i bought two extra usb cables from amazon, i can't link to them since i don't have enough posts yet, but they're the "EMPIRE USB Data Cable for Verizon HTC ThunderBolt" from amazon
i intentionally looked for some that said for use with thunderbolt in case there was something different than just a micro-usb cable; however, it does not seem that these cables charge as well as the cable that ships. it takes several hours even when trying to charge with the original AC adapter using one of these cables vs the ~1.5-2 hours with the cable that comes with. When trying to use a computer or a car adapter it just holds the charge steady, if using navigation it actually drops battery while plugged in!
is there something i'm missing here? they should all be the same right? can anyone point me to some that actually work? (preferably from amazon since i have gift cards there)
I've had the same problem.
Make sure you are getting the correct voltage. I think my issues are that USB is a slower charge than outlets and the "extra" charger I had was for my bluetooth which had a lower voltage.
strobieone said:
I've had the same problem.
Make sure you are getting the correct voltage. I think my issues are that USB is a slower charge than outlets and the "extra" charger I had was for my bluetooth which had a lower voltage.
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yeah, i understand that usb from the computer will be a lower voltage, which is what i thought the issue was at first. but then i tried using the original AC adapter with the replacement usb cable and it was slower than the original cable. i don't see why the cable would make a difference, but it definitely appears to.
i downloaded the current widget and can see that just swapping between the OEM cable and the aftermarket cable the charging current is quite different. ~+600ma with the OEM and -100ma to +300ma with the aftermarket (yes at times it was LOSING charge while plugged in using the aftermarket)
roppetty said:
yeah, i understand that usb from the computer will be a lower voltage, which is what i thought the issue was at first. but then i tried using the original AC adapter with the replacement usb cable and it was slower than the original cable. i don't see why the cable would make a difference, but it definitely appears to.
i downloaded the current widget and can see that just swapping between the OEM cable and the aftermarket cable the charging current is quite different. ~+600ma with the OEM and -100ma to +300ma with the aftermarket (yes at times it was LOSING charge while plugged in using the aftermarket)
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You should never use any other cable than the one provided with your Thunderbolt. On the site it may say that it "Works" with the Thunderbolt but that doesn't mean you are going to get the performance you need out of it. I have had that problem plenty of times with older cables and sadly it keeps me buying the slightly overpriced cables from Verizon so I know that I get what I need.
roppetty said:
yeah, i understand that usb from the computer will be a lower voltage, which is what i thought the issue was at first. but then i tried using the original AC adapter with the replacement usb cable and it was slower than the original cable. i don't see why the cable would make a difference, but it definitely appears to.
i downloaded the current widget and can see that just swapping between the OEM cable and the aftermarket cable the charging current is quite different. ~+600ma with the OEM and -100ma to +300ma with the aftermarket (yes at times it was LOSING charge while plugged in using the aftermarket)
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It sounds like a defective cable. Check to see how it's charging (AC or USB). If it says USB when connected to the HTC charger, the cable is bad.
I use micro-USB cables I got from Monoprice, no problems.
mike.s said:
It sounds like a defective cable. Check to see how it's charging (AC or USB). If it says USB when connected to the HTC charger, the cable is bad.
I use micro-USB cables I got from Monoprice, no problems.
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It's not defective, it's just not designed for charging. OP, always make sure it says it is a charger cable, not a data cable, when you buy one.
WeaselWeaz said:
It's not defective, it's just not designed for charging.
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BS. You have no clue what you're talking about. The TB follows the USB charging specification.
The thing about USB (Universal serial bus) cables is that they are UNIVERSAL. It doesn't matter where you get them from, what they say, or what they are branded. They have to meet certain specs (including materials and current capacity) in order to get the USB label.
If you're having a problem, I am 99% sure the cable is not the issue.
Try out monoprice.com. I've used them for years. You can get 3 wall chargers, 5 USB cables and 2 car chargers (all 1A) for like $25, shipped.
Edit: QFT
mike.s said:
BS. You have no clue what you're talking about. The TB follows the USB charging specification.
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necosino said:
The thing about USB (Universal serial bus) cables is that they are UNIVERSAL. It doesn't matter where you get them from, what they say, or what they are branded. They have to meet certain specs (including materials and current capacity) in order to get the USB label.
If you're having a problem, I am 99% sure the cable is not the issue.
Try out monoprice.com. I've used them for years. You can get 3 wall chargers, 5 USB cables and 2 car chargers (all 1A) for like $25, shipped.
