Nexus 4 And Charging

jyemenai

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So, I got my N4 in the second shipment of it and have been in love with it ever since. However, there is one problem I face repeatedly that pisses me off to no end: it won't charge sometimes.

I have three chargers that I've tested it with: one, stock; two, my Nexus 7's; and three, one really long one I got from Amazon (We'll call them A, B, and C). C is plugged into a wall 24/7 and was the first charger I used to charge it. One morning, I awoke to go to work to find out that instead of being at 100%, it was dwindling at around 30%. Lucky me, I have Batter Indicator Pro which logs the battery percentage of the phone at all times and for some reason throughout the night it just... stop? The charge was indicated as "Unknown (AC)" and just began swithing between that and Unplugged all night until I woke up. I also remember that that one doesn't fit as snug at the rest, so I figured that was the problem and switched to the stock the next night, plugged into my Mac.

Well, then it happens again, and for some reason through the night it just stops charging and begins to die, even though when you turn it on it still indicates that it's plugged in and charging. BIP still shows me the same thing. I started using my N7 charger, since my N7 hasn't been having any issues charging, but the same results.

I figured maybe BIP was the problem ,so I uninstalled it last night and charged it again. Woke up to find I was at 50% this morning. -___-

The weird thing is, this problem ONLY happens when the screen isn't on (read: when it sleeps and goes to Daydream, or I press the power button, BUT it does charge when the phone is completely OFF). I do a lot of programming and select "Stay Awake When Charging" and the phone battery never dies then, it just keeps charging the entire time without fail.

Is anyone else experiencing this problem? I would hate to have to send the phone back.
 

Mellimel22

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So, I got my N4 in the second shipment of it and have been in love with it ever since. However, there is one problem I face repeatedly that pisses me off to no end: it won't charge sometimes.

I have three chargers that I've tested it with: one, stock; two, my Nexus 7's; and three, one really long one I got from Amazon (We'll call them A, B, and C). C is plugged into a wall 24/7 and was the first charger I used to charge it. One morning, I awoke to go to work to find out that instead of being at 100%, it was dwindling at around 30%. Lucky me, I have Batter Indicator Pro which logs the battery percentage of the phone at all times and for some reason throughout the night it just... stop? The charge was indicated as "Unknown (AC)" and just began swithing between that and Unplugged all night until I woke up. I also remember that that one doesn't fit as snug at the rest, so I figured that was the problem and switched to the stock the next night, plugged into my Mac.

Well, then it happens again, and for some reason through the night it just stops charging and begins to die, even though when you turn it on it still indicates that it's plugged in and charging. BIP still shows me the same thing. I started using my N7 charger, since my N7 hasn't been having any issues charging, but the same results.

I figured maybe BIP was the problem ,so I uninstalled it last night and charged it again. Woke up to find I was at 50% this morning. -___-

The weird thing is, this problem ONLY happens when the screen isn't on (read: when it sleeps and goes to Daydream, or I press the power button, BUT it does charge when the phone is completely OFF). I do a lot of programming and select "Stay Awake When Charging" and the phone battery never dies then, it just keeps charging the entire time without fail.

Is anyone else experiencing this problem? I would hate to have to send the phone back.

U might have a faulty USB cord bro

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
 

hodan

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Don't use no-name chargers with expensive devices.

If you want reliable but cheap chargers buy palm branded chargers on amazon.

You could be damaging your other device batteries.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums
 

jyemenai

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Don't use no-name chargers with expensive devices.

If you want reliable but cheap chargers buy palm branded chargers on amazon.

You could be damaging your other device batteries.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

At the very least, the first two are not no-name. They are the stock chargers for the N4 and the N7. In fact, they are the two chargers I use most. The no-name charger almost exclusively chargers my Nook Color and Kyocera Hydro, with zero problems.
 

badbrad17

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I'm talkin bout the phone USB port Joe lol not the charger USB.

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Ya sounds like your usb connector could be messed up. Plug it in and wiggle it a bit to see if the charge goes on and off.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums
 

jyemenai

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Ya sounds like your usb connector could be messed up. Plug it in and wiggle it a bit to see if the charge goes on and off.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

Sad thing is, I've done that. And even while it's not charging (when it should actually be charging), the battery icon and the lockscreen both tell me that it's charging. For example, I just went to take a shower and it was charging up at 57%. I get back and notice it's at 54%, and still "charging." Smh
Looks like I'm gonna have to send it back...
 

Doooshty

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Sad thing is, I've done that. And even while it's not charging (when it should actually be charging), the battery icon and the lockscreen both tell me that it's charging. For example, I just went to take a shower and it was charging up at 57%. I get back and notice it's at 54%, and still "charging." Smh
Looks like I'm gonna have to send it back...

