USB charging very slow on the Nexus 5?

[lets_go_android]

Re: N5 charging through USB very slow?

I got a widget called currentWidget to tell me how much power the phone is drawing. Had my phone plugged in all day to a 1 amp car charger during a trip and it charged only 5%. Maybe I should have put it in airplane mode

One thing I've found when using 1 amp car chargers is that using a standard USB cable will not charge your phone at 1 amp. It'll probably charge at .5 amp, which is USB level. Check your charge status (Settings -> Battery) and if it says "Charging (USB)", then it's at 0.5 amps (or maybe just anywhere below 1 amp?). If it says "Charging (AC)", then it's at 1 amp. I had a 1 amp car charger which I kept thinking was defective because it charged only at USB speed until I read about "USB charging cables".

Here is a "charging cable":
charging USB cable from Amazon
If you use it with your 1 amp car charger, then you will get "Charging (AC)", meaning 1 amp. Yeah, I thought it was just a gimick at first too, but it works. It is a little pricey for a USB cable, but it does charge your phone much faster. If you're using your phone for GPS for an extended period, it's highly recommended. If you used a regular USB cable and GPS on your phone, the charging would not keep up with the drain and you'd slowly lose battery. With a "charging cable", it would be charging.

Actually, the Samsung USB cable which came with my Galaxy Nexus is one of these "charging cables". I'm not sure about the cable with the current Nexus, but you can try it with your car charger and see if it says "USB" or "AC".

 

[pranxx]

Re: N5 charging through USB very slow?

If that charger is originally design for iPhones, you will never get 1 amp out of it, only 500ma. iPhones use different wiring to identify AC/Car chargers than rest of the world.

Dont know what kind of charger it is but does lower current affect how quickly or slowly the battery charges from 0%? The phone was in this loop where when I would power it up (to put it in airplane mode) it would say shutting down and switch off. The battery details page was showing a lot of red for "mobile network signal", which leads me to think that it was constantly scanning for network and that caused the battery drain.

One thing I've found when using 1 amp car chargers is that using a standard USB cable will not charge your phone at 1 amp. It'll probably charge at .5 amp, which is USB level. Check your charge status (Settings -> Battery) and if it says "Charging (USB)", then it's at 0.5 amps (or maybe just anywhere below 1 amp?). If it says "Charging (AC)", then it's at 1 amp. I had a 1 amp car charger which I kept thinking was defective because it charged only at USB speed until I read about "USB charging cables".

Actually, the Samsung USB cable which came with my Galaxy Nexus is one of these "charging cables". I'm not sure about the cable with the current Nexus, but you can try it with your car charger and see if it says "USB" or "AC".

I was using the cable which came with the device. I assume it must be charging cable?

I was thinking of buying this Anker charger.

 

[Jonneh]

Re: N5 charging through USB very slow?

Plug your device into an actual outlet. Its speed will increase dramatically.

 

[foxbat121]

Re: N5 charging through USB very slow?

Dont know what kind of charger it is but does lower current affect how quickly or slowly the battery charges from 0%? The phone was in this loop where when I would power it up (to put it in airplane mode) it would say shutting down and switch off. The battery details page was showing a lot of red for "mobile network signal", which leads me to think that it was constantly scanning for network and that caused the battery drain.].

It definitely will. For most smartphones, a 500ma USB port charge current won't enough to start charging when battery is critically low. 500ma is only good for light topping off when battery is almost full and you don't use it much. If your car charger only gives out 500ma, your battery will not get charged when you use the phone for things like Navigation where the phone actually use more juice than the charger can supply.

 

[axis.]

Re: N5 charging through USB very slow?

Which app do you use? I am looking for aan app which will tell me how much time the battery will take to reach 100% while charging.

Good question...on my app list, it's called "Battery"...dunno if that's exactly what the App is called lol. But I wanted something to show me the digital readout of my battery level and it does the job. Also estimates how much battery life remains.

 

[pranxx]

Re: N5 charging through USB very slow?

I got the battery monitor widget... shows me in mA how much current is draining. As long as the number is positive while charging im good. There is current widget too but never got it working reliably.