[Q] Satnav and battery life - Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

(I thought I asked this recently but can't find the post)
OK ... first off GPS / Nav works.
The issue is first off in car use cigarette plug charger, when as a phone only (or playing music via BT) all OK .. battery keeps topped up.
However if I use SatNav the battery cannot keep up .... even though it says charging it slowly discharges ..
I read here some car adapters don't give out full mA current, (that SGS can take) to be 100% sure, I went and bought a 1.5A USB adapter and still the same ... no problem until I switch on SatNav ... then it starts draining ... a couple of % every 15min.
I assume this is simply down to screen taking so much current .... but in very simple terms the phone should be able to keep up via charge when SatNav is enabled.
Anybody got a fix for this ? (screen dimming is enabled)

Ok seems that I am not the only one that is seeing this.
I've owned the S2 for a week and it feels very weird coming from HTC products.
It charges sloooooooow. Also I noticed that battery monitor shows weird values were on the Desire HD it was giving rock solid logical numbers in aspect of Voltage and current.
The s2 sometimes gives me 80% at 3,952 Volts and after a 40min drive 78% and ... 4,012 Volts. It is not stable at all
Just checking the stats in the batt monitor tool.
23:21 at 70% and 3,986 Volts while at 9:00 at 82% and 3,981 Volts.
It doesn't make any sense at all to me
From what I have read is that the charging controller of the S2 is only capable to charge up to a rate of 650mA while the HTC charged at 1000mA (0,65A vs 1A).
Now today I switched off wifi while driving and then it seemed to be very slowly charging. Give that a try and let us know.

Different types of chargers charge at different rates. Mains charges at 650mA, but USB and misc are around 450/550mA. If you're rooted you can change the charging currents in ExTweaks/Voltage Control/setCPU/whatever, however USB is limited as to what it can output anyway, and if you try and force too high a current through, things start to fry.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA

You would not use a Mains charger when using SatNa
It would be a basic requirement that SatNav use in car would be able to keep charged with a USB charger.?
As the same micro USB port is used, how does, phone know its not on Mains?
In answer to above Q ..Wifi is off, I always turn it off when I enable BT.

Sargan said:
You would not use a Mains charger when using SatNa
It would be a basic requirement that SatNav use in car would be able to keep charged with a USB charger.?
As the same micro USB port is used, how does, phone know its not on Mains?
In answer to above Q ..Wifi is off, I always turn it off when I enable BT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, that is an 'easy' one. The chargers 'shorten' the 2 data lines.
I've placed shorten between brackets because it doesn't do any harm at all.
I've you install battery monitor you can actually see 'usb connected' or 'ac charging'
As always using waze on my trip to work which takes about 50min.
Started at 58% and went up to 65% when I arrived.

lukesan said:
OK, that is an 'easy' one. The chargers 'shorten' the 2 data lines.
I've placed shorten between brackets because it doesn't do any harm at all.
I've you install battery monitor you can actually see 'usb connected' or 'ac charging'
As always using waze on my trip to work which takes about 50min.
Started at 58% and went up to 65% when I arrived.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a simple Q then (maybe I'm naive) .. I am not using USB data port to charge, but a car USB charger point (no chance of any data)
Would charger manufacturers not have this 'short; in place as they are making chargers only ?
If not can you provide any details how to do this ... chargers have plenty of current, be good to get phone to use what it can of this.

dont know how to fix your issue but just to let you know its normal for the phone. Im always on my sat nav with a car charger and never been issues with losing any power. Quite often it comes off charge with more than it was plugged in with.

Hmmm.... I'm using original Blackberry car charger for both BB 9700 and SGS 2.
Yes, it charges slow, but with BT and GPS on it does gain on charge/percentage.

Sargan said:
Here is a simple Q then (maybe I'm naive) .. I am not using USB data port to charge, but a car USB charger point (no chance of any data)
Would charger manufacturers not have this 'short; in place as they are making chargers only ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They should have but unfortunately they often seem to 'forget' it
If not can you provide any details how to do this ... chargers have plenty of current, be good to get phone to use what it can of this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have attached two photos showing an adapter I fixed myself. Look at the image 'charger-bottom-side.jpg' and notice the red circle. Within this circle you can see the short between the two data lines (D+ and D-). The short is simply a drop of tin-solder.

Sargan said:
Here is a simple Q then (maybe I'm naive) .. I am not using USB data port to charge, but a car USB charger point (no chance of any data)
Would charger manufacturers not have this 'short; in place as they are making chargers only ?
If not can you provide any details how to do this ... chargers have plenty of current, be good to get phone to use what it can of this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said in my post. Install battery monitor and see if it says 'usb charging' or ac charging

lukesan said:
As I said in my post. Install battery monitor and see if it says 'usb charging' or ac charging
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which app is this (devleoper name ?)... and I'll get it ... just looked on market ... and there are 5 apps with this name.

Sargan said:
Which app is this (devleoper name ?)... and I'll get it ... just looked on market ... and there are 5 apps with this name.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3C

Sargan said:
Which app is this (devleoper name ?)... and I'll get it ... just looked on market ... and there are 5 apps with this name.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have now purchased a new lead and charger (to be sure)
Running the App it shows "Charging AC Plugged"
It cannot keep up with current demand when Bluetooth & GPS active ... slowly discharges.

I have had the S2 for about a month now.
Seems like Sygic is the only GPS soft which I tried that doesn't hit the cpu 100% all the time.
I did a test over the weekend and with everything 'on' it slowly charged the phone.

yes
yeah, battery monitor will let you know that.
also suffered from this in the past

I have had the discharge problem using sat nav (Copilot live premium) and a car charger (various car chargers actually). Stock S2 with generic UK firmware. The problem exists on 4.03 and 4.04 - not sure about previous GB as updated to ICS as soon as I bought the phone.
I have found that if I apply battery save mode and turn down the screen brightness the charge just about holds station.
But the strangest thing I have found, although reading around I have not seen it mentioned elsewhere, is that if I enable mobile data the phone charges just fine whilst using sat nav. The problem only arises when I disable the data connection. This came to my attention whilst abroad where I deactivated data to avoid preposterous roaming charges.
This rather implies to me that something is trying to use the mobile data connection when it is deactivated and is causing battery drain when it can't. This could be any app of course, but the problem only rears its head when I use the sat nav (power hungry) with the mobile data turned off.
Has anyone else noticed this? Any advice on narrowing down which app/process this might be would be welcome.

