[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by ampere

A charger connecting to the device Via USB2.0 cannot pump more 500mA. Because thats the max rating for USB2.0. (1 unit of 100 mA and a max of 5 units I think). So they may not even make a 2A charger because USB interface wont be able to handle it. USB 3 I think handles a max of 900mA. (6x150)

Thats why many of those big portable hard disks have multiple USB2.0 connections, which are slowly changing to single USB3 connection. But if you have multiple USB connections, then what you say is true. But in phones, its only a single USB connection.

My Galaxy note 2 charges much faster when I use my brothers galaxy tab charger. If I use the 500mA charger its much slower.
I don't think chargers "restrict" to standards. That is why "USB" chargers of tablets etc., have higher current ratings than 500mA

EDIT: I found that the Phone detects a USB host ID. So when its connected to your laptop it does not draw more than 500mA.
However, if its connected to a charger, there is no Host ID, so it gets the max current the charger can drive!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by TheTeacher

Sheesh, there's no end to privacy rape these days. I feel like becoming a Luddite and heading for the hills. ... ... ... How long I can hang on to the last bits of privacy is the question, not if!

This is the downside of Android, and it is a big one. Google, far from doing no evil, want to capture all our souls. It brings to life the old myth that taking a photograph captures the spirit of the subject. Perhaps that is Google's aim!

I do not use internet or search facilities on the mobile very much, but last time I did, I was shocked to see that Google search presented me with the last few search terms I had used on the computer. It does not take a lot of imagination to see how that could be somewhat embarrassing.

Well, my search terms were boringly harmless, but still, I feel it is intrusive, and I found the option to turn it off.

In fact, I have frozen (Titanium Backup) Search on my phone. It may be the thing that Google most wants me to do with the thing, but it is not what I most want to do, and pressing the button accidentally is a pain. If I want search, I'll use a browser. I don't want Google Now either.

Perhaps I'll just join you in the hills, but we'll have to remember to turn off the location-sharing services before we leave.

[bluevolt]

Is it really advisable to install antivirus apps on Android smartphones? They are known to slow down the phone!

[k_nitin_r]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Is it really advisable to install antivirus apps on Android smartphones? They are known to slow down the phone!

Antivirus software typically slows down the devices that it runs on, which is why old computers happily run Linux under a non-root account and the hardware seems adequate.

If you don't install any Android apps and just use your phone for making and receiving calls and for SMS text messaging, then it's unlikely that you will have any malware on your device. If you do install software, stick to authoritative software repositories (though sometimes those can let in malware if they don't do a proper check). A non-rooted Android device also limits what you can do with it so you aren't likely to brick the device if it does get affected by malware.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

EDIT: I found that the Phone detects a USB host ID. So when its connected to your laptop it does not draw more than 500mA.
However, if its connected to a charger, there is no Host ID, so it gets the max current the charger can drive!

That may be the reason. 500/900mA restriction in slave modes. A charger would not ascertain that mode.

That also explains why older portable hard disks needed to two USB 2.0 ports. Because they would only be connected in a slave mode and current rating is restricted.
But having said that, we also need to find out if the phone's power management circuit can take that higher current rating. (Should not be major problem I guess.)

[Kimified]

Originally Posted by PPS

Thanks for the advice. I allowed the phone to drain till about 15%. After that i have put it on charging.
In the past 4hrs it has gained about 72% battery. So i'm assuming the phone is back to normal now?
Whenever something goes wrong with the phone, i get an anxiety attack!

Originally Posted by promit

Sorry mate, the rate of charge is definitely not what it should be. A 57% gain in 4 hours isn't normal man. Trust me. Observe and see how it goes for the next week or so and then have it checked. Initially this problem crops up like this and gets worse.
Also, try and fiddle with the part of the wire which goes into the phone. like shift and twist it a little like you would when there is a loose connection and see if it makes a difference? That's how I charge my bloody phone everyday, hit and trial basis.

OT- I don't get anxiety,I abuse the hell out of Samsung in my head and remember all those who told me to avoid the S3 because of build quality. that aside, its a great phone.

Originally Posted by Eddy

A friend of mine faced a similar problem with his Note 2. Turned out to be a faulty USB/charger wire.

Originally Posted by ampere

A charger connecting to the device Via USB2.0 cannot pump more 500mA. Because thats the max rating for USB2.0. (1 unit of 100 mA and a max of 5 units I think). So they may not even make a 2A charger because USB interface wont be able to handle it. USB 3 I think handles a max of 900mA. (6x150)

Thats why many of those big portable hard disks have multiple USB2.0 connections, which are slowly changing to single USB3 connection. But if you have multiple USB connections, then what you say is true. But in phones, its only a single USB connection.

