AC and the phone will "Rapid Charge" instead of trickle charging. It will accept more charge than it is using, meaning that the battery should never discharge completely, and should be able to cool down when not charging.

If your phone says USB Charging, then it's on a "Safe" trickle charge and, like all trickle charges, will never be enough to keep up with the power consumption needs of the phone under use.

 

[rsarno]

I drove over an hour using gps, data on, yahoo msgr on in background, made many calls (one call was 40 min)

Did this both ways. Gained 1% on battery each way

So mine seemed fine

 

[Bing]

A lot of people here seem to be leaving out the BIGGEST piece of data: the charger they used.

A 1000mAh/hour charger will provide at least a little charge while you are driving. A 500mAh/hour charger will provide less charge than Google Navigation + screen on + 3G data + etc. requires, and you will end with less than you started with.

If you're using a USB to charge (like through a sound-system), you're likely getting 500mAh hour.

 

[ONJFan]

Well I am using the Verizon car charger I bought at my local Verizon store, they told me it's the only one for the incredible. I don't have the box anymore but the label on the charger says Model MICUSBVPC, DC 090608(A) It's the one that lights up with a circle in red around the logo on the charger when being charged in your car. So what amp is this?

 

[ONJFan]

I still think it has to do with this Froyo update because last May I went on vacation in NC and was using my incredible with google navi with this same Verizon car charger and the same original standard battery it would never lose bars it would keep the charge or slowly give a charge. There were times the screen would be on for an hour at a time and I would cut the screen off every now and then and it would always hold a charge. This was of course when I had 2.1.

Now as I mentioned above, this past Sun I used navi and same car charger (now with running OTA Froyo 2.2) and started with 4 green bars and when I got to my destination I had 1 yellow bar left (and yes I saw it charging with arrows).

Yesterday I went into my verizon store and talked to them about it and he said yes your battery will lose charge with google maps navi because it is a battery drainer but he also said the phone would never cut out on you even if you got down to no bars with this charger I have.

I guess we need someone to run their Navi on a trip for longer than a few hours (starting out with 1/2 battery and see if it drains till it stops working or does it charge?

 

[rsarno]

I drove over an hour using gps, data on, yahoo msgr on in background, made many calls (one call was 40 min)

Did this both ways. Gained 1% on battery each way

So mine seemed fine

My above results were using an aftermarket car charger. There is no brand on it, i bought it at my local deli for $8 (they have chargers for all phones)

Ill try to get brand when im at store again

 

[captainm27]

I have to agree with those who are losing the charge: Even HTC confirmed this! The new Froyo update purposely reduces the rate at which the battery charges (to prevent overheating, etc). I don't remember ever reading any of these threads before Foryo. All these issues are being reported now because everyone is getting Froyo.

Fact: The Incredible with Froyo 2.2 charges slower
Fact: The Navigation program (GPS on, pulling 3G Data, etc) drains more power than the current charge rate can handle.
Fact: You will lose a charge when using it this way
Fact: Downgrade to 2.1 and all your troubles go away

 

[sillyrabbitt123]

is this a froyo issue or an incredible issue does the droid2 or x lose battery while charging with nav on etc..? or just DInc?

 

[rsarno]

I have to agree with those who are losing the charge: Even HTC confirmed this! The new Froyo update purposely reduces the rate at which the battery charges (to prevent overheating, etc). I don't remember ever reading any of these threads before Foryo. All these issues are being reported now because everyone is getting Froyo.

Fact: The Incredible with Froyo 2.2 charges slower
Fact: The Navigation program (GPS on, pulling 3G Data, etc) drains more power than the current charge rate can handle.
Fact: You will lose a charge when using it this way
Fact: Downgrade to 2.1 and all your troubles go away

I did not lose charge, i gained at the rate of 1% per hour based on my 2 tests

gps on, checking some emails, having some calls, screen on the entire time at 25%

 

[pipnmike]

A lot of people here seem to be leaving out the BIGGEST piece of data: the charger they used.

A 1000mAh/hour charger will provide at least a little charge while you are driving. A 500mAh/hour charger will provide less charge than Google Navigation + screen on + 3G data + etc. requires, and you will end with less than you started with.

If you're using a USB to charge (like through a sound-system), you're likely getting 500mAh hour.

As the user stated above, if you use a 1A charger, it'll at least charge the phone a little bit even when using navi. I tried it briefly today for about 15 min with a 1A charger. I gained about 2%, even with navi running.