Sargan said:
I have now purchased a new lead and charger (to be sure)
Running the App it shows "Charging AC Plugged"
It cannot keep up with current demand when Bluetooth & GPS active ... slowly discharges.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for bumping into this thread but I think I can help.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think your question is:
-Battery charging cannot keep up with discharging rate while using GPS and Bluetooth.
Reason for this problem:
-This occurs because usb charging further is lower than charging via wall charger, hence the battery heroes discharging when the demand is higher than the charging rate.
Solution:
-we need to increase usb charging current to equals the Ac charging current
How is that possible:
1.Root access is needed. If you don't already have root access key me know
2.custom kernel needed.
-You need to flash one of, Siyah, Dorimanx or dream kernel.
-Any of these kernels has the option to increase usb charging current
-move to 3. If you are already running any of the listed kernels.
3.after flashing the custom kernel, install extweaks from market.
-open extweaks
-under "misc", change the charging current to option 3.
Done
lukesan said:
I have had the S2 for about a month now.
Seems like Sygic is the only GPS soft which I tried that doesn't hit the cpu 100% all the time.
I did a test over the weekend and with everything 'on' it slowly charged the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Swyped from my Samsung Galaxy SII

Jokesy said:
Reason for this problem:
-This occurs because usb charging further is lower than charging via wall charger, hence the battery heroes discharging when the demand is higher than the charging rate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong. Just read your own quote from Sargan's post:
Sargan said:
Running the App it shows "Charging AC Plugged"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jokesy said:
Solution:
-we need to increase usb charging current to equals the Ac charging current
How is that possible:
1.Root access is needed. If you don't already have root access key me know
2.custom kernel needed.
-You need to flash one of, Siyah, Dorimanx or dream kernel.
-Any of these kernels has the option to increase usb charging current
-move to 3. If you are already running any of the listed kernels.
3.after flashing the custom kernel, install extweaks from market.
-open extweaks
-under "misc", change the charging current to option 3.
Done
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I advise not to do that because:
It will not solve this problem as charging from AC is already detected by the device (see above).
The option is dangerous and will enable (if working at all) charging with the higher current limits from any USB port.

good to know

Jokesy said:
Sorry for bumping into this thread but I think I can help.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think your question is:
-Battery charging cannot keep up with discharging rate while using GPS and Bluetooth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually in my case when using sat nav it will charge with mobile data enabled, but will discharge (whilst connected to the car charger/wall charger) without data enabled.