Edit: QFT
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yeah, i'm with you, that's why i posed to see if there was something i'm missing and didn't know about. i'm a computer engineer so i know a cable is a cable is a cable, which is why i was like wtf when these didn't work the same.
thanks all, at least i know i didn't miss something and these should work the same.
ive had this problem on every phone. takes forever to charge through usb.
A USB cable is a USB cable is a USB cable is a USB cable.
If you are doing seat of your pants checks on charging, etc, they are never going to be accurate. CPU usage, network usage, etc while the phone is charging will affect how quickly it does charge. The stock charger provides 1000mA to charge the device, if you are using it, or another app is doing something (downloading data, using cpu, etc) it will not charge as quickly because power is being drained as it is being charged.
There is too much that would cause a slower charge state that you can't compensate for by a seat of the pants judgement on charging.
Its all about the mA.
No, thats not a storm. Its just my Thunderbolt layin down this post.
I have the same issue. I have tried four different usb cables with the oem charger and only two charge normally, the oem and one that I had with an old phone that I put a mini to micro adapter on to fit. The other two, one actually micro one mini to micro adapted, charge extremely slow. Yes a cable is a cable, but given I use the oem charger, the only differing things are the cables.
For what it's worth, I hate to burst your bubbles but not all USB cables are equal. And, in fact, not all phones are optimized for USB cables. Just because a cable looks like a USB cable and works as a USB cable doesn't mean that it is ONLY a USB cable. There are quite a few devices out there that can be charged (albeit slowly) with a USB cable but can be charged quickly with a cable that you only think is a USB cable. Take the Nook Color, for instance. The cable that it comes with looks like a USB cable on all accounts, but it's not. I forget which (both are techniques currently used) but either it has extra pins or has a data pin repurposed to provide additional power so it can charge faster. There are quite a few devices out there that are like this, and it seems like the number of these devices just keep growing and growing.
Now these "non-USB" devices still support USB standards, and can be charged via USB standard cables. However, they are optimized for non-USB standards and charge faster with these non-USB cables.
I'm honestly not sure if our Thunderbolts are such a device or not, and if the cables that they come with are such cables. They very well could be, and what the OP claims goes along with that theory. But honestly, I simply do not know.
EDIT:
Oh, and one more example. Go take a look at the custom "USB" cables that Team Blackhat had made that can power Motorola devices in CWM without a battery in the device. This is yet another example of where a USB cable isn't a USB cable.
Having the data pins connected to 5v sources is part of the charger itself; it has nothing to do with the cable.
Every USB cable has 4 pins: two 5v+, a gnd and a 5v- if the second + and - aren't connected to a source in the charger, you will only get a 0.5A charge, and it will go slow. If the charger DOES have them connected, you get the full 1A, and a much faster charge.
If the charger or cable is anything different then it is not USB. End of story. I know some phones have extra pins in the USB location for video out, for example, but those don't interfere with the standard USB pins.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using Tapatalk
necosino said:
Every USB cable has 4 pins: two 5v+, a gnd and a 5v-
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Wrong, kinda. Check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nook_Color#USB_port
The Nook Color uses a modified connector with two depths. The first depth is compatible with micro-usb (5-conductor), while the second depth has 12 conductors. This change was made to increase the amount of power available to charge the larger battery of the Nook Color when using the included cable.
Because of this, the USB cable included with the Nook Color is physically incompatible with other devices employing standard micro-usb connectors. However, the Nook Color itself is physically compatible with standard micro-usb cords.
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Now I realize that calling this a "USB Cable" might be stretching the definition of "USB Cable" (hence the "wrong, kinda" comment) but more than likely, most people have no clue that one cable is different than another, so the end result is that, for all practical purposes, we DO have different types of USB cables.
necosino said:
Every USB cable has 4 pins: two 5v+, a gnd and a 5v- if the second + and - aren't connected to a source in the charger, you will only get a 0.5A charge, and it will go slow. If the charger DOES have them connected, you get the full 1A, and a much faster charge.
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Click to collapse
Close, but not quite.
The pins are +5, Ground, +D and -D. All power is drawn through the +5 and Ground lines. The D lines are used for data transfer.
Per the USB specifications, a device can only draw 100 mA without enumerating (negotiating via USB, implies both ends have "intelligence"). If it can enumerate, it can negotiate for up to 500 mA (e.g. plugged into a PC which has a "driver" which recognizes the phone).