I have a Note 2 from November 2012. Had absolutely no complaints with it till last month. Its so fast and pretty much did everything I wanted - So, I did not even root it (I generally root phones like a week after buying)

Faced very similar charging issue sometime last month. The charging had become slow. Slow meaning *extremely* slow. What used to take 2 or 2.5 hours now used to take close to 7 or 8 hours for full charge - This with the proper 2 amp charger and not the USB charging which is 4 times slower (500ma max current output). I never charge using USB since it just eats a lot of time.

Tried to find the cause for it. I never doubted the cable initially. Thought the main charger had a problem. Tried with a friend's 2 Amp note 2 charger (with his own cable). It still had the same problem. *Mistake number 1*

Downloaded the galaxy current lite app and it showed that the charge current is 300 ma when its connected to the charger. (Got to know online that this should ideally be around 1700 mah for the note 2 with the 2 amp charger).

I straight away decided that there is some problem with my phone coz it can't happen that it charges slowly with 2 different chargers. Did a reset of the phone and tried again. No use. The problem persisted. Went to the galaxy service center at the Dreams Mall in Bhandup (Mumbai), they tried with a different charge cable and still the problem persisted. So, they said they are going to replace the charging module and give it back. Took a whole of 8 days and numerous calls and escalation to get in 8 days - Samsung service is totally screwed up. Have owned an Iphone and HTC product before this, had a much smoother experience with them whenever I had problems.

The reasons they quoted for delay was even funnier - Part is not available! Remember that this was before the Note 3 release and was then a top of the line Note product. When I spoke to escalation team, they understood where I was coming from and stopped giving all the funny reasons - Part not available / Coming from Chennai so would take time. The best part is, I made the call to the escalation team when the service center guy said there is no part available on the morning of the 8th day. And, the phone was ready by evening!

Did not bother to check if it was working fine at the service center coz I was just so relieved to get the phone back. Came back home and yeah, the problem was still not solved! After all that circus, I was back to square one.

Went to my friends room again to try different combinations of charger / charge cable that would pin point the reason (He has a note 2 too). Lo and behold, I came to conclusion that my friend was having the same problem as mine. He is not such a tech guy and never bothered to notice it all the while! He said he used to put his phone for charge for 7 or 8 hours overnight and it would run the whole day. He doesn't use many apps or data throughout the day as well. So, it didnt really hurt him to notice the problem. Remember *Mistake number 1*. Well this was it. I cursed myself for not trying these combinations out the first time!

Then I goto another friends room in a hope of finding something. He has a motorola with a 800 mah charger, but, that cable of Motorola looked really sturdy and thick - Much thicker than the Samsung default one. I used that cable with my charger and finally - 1700 mah reading on the galaxy current app. I went bonkers.So, it was after all a cable problem.

But wait, I tried my samsung cable on his phone and there was no difference in charging rates with his default motorola cable and my samsung cable (the one which I thought had conked off). I exchanged the cable with him and am till today using the same cable of Motorola!

If it was actually a cable problem, why wasn't it detected when the service center guy swapped the cables? I wondered. So, when I was in Bangalore and had some free time, I went to many shops trying out multiple micro usb charge cables. Out of the 7 or 8 different ones I tried, I got only one cable which charged at 1700. The rest would top off at 1100, 800, 900 odd. I really don't know what's going on. I did not pick up that one cable that charged at 1700 since the price he quoted was insanely high. (He knew I was impressed with the cable)

Came home and searched for cable on ebay. There are tons of them. Saw a seller selling a flat micro usb cable. He had high ratings and was a power seller and he claimed that the cable was for Note 2 and S3. 150 bucks. I thought ill give it a try. The cable looked good, but, when I put it to charge, same old problem, charges at 700 mah max. I got bugged and stop bothering about buying a new one. I still use the Motorola cable and my friend uses my Samsung one. I have also told him that I am not giving that Motorola cable back anytime soon and if he wants he can use the flat cable I got from ebay as well Cheers.

[IndigoXLGrandDi]

I have now changed my Mind and want to go for Lenovo Phone. I hope they are better if not best.

My options are-
1) S820-
a) Display- 4.7", b) Battery- 2000 mAh, c) Camera- 12 MP and 2 MP.

2) S920-
a) Display- 5.3", b) Battery- 2250 mAh, c) Camera- 8 MP and 2 MP

3) P780-
a) Display- 5.0", b) Battery- 4000mAh, c) Camera- 8 MP and 720p (When searched online it came to ~0.9 MP)

Which of the above phone's Primary Camera has best capturing capability? I have read here that the 8 MP of Karbonn's phone has bad capturing capability. Is the same in case of Lenovo?

I want to know whether the 2250mAh Battery is sufficient for 5.3" Display of S920 (I know the backup wont be as good as 4000mAh of P780 one though. But still I want to know)?
Also whether all above three phones don't have removable battery option?