Related

full charge ~ 1 hr

has anyone else noticed how quickly this phone charges? I just wanted to give some props to HTC.. I forgot to plug in the phone last night, and when I woke up this morning it was 0% dead. I plugged it in, and got ready for work, an hour later when I had to leave for work, it was at 96%!!
hell ya
Nice, haven't really paid much attention actually.
All I can say is that the ReZound is everything the my Thunderbolt should've been, including the battery charge and life.
Hmm.. I mainly just charge in my car & it seems like it takes forever(close to 3 hours). I spend most of my time driving otherwise i'd plug it into the wall and see. I guess it also doesn't help that the phone is also always being used while charging to.
However, battery life wise, it lasts 2 - 3 of constant use before it dies.
voxigenboy said:
Hmm.. I mainly just charge in my car & it seems like it takes forever(close to 3 hours). I spend most of my time driving otherwise i'd plug it into the wall and see. I guess it also doesn't help that the phone is also always being used while charging to.
However, battery life wise, it lasts 2 - 3 of constant use before it dies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will take longer to charge from a USB port and a car charger....won't take nearly as long when plugged into the wall. Just an fyi
Sent from my Inc HD
yeah, the motorola car charger or the htc one seem to be the best bet..you have to look at amps.
most ****ty car chargers are like 500ma, which will take like 3-4 hours to charge..you have to get the ones that match the AC charger, so around 1amp (1000ma) and you're set. the motorola is the closest i've seen, at like 950ma or so. charges it pretty well.
i have the motorola p513 rapid car charger & that's the one that seems to take forever. i've also got a 400watt power inverter & have tried just using the cable & wall plug that came with the phone and it doesn't seem to make much difference either. i've tried it in both the limo and my van... i know it's not a problem battery-wise with the van as there's 6 car batteries in it.
shazbot!...
I have the extended battery for mine, it seems to go from 10% to 100% in about four hours. I think for most phones it'd about three hours or so for a stock battery. So it looks like it does charge faster for me as well.
sent from my rezound that is waiting for permanent root
I ran my phone till it died today. I have had it on the charger for 1 1/2 hours, still barely 50%, I think you were on crack man. I was charging the phone with it off for the first hour too.
AtLemacks said:
I ran my phone till it died today. I have had it on the charger for 1 1/2 hours, still barely 50%, I think you were on crack man. I was charging the phone with it off for the first hour too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i used to have this problem until i found there was a difference between charging cables and chargers. I dont mean the amperage size, i mean, some chargers/cables put your phone into USB charging mode, which is much much slower than AC charging.
THere is an app on the market called 'current widget' that can tell your charge rate. I used it on an older phone that was compatible with the widget (rooted rommed and cust kernel) and found that the charger I was using wasnt "AC" charging my phone, even though it was an AC charger. I went through a couple of cable charger combinations until i found the ones that worked right.
I have a USB car charger too (the kind you just plug a USB cable into). Using the widget i found that the USB cable I was using in my car was not 'AC' Charging the phone, and as a result, if i used navigation or anything like that, the phone would deplete power faster than it was getting it. I changed cables and problem was solved.
You can download the widget and use it on the rezound, but it does not update correctly, nor does it seem to be as accurate as it should.
For example, if I am not charging the phone, it should say "0 mA, but it does not. I have noticed though that when I am getting a good charge, the charging rate does show an increased rate, and because I am failure with the app, ive used it to confirm the charging rates.
You can try to download the app and run it. Plug in your phone, and look at the 'mA'. While its not charging it will be ~100 or so. during charging it should be up in the 500-600 range. but the app does not update as fast as it should, so you have to let it sit a bit before the number will change (normally it changes in realtime) but after charging for 5 min or so , if you still see numbers <200 you are not charging at the optimal rate. Try a new charger / cable.
I have 6 chargers, lol. All of them are 850mA chargers.
Here's a screenshot from this morning, I went to bed with at at 5%, and looks like it was full charged within 2 hours time. Not bad!
msticlaru said:
i used to have this problem until i found there was a difference between charging cables and chargers. I dont mean the amperage size, i mean, some chargers/cables put your phone into USB charging mode, which is much much slower than AC charging.
THere is an app on the market called 'current widget' that can tell your charge rate. I used it on an older phone that was compatible with the widget (rooted rommed and cust kernel) and found that the charger I was using wasnt "AC" charging my phone, even though it was an AC charger. I went through a couple of cable charger combinations until i found the ones that worked right.
I have a USB car charger too (the kind you just plug a USB cable into). Using the widget i found that the USB cable I was using in my car was not 'AC' Charging the phone, and as a result, if i used navigation or anything like that, the phone would deplete power faster than it was getting it. I changed cables and problem was solved.
You can download the widget and use it on the rezound, but it does not update correctly, nor does it seem to be as accurate as it should.
For example, if I am not charging the phone, it should say "0 mA, but it does not. I have noticed though that when I am getting a good charge, the charging rate does show an increased rate, and because I am failure with the app, ive used it to confirm the charging rates.
You can try to download the app and run it. Plug in your phone, and look at the 'mA'. While its not charging it will be ~100 or so. during charging it should be up in the 500-600 range. but the app does not update as fast as it should, so you have to let it sit a bit before the number will change (normally it changes in realtime) but after charging for 5 min or so , if you still see numbers <200 you are not charging at the optimal rate. Try a new charger / cable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know current widget shows how much your phone is using right? It never says 0mA when your phone is charging because your phone is using current when it is in use. It never goes to zero at any time actually unless your phone is dead.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
joshnichols189 said:
You know current widget shows how much your phone is using right? It never says 0mA when your phone is charging because your phone is using current when it is in use. It never goes to zero at any time actually unless your phone is dead.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is not the way it worked with the droid charge with a custom kernel. It showed your charging current. or more accurately, the amount of current that was going to the battery for charging. When the charger was unplugged, it showed 0mA.
Maybe we are talking about different apps
that is really fast. I wonder if that is why some of them are overheating and going into bootloops...
nrfitchett4 said:
that is really fast. I wonder if that is why some of them are overheating and going into bootloops...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point... They may not be regulating the rate they are charging properly.
Wait aren't our wall chargers one amp? Why's it showing around 600 ma?
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA App
jayochs said:
Wait aren't our wall chargers one amp? Why's it showing around 600 ma?
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
even with a 2amp wall charger I bought on amazon, my phones never get above about 600mah charge.
joshnichols189 said:
You know current widget shows how much your phone is using right? It never says 0mA when your phone is charging because your phone is using current when it is in use. It never goes to zero at any time actually unless your phone is dead.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hehe... That "Current Widget"... When I use my Belkin USB car charger dongle, it fluctuates between 100 - 300mA... When I use my Power Inverter, it's 400 - 900(depending if the engine I'd running or not.
The bizarre thing though, is when it's not even plugged in/charging, the widget still shows mA fluctuations and makes me wonder if the thing is even working or not.
Alright peeps, I just got this Belkin 2.1amp (2100mA) usb car dongle "rapid charger" from Walmart. The packaging says it's for tablets so I'll see how it holds up against the mighty Rezound.

