Is there a faster recharger avail for Optimus V?

[AndiS1#AC]

Hi everyone,

Though I'm a new Optimus V user, I've been a smartphone user since the Treo 180 & this has been the best device I've had to date. However, as others have commented battery life can leave a bit to be desired. I've gone through the mutliple threads & have managed to get the battery life to an acceptable level (first 2-3 days I was only able to survive 4-5 hrs on a charge). I'm not holding my breath for multiple day battery life, though if you had an analog cell flipphone (e.g. Motorola DPT550) you may recall carying around multiple battery packs just to get through the day. If I can get back to recharging every few days like on my Centro, I'm more than happy.

Now I'd like to see if there's a fast charger option (haven't found 1 yet). It seems to take 3 hrs (at best) to fully charge, though I've had it go overnight & still not be full. I've downloaded Battery Doctor & it says something about fast charging without pausing, but I can't say I'm really noticing a difference.

Using a DC adapter in the car, it doesn't seem to charge that much faster. I'm used to full charge off car adapter taking approx 1 hr, so this is really a big change.

I've looked on the AndroidCentral Shop, eBay, & Amazon, what are our options for extended battery and/or rapid chargers?

Thanks

- Andi

 

[anon(141613)]

There are not extended batteries that fit to this point...Most people are ordering a charger and a battery(s) from Hong Kong off eBay that are very inexpensive as the best alternative at this point. There is a thread in the Optimus S accessories forum about what works.

 

[mmarz]

You can use any charger that has a USB port with your phone's USB cable. Look at the current rating on the charger. 1A and above will give you the fastest charging. Your computer's UBS port provides 500mA at the most.

 

[denshigomi]

You can use any charger that has a USB port with your phone's USB cable. Look at the current rating on the charger. 1A and above will give you the fastest charging. Your computer's UBS port provides 500mA at the most.

One could use a dual-usb cable to get 1A out of their computer, but I think the Optimus V is designed to only charge at 500mA if a data line is detected. I'm fairly certain there are workarounds for that though.

 

[overthinkingme]

This is the slowest charging phone I've ever had. 20% in one hour

Sent from my VM670 using Tapatalk

 

[whyaphoenix]

delete

 

[Eollie]

Im using the wall charger that came with my crackberry storm. Sometimes it charges super fast others it seems to just drag out. My usb cable isnt long enough to reach my desk properly or I would use the one that cam with it.

 

[AndiS1#AC]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I've gone back to using the stock charger & will see how using different settings (e.g. wifi on/off) impacts the battery charging time.

Also downloaded juice defender and battery doctor.

Thanks for all the comments.

- Andi

 

[Eollie]

I normally use the usb cable and charge that way. Figure Im already using power for the pc might as well sap it to charge my phone.

When I got home from a 6 hour trip my phone was around 60% that was even plugged in while driving and mostly from using bluetooth to stream music.

Well after 4 hours plugged into my pc my phone had barely gained 10% charge. So I plugged it into my charger I had for my BB and within an hour it was fully charged. I left it plugged in overnight to make sure it was truly charged and not just graphically charged. SO its safe to say the wall chargers should charge the phone faster and to make sure the amperage is at the minimum of .7 and ideally 1.0. Right?

 

[swoon]

SO its safe to say the wall chargers should charge the phone faster and to make sure the voltage is at the minimum of .7 and ideally 1.0. Right?

Amperage, not voltage. The more amperage the charger can provide to the phone, the faster the battery will charge (to a point).

 

[Eollie]

Amperage, not voltage. The more amperage the charger can provide to the phone, the faster the battery will charge (to a point).

yeah thats what I meant lol. rough morning. Sent a text telling a friend the trade was starting tours again instead of train.

Ill edit my op.

 

[Bigtuna00]

You can use any charger that has a USB port with your phone's USB cable. Look at the current rating on the charger. 1A and above will give you the fastest charging. Your computer's UBS port provides 500mA at the most.

There seems to be a little confusion in this thread. Note I'm not picking on the quoted poster above I just quoted it for an example.

There's no such thing as a "faster charger" in a modern cell phone. What I mean is, the phone will draw the maximum current it can handle and not go any higher.

The stock wall charger is 700-750mA (can't remember exactly, don't have it with me). I'm presuming this is the maximum for the V (otherwise they would have included a different charger). I could be wrong on the maximum but the principal doesn't change (see below).

A 1 or 2 amp charger isn't necessarily going to charge the phone faster; the phone will only draw it amount it can handle.

Now, on the other hand, USB 2.0 is only 500mA and I think 1.0 is even less so charging from a computer will definitely be slower.

If you're finding that the phone really does charge faster on a higher amperage charger it may be that LG underspecced the wall charger but I'd be curious to know why.

 

[mmarz]

There seems to be a little confusion in this thread. Note I'm not picking on the quoted poster above I just quoted it for an example.

There's no such thing as a "faster charger" in a modern cell phone. What I mean is, the phone will draw the maximum current it can handle and not go any higher.

