Weird battery charging issues

[DeJuanNOnley]

Not much I can add here except that I'm another one having the exact same problem. In my case it charges off the USB port on my computer 100% of the time but it never wants to charge off of AC and the stock adapter does NOT work any better than any other. Oddly enough I first noticed this issue when setting up Tasker to automate power management (see my other thread here). I thought it might have been a software issue since the OS said the battery was charging but Tasker didn't recognize it as charging so it didn't enable that profile (except when plugged into USB). This does seem to lend credence to it being a firmware problem.

Update: In my case removing the battery and reinserting it seems to do nothing. No matter what I try it will not charge off of AC. This is the standard battery that comes with the phone, not an extended battery.

 

[bigdawg6]

Best indication I have found that it will hold a charge so far is if you turn volume on and then plug in the charger. If the phone beeps within 3 seconds then it is charging, if not, it will not charge.

In addition, does anyone have a problem with the battery not lasting very long? I usually have my phone on from 9-12 and have to charge it by 9PM and I am not a very heavy user.

 

[Moo Cow]

Best indication I have found that it will hold a charge so far is if you turn volume on and then plug in the charger. If the phone beeps within 3 seconds then it is charging, if not, it will not charge.

In addition, does anyone have a problem with the battery not lasting very long? I usually have my phone on from 9-12 and have to charge it by 9PM and I am not a very heavy user.

I use the same tactic only for vibration mode. If it doesn't vibrate within seconds of plugging it in, I reboot the phone and then it will charge.

As for your battery life, I cannot speak for that as I have the extended battery.

 

[DeJuanNOnley]

It beeps after I plug it in but still doesn't charge. Wake up in the morning and the battery level is lower than when I went to bed. Considering that there are obviously several of us with similar charging issues I'm guessing we can say it is a manufacturer defect? Anyone tried rooting theirs and installing a custom rom to determine if the issue is software or hardware? Just got this phone 4 days ago. Other than not being able to charge it I love it. As for battery life mine lasts easily 24 hours on a full charge (from my car charger or USB).

Update: further testing and more details. Sometimes the battery appears to charge. The level shows 100% in the morning. But immediately after unplugging it it reverts to the same level as when I plugged it in. So the battery never charged or discharged. Got a replacement phone from Verizon last night and it has the exact same issue. This is now a serious problem. Has anyone found a solution? Verizon is no help.

 

[radiodf]

Best indication I have found that it will hold a charge so far is if you turn volume on and then plug in the charger. If the phone beeps within 3 seconds then it is charging, if not, it will not charge.

In addition, does anyone have a problem with the battery not lasting very long? I usually have my phone on from 9-12 and have to charge it by 9PM and I am not a very heavy user.

For the past several weeks, so far so good as to battery charging. Even after installing a podcast app. Plug in USB cable, phone beeps, display comes on briefly, phone charges. Note, that when the USB is plugged in, the battery icon will show full charge, no matter what the actual charge state is.

As to battery life, Im fairly impressed. Although Im not too heavy of a user. And I havent bothered yet to play w/ any streaming apps for an extended time, and my network is almost entirely 3G. Last week I spent a day away from the office, out in a VERY rural area, w/ only limited or NO coverage in places. This would have completely eaten the battery in my old Treo 700, where the phone repeatedly tries to register w/ the network. But at the end of the day, even after a number of calls and texts, the battery was less than 25% off of full charge.

Ive heard that when the phone is in 4G mode, it increases battery drain. Is this correct? Does it apply to any type of use, including voice, or just data/internet apps? Thanks

 

[SusanBee]

I have also been having battery charging issues. The only way I can get my Stratosphere to charge is to turn off the phone first. Kind of a pain since since I could miss a phone call, but it is the only way I can get it to charge.

 

[DeJuanNOnley]

Something odd about the USB cable that ships with the phone. I discovered that I had to use both the charger AND cable that came with it. My other USB cables charge the phone fine off the USB port on my computer or a car adapter and they charge other phones off of wall chargers. FYI I did find a generic wall charger at Walmart that charges the strat properly but it specifically listed Stratosphere on the packaging.

 

[jimgl3]

i have same problem. sure would like to see a solution posted by verizon or samsung!

 

[jrh4054]

Have you tried charging your phone when it's off? I always turn my phone off at night when it's charging. Why leave it on?

 

[fotofroggy]

I have been having the same problem. Sometimes I will have the phone plugged into the charger for several hours, and as soon as it is unplugged it will show low battery as if I had never charged it.
But just recently its developed a new problem. Since I usually charge my phone all day while at work, I do not charge it overnight. Last week I when I woke up I found that my phone had shut itself off during the night, but the battery hadn't been especially low before I went to sleep. I thought it was a fluke but it happened again last night. Only I remember specifically looking at my phone and seeing a FULL 100% charge (icon was completely blue) just before going to sleep. I woke up 6 hours later and it had turned itself off. When I powered it back up, the icon was blinking red as in 0% battery! That's pretty unacceptable in my opinion.

 

[Wrenikle]

I've also experienced battery issues directly related The type of charger i use. There is no pattern I can see but juat wanted to add my to sense?

 

[Bill Homstad]

Similar problems here. I have a car charger from Verizon, and a desk charger from Samsung. Lately, it appears that the Stratosphere is charging when in the desk top craddle, but when I remove the phone from it, the battery icon says it is still charging. When I look at the system staus on the phone it tells me it is charging by USB even though I don't have it on the charger. I have pulled the battery a few times and that seems to help for a while. Then same problem repeats itself.