Charger / USB cable variability and problems

The forums are all filled with comments from (more or less experienced) people complaining that recharging their S3 might be at times strange with a certain ROM or another - and while maybe 10% of the time that might be indeed the case, in 90% of the cases it boils down to problems with CHARGERS and USB CABLES.
Right now it seems that the amount of power used for recharging is controlled primarily by S3 itself using at least 3 levels - of which at least two can be fine-tuned in software (and some kernels expose those features).
There is an "AC charger level" (set around 1000 mA), an "USB level" (set around 500 mA since USB1/2 standard does specify that) and a 3rd "low level / safety level" which seems to be around 50-100 mA.
The S3 seems to be choosing the level based on BOTH the charger and the USB cable used - and I have seen the same charger showing a different level with different USB cables, and the same USB cable showing a different level with different chargers. I have even seen one AC charger that with a very specific cable (not the one bundled with it) was showing "charging/USB" inside the S3, while all other cables on the same charger were showing "charging A/C".
So when your S3 charges very-very slowly your very first check should be with another USB cable, and second check should be from a different charger or USB port - instead of posting same questions again and again around here
IMHO the absolute safest charging combination right now is with the original Samsung USB cable from the USB port (ideally in a good notebook - good notebooks have very effective USB protection, and some - like the Thinkpad models - have an USB port that can power something even when the notebook is stopped, and with one extra BIOS setting even when the notebook is stopped and not connected to A/C)! This is not the fastest charging combination - and with an extended battery it might take like 9 hours for a full-full charge (4 hours with normal battery) - but is most likely the safest (simple) one! Also by charging with a smaller current the heat generated is (much) smaller and the "aging" of the battery is drastically reduced.
If you are in a huge-huge hurry you might want to use the original Samsung A/C charger plus the original Samsung USB cable, but don't "overdo it" by trying forced/exotic solutions/chargers - we even have an entire thread around here at XDA with "sudden death" cases - most of them observed in the morning after the i9300 was left overnight in some A/C charger
EDIT:
Also if you see a very-very slow charge (or even a discharge) while you are "charging" but you have the screen ON and the CPUs running at full speed you should know that is possibly normal - since screen ON + CPU at 100% is draining more than 500 mA (= probably most of, or more than you are getting from the cable); try to lock the phone or even power it off, and then after 20 minutes see if the battery is better and by how much.
EDIT2:
As a far later step if everything else fails you should also check if the pins inside the USB connector in the S3 are not bent in any way, but that is slightly more advanced and might not be perfectly fixed without replacing the connector.
Also if your phone has other serious hardware problems (cracked screen or so) you should mention that first.
EDIT3:
My stuff above was "educated guess" - now we also have 'hard technical data":
http://www.maximintegrated.com/app-notes/index.mvp/id/4803#5
Nice topic thanks for comprehensive content. I have been experiencing slow charges since i get my S3. I read about a guy, whos charging cable is officially changed by Sammy with a 5-pinned one, and fortunalately found a same type of cable. Since i started using that cable full charges take approximately 2 hours while using the original one results in 4 hours or so.. I also informed my local samsung service about the issue but they refused my explanations saying that there is no such an official report about the faulty original cables.
I was frustrated about dischages while playing games when the phone is plugged in. IMO this is one of the biggest fail for a phone to be discharged while plugged in.. But now it is completely fixed.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
ggnoplay said:
Nice topic thanks for comprehensive content. I have been experiencing slow charges since i get my S3. I read about a guy, whos charging cable is officially changed by Sammy with a 5-pinned one, and fortunalately found a same type of cable. Since i started using that cable full charges take approximately 2 hours while using the original one results in 4 hours or so.. I also informed my local samsung service about the issue but they refused my explanations saying that there is no such an official report about the faulty original cables.
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The math is just right - 2000 mAh battery = 500 mA * 4 hours = 1000 mA * 2 hours.
My original usb + charger takes 5 to 8 hours and it has 5 pins !!!!
also I tried another 5 pins usb with the same original charger and it takes around 2:30 to 3:30 hours
So I need to buy a 5 pin usb one but how to guarantee it will work ????
xclub_101 said:
IMHO the absolute safest charging combination right now is with the original Samsung USB cable from the USB port (ideally in a good notebook - good notebooks have very effective USB protection, and some - like the Thinkpad models - have an USB port that can power something even when the notebook is stopped, and with one extra BIOS setting even when the notebook is stopped and not connected to A/C)! This is not the fastest charging combination - and with an extended battery it might take like 9 hours for a full-full charge (4 hours with normal battery) - but is most likely the safest (simple) one! Also by charging with a smaller current the heat generated is (much) smaller and the "aging" of the battery is drastically reduced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this... in one night i used to recharge my S3 with a Blackberry Charger. Guess what? The digitizer went up like crazy, started to write crazy stuff (just 'zeroes' 00000). i immediately dissconected the charged and the digitizer when back to normal.
zeromant said:
I agree with this... in one night i used to recharge my S3 with a Blackberry Charger. Guess what? The digitizer went up like crazy, started to write crazy stuff (just 'zeroes' 00000). i immediately dissconected the charged and the digitizer when back to normal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I have also seen something similar once with a very bad low-cost Chinese charger.
I also wanted to add some "hard" info to this thread - my stuff above was "educated guess" but in the meantime the full info become available and I added a link below with it (coming recently from the Perseus kernel thread) - as it can be seen from there there are basically 3 modes (but with the first one by default starting in 100mA, so this one should be either 100 if something goes wrong or go to 500mA).
http://www.maximintegrated.com/app-notes/index.mvp/id/4803#5
This is a very informative post. Recently I have been experiencing weird battery behavior on my s3 as well and wanted to investigate further.
I have 2 original Samsung batteries and using an original Samsung OEM charger to charge my S3 and Grand i9082. (both uses same 2100mah battery)
Now both the batteries and the charger charges and holds the current fast and long in case of grand i9082. (gives me more than 24 hrs on average usage and almost a day with wifi, cellular data on for dual sim, along with moderate messaging and youtube) no Issues at all on both these batteries and charger.
On my s3 it's a different story.
In 2-3 hours the same batteries die if I watch a movie on s3, it goes from 100 to 10.
(on airplane mode. lowest brightness, maximum wakelocks restricted, google services frozen, Maximum CPU frequency down to 400mhz settings enabled)
if I use it just for calls and moderate messaging, it last 12 hrs.
on airplane and standby mode together, it goes on for 24 days.
weird thing is If the device goes below 30% battery and I plug in the AC charger, and use the phone, the battery would still be discharging instead of charging.
on safe mode, the battery will neither go up nor go down, no matter how long I keep using it while connected on charger, it would stay at the same 10%.
while if I plug in for charging while it's above 30%, and keep using it, it would be charging normally.
sometimes the s3 would treat the AC charger as a Normal USB cable, while if I remove and put it back again, it would show me charging/AC.
Now going through this post
"There is an "AC charger level" (set around 1000 mA), an "USB level" (set around 500 mA since USB1/2 standard does specify that) and a 3rd "low level / safety level" which seems to be around 50-100 mA."
Great find. actually. what I conclude from this post and in my case, the s3 while it goes below 30% it fails to charge/ or chooses not to charge on "AC charger level" and would always choose the "2nd USB level" or the "third low level", resulting in drain while using the device at the same time, while if left idle it would slowly charge on the 2nd and 3rd level until 30% then moving on to the actual AC charger level at 1000.
this issue I guess can be sorted out with some kernel side changes.
perhaps setting a lower Maximum boot CPU frequency (1000mhz?) and a lower default GPU frequency.(this can also sort out few heating issues) and lower default brightness level as well (or maybe not, it's just a hunch and I am no master myself.)
Anyways thanks for the useful input.

The Mega charging/discharging issues..