I am confused between the above three models.
As far as my budget of 20K is concerned, I have checked out eBay prices for above three phones and all come under 20K Price Bracket at some sellers.

Please help me experts.
One more doubt I have-

Does 4.2 Jelly Bean by default come with Kingsoft Office? If not can I install it from Google Play or some other source for Free?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Kimified

I still use the Motorola cable and my friend uses my Samsung one. I have also told him that I am not giving that Motorola cable back anytime soon and if he wants he can use the flat cable I got from ebay as well Cheers.

The only thing I can think-off is high ohmic drop on some of these cables. As a result you see lower current being sourced. A thicker cable I hope should give a lower resistance and hence can source higher current.

BTW I also have a Motorola cable of my old Atrix2.
Though I never bothered to check how long it takes.

But I also see the charging time for Xperia ZR is quite good. Xperia cable is also quite sturdy.

Most of these cables are designed within the USB spec. The higher current sinking capability may be outside the USB spec when in slave mode (As TSK observed).
Hence when used as chargers, different cables may give different charging times (even if the source charger has the same current capacity to pump)

[bluevolt]

Though this has nothing to do with slow charging rate in Note II, My brother keeps his Note II connected to charger whole night.

Some times I do same with my HTC One V, Is this fine?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by ampere

The only thing I can think-off is high ohmic drop on some of these cables. As a result you see lower current being sourced. A thicker cable I hope should give a lower resistance and hence can source higher current.

BTW I also have a Motorola cable of my old Atrix2.
Though I never bothered to check how long it takes.

But I also see the charging time for Xperia ZR is quite good. Xperia cable is also quite sturdy.

Most of these cables are designed within the USB spec. The higher current sinking capability may be outside the USB spec when in slave mode (As TSK observed).
Hence when used as chargers, different cables may give different charging times (even if the source charger has the same current capacity to pump)

Yes, its a big problem. 90% of these cheap cables in the market do not allow more than 500-600mAh of current.
I had to buy 2-3 different cables before I could get fast charging from my in car charger.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by ampere

The only thing I can think-off is high ohmic drop...

I thought, surely there's no such word as ohmic!

Then I thought... someone called "ampere" probably knows better than me

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I thought, surely there's no such word as ohmic!

He He! True. Ohmic is used more for "contacts", "heating" etc which are manifestations of resistive nature. (More of a technical term rather than English!)
I just dared to use it that way! I should have mentioned IR drop!

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by Kimified

Faced very similar charging issue sometime last month. The charging had become slow. Slow meaning *extremely* slow. What used to take 2 or 2.5 hours now used to take close to 7 or 8 hours for full charge - This with the proper 2 amp charger and not the USB charging which is 4 times slower (500ma max current output). I never charge using USB since it just eats a lot of time.


--------------------SNIP----------------------------

.

Originally Posted by ampere

The only thing I can think-off is high ohmic drop on some of these cables. As a result you see lower current being sourced. A thicker cable I hope should give a lower resistance and hence can source higher current.

BTW I also have a Motorola cable of my old Atrix2.
Though I never bothered to check how long it takes.

But I also see the charging time for Xperia ZR is quite good. Xperia cable is also quite sturdy.

Most of these cables are designed within the USB spec. The higher current sinking capability may be outside the USB spec when in slave mode (As TSK observed).
Hence when used as chargers, different cables may give different charging times (even if the source charger has the same current capacity to pump)

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Yes, its a big problem. 90% of these cheap cables in the market do not allow more than 500-600mAh of current.
I had to buy 2-3 different cables before I could get fast charging from my in car charger.

Question is, if the problem is with the cable then why did not show the slow charging problem from Day 1? Did the resistance of the cable magically increase over time? If so, then what is the guarantee that if you purchase a new cable , it will work fine properly for a long time?

PS: Any such current measuring app for Nexus4?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Question is, if the problem is with the cable then why did not show the slow charging problem from Day 1? Did the resistance of the cable magically increase over time? If so, then what is the guarantee that if you purchase a new cable , it will work fine properly for a long time?

Good point. I have no idea. Charging time should not have changed.

Again I can only venture to guess: Any thing to do with the contacts? I do agree suddenly the resistance cant change just like that unless something physically snapped inside. And assuming the charger is correct, the only other I can think about is some increase in contact resistance over time. Please don't flame me for this. I am just thinking loud and its pure guess work. Thats also seems quite low a possibility.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by ampere

Good point. I have no idea. Charging time should not have changed.

Again I can only venture to guess: Any thing to do with the contacts? I do agree suddenly the resistance cant change just like that unless something physically snapped inside. And assuming the charger is correct, the only other I can think about is some increase in contact resistance over time. Please don't flame me for this. I am just thinking loud and its pure guess work. Thats also seems quite low a possibility.

Why low possibility. If there is corrosion at the contact area, it can cause current drop, right?