Is the Note 2 Picky About USB Cables?

I have had my Note 2 for a few months now and have had no problems with it whatsoever. It is my first smart phone, though I have had experience with others, just never owned one before.

The only problem I have had with the Note 2 has been that I have found mine to be very picky about the cable I use to charge it. As long as I use the cable that came with either it or with my wife's S3 it charges exactly as quickly as I would expect it to considering that it has a 3500 mA hour battery. Run the numbers on a two amp charger or a 500 mA USB port, considering your expected inefficiencies, and it charges a 3500 mA hour as quickly as I would expect it to.

The only exception being when I try any other cable than the ones that came with our phones. I have tried a number of off market cables including small retractables, highly rated standard micro USB cables and all of them seem almost completely useless. I am lucky if I gain 2% an hour, even with a two amp wall charger. This includes the additional car and wall USB charger that came with our phones when we purchased them from Costco. I know that they are not Samsung brand chargers but they certainly aren't cheap Chinese knockoff $.50 cables and they still fail to charge the phone quickly.

I ordered another variety of cables from DX.com, including a supposedly OEM Samsung two amp wall charger and cable. I have yet to try it out and am just experimenting with the additional charging cables that came with this most recent order. Monitoring my phone charging on the desk beside me I may have found a cable that is up to par with Samsung's cable, but it would be the first of many that I have tried.

Considering that as long as I'm using the cables that came with the phones I have no problems charging I do not expect it to be an issue with my battery. I am very impressed with the battery life of this phone with a little help from Juice Defender. I just don't want to be stuck with only the OEM cables. I want a couple of spares as well as one to throw in my vehicle.

All things being equal, has anyone else had trouble charging their phone with aftermarket cables? I should also add that the aftermarket cables do not have a problem transferring data to the phone when connected to a computer, just are unable to supply enough power to charge the battery properly.

Thanks for your feedback.

it's definitely going to be picky with a 3000+ma battery and chargers rated between 500ma and 2a. you're going to have to get the shortest usable cable possible (keep it to three feet or less for best results) at the heaviest gauge possible to reduce resistance in the line. i'm using mediabridge high-speed micro usb cables and they're excellent. very good quality and available on amazon too.

I don't understand,, I use other cables and it charges just fine. My other cables were from other high end smartphones so maybe that's why they work.

Note 2, it's true, ,size is everything!

This one that I am having the best luck with, so far, is the shortest one I have had but it is thicker than a few of the aftermarket cables I have tried to this point. The Samsung cables are probably twice as long as the one I'm currently trying. Thank you for the advice on the mediabridge cables. I will look into them.

I will post my results with the few cables I have left to try with links of where to buy them.

With other cables that came work old smartphones I have no problems with cheap generic USB cables it is hit or miss

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

I noticed the same thing....old charger we keep in the kitchen for "dumb" home phone doesn't do a thing for my note 2....i bought an oem replacement charging cord from amazon and it works great. rather have the real thing than screw around trying to find cheap knock offs.

Not all USB cables meet the newer charging specs. The easiest way to test a cable is to use your 2A stock wallplug that came with the phone. Attach the cable you want to check to the phone and the stock wallplug. Go to Settings > Battery It will say "Charging (USB)" or "Charging (AC)" if it says USB you can't fast charge with that cable.

I should add: Using an old wallplug of lower capacity the above test will show AC charging, but it won't be fast. I tried an old Blackberry charger I had laying around rated at 750ma (3/4 Amp) with the stock cable and it still showed AC, but obviously it's not putting out 2A. It would still charge faster than a PC USB port which only puts out 500ma (1/2 Amp).

Summary: If just one stock charger/cable isn't enough, buy an OEM cable and charger unless you're willing to put up with slower charge times. I often charge overnight and I use an old cable and charger for that since it will still be done by the time I wake up.

That is some great information, especially the "Charging (USB)" or "Charging (AC)". Thank you. I am just testing the replacement OEM charger. Once I have tried all that I have I will post a comprehensive list of my results.

The only reason I was trying aftermarket cables was that I wanted a few extra cables, not necessarily a charger with each. Otherwise I would have bought the OEM charger and cable immediately for just the few dollars more.

I noticed I could not get my thunderbolt charger to plug in to my note, I did not want to force it, but it would not plug in. But a few others I have I have including an old LG flip phone, and a Blackberry one both fit.

Just buy an extra battery / charger combo (Samsung one) AND the mediabridge cable. Problem solved. :D

The Note 2 supports a 2A charger and is one of the few Smartphones that will accept a charge rate over 1A. However, using a "data" USB cable may only allow 500mA and a charge+data cable may only reach 1A. I recall reading at XDA and somewhere else that to get a 1A and over requires bridging 2 pins on a USB cable. So, any brand 2A charger with a cable or a Samsung USB cable will support 2A. Getting a retractable or cheap USB cable may drop even a 2A charger to an actual rate below 1A. There is a good thread at XDA Developers about this - do a search for more info.

Paul

Works fine, even with my moto cable...

My fiancee's s3 charges faster off my 2a charger than her 1a charger... expected though.

~swyped from my galaxy note 2 on the now network