 

[captainm27]

As the user stated above, if you use a 1A charger, it'll at least charge the phone a little bit even when using navi. I tried it briefly today for about 15 min with a 1A charger. I gained about 2%, even with navi running.

Hmm....I don't know. I have a 1A charger which worked perfectly until Froyo appeared.

 

[OldMuttonHead]

One other thing that was just mentioned.. I have my auto brightness on so more than likely my screen was full power during my trip as it was during the day on a very bright day. I was also using my wife's Motorola Droid charger because I was in her car at the time.

 

[AntimonyER]

For those of you saying getting a charger with a higher amperage rate will fix the problem, that is untrue. The battery charging restriction was introduced into the Froyo update, it is immune to the charge rate of the charger you are using (with one possible exception, get to that in a bit). I have two wall chargers, one is the stock HTC charger, and the other is a samsung charger that came with my BT headset. The HTC has 1000 mA charge rate, the Samsung a 700mA rate. I tested it this weekend, they take EXACTLY the same time to charge. Which means the charge rate is being forced somewhere below 700mA by the phone itself. Before Froyo, it clearly took longer on the samsung to charge than the stock HTC charger. Changing the charger will do nothing, unless somehow your charger is bypassing the circuit protection that was introduced to reduce the charge rate in the phone. In that case, while you may still be able to charge fast, you are probably doing more harm than good to the battery.

 

[ronchito]

Well I am using the Verizon car charger I bought at my local Verizon store, they told me it's the only one for the incredible. I don't have the box anymore but the label on the charger says Model MICUSBVPC, DC 090608(A) It's the one that lights up with a circle in red around the logo on the charger when being charged in your car. So what amp is this?

this is the one i have as well. can anyone confirm the amp rate on this charger?

 

[ONJFan]

For those of you saying getting a charger with a higher amperage rate will fix the problem, that is untrue. The battery charging restriction was introduced into the Froyo update, it is immune to the charge rate of the charger you are using (with one possible exception, get to that in a bit). I have two wall chargers, one is the stock HTC charger, and the other is a samsung charger that came with my BT headset. The HTC has 1000 mA charge rate, the Samsung a 700mA rate. I tested it this weekend, they take EXACTLY the same time to charge. Which means the charge rate is being forced somewhere below 700mA by the phone itself. Before Froyo, it clearly took longer on the samsung to charge than the stock HTC charger. Changing the charger will do nothing, unless somehow your charger is bypassing the circuit protection that was introduced to reduce the charge rate in the phone. In that case, while you may still be able to charge fast, you are probably doing more harm than good to the battery.

This is starting to sound logical and in this case it doesn't matter what type car charger u have. I noticed that my battery status says charging a/c in the battery status in about phone menu and it says this for both the HTC charger in the wall and for the car charger too.

 

[pipnmike]

This is starting to sound logical and in this case it doesn't matter what type car charger u have. I noticed that my battery status says charging a/c in the battery status in about phone menu and it says this for both the HTC charger in the wall and for the car charger too.

You have a good point there, but what if the charge rating for the phone was somewhere between 500mA and 700mA? In that case, 500mA charger wouldn't work, but a 1A charger would.

 

[NilsE]

Reading through this thread and many many more just like it I came to the conclusion that just having a car charger that is rated at 1A is not enough in itself. I, like a few others, get decent results charging and having nav running even though it shows as a USB charger. At least I am not discharging while navigating and listening to a book or music.

The real key is having a car charger that is 1A (maybe 700ma) and shows up on the phone as A/C instead of USB.

So, who has a charger that is 700ma to 1A and registers as A/C and what is the make and model?

 

[Markus729]

For what it's worth, here's my test:

With 2.2, GPS on, Bluetooth on, I drove home from work, in traffic, about 35 mins, (only 12 miles,) plugged in with car charger. It started at about 39%. When I got home and checked my charge it said 49%.

I was actually impressed that I got a 10% increase with bluetooth and GPS Nav on, with a $5 Motorola charger from Amazon:

Amazon.com: Motorola P513 Vehicle Power Adapter MicroUSB Rapid Rate Charger: Cell Phones & Service

 

[rsarno]

For what it's worth, here's my test:

With 2.2, GPS on, Bluetooth on, I drove home from work, in traffic, about 35 mins, (only 12 miles,) plugged in with car charger. It started at about 39%. When I got home and checked my charge it said 49%.