I love my Mega. It is by far the best phone Ive ever had. But, the problems I have with the power usage and management on the device are a total nightmare.
1) The discharging nightmare:
The battery lasts NOTHING. Basically I get about 5 hours of use.. maximum.. no matter what I do.. and I have slimmed down to the ROM to having that NOTHING active.. I literally am left with active 6 services and I monitor CPU usage that is always near zero with NO apps hogging resources. From what I monitor on the device's battery usage, it's clearly always about 90% from the display! And yes, I dim the screen as much as I can of course, but usually not below 1/2way.. I hate screens too dim. However even just on standby with the screen off I still lose about 5% to 8% of battery an hour. Worse, even with the device Powered OFF, I still lose about 20% of battery a day. The ONLY way I have found out to control battery drain completely, is to take the battery out. That's it. Anyone else with similar symptoms and a fix or, is just that the stock battery totally sucks??? Also, any other off brand batteries are any better?.. (not the fat ones rated at much higher amps but that have an extra bulge.. that I don’t want)..
2) The charging nightmare:
This to me is the worse problem. It is bad enough how quickly this device issues battery, bit not nearly as bad as trying to charge efficiently again. I now have tried 3 different chargers/brands (and cables) to try fix the charging problem that is, it takes HOURS and HOURS to charge the battery. I am talking 5 to 6 hours to get it charged and if the screen is on and Im using the device it actually charges NOTHING at all and still keeps discharging (albeit much slower of course)... the fact is that the charging process is so pathetically slow that is less than real-time which means, with the device connected to power supply, the battery STILL drains if I try use it. This is absurd. However, mysteriously enough I have found ONE way that charges the phone super fast.. using a SONY External Power Pack (model CP-F1L) rated at 2200mAh. This is seems crazy because the power output of an external power pack should be much lower than the stock (and other Samsung) USB chargers.. but, it's what works.. the ONLY thing that works. And I have noticed that when connected to a USB Power charger, the Mega's Red LED light turn on faded.. however, when connected to the SONY External Power Pack, is bright red. Clearly more juice going in.. or something like that. Again, anyone else with similar symptoms and a fix the charging time, or, any good recommendation on a extra strong USB power adapter/charger that will make this thing at least charge faster?
Thanks in advance for the input and advice:silly:
Sounds like something is not letting your phone sleep or the battery is defective. Try putting CPU spy on it and let it set for a while. Then check to see if it is getting into deep sleep or if it is even stuck at a certain frequency.
There is an app on the playstore called Galaxy charging. Try it to see what rate it is charging. Though with the rate your phone discharges, the charger may only being supplying an amount just over the drain rate which is why it takes so long to charge.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Yes this is not normal, I get five hours screen time on fifteen hours usage.
Sent from my GT-I9205 using Tapatalk 2
Yep, something wrong there. I'm stock and this thing won't quit :good:
I would flash the stock rom back into your phone and see how the battery works then as this not normal as mentioned by other members as I am still on the stock rom but rooted only and I have great battery life.
That is were to start by flashing the stock rom and if no change then battery or maybe a hardware problem.
Did you have good battery life before you starting flashing with the phone or did this occur after the stock rom was removed and custom rom with stuff removed to gain performance?
Sent from my SGH-I527M using xda app-developers app
Sometime i got 96% bug
Battry is fully charged = 100%
remove charger
Reboot device
Suddenly Battery become = 96%
ps000000 said:
Sometime i got 96% bug
Battry is fully charged = 100%
remove charger
Reboot device
Suddenly Battery become = 96%
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could try to remove the battery from the phone for about 5 secs and re-install and see it that helps as sometimes if you take the charger off as soon as it is done charging it might not show 100% at times when booting as I leave mine on for a bit longer and it seems to help..even though charge light is green..I leave it longer on.
If your phone is rooted get a app called battery calibrator from the google store as it is free and install it and just before you shut down the phone to charge wipe the battery stats with this app and then shutdown phone and fully charge and then see how the battery works after the battery stats wipe as that can usually help.
Sent from my SGH-I527M using xda app-developers app
,,
,,
..
Mad383Max said:
Sounds like something is not letting your phone sleep or the battery is defective. Try putting CPU spy on it and let it set for a while. Then check to see if it is getting into deep sleep or if it is even stuck at a certain frequency.
There is an app on the playstore called Galaxy charging. Try it to see what rate it is charging. Though with the rate your phone discharges, the charger may only being supplying an amount just over the drain rate which is why it takes so long to charge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip. Installed the app you recommend, now I understand better. With the stock Samsung USB charger I get 420 readings. With the other 2 chargers I get 500 and 540. However, with the Sony External Power Pack I get 1900!..no wonder it charges super fast with it! My question now is what's up with all the USB chargers I have? I even tried my old Galaxy Tab 7 charger (strongest rated charger I have) and still only feeds 480. This is all so bizarre. So, where to get a super strong charger for the Mega?
(sorry.. by whatever reason my reply got posted 4 times.. so strange. I try delete the first three but cant)..
VeEuzUKY said:
Thanks for the tip. Installed the app you recommend, now I understand better. With the stock Samsung USB charger I get 420 readings. With the other 2 chargers I get 500 and 540. However, with the Sony External Power Pack I get 1900!..no wonder it charges super fast with it! My question now is what's up with all the USB chargers I have? I even tried my old Galaxy Tab 7 charger (strongest rated charger I have) and still only feeds 480. This is all so bizarre. So, where to get a super strong charger for the Mega?
(sorry.. by whatever reason my reply got posted 4 times.. so strange. I try delete the first three but cant)..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Usually when this happens there is something wrong with the USB cable not necessarily the charger. Is the sony cable a USB type cable or a hard wired one? If it is USB type try using it with the other chargers and see what your results are.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Mad383Max said:
Usually when this happens there is something wrong with the USB cable not necessarily the charger. Is the sony cable a USB type cable or a hard wired one? If it is USB type try using it with the other chargers and see what your results are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes indeed I notice the Sony Power Pack cable is short and thick. The Samsung cable is long and thin. I get much higher charging power using the thick short cable. Maybe I need go shop for a proper longer/thicker cable.
VeEuzUKY said:
Yes indeed I notice the Sony Power Pack cable is short and thick. The Samsung cable is long and thin. I get much higher charging power using the thick short cable. Maybe I need go shop for a proper longer/thicker cable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've certainly found the USB cable makes a big difference to the charging speed. I got a couple of 2m cables off Ebay and they're hopelessly slow, but the stock Samsung cable is fast. I just wish it was a bit longer!
I have the same issue
I have the Sprint Mega. Not refurbished and original factory state but I have horrific charge/discharge issues. Right now, my phone just got to 100% charge which I then unplugged the charge cable. Within 5 mins, I went from 100% to 96% and it is losing battery even quicker.
VeEuzUKY: It's been a while but do you still have this phone? Any updates? I should prob invest in a thicker USB cable like you've describe. It has the most charge rate.
I got my mega 6.3 last week. Since then it has said 100% charged... even when charging or dead. So I got a new battery thinking it was the battery but its obviously not and im not sure what it is that could be the problem. Im not sure if its crucial for my phone, if it can be fixed easily and cheaply, or if I need to return my phone to the place I bought it from.