 

[recanada]

I am having the same issues as everyone else. I got the phone last Tuesday, thought it was an issue with the phone so took it into the Verizon store and they replaced it. That was yesterday. The new one is now dead and doing the same thing. Won't charge at all. I'm going to try removing the battery like some suggested and see if it resets. Just wanted you all to know how the number of us is growing. Something needs to be done.

 

[EmilyAJ]

I have had my stratosphere for a few months now. A while after I got it, my dog chewed the charger that it came with. I have been using an old charger for a different phone and have been for a while now. I found that it was working fine until a few days ago. The charger would only work sometimes and my phone would die while charging. I decided to make this account because many of you are having the same problem as me. Tonight I was charging my phone and when I went to use it (while it was still charging) I noticed it had turned off,and I though I might have accedently done it. As I tried to turn it on, it would'nt and the big battery wasn't on the screen. I adjusted the charger to make sure it was in the phone and in the wall properly which it was. I tried taking out the battery like some of you had suggested but it didn't work for me. I ran out to the kitchen where my dads phone charger was and grabbed that to see if it was just my charger. After I tried that I found that it didn't work either. I tried removing the battery again and let it sit out for a bit while i was reading other peoples tips. It was out for about 5 minutes when i put it back in. I let it sit without the charger for another minute and when I put the charger back in, it seemed to be fixed. But, when i tried turning it on, it would only go to the "samsung" screen and then go black. I tried this a couple of times until it finally worked. Now it seemes to be charging fine...lets hope it stays this way and will be fully charged in the morning. I have also found out if you turn it off during the night while charging it holds charge better than if you leave it on. I hope this problem gets fixed as I don't want to buy another phone!

 

[GMJeff]

Just get a new charger that is the proper output for the phone.

I mean, it sounds like the charger you are using is not putting out the proper amperage. That is why the phone keeps turning off as you say. It is the battery falling into a safe mode where the device powers itself off.

Think of it this way, the phone needs to charge at a minimum of 1.0 amps at 5 volts, but the charger you are using is probably only rated at 0.7 amps at 5 volts. That lack of 0.3 amps is significant enough to draw the battery down faster than the charger can fill the battery up.

If the device is off while charging, you should be able to top it up as there is no draw from the phone to deplete the battery.

Also, if the battery is fully discharged, you will not be able to turn it on until it charges to something like 5 or so percent. This is most likely the cause for the non-responsive screen. The battery indicator on the screen when the device is off and plugged in will show a red bar instead of green.

If you continue to charge with a lower amp charger, it could damage the battery due to depleting it so often. Li-ion batteries only have a limited number of charge/deplete cycles.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[NKyAdventurer]

I have a Samsung Droid. I have 2 replacement batteries and several charger cables, including the originals when I purchased the phone. Everything was fine until about 2 weeks ago when any combination I utilized would not let the phone charge when it is "ON". If I turn the phone "OFF" and use any cable or any battery, it will charge. Verizon instructed me to do a hard re-set which was a pain in the butt because I lost all my apps. The problem is still not resolved. The only way to charge the phone is to turn it "OFF"

 

[acejavelin]

I have a Samsung Droid. I have 2 replacement batteries and several charger cables, including the originals when I purchased the phone. Everything was fine until about 2 weeks ago when any combination I utilized would not let the phone charge when it is "ON". If I turn the phone "OFF" and use any cable or any battery, it will charge. Verizon instructed me to do a hard re-set which was a pain in the butt because I lost all my apps. The problem is still not resolved. The only way to charge the phone is to turn it "OFF"

Most charging issues I have seen with the Stratosphere are charger related, you must use a charger with an output rating of at least 1A (1000mA) or the phone will not charge properly. I tried to use an LG charger rated at 700mA and had EXACTLY the issue you are describing with it only charging when turned off, yet using the stock Samsung charger (rated at 1000mA) would charge the phone on or off. All that said, if you have several chargers and all are doing the same thing, you probably have a defective device and if you continue to have issues you should consider getting a warranty replacement from VZW.

 

[teapot100]

I've been having this battery charging problem too off and on for the past 2-3 months. I had it for 4 months and it worked perfectly before it started getting all wonky on me. I use the charger/cord/whatever that came with the phone. What has worked for me so far is if I take the battery out for awhile, as has already been suggested, and then replace it. But even then, there's been the odd occasion when I have to do that a few times before it will start recharging for me. The charging issue doesn't happen everytime - but often enough for it to be a pain in the butt.

So, the question is - should I return it and get it replaced (I've only had it for 7 months now) or will it keep happening anyway with the replacement anyway? It sounds like some of you have had a problem with your replacement phones? Even if I were to do a hard re-set, would I still have the same issues? For those of you who have done so, have you continued to have problems with charging?

 

[minimina13]

My mom had this problem when she got my sister's phone. She was trying all the chargers we have, my sisters's old Blackberry chargers and my Sony Ericsson charger. She found a Motorola charger my sister's friend left and it worked. I'd suggest trying a Motorola charger that you or your friend may have lying around and see how that works out.

 

[jen_2012]

I have similar charging problems, but the problem with mine is that I have to wiggle my charger for the phone to catch it, and even then, it won't always catch the charger and it charges so slow. Plus, when it does have a full battery, and I'm heavy on using my phone for listening to music CONSTANTLY and being on the internet or chatting with friends, my phone drains now after barely 4 hours when just two months ago I could go almost the whole day without plugging it in. What's wrong here?