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Help Battery Problems

xguy

xguy

Android Enthusiast
I have been on a trip using my phone for my GPS and Tunedin radio. The battery was 100% charged and also plugged in to the cigarette lighter the entire time of about 2 hours before she went completely dead! When I got home and put it on the ac charger overnight she is fine. It is an OEM battery and would buying an extended battery help? It seems like it is simply draining much faster than it is charging on dc. Any suggestions will be appreciated.:confused:
 
Make certain that the cigarette charge adapter is capable of putting out at least 1a ( 1000mah ) to 2a of power... The OEM AC adapter is capable of putting out 850mah and I'm uncertain if that takes into consideration if the phone is in use or not, so the more you can give it the better chance it can keep up with the usage loads you are putting on it.

USB cables are not created equal... to test using the OEM cable to help ensure the issue isn't being caused by a cheap inferior cable that just can't handle the current.

If the battery is the one that came with the phone... it may be time for a replacement. Extended batteries are nice but if you get one, make certain it is a Motorola brand since off brands are always an unknown and are often reported as having issues. Also be careful who you purchase a battery from, there are a lot of fake ones out there so also research the place you are buying from to help ensure they are legit.

Clearing the system cache ( as mentioned in the tips thread ) and/or performing a FDR can also help in situations like this if you hadn't done it already after a system update like updating to JB.
 
GPS, navigation, tethering all eat battery life even while charing in the car. Getting an extended battery will only prolong the inevitable. You can try larger amperage car charger but the bionic will only allow so much juice in at once.

Update: Just thought of a possible solution but don't want to post it until I try it just incase it screws up the phone. I am on vacation so I won't be able to test it until next week.
 
... also ... have you ever powered anything else form that lighter socket using that cable? Maybe that is defective.

As noted ... always test with the OEM cable and charger to establish a baseline of something that works. Use other products from there if you must. What makes the OEM products better? Strict quality control ... the bad ones never make it out of the Motorola factory.

... Thom
 
Out of Phase, I'll wait. Thom and rdsok, Is there a good place to by Motorola on ebay?
 
I see the same behavior with my Bionic.

2 different extended batteries
original battery
V car charger (officially for the Bionic)
Griffin car charger
Moto cable
Griffin cable
cheap ebay cable
2 different ports in my car
charging direct
charging in the car mount

I'm pretty sure I have tried every possible combo of the above items and if I have GPS on and the screen on and am moving in and out of 3G/4G areas my phone discharges faster than the car can charge it.

But, 2 hours seems like a very short amount of time. I started with an extended battery at about 75% full and after a 6 hour trip, plugged in the entire time, moving in and out of 3G/4G coverage with GPS and screen on, I ended up with about 50% battery left.
 
rdsok said:
Make certain that the cigarette charge adapter is capable of putting out at least 1a ( 1000mah ) to 2a of power... The OEM AC adapter is capable of putting out 850mah and I'm uncertain if that takes into consideration if the phone is in use or not, so the more you can give it the better chance it can keep up with the usage loads you are putting on it.

USB cables are not created equal... to test using the OEM cable to help ensure the issue isn't being caused by a cheap inferior cable that just can't handle the current.

If the battery is the one that came with the phone... it may be time for a replacement. Extended batteries are nice but if you get one, make certain it is a Motorola brand since off brands are always an unknown and are often reported as having issues. Also be careful who you purchase a battery from, there are a lot of fake ones out there so also research the place you are buying from to help ensure they are legit.

Clearing the system cache ( as mentioned in the tips thread ) and/or performing a FDR can also help in situations like this if you hadn't done it already after a system update like updating to JB.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, I'm glad to know about the 1-2a. I'm trying to buy a quick dc charger from Amazon but trying to distinguish between OEM and the fake one are hard.
 
SNeitzel said:
I see the same behavior with my Bionic.

2 different extended batteries
original battery
V car charger (officially for the Bionic)
Griffin car charger
Moto cable
Griffin cable
cheap ebay cable
2 different ports in my car
charging direct
charging in the car mount

I'm pretty sure I have tried every possible combo of the above items and if I have GPS on and the screen on and am moving in and out of 3G/4G areas my phone discharges faster than the car can charge it.

But, 2 hours seems like a very short amount of time. I started with an extended battery at about 75% full and after a 6 hour trip, plugged in the entire time, moving in and out of 3G/4G coverage with GPS and screen on, I ended up with about 50% battery left.
Click to expand...

I'm trying to buy a 12vt quick charger from Amazon now but trying to find a real OEM is hard with all the copies. I will also try to find an extended battery too. And I thought my old Htc Dinc was a battery guzzler!! lol:D
 
I used mine for tethering (legally) while on a road trip and the battery went from 96% to 3% in 1.5 hours while plugged in.

Xguy I know I said I would test out my theory but I am going to be tied up for he next few days to try it. When I can I will.
 
OutOfPhase said:
I used mine for tethering (legally) while on a road trip and the battery went from 96% to 3% in 1.5 hours while plugged in.

Xguy I know I said I would test out my theory but I am going to be tied up for he next few days to try it. When I can I will.
Click to expand...

Wow that is sucking some power!! Just whenever you get around to it will be fine.:)
 
We tether or hotspot at home for data. The new firmware does not start the charger if the device is charged. Even though it will need to at some point, it will just keep going and drain the battery, plugged in but not charging. I need to pull the plug and then put it in and make sure it show charging to get things working, however as soon as I reach 100 percent charge the charger will turn off and not restart again. I have observed sometime the charge meter does not update either.

This is a new problem with the JB and the Bionic.
 
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