[Q] Charging not strong enough?

Hello,
when the tablet was in the charger with 1000 mAh and my GF was playing plant vs zombies 2, it was not enough and was dead in 2 hours. So I put there the official charger 1500 mAh but then still it was not enough and was dead again.
Right now I tried to turn off the Location, Wi-Fi and she is playing. But is this normal??? Jesus you should be able to play with all the functions turned on and in the charger, not???
Edit: so it was emptied again even with everything off...
Edit2: i will try the origin cable because I used a different one
Stirius said:
Hello,
when the tablet was in the charger with 1000 mAh and my GF was playing plant vs zombies 2, it was not enough and was dead in 2 hours. So I put there the official charger 1500 mAh but then still it was not enough and was dead again.
Right now I tried to turn off the Location, Wi-Fi and she is playing. But is this normal??? Jesus you should be able to play with all the functions turned on and in the charger, not???
Edit: so it was emptied again even with everything off...
Edit2: i will try the origin cable because I used a different one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did it show the charging icon while she was playing the game? I'm curious if it might be plugged but not recognizing that it should be drawing power from the charger...
Because charging cables are differently wired, you MUST either use the original cable or a cable which is definitely known to have the same wiring as the original one.
hasenbein1966 said:
Because charging cables are differently wired, you MUST either use the original cable or a cable which is definitely known to have the same wiring as the original one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Differently wired how? I didn't realize there were wiring differences, please elaborate if you can, feel free to get technical.
I tried plugging my Z2 Tablet into a USB cable from a powered hub (computer off though), which I've used to charge my phone and my Kindle, and I know it wouldn't have much power, but it wouldn't charge at all, no charging icon, nothing. I've had no trouble charging it with a dedicated charger though.
~Troop
So yes,
1. the charging icon is there
2. I even logged the history and during playing the plant vs zombies 2, the power is oscilating around +- the same level but still going down slowly as a trend
3. I tried today to get the power back to 25% and now I am charging it. I have the battery widget where it shows getting mA about 390 to 890 maximum. But even it is the original charger, original cable and the charger is 1500 mA it seems that the maximum level is 890???
Can someone else try Batter monitor widget what they get from it???
Edit:
It sucks. It announced even today DURING charging from the original charger and cable that the charging is not strong enough. Wtf?
Edit2:
Here they say it is charged under 3 hours. Not my case :-/ http://www.digitalversus.com/tablet/sony-xperia-z2-tablet-p19609/test.html
Ha, that is really funny. I am from the Czech Republic and called the Sony support. They forwarded me to Xperia support. At Xperia support the girl said that she cannot provide me exact information because official release date here is 8th of April so she doesnt have the manuals etc.
Then my type is 511E3 which she again was absolutely no aware what is the type because I should have 621 or maybe 521 but not 511.
So I can try the support line next week with the question how many mA should go to the tablet during charging.
But what she said was also that the charging time could be up to 6:20. But more than 6 hours? Maybe it was about the Z1 model? And also told me that playing games with the charger will still result in draining the battery.
I need some other guys here who can test it with playing some games and check the mA during charging...
I don't have a Z2, but just wanted to mention that cnet saw the same (no charge while playing) in their review: "[..] the tablet lost power even when it was plugged in to the mains" http://www.cnet.com/products/sony-xperia-z2-tablet/2/.
I never experienced any of this. There's probably a problem with your unit.
zpon said:
I don't have a Z2, but just wanted to mention that cnet saw the same (no charge while playing) in their review: "[..] the tablet lost power even when it was plugged in to the mains" http://www.cnet.com/products/sony-xperia-z2-tablet/2/.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bbarou said:
I never experienced any of this. There's probably a problem with your unit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And have you tried to charge it during heavy playing of some game? Which game, how long?
Can you test how much mA are you getting from the charger inside the tablet (battery monitor widget can do this)
I tried it yesterday playing "The Cave" for about 1 hour. Tablet was charging using a four port no name charger and a different cable the that the one provided.
I did not really check for anything , I just noticed the tablet got mildly hot.
I did not measure the current while playing, but I did earlier this week-end though.
I tested 3 chargers plus the provided one. A Galaxy S III charger, An ASUS TF300 and the 4-port no-name I used yesterday.
If I recall correctly I got around 0.9A from the GS3 and original charger and around 1.2A from the TF300 and 4-port ones.
I do some more thorough testing and let you know. I use a device on the charger output to measure how much current is coming through.
How long do you guys charge the tablet? I started with about 19% and to full 100% it was like 7-8 hours. It was turned on without wifi (stamina mode). I will try to charge it while turned off but still it is strange...
I dont know. Battery life is ok but the charging sucks for me. Any ideas if it is just me?
Stirius said:
How long do you guys charge the tablet? I started with about 19% and to full 100% it was like 7-8 hours. It was turned on without wifi (stamina mode). I will try to charge it while turned off but still it is strange...
I dont know. Battery life is ok but the charging sucks for me. Any ideas if it is just me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yawn... Please use the charger and the cable which come with the device (which I bet my grandma on you didn't)! Other chargers or cable have either too low current or wrong wiring (which disables fast charging) or both.
The charging time over USB is 4-5 hours, like the first generation Tablet Z.
Yawn, yawn, if you took a look then you would read from this topic that I use original cable and original charger.
If the battery is 6600 mA and charger 1500 mA then the minimum for charging is 4,3 hours approximately. And as I said my maximum charging is 890 mA. So either something is taking 600 mA during the charging or the charger is bad or the cable is bad or I dont know.
But if it is in the stamina mode and still the maximum charging is 890 mA then something is weird.
