Accessories Why is Incredible so picky with car chargers

[mikegb]

I used my GPS car charger (with USB out). Stated up to 2Amp output support. Should be plenty. It seemed to work find other than two issues:

1. With the GPS on and audio out, it couldn't keep up the charge and the phone battery eventually died on a long drive (I've seen several people report this).
2. The phone itself complains at times saying that the charger I am using is not an HTC certified or compatible charger and it could damage the phone

Because of the phone complaining about my charger, I went ahead and bought the monoprice one. Saw several people saying it works great. It doesn't work at all. Well I should say it charges on for a few seconds, off for a few seconds, back on for a few seconds, back on. No loose connections, tried moving it to a different port, jiggled the cables, etc. Maybe I just got a bad charger.

Maybe I need to buy the actual incredibly overpriced HTC charger. Ugh!

 

[Wiggin21]

the stock verizon charger that i bought would over-heat my phone.

what a piece of junk

 

[clipperqb]

I think it's a grounding issue.

 

[TheSultan]

It's not the Incredible. It's the combination of phone>charger>car.

Obviously, all phones are made with different charging requirements, and each car gives off a different amount juice (even just a lighter socket and a dedicated DC socket are different!). It would be impossible for any charger manufacturer to build a cable that is is perfectly suited for your phone and your car, since there is an endless number of possible ownership combinations.

Just find a charger that works, and stick with it. You may need to try a couple before you get one you like. I use this Amazon.com: Belkin Micro USB Auto Charger 5VOLT 1A: Electronics with a retractable cable.

 

[sabrewings]

With the GPS on and audio out, it couldn't keep up the charge and the phone battery eventually died on a long drive (I've seen several people report this).

The Incredible follows a newer standard when it comes to USB ports and charging. In order to use anything over 500mA, the data pins have to be shorted together with a 200Ohm resistance. If it sees this is true, it will pull up to 1A. If not, the Incredible will limit to 500mA (per the new standard).

 

[clipperqb]

My stock Verizon charger I had for my Blackberry works fine ... as long as the phone is standing on it's head in the first cup holder!

 

[TheGoatLantern]

I haven't had an issue using either my wife's pre plus charger or the itrip using the usb cable...

 

[TheDanishDanger]

lg dare car charger works as well. brother took mine the one weekend I need it when I'm going camping. Pissed. Luckily I found my LG Dare car charger and it charges.

 

[technomom]

The Incredible follows a newer standard when it comes to USB ports and charging. In order to use anything over 500mA, the data pins have to be shorted together with a 200Ohm resistance. If it sees this is true, it will pull up to 1A. If not, the Incredible will limit to 500mA (per the new standard).

Is there some way to measure/see what it is pulling?

 

[sabrewings]

Is there some way to measure/see what it is pulling?

Look at the battery info screen. If it says "Charging USB" it's only pulling 500mA. If it says "Charging AC" then it is pulling more. The limitation at that point would either be 1000mA (the Inc's max) or whatever the charger's max is, whichever is lower.

 

[Stupifier]

I just grabbed some cheap micro usb car charger from the grocery store and it has been working fine for the past month or so.

 

[jakeh0]

mine gets too hot and starts to lose battery if i have gps on

same thing happens when i plug into USB sometimes

never when i wall charge

 

[Pretkomel]

I have no problems with my $ 4.50 car charger.

 

[captainm27]

I used my GPS car charger (with USB out). Stated up to 2Amp output support. Should be plenty. It seemed to work find other than two issues:

1. With the GPS on and audio out, it couldn't keep up the charge and the phone battery eventually died on a long drive (I've seen several people report this).
2. The phone itself complains at times saying that the charger I am using is not an HTC certified or compatible charger and it could damage the phone

Because of the phone complaining about my charger, I went ahead and bought the monoprice one. Saw several people saying it works great. It doesn't work at all. Well I should say it charges on for a few seconds, off for a few seconds, back on for a few seconds, back on. No loose connections, tried moving it to a different port, jiggled the cables, etc. Maybe I just got a bad charger.

