Touchscreen not working with generic USB Charger!?

[digmys]

Looks like a similar issue plagues the incredible but I am coming from a Blackberry 9630 which also uses micro USB and NONE of my chargers either RIM or generic are working with the EVO. Well correction, they seem to be charging the phone, but the touchscreen is completely unresponsive making the phone unusable while plugged in.

Anyone experiencing anything similar with non-HTC chargers? Anyone know of a fairly cheap wall wart that has a long cable (> 4ft) or a micro usb cable (> 4ft) that will not have this issue for the office?

 

[MarqBland]

Hmmm...so I started a forum about my phone dying/resetting last night, and I didn't even think about that...the charger I had it plugged to is my "old" BB Tour charger. Previous nights was the OEM charger. I woke up to find a dead battery even though it said the phone was charging. So maybe the BB chargers don't put out enough power and make other things go crazy.

 

[slopokdave]

I read this on a review of a generic AC adapter someone was trying to use with a Droid.... he said it made his touchscreen all screwy. Weird.

 

[digmys]

Some of the incredible owners are saying they need a charger with at least a 1A (1000mA) whereas most generic and BB chargers are 500mA or less. But that doesn't make sense to me because I was under the assumption that all computers outputted 500mA to USB?

 

[skip259#CB]

ditto

I'm having the same issue. I brought a generic charger from target. The phone takes a while to charge and i'm unable to use the phone as the screen does not respond. I have to disconnect the phone from the charger when I want to respond to a message.

Seriously annoying. My BB would accept any usb charger, but my new evo won't charge with a generic mini-usb charger.

 

[digmys]

Any electrical engineer want to chime in? lol Or anyone know where to buy spare little HTC wall to usb converter things like it came with? Preferably for less than the $30-$40 I know sprint is going to be selling them for?

 

[ElCartelDR]

I too used a generic charger this weekend but it did not completely disable my touchscreen. When charging the home button would now open up navigation for some reason, that was my only issue.

My Pre used to be completely unresponsive when using a generic charger.

 

[tmac4life#CB]

me too

I found the same issue. I haven't tried charging. Does it not charge? And anyone try a generic Ian charger?

 

[cbowen1997]

I have had a similar problem with my Droid. I don't have a car charger so I use my standard motorola wall charger paired with a power inverter that allows me to plug it in to the car. It charges fine but the touchscreen goes all wonky and is unusable while its plugged in. I'm not sure what the output of the inverter is.

 

[digmys]

I think the problem is that the phone actually uses more juice than generic chargers provide. One user reported his phone saying that it was dead but saying it was charging when left on a generic charger overnight. i know that i plan to find an appropriate charger and not risk shortening my batterys life span but i just dont know were to get such a charger on the cheap currently.

 

[blitz118]

I had the same problem with a charger I bought off eBay. It will charge the phone, but I cannot use the phone at the same time. I ordered another which allows charge and talk, but I have not received it yet. The generic car charge I bought off eBay lets me charge and talk. So you have to also look for the charge that allows charge and talk.

 

[DirkBelig]

I just tried the Monoprice 1A charger I bought for my Pre with my EVO this morning and had these issues. Double-tapping the Home button didn't give the Expose view, but caused it to stutter to the next screen over. Swiping down notifications were ignored and the clock screen opened. This can't be healthy for the hardware. Looks like I'm going to have to go back to slow charging off my PC's USB port.

OTOH, the included HTC wall charger, the charger from my Pre, and the Rocketfish car charger from my Pre all seem to work fine. Only the Monoprice charger is causing freakouts.

 

[Darth Mo]

Any electrical engineer want to chime in? lol Or anyone know where to buy spare little HTC wall to usb converter things like it came with? Preferably for less than the $30-$40 I know sprint is going to be selling them for?

Best guess is that the voltage provided by the generic charger is off, most likely on the high side, which is throwing off the capacitive sensor.