I am asking now for about 5 times. Could somebody test during charging how many mA is going into the tablet? (You can use Battery Monitor Widget from google play).
Neither Xperia support is able to give me clear answer because the Tablet was not officially released here (which is funny, I have it).
Thank you.
Stirius said:
Yawn, yawn, if you took a look then you would read from this topic that I use original cable and original charger.
If the battery is 6600 mA and charger 1500 mA then the minimum for charging is 4,3 hours approximately. And as I said my maximum charging is 890 mA. So either something is taking 600 mA during the charging or the charger is bad or the cable is bad or I dont know.
But if it is in the stamina mode and still the maximum charging is 890 mA then something is weird.
I am asking now for about 5 times. Could somebody test during charging how many mA is going into the tablet? (You can use Battery Monitor Widget from google play).
Neither Xperia support is able to give me clear answer because the Tablet was not officially released here (which is funny, I have it).
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, then simply go and exchange the charger if it is faulty. No need to make long XDA threads out of that.
hasenbein1966 said:
Dude, then simply go and exchange the charger if it is faulty. No need to make long XDA threads out of that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not about charger. Or maybe it is. I want to know exactly how many mA are going to the tablet during charging. Nobody was able to give me the answer.It could be faulty charger, faulty cable, messy apps in the tablet (which I doubt) or whatever.
And Sony support, Xperia support is not able to give me clear answer to this. And also another guy in a review had similar problem. If we are in a Z2 Tablet topic then I supose that this is the right place to ask such questions... Not?
You can't just do 6600 divided by 1500. You are losing current all over the place when charging. It will probably be at least 50% wastage in heat, resistance in the wires etc etc. Also, the charger may say it does 1500, but that is peak when it's brand new under perfect conditions and the internal components will age and become less efficient over time too.
If you are using the tablet for a game, it will be running the processor at max power and drawing lots of current and all the heat it generates from the cpu and the battery during this time is wasted energy don't forget. If you want to battery to charge, you will need a charger that provides enough current to power the tablet and another 1000ma or so on top of that to charge your battery.
I bet Sony will state somewhere that you can only use it for low power activities like watching videos while on the dock if you want the battery to charge.
Sent from my GT-P5110 using Tapatalk
My portable power meter seems broken so I cannot give you actual current draw measured in series. All I can do is paste output from Battery Monitor Widget.
All tests done with the official USB cable bundled with the tablet and screen ON at minimum brightness. Screenshots from Battery Monitor Widget.
Code:
Battery only: -721 mA (-10.79%/h)
Official charger (1500mAh): +719 mA (+10.76%/h)
PC USB3 port: -48 mA ( -0.71%/h)
No-name Chinese AndroidPC Charger
Model LA-520 (2000mAh): +1060 mA (+15.86%/h)
Energy Sistem K128 Charger (2100mAh): +960 mA (+14.37%/h)
brugobo said:
My portable power meter seems broken so I cannot give you actual current draw measured in series. All I can do is paste output from Battery Monitor Widget.
All tests done with the official USB cable bundled with the tablet and screen ON at minimum brightness. Screenshots from Battery Monitor Widget.
Code:
Battery only: -721 mA (-10.79%/h)
Official charger (1500mAh): +719 mA (+10.76%/h)
PC USB3 port: -48 mA ( -0.71%/h)
No-name Chinese AndroidPC Charger
Model LA-520 (2000mAh): +1060 mA (+15.86%/h)
Energy Sistem K128 Charger (2100mAh): +960 mA (+14.37%/h)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot!
So it just means that in general with the original charger you are able to get to 10-13% per hour. So in average usage 9 hours of charging, heh. I saw yesterday (have to check it at home) that I had also around 20% per hour.
But in general these figures are normal and the usage of a battery with a little bit more heavy tasks is not very good. And charging can take a LONG time. I tried to charge it while turned off and I think you can get there below 6 hours.
Stirius said:
Thanks a lot!
So it just means that in general with the original charger you are able to get to 10-13% per hour. So in average usage 9 hours of charging, heh. I saw yesterday (have to check it at home) that I had also around 20% per hour.
But in general these figures are normal and the usage of a battery with a little bit more heavy tasks is not very good. And charging can take a LONG time. I tried to charge it while turned off and I think you can get there below 6 hours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mm.after read all of reply above, it is quite weird that only get 800mah while using 1500mah support charging cable? Maybe can try better quality of cable and also the power source, it is very crucial to get that. I have try some trial and error with different cables and charging with my galaxy s3, i find that with good quality of cable, i managed to get 1000mah max , but if using with cheap cable or power bank, i only managed to get 400-800mah. even after a long time using the original s3 cable, it will reduce to only 600mah. So my advice is try charging with different cable and find the best cable to charge ur device, if it is 1500mah supported, so i think it should be support to 1500mah. Thank you.
yonghong said:
mm.after read all of reply above, it is quite weird that only get 800mah while using 1500mah support charging cable? Maybe can try better quality of cable and also the power source, it is very crucial to get that. I have try some trial and error with different cables and charging with my galaxy s3, i find that with good quality of cable, i managed to get 1000mah max , but if using with cheap cable or power bank, i only managed to get 400-800mah. even after a long time using the original s3 cable, it will reduce to only 600mah. So my advice is try charging with different cable and find the best cable to charge ur device, if it is 1500mah supported, so i think it should be support to 1500mah. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it is not weird at all since the tests were done with the screen turned ON, draining half the power.
The first line, battery only, tells you how much the screen and semi idle state is draining, with brightness at minimum. Cranking brightness up to maximum increased an extra 2.5% per hour drain if I recall correctly.
Charging with screen off would be about 20% per hour, or 5 hours to fully recharge. More or less in line with what people is reporting.
Code:
Battery only: -721 mA (-10.79%/h)
Official charger (1500mAh): +719 mA (+10.76%/h)
So, 721+719= 1440 (+21%/h), pretty close to the rated 1500 for the charger.