Maybe I need to buy the actual incredibly overpriced HTC charger. Ugh!

I think that may be too much. I actually use a HP iPaq 210 Charger. The unit plugs to the ligther on one end, and has a USB connector on the other. It is rated at 5V, 1A. I bought a Micro-USB cable at MicroCenter and it has been working flawlessly since. Before that, I actually bought a Verizon universal charger, and the thing must've outputted only 500mah because it would drain the battery when using GPS.

 

[sirchadwick1]

Got a stock Verizon charger for $7 on eBay... works perfectly.

 

[sabrewings]

I think that may be too much.

This doesn't matter. The rating on the charger is simply its max it is able to put out. How much the Inc takes in will depend on two things: the voltage of the charger (always 5v) and the Inc's resistance. This is known as Ohm's law.

Bottom line, you can use any 5v charger you want. The current rating (and whether the data pins are shorted) will determine how fast your phone will charge. The max the Inc will allow itself to pull id 1A.

 

[thirteen113]

The Incredible follows a newer standard when it comes to USB ports and charging. In order to use anything over 500mA, the data pins have to be shorted together with a 200Ohm resistance. If it sees this is true, it will pull up to 1A. If not, the Incredible will limit to 500mA (per the new standard).

Very interesting information here. I am interested to learn more, what are your sources for this tidbit?

 

[sabrewings]

Very interesting information here. I am interested to learn more, what are your sources for this tidbit?

See this thread:

http://androidforums.com/tips-tricks-incredible/85805-why-not-all-chargers-same.html

 

[mikegb]

The Incredible follows a newer standard when it comes to USB ports and charging. In order to use anything over 500mA, the data pins have to be shorted together with a 200Ohm resistance. If it sees this is true, it will pull up to 1A. If not, the Incredible will limit to 500mA (per the new standard).

Thanks for the info. I have not seen any charger that advertises that they do this. Do you know of a specific model or two that does this? My AC wall charger charges the phone rather quickly. Is it really possible to have my car charge it equally fast with the right charger?

 

[sabrewings]

Thanks for the info. I have not seen any charger that advertises that they do this. Do you know of a specific model or two that does this? My AC wall charger charges the phone rather quickly. Is it really possible to have my car charge it equally fast with the right charger?

I don't know if it's an advertised feature. All newer chargers "should" do it, but if your Incredible says it's charging off USB and not AC, then that specific charger doesn't. It is a newer standard, but the chargers for my EnV Touch (came out last summer) work just fine.

 

[mikegb]

Well I ordered the Motorola SPN5400 Rapid Vehicle Power Adapter for Motorola Droid A855 for $6.49 from Amazon:

Amazon.com: Motorola SPN5400 Rapid Vehicle Power Adapter for Motorola Droid A855: Cell Phones &…

In early testing, so far it is working fine and shows as charging off of AC.

 

[A.Nonymous]

My car charger says it's charging off AC, but a combination of GPS + Bluetooth + Bright screen drains the battery even when it's plugged in.

 

[sabrewings]

My car charger says it's charging off AC, but a combination of GPS + Bluetooth + Bright screen drains the battery even when it's plugged in.

It probably has a max current of 700-800mA. Anything over 500mA will show up as AC, so it's still possible to drain the battery when it says "AC".

 

[A.Nonymous]

It probably has a max current of 700-800mA. Anything over 500mA will show up as AC, so it's still possible to drain the battery when it says "AC".

So the charger for the Dare is the one I need then? The OEM charger I presume? I'm seriously looking at replacing my iTouch completely with my phone and if I'm going to be playing music in the car I need to be able to charge it while I'm doing so.

 

[sabrewings]

A lot of people use the Dare charger with success. I use a 700mA charger myself and have no issues charging with GPD and Bluetooth on.