Basically, the phone is charged up too high to sense the minute charge from your fingers.

 

[digmys]

Best guess is that the voltage provided by the generic charger is off, most likely on the high side, which is throwing off the capacitive sensor.

Basically, the phone is charged up too high to sense the minute charge from your fingers.

Ok, so that is actually the opposite of what I had originally guessed. Is anyone having any problems when connected by a generic USB cable to a COMPUTER? I don't HAVE to have a wall wart, I just need something 4ft+ so I can move the phone around my desk and am more than happy plugging it into the computer if I can just buy a 4-5ft micro USB cord. Not in the best signal area at my office (RTP, nothing but technology here, go figure) so the already weak battery drains super fast, im currently trying to baby it until 5pm.

 

[Darth Mo]

Ok, so that is actually the opposite of what I had originally guessed. Is anyone having any problems when connected by a generic USB cable to a COMPUTER? I don't HAVE to have a wall wart, I just need something 4ft+ so I can move the phone around my desk and am more than happy plugging it into the computer if I can just buy a 4-5ft micro USB cord. Not in the best signal area at my office (RTP, nothing but technology here, go figure) so the already weak battery drains super fast, im currently trying to baby it until 5pm.

I have $0.99 USB cable from Hong Kong that I got off eBay and it won't charge the phone. The phone and PC recognize the connection initially, but it loses the connection after a few seconds.

However, I'm using a cable that came with my Canon camera and threw a micro adapter on it that works fine. So it doesn't have to be a HTC specific cable, just not generic or super cheap.

The generic cables are skimping somewhere, be it using lighter gauge wiring or cheaper wire, or the connectors/contacts aren't up to spec.

I can conduct some tests if I get a minute at work or when I get home to see what's actually going on. I'll go the cheap route if I know it's not going to be dangerous, but if it doesn't work I just usually leave it alone because I know there's a legitimate reason why.

 

[digmys]

Some tests would be GREAT!

 

[cdjh]

I too used a generic charger this weekend but it did not completely disable my touchscreen. When charging the home button would now open up navigation for some reason, that was my only issue.

My Pre used to be completely unresponsive when using a generic charger.

I had this as well. I don't get why the home button would work but open the wrong screen?

 

[bucko21]

Is this happening with the Seidio chargers also?? If I buy an extra battery from Seidio I will get the charger from them too. I don' t want to waste the money on the charger if it will not work properly..

 

[digmys]

Is this happening with the Seidio chargers also?? If I buy an extra battery from Seidio I will get the charger from them too. I don' t want to waste the money on the charger if it will not work properly..

Not sure. I know that seidio always seemed to make quality products for blackberries and would assume that they did their homework here but who knows. What seems for certain is that if you buy a generic micro USB charger off eBay that says it is compatible with the EVO and other phones, the touchscreen will NOT work while charging and i think that it cant be good for your phone and/or battery in the long run.

 

[Darth Mo]

Sorry, didn't get home til late last night.

I stripped down the cable that doesn't work right and as I suspected, it's unshielded. Also, the data cables are untwisted, so there's no protection from EM interference. Interference along the cable is picking up is probably reaching the touch screen causing it to be either wonky or non-responsive altogether.

For those that are having this issue with a cable, check to see if it's grounded. If you don't want to cut it open, compare it to the cable included with the EVO. The unshielded cable will be noticeably more flexible when you bend it; it should be pretty obvious to tell the difference. If you can't tell the difference and are willing to sacrifice the cable buy cutting it, that will leave no doubt. I only have the one cable that didn't work, so I'm curious if any shielded cables are doing it too. That way we can identify that shielded cables are required and save some people headaches.

There's also the issue of pins 4 and 5, but that's much more difficult to test so I'd like more feedback on the cable shielding first.

Makes sense though. The copper and aluminum that goes into a cable shielding is the most expensive part of the cable. Stands to reason that a budget, generic cable would leave that out to keep cost down.