I was actually impressed that I got a 10% increase with bluetooth and GPS Nav on, with a $5 Motorola charger from Amazon:

Amazon.com: Motorola P513 Vehicle Power Adapter MicroUSB Rapid Rate Charger: Cell Phones & Service

Must be a mistake.

With all of that on, and only plugged in for 35min, to gain that much?

EDIT, wait did you use navigation for the trip?

 

[NilsE]

For what it's worth, here's my test:

With 2.2, GPS on, Bluetooth on, I drove home from work, in traffic, about 35 mins, (only 12 miles,) plugged in with car charger. It started at about 39%. When I got home and checked my charge it said 49%.

I was actually impressed that I got a 10% increase with bluetooth and GPS Nav on, with a $5 Motorola charger from Amazon:

Amazon.com: Motorola P513 Vehicle Power Adapter MicroUSB Rapid Rate Charger: Cell Phones & Service

Does your charger show USB or A/C when charging?

 

[Markus729]

Must be a mistake.

With all of that on, and only plugged in for 35min, to gain that much?

EDIT, wait did you use navigation for the trip?

I duplicated what I mentioned before, again tonight...same conditions...battery was at 42% and ended at 46%, so not as much of a gain.

as for charger, I *think* it was the A/C... the little lightening bolt on the battery and not the USB icon in the menu bar.

 

[lennie paz]

Today I plugged my Inc into an OEM Verizon car charger and the phone battery was at 73%. I opened Google Nav and took a 45 min ride. When I arrived at my destination, the battery was down to 71%. I called VZW to complain and the tech told me they are aware of the problem and working fast to get it fixed. He told me in the meantime, try to perform a factory reset which I know won't do a damn thing. He said if that doesn't work, they will send me a new phone, which will have the 2.2 update on it, right? Won't I have the same problem with the new phone?

 

[Kevin_168]

For what it's worth, here's my test:

With 2.2, GPS on, Bluetooth on, I drove home from work, in traffic, about 35 mins, (only 12 miles,) plugged in with car charger. It started at about 39%. When I got home and checked my charge it said 49%.

I was actually impressed that I got a 10% increase with bluetooth and GPS Nav on, with a $5 Motorola charger from Amazon:

Amazon.com: Motorola P513 Vehicle Power Adapter MicroUSB Rapid Rate Charger: Cell Phones & Service

You beat me to it. I was also doing an experiment/test with the same charger today, too. I got the charger the day before my 2.2 OTA so I only got a chance to use it once with 2.1.

On my commute home from work today, I had the Nav On and Bluetooth On (connected to my Moto T505). My commute is approximately 46 miles (~1 hour drive). When I left work, battery was at 42%. When I reached home, 1 hour and 5 mins later, the battery was at 47%.

The one time that I did use is with 2.1, I know it was charging at a faster rate than 2.2 but never took note of how fast.

I'm OK with this as long as it is still charging while I'm using Nav.

Hope this is helpful in some way (for my 1st post).

 

[TexasDroid]

Today, I drove a few towns over to meet a buddy for lunch and to run a few errands. I had this thread in mind as I started out and I wanted to test for myself if 2.2 with a few power hungry apps would actually discharge my phone's battery even though it was plugged in and charging.

The setup:
HTC incredible
Motorola P513 car charger
3.5mm patch cable
Gauge Battery Widget running
Battery at 70% charged
Mobile network running
Google Nav running
GPS running
Bluetooth running
Pandora running
Patch cable from phone to aux in on car stereo
Media volume on phone set to max

The drive was approx 45 mins. In addition to continuously running the aforementioned apps, I made 3 phone calls totaling 12 mins. I also checked my email, facebook, and sent two text messages while stopped by a train. Screen brightness was set to auto.
Gauge Battery Widget showed that my battery charged to 74% during my trip.

After lunch and my errands, I began my return trip home. This time I turned off all apps , no mobile network, no gps, etc. I even put the phone on "silent", did not take any calls. Same charger, battery starting out at 69%. The return trip was a bit faster. Didn't get caught by an afternoon train. Arrived home and pulled phone out of center console. Gauge Battery Widget read 81%

The only issue that I encountered is when Google Nav gave audible directions it would interrupt streaming music from Pandora and the music would not resume. Is there a fix for this? Maybe a setting somewhere that I'm not aware of.