[Q] how to get fast charge work?

For some reason my phone don't always use fast charging when I plug it in. Sometimes it will just say cable charging and takes couple hours to charge and some times it will say fast charge... Its really random.
Does anyone know why this is happening?
Using the 2.0 amp charger included will fast charge your phone.
orangeswim said:
Using the 2.0 amp charger included will fast charge your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I am using but still, it doesn't always fast charge and that's why I asked the question
Hmm....mine goes to fast charge as soon as I plug it in. Get gsam battery monitor, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gsamlabs.bbm&hl=en
It has detailed charts on charging info. Maybe you can track down if there is a pattern.
odobo said:
For some reason my phone don't always use fast charging when I plug it in. Sometimes it will just say cable charging and takes couple hours to charge and some times it will say fast charge... Its really random.
Does anyone know why this is happening?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
check the battery setting! and try a different cable!
I know one issue was that using the included charger, if you dont make sure the cable is plugged all the way into it it will not fast charge. It will still do the cable charge, but if you plug it in just a bit harder it will switch to fast charge. Might check that.
odobo said:
For some reason my phone don't always use fast charging when I plug it in. Sometimes it will just say cable charging and takes couple hours to charge and some times it will say fast charge... Its really random.
Does anyone know why this is happening?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
User manual says:
Increasing the charging speed
To increase the charging speed, turn the device or its screen off when you charge the battery.
• While charging the battery when the device is turned off, the icon appears on the
screen.
• You cannot use the fast charging feature when the screen is turned on. Turn off the
screen to increase the charging speed.
• You can check the remaining charge time on the screen. The actual remaining time
may vary depending on the charging conditions.
• You cannot use the built-in fast charging feature when you charge the battery
using a standard battery charger.
• If the device heats up or the ambient air temperature rises, the charging speed may
decrease automatically. This is a normal operating condition to prevent damage to
the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So maybe it's too hot in your area?
orangeswim said:
Hmm....mine goes to fast charge as soon as I plug it in. Get gsam battery monitor, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gsamlabs.bbm&hl=en
It has detailed charts on charging info. Maybe you can track down if there is a pattern.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea I installed that too... but not sure if the info can help me figure out whats triggering the fast charging or not
If it's not related to what turt mentioned about temperature., I would consider getting it exchanged while it's early.
I got mine from best buy and they have 14 day exchange/return.
My battery temp has been max 94F.
kamranhaghighi said:
check the battery setting! and try a different cable!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what battery setting are you suggesting? and I can get the fast charging with the same cable... just not reliably thats why I am not sure if there is some conditions the phone needs to be in before it will happen
schollianmj said:
I know one issue was that using the included charger, if you dont make sure the cable is plugged all the way into it it will not fast charge. It will still do the cable charge, but if you plug it in just a bit harder it will switch to fast charge. Might check that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that could be it... and the other thing I found is if I plug it in with the screen off it seems to do the trick
turt said:
User manual says:
So maybe it's too hot in your area?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no... I dont think its temp related. Last night after 3 tries I can finally get it to fast charge and the trick I think is to get the screen off before plugging in the cable.
I wonder if the length of the USB connector has something to do with it too cause I bought a extra QC2.0 charger and I can get it to fast charge reliably everytime, but the QC 2.0 car charger doesnt work for me at all with the cable that came with it. I might need to try a different cable and see
odobo said:
what battery setting are you suggesting? and I can get the fast charging with the same cable... just not reliably thats why I am not sure if there is some conditions the phone needs to be in before it will happen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if its just unreliable forget about the setting! so you have tried other cables?! thats all i can think off! im not a pro just thought it might be that!
schollianmj said:
I know one issue was that using the included charger, if you dont make sure the cable is plugged all the way into it it will not fast charge. It will still do the cable charge, but if you plug it in just a bit harder it will switch to fast charge. Might check that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THANK YOU! Top reply I was trying to work out why it wouldn't fast charge, even when using the supplied charger and cable, however I hadn't realised that I needed to push the USB A end (the bit the plugs into the charger) that extra bit - Fast Charge now working and return avoided!
my phone just started the same issue. till last night it was working perfectly fine but all of a sudden when I put my phone to charging this morning, it says cable charging instead of fast charging, I've tried different chargers as well but still no luck. I thought maybe it was a software issue so I should try a factory reset. In order to make backup, I tried connecting to my laptop but windows refused to detect my device and it says your device is not working properly. Anyhow I did a factory reset (loosing all my data) still it shows cable charging. Any idea what this problem is about?
Try plugging in while ur screen is off. It did the trick to mine
i was just about to post about this same problem, til i looked over, and my phone switched from "charging" to "fast charging" once my phone was over 15% in battery life. So thats what i think it is..... If you plug in with less than 15% battery life, it is not powerful enough to fast charge. Once it hits 15% it will be powerful enough to "fast charge". does this seem like a reasonable explanation, cuz thats all i got LOL
I've had the same issue on and off with my Edge+ and have realized there are 2 things that will help start fast charging. First is to close all open apps and notifications, second turn your screen off and wait a few seconds and plug in. Hopefully this will help

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