Are you using USB only or is this also when plugged into the wall? I only ask because over USB is a slower charge rate. Its common for people to experience the phone using more power than USB is charging. Might be something draining it then. Other than that, I got nothing.
 

badbrad17

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Sad thing is, I've done that. And even while it's not charging (when it should actually be charging), the battery icon and the lockscreen both tell me that it's charging. For example, I just went to take a shower and it was charging up at 57%. I get back and notice it's at 54%, and still "charging." Smh
Looks like I'm gonna have to send it back...

Could even be a problem with the battery. Maybe try calibrating it. Search for an app in Google play.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums
 

hodan

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At the very least, the first two are not no-name. They are the stock chargers for the N4 and the N7. In fact, they are the two chargers I use most. The no-name charger almost exclusively chargers my Nook Color and Kyocera Hydro, with zero problems.

Well...last thing to try, I'd do a factory reset then charge it with its stock charger all night.

Otherwise you have a defective phone :-(

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums
 

jyemenai

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Alright, a bit of an update. I've solved half of the problem.

I figured that as long as I leave my phone screen on, it will charge. I have no problems doing that for most of the time, but doing it all the time could harm it. But, for now, I left it on to charge. The phone is connected to my laptop right now, and I closed the lid on that to go take a shower. I came back to find that my phone was no longer charging, despite the screen being on, then I noticed something, a common factor in all cases where it was connected to my laptop and either didn't charge (when I went to sleep) or did charge (when I was programming): my screen lid. When I'm on my computer, my phone charges fine, but when I close the lid, it stops. I checked it and, despite the battery icon saying it was charging, Battery Indicator Pro notified me that it was no longer charging the moment the lid closed.

This is good to know, though it still poses questions. Why can my laptop charge my N7 (and any other Android device) when the lid is closed, but not my N4? Could it still be a phone issue? Maybe the charger just doesn't give the phone enough juice when the computer sleeps? AND why does the issue still happen when plugged in to AC?
 

willdogs

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You guys all know that not all USB chargers output the same power correct?

If you use a charger that outputs less than 1.2a then it will most likely not work correctly for the N4

Just because the charger fits in the hole, doesn't mean it will work.

Your "B and C" chargers are probably outputting way less than the 1.2a required and thus not keeping up with your phones normal drainage while idle.
 

badbrad17

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Alright, a bit of an update. I've solved half of the problem.

I figured that as long as I leave my phone screen on, it will charge. I have no problems doing that for most of the time, but doing it all the time could harm it. But, for now, I left it on to charge. The phone is connected to my laptop right now, and I closed the lid on that to go take a shower. I came back to find that my phone was no longer charging, despite the screen being on, then I noticed something, a common factor in all cases where it was connected to my laptop and either didn't charge (when I went to sleep) or did charge (when I was programming): my screen lid. When I'm on my computer, my phone charges fine, but when I close the lid, it stops. I checked it and, despite the battery icon saying it was charging, Battery Indicator Pro notified me that it was no longer charging the moment the lid closed.

This is good to know, though it still poses questions. Why can my laptop charge my N7 (and any other Android device) when the lid is closed, but not my N4? Could it still be a phone issue? Maybe the charger just doesn't give the phone enough juice when the computer sleeps? AND why does the issue still happen when plugged in to AC?
My laptop does the same thing with all my phones I've had. BlackBerry, or Android. This has nothing to do with the phone. And for what it's worth you should use the wall charger for the first couple of weeks of charging. Your laptop trickle charges which according to Battery University is not a good way to initiate your battery cycle.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums
 

chinoco02

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My N4 has been acting the exact same way.

I have used three methods of charging:
1. Stock LG charger plugged in to the wall
2. HTC 12V Car Charger
3. Via USB cable connected to desktop (Full USB)

I have not seen any problems charging it through options 1 and 3. When I use option 2 and come home to charge it the regular way using the LG stock charger, it never fully charges. Next step I do is to restart the phone and then charge the phone using the stock LG charger to top it off. This seems to work. Kinda strange, but maybe the phone suffers from shorting issues or any other charger vs. the stock LG charger might have a different amperage. The only other Android device that I have that is picky with charging is my Asus TF300T, which only charges using the stock charger.
 

Avenger

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My phone charges flawlessly everywhere with the exception of one of the old usb 2.0 ports on my laptop. Charges fine on all desktop ones. It is likely your port doesnt output sufficient power, although it is weird it works when the screen is on.
 

willdogs

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My N4 has been acting the exact same way.

I have used three methods of charging:
1. Stock LG charger plugged in to the wall
2. HTC 12V Car Charger
3. Via USB cable connected to desktop (Full USB)

I have not seen any problems charging it through options 1 and 3. When I use option 2 and come home to charge it the regular way using the LG stock charger, it never fully charges. Next step I do is to restart the phone and then charge the phone using the stock LG charger to top it off. This seems to work. Kinda strange, but maybe the phone suffers from shorting issues or any other charger vs. the stock LG charger might have a different amperage. The only other Android device that I have that is picky with charging is my Asus TF300T, which only charges using the stock charger.

#2 probably doesn't provide sufficient power. What is the power output rating for #2?