There are also specifications for DCPs (Dedicated Charging Ports). For these, the D+ and D- pins (the center two in a full sized USB connector) on the charger must be connected together with no more than 200 Ohms. These ports must provide at least 500 mA, but can provide more (micro-USB connectors are rated to 1.8 A). That's how the phone knows it can draw more than 100 mA from a "dumb" power adapter.
The TB follows the USB charging spec. Here are some things that can happen.
If it's plugged into a charger which doesn't follow the USB spec (D+ and D- not connected together, these are fairly common), it can only draw 100 mA. It doesn't matter if you bought a "2.5 Amp USB charger," if the charger doesn't follow the spec, a device which does isn't supposed to draw more than 100 mA. That's enough to charge it very slowly when the screen is off and it's idling. If the phone is doing anything, the battery will actually be discharging. This is a problem which seems to be common with many car chargers. A lot of device will ignore the 100 mA spec limit, and draw whatever they can, which is why they will charge from an improper adapter.
It's plugged into a PC with no driver - same thing.
It's plugged into a PC with a driver - it can negotiate and pull 500 mA. This is enough to charge while running in almost all cases (it might be on the edge if streaming video via 4G with GPS on, etc.) It will charge, but not as fast as it could.
For all of the above, a TB will show "USB" as the charging type.
It's plugged into a USB DCP. By spec, these must be able to deliver at least 500 mA. The AC adapter shipped with the TB is marked 1.0 A, and the phone won't draw more than 1.0 A (the most I've seen it use to charge the battery is ~800 mA). This will allows the fastest charging. With a DCP, the TB will show "AC" as the charging type.
Cables can have the same effect - all USB cables are supposed to be basically the same. But, some manufacturer's play loose with the spec. They may have "USB" cables with resistors or other changes inside which signal different things to a device. They may not have proper gauge wiring. It may just be a bad cable. Etc.
I've charged the TB with the stock AC charger using both the stock cable, and one I got from Monoprice. Works fine. I've also got a USB hub I converted to a charging station (follows the spec for USB dedicated charging ports), and that works fine with both the original and the Monoprice cables.
I have run into "flaky" cables, where they only work right if jiggled around a bit. Maybe they've been flexed too much, and have an intermittent connection. Maybe the contacts have gotten dirty. I don't worry about it, I just throw those away, you can get new ones from Monoprice for less than a buck.
Thanks Mike S (Also my initials, lol) That's what I get for posting after staying up a bit too late.
well i just ordered two micro usb cables from monoprice. we'll see if those fare any better.
the only thing i can guess is the power wires are a small gauge in the cables i bought from amazon. monoprice has two different kinds, some use 28awg for both data/power and then they have some that have 24awg for power and 28awg for data. i'm hoping that getting the bigger wire for the power will solve the issue.
also, i've been using juiceplotter and you can visibly see the slope of the charge change when switching just between these cables i bought vs the stock one when using the HTC charger so i'm pretty certain it's the cable.
roppetty said:
i've been using juiceplotter
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Battery Monitor Widget will do that, and more, including telling you whether it's charging AC or USB.
You can also check the charging type from Home Settings/About Phone/Battery/Battery Status.
Hey y'all,
I was in the AT&T store the other day getting a replacement for my wall charger (it died and they replaced it under the warranty, nice guys) and they told me not to use any other USB cable with my phone because the Motorola one is special.
They say it charges faster and maybe does other things better too, although they didn't really say what else. Is there any truth to this, or were they just trying to sell more cables?
they are trying to sell more cables...
I got a cable from ebay for my car with a 90 degree tip so i can charge the phone while using it as a navigation device. it surely wasn't a Motorola cable but works great. I have also used other peoples chargers and cables, I think I had an issue only once where I borrowed the cable from a friend and the cable didn't want to charge, don't know what that was about, didn't play with it enough to figure it out, may have been a defective cable. but basically it comes down to, the charger is putting out 5 volts, if the cable carries all 5 volts to the device and doesn't loose any, it will work fine. Also there are only 2 pins in the cable that are used for charging, one for (-) and one for (+). those pins are all the same for every usb charger or a computer. also phones with that type connector are wired to receive the charge only through those 2 pins. Thus, all of them are made the same. The only thing that manufacturers will do is change the gauge of the wire being used in the cable, but with a 3 foot long cable, and only 1amp of power maximum traveling through it, it just doesn't matter
hope I was some kind of help to you...
Hey! I was also thinking that in my mind but couldn't express. I thought everyone will think I'm getting crazy! Buy my atrix full charges in just 1.5/1.45 hours with the Motorola's Official Wall Charger & USB Cable. I haven't seen any phone that charges that fast! The battery backup of this phone is awesome! 2days with moderate use & 4.5 days with normal use. Aweomeeeeeee!