The stock wall charger is 700-750mA (can't remember exactly, don't have it with me). I'm presuming this is the maximum for the V (otherwise they would have included a different charger). I could be wrong on the maximum but the principal doesn't change (see below).

A 1 or 2 amp charger isn't necessarily going to charge the phone faster; the phone will only draw it amount it can handle.

Now, on the other hand, USB 2.0 is only 500mA and I think 1.0 is even less so charging from a computer will definitely be slower.

If you're finding that the phone really does charge faster on a higher amperage charger it may be that LG underspecced the wall charger but I'd be curious to know why.

I wouldn't base the phone's capabilities off of the the stock charger. This phone actually limits the battery charging current to 450mA (measured using multimeter). This limit is in place whether your phone is on or off. This is just the current used to charge the battery. While charging, the external power is also used to operate the phone. Depending if you have 3G/wifi enabled, processor load and overclocking..etc., you could use up a good portion of the external power. On a 700mA charger, that gives you 250mA to use on operating the phone. Use less than that, and your phone will charge as fast as it is going to. Use more than that, and your phone will not charge as fast. A higher current charger will give you an even larger buffer. On USB (500mA), you only have 50mA to spare.

One way to speed up the charging time is to buy a smaller capacity battery.

 

[ashton4life]

I wouldn't base the phone's capabilities off of the the stock charger. This phone actually limits the battery charging current to 450mA (measured using multimeter). This limit is in place whether your phone is on or off. This is just the current used to charge the battery. While charging, the external power is also used to operate the phone. Depending if you have 3G/wifi enabled, processor load and overclocking..etc., you could use up a good portion of the external power. On a 700mA charger, that gives you 250mA to use on operating the phone. Use less than that, and your phone will charge as fast as it is going to. Use more than that, and your phone will not charge as fast. A higher current charger will give you an even larger buffer. On USB (500mA), you only have 50mA to spare.

One way to speed up the charging time is to buy a smaller capacity battery.

So is there a way for you to check the max capabilty of the stock charger? Do your multimeter thing on that.....

 

[mmarz]

So is there a way for you to check the max capabilty of the stock charger? Do your multimeter thing on that.....

Read the back of the charger. It clearly states 0.7A which equals 700mA.

 

[Bigtuna00]

I wouldn't base the phone's capabilities off of the the stock charger. This phone actually limits the battery charging current to 450mA (measured using multimeter). This limit is in place whether your phone is on or off. This is just the current used to charge the battery. While charging, the external power is also used to operate the phone. Depending if you have 3G/wifi enabled, processor load and overclocking..etc., you could use up a good portion of the external power. On a 700mA charger, that gives you 250mA to use on operating the phone. Use less than that, and your phone will charge as fast as it is going to. Use more than that, and your phone will not charge as fast. A higher current charger will give you an even larger buffer. On USB (500mA), you only have 50mA to spare.

One way to speed up the charging time is to buy a smaller capacity battery.

Thanks for posting that. Makes sense.

 

[ashton4life]

Read the back of the charger. It clearly states 0.7A which equals 700mA.

Oh IC.....So I guess a new charger really wont do a thing unless your letting the phone run around your room on a leash sucking up power. NEW charger = not much help when the phone is idle huh?

 

[davidh44]

I wouldn't base the phone's capabilities off of the the stock charger. This phone actually limits the battery charging current to 450mA (measured using multimeter). This limit is in place whether your phone is on or off. This is just the current used to charge the battery. While charging, the external power is also used to operate the phone. Depending if you have 3G/wifi enabled, processor load and overclocking..etc., you could use up a good portion of the external power. On a 700mA charger, that gives you 250mA to use on operating the phone. Use less than that, and your phone will charge as fast as it is going to. Use more than that, and your phone will not charge as fast. A higher current charger will give you an even larger buffer. On USB (500mA), you only have 50mA to spare.

One way to speed up the charging time is to buy a smaller capacity battery.

Good post, thanks. So now that we know the battery charging is limited to 450mA, is it known whether the phone itself would ever use more than the 250mA buffer provided by the stock charger? And if so, if the phone is capable of drawing more than 700mA to power both the operation of the phone and the battery charging at the same time?

That would determine whether a 1A charger would be worth it to someone who often uses the phone at the same time as it is being charged.

 

[Eollie]

Good post, thanks. So now that we know the battery charging is limited to 450mA, is it known whether the phone itself would ever use more than the 250mA buffer provided by the stock charger? And if so, if the phone is capable of drawing more than 700mA to power both the operation of the phone and the battery charging at the same time?

That would determine whether a 1A charger would be worth it to someone who often uses the phone at the same time as it is being charged.

If reading his post properly, then yes a 1a charger should give you enough to charge and use the phone. Technically you should be giving the phone about equal amounts to charge and operate with the 1a charger.

I will say this phone uses the battery a lot more than my DX did. Normally when Im going to be traveling very far I would charge the dx to full and plug it in once in the vehicle. I dont remember it using as much power as this one does. But that could be because the cell radio was constantly trying to connect on the optimus whereas the DX always had a signal.

In a couple weeks Ill be headed to STL and I should have complete coverage the entire trip. That will be a good comparison vs my old DX.