I use the Factory cable at home, and an old Blackberry cable at work. No difference in the USB cables performance.
Hi,
Yes, nothing magic...
The Motorola wall plug is 850mA output, a PC USB port is UP TO 500mA and for example the IPhone one (square one) is 1000mA.
So the charging time will be shorter with the IPhone one, then the Motorola and finally the USB port.
As I have already say in another thread, I have connect the +5V of my power supply directly on the USB port, so now, no problem !
Now you know !
Ok, So I figured USB cables were pretty straight forward, but apparently i'm wrong, so maybe some of you can shed some light on this?
I have purchased several of those external battery type things to carry around when I need extra juice and am away from power for an extended time and I have found the following regarding cables very odd..
With the stock samsung wall charger/cable I get around 1000ma charge rate. Good...
If I take the above cable and use it with an external battery device I get 500ma.. Bad...
If I use the coiled cable that comes with the external battery I get 800ma charge rate.. Huh?
If I use the short straight cable that comes with the external battery I get 900ma charge rate.. Double Huh?
The external battery has a 1000ma charging port that I am using. (as well as a 2A)
When traveling around i'd like to bring just 1 cable instead of many cables each for a different device as these are all Micro USB and supposed to be standard, and I realized that some cables have the data pins shorted for extra power above an beyond the "standard" 500ma charge from a computer USB port.
What I don't get is how some of the cables deliver more than the normal 500ma from one device but not the other? Either the extra pins are shorted or not?
I know some of you will say who cares about 500ma or 1000ma, but I am using a 5400mah battery in my Note, and 5 hours vs 10 hours recharge time is a pretty big difference.
I just want one long cable that will charge at close to 1000ma from anything
While I don't know a great deal about USB cables, I do know that even our stock cables are cheap at best.
A year or so ago, I had an HTC cable go bad and decided to buy a high capacity cable.
I went online , to monstercable.com and found a 6 foot long brute..
It was nearly double the wire strand size, and used gold plated connections.
I could charge my phone in just under an hour ...using my stock HTC adapter.
I'm convinced that the resistance in the cable is your main issue. And a quality cable will solve it.
I paid $29.00 for the cable plus shipping, and I still use it today ....g
None of my micro USB cables will charge my E970 without a "slow charging" notification except for the cable that came with the phone. Even the venerable 6' monoprice cable isn't up to the task. HTC cords aren't cutting it, either. Does anybody have any 6'+ (ideally a 10') micro B cables that will charge the phone without slow charging? My monoprice 6' cables (i have a bunch) barely keep the phone from losing charge when serving up LTE hotspot, where as the LG cable charges it whilst doing whatever I can to suck down as much current as possible.
Also, I really don't want to short data cables. Somehow the stock LG cable does full current while maintaining data capability, and that's what I'm looking for.
DeathmonkeyGTX said:
None of my micro USB cables will charge my E970 without a "slow charging" notification except for the cable that came with the phone. Even the venerable 6' monoprice cable isn't up to the task. HTC cords aren't cutting it, either. Does anybody have any 6'+ (ideally a 10') micro B cables that will charge the phone without slow charging? My monoprice 6' cables (i have a bunch) barely keep the phone from losing charge when serving up LTE hotspot, where as the LG cable charges it whilst doing whatever I can to suck down as much current as possible.
Also, I really don't want to short data cables. Somehow the stock LG cable does full current while maintaining data capability, and that's what I'm looking for.
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OEM LG cables can be found almost anywhere used so that shouldn't be a problem. Otherwise, you may be looking at the wrong end of the cable. I have a spare tablet plug charger that puts out up to 2 amps and that seems to be what works best for me no matter what the cable. You might want to look for one of those instead of just buying more cables.
FWIW....I had the opposite result. The cable and adapter which has been near my bedside for the last year (for my HTC EVO 4G) kept giving me the slow charging notification on my me LGOG. If I used the LG adapter and cable all was well, but it was shorter than I wanted. I changed out the adapter and kept the older long cable and still got the slow charging notification. It seems most of my existing cables have this issue...even when using the new LG adapter.
I have not looked into power capacities on the usb cables since I charge each night and don't need to recharge during the day. Didn't expect there to be a throughput difference, but the new LG cable does seem to be different.
Sent from my LG-E970
What is the part number for the oem charger and USB cable?
I use a Samsung charging cable with my LG plug and it charges regularly. I love the Samsung cable because the mirco-usb plug is asymmetric so I always plug it in correctly the first time, every time. Even in the dark. The cable is pretty long too. I don't use the Samsung plug because it only outputs 0.7A though.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0049IE70I/ref=wms_ohs_product
I also use a cheapo USB male to female extender that I got off eBay at my gf's place and it charges just fine too.
I'm having the opposite problem, I have had my phone for a month, out of no where the original charger is throwing up slow charging icon. Wierd
Sent from my LG-E970 using xda app-developers app
ripbabey said:
I'm having the opposite problem, I have had my phone for a month, out of no where the original charger is throwing up slow charging icon. Wierd
Sent from my LG-E970 using xda app-developers app[/QU
Same problem here, just started about a week ago. It doesn't matter what cable I use it keeps switching between slow charge and regular charge.It charges without problems when the phone is off though. Also when I plug my phone into my pc it keeps disconnecting every few minutes. I'm starting to think its a problem with the phone itself and not the charger or cord as they work fine with all my other devices just not the Optimus G
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I use all sorts of cables and so far the only time I see "Slow charging" is when it's plugged into my laptop or one of my USB hub. Those are the only times I could narrow mine down to.
In the car I use cheapo monoprice cable and charger, in the bedroom it's using the charger and cable from my HTC inspire. By my PC I have a Belkin 6 plug 2 usb wall charger installed with the stock cable, and at the office an iPhone 1G wall plug. I don't think I have even plugged in the oem charger that came with it.
I'm looking for a good QC 2.0 cable that is either equal or better than the stock cable. I'd like it to be at least 6 ft. Any suggestions?
xxSHADYxx said:
I'm looking for a good QC 2.0 cable that is either equal or better than the stock cable. I'd like it to be at least 6 ft. Any suggestions?
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Click to collapse
Portapow make one:
www dot portablepowersupplies dot co dot uk/portapow-20awg-fast-charge-sync-micro-usb-cable/
Not available on there yet, but they are on Amazon US: Search for PortaPow Specialised 3.3ft 20AWG Charge Only Micro USB Cable for Blackberry, or item code B00RL68RNS
(Sorry about the url formatting - I'm too new to be able to post them)
If the Cable does Charge ONLY, then it wont work for QC charging......QC charging requires the cable to have both power and data.....
I've been using mono price premium cables. Turbo charger charges noticeably faster then a standard charger. Never compared vs the stock cable
I have been using these by media bridge. Have had them for a while, before I had my nexus. Works great and nice quality, seems to charge as fast if not faster.
Mediabridge USB 2.0 - Micro-USB to USB Cable (6 Feet) - High-Speed A Male to Micro B with Gold-Plated Connectors - 2 Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KLI62BM/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_gQGdvb0BNNAYF
I'm using an extra cable from a GS4 wall charger. They are long. Don't know why nexus devices ship with such short cables.
Edit: official Samsung GS4 wall chargers are on amazon for like 9 dollars.
Search is your friend
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/accessories/usb-cable-quick-charge-2-0-t3013942
Anker hands down is the best and it has a warranty and customer service to back it. Not all cables are created equal.
http://www.amazon.com/Anker%C2%AE-Extra-Premium-Android-Samsung/dp/B00MLP3JMS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427076204&sr=8-3&keywords=anker+micro+usb
I picked up one of the anker ones and i am impressed with its build quality! I cant really tell if it charges at the same rate as the stock cable, but it doesnt feel terribly slow or extremely fast. Im very happy with it though!
I second Anker. I have two 5ft and work just fine with quick charger.
interesting...I always thought that the QC ability came from the wall connector..not the actual cable. I used regular plain jane cables with my QC wall adapter, and they worked just as well as the one that came with the phone...hrmm
Tower1972 said:
interesting...I always thought that the QC ability came from the wall connector..not the actual cable. I used regular plain jane cables with my QC wall adapter, and they worked just as well as the one that came with the phone...hrmm
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It's built into the phone and the charger. The cable has little to do with it. Other than that all of the pins must be connected, no charge-only cables. The device and charger have to agree on the voltage, and they talk over the data pins to do that. That way, the QC chargers don't destroy devices that can't handle the extra voltage. The thicker power wires have a lower voltage drop, which is nice, and very important for non-QC devices. For QC it's less important, but if they are available, get them. I happened to already have the ones I'm using, so I tried them. They work great.
I'm using a 5' cable from amazon (bought a while ago) and a 5' extension cable from an old USB WiFi adapter I think. Quick charge still shows up and charges real fast.