One of the biggest issues we see on a daily basis is charging related problems. Normally a cell phone that does not charge or a battery that will not hold a charge. While a broken charger port is very likely to blame, far too often the port is fine and the issue lies with the charger. It is important to understand that just because the charger ‘fits’, that does not mean it should be used.
Your cell phone charger is a transformer designed to convert household current to safe levels for charging your cell phone. On your charger, there is a label containing two sets of figures, one for input and one for output values. The input values are pretty standard at 100-240v~50/60 Hz. (what the charger can accept from AC current). The output values, the voltage and amperage, will vary to some degree. For optimum charging, as well as phone, charger, and battery life, it is important that these numbers match your phone’s charging requirements.
Output voltage – Most cell phones use 3.6 volt to 3.7 volt batteries (fully charged at 4.2 volts). The charger used must have a voltage output value greater than 4.2 but not significantly higher to avoid damage. The vast majority of cell phone chargers on the market are generally rated at 5.0 or 5.1 volts.
Output amperage – This indicates the maximum amount of current available from the charger. Using a charger with an amp output rating lower than required by WILL create a number of issues ranging from very slow charge rates to complete device failure. The greater the difference between the charger’s output and the cell phone’s need, the greater the risk for catastrophic damage.
Using a charger with a higher amp output is normally safe. The amp rating indicates, as mentioned, the amount of current available – not the amount of current that WILL be supplied. If your phone requires 700mA to charge and you use a charger with a 1A output, the phone will draw only up to the 700mA. The charger simply operates below its maximum limit. However, failure can still occur. While cell phones and batteries have internal regulators to protect against overcharging, this protection may be compromised. Defective or damaged batteries, damage from prior use of low amp chargers, etc. can result in the cell phone drawing excess current if the supply allows it. The end result can be a burnt main board.
One additional consideration must be given to the charger used – the design of the charge circuit in the phone. While it would seem acceptable to use a Motorola charger with your Blackberry (interestingly, a vast majority of the Blackberry models we see with charging issues come in with Motorola chargers), as the Blackberry requires 500 to 700mA and Motorola chargers are rated to 850mA, there is an issue as illustrated by a recent repair. After replacing the charger port on a Blackberry 8320, the phone was reassembled and tested (inadvertently) with a Motorola charger. When the charger was connected, the phone charged successfully. However, when I went back and connected the 8320 to the Blackberry charger, it failed to charge! After re-examining the port, I found an open short at one of the soldered connections. After re-repair, and further testing, the Blackberry worked as expected.
So, while the Motorola charger was safe to use based on its rating, it provided current through a different path than designed. Depending on the charge path utilized by the Motorola charger and circuit protection through that path, significant damage can occur.
What does all of this mean to you? Using a low quality, universal, or the wrong high quality charger can lead to poor charging performance, damaged batteries, or permanent damage to your cell phone. It is the equivalent to replacing the tires on your high performance sports car with ones that have a lower speed rating than recommended just to save a few bucks. The tires will not last and when they fail, the results could be catastrophic.
Our recommendation – ONLY use the charger designed for your phone by its manufacturer! Have a Blackberry, use a Blackberry charger.
Not sure if you have the correct charger, give us a shout. Even if you choose to buy the charger elsewhere, we will happily provide you with the correct part number for the charger you need.
Tags: white paper
It was a really nice theme! Just wanna say thank you for the selective information you have fanned. Just continue publishing this kind of post. I will be your patriotic reader. Thanks again.
Wonderful post you have made here! The world wide web is stuffed of terrible penning and I was grabbed by your limpidity. Your endings are dead-on and I will instantly subscribe to your rss feed to remain up to date with your up forthcoming postings. Yes! I acknowledge it, your composing style is grand and i need to improve on mine definitely.
I am stricken by the way you managed this topic. It is not often I come across a web site with intriguing articles like yours. I will make a note of your feed to keep up to date with your hereafter updates. I like it and do sustain up the effective work.
Thank you. If there are topics you would like us to tackle, please let us know.
I do agree with what you said, dont stop updating your blog, that’s nice.
Man, the world needs more authors like you. People who tell it like it is. Thanks
This is one of my most visited sites. Amazing job moderating. And very insightful articles. Rarely does a blog keep me coming back. Happy Holidays.
I suppose I’m going to need to look up a couple more things but this was a really good spring board.
This is an awesome site, I will definitely be adding this site to my bookmarks
@latest virus threats – Is there anything additional information we can provide? (We are also following your Tweets.)
piano sonatas…
Megacool Blog indeed!… if anyone else has anything it would be much appreciated. Great website Enjoy!…
Wow – kinda awesome matter. I’m going to write about it as well.
The blog was decisively fantastic! Lots of great information and animus, both of which we all need!
Just thought you’d be interested to know that I have added you to my bookmarks You make valid points in a concise and pertinent fashion, I will read more of your stuff, many thanks to the author one of my articles hope u enjoy reading take surveys get paid
James Raymond…
I just wanted to leave a comment and let you know how much i enjoyed reading your blog entries. You are an insightful person. Please keep me informed of anything major your writing in the future. Thanks Jim…
Hi dude, nice site Happy Holidays!
Thanks for the very informative post. I have bookmarked the site as
Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.
@Marcus, Thank you.
I admire the valuable information you offer in your articles.I enjoying reading your post. You make right points in a concise and pertinent fashion, This is a really good read for me, thank you for your time.
Did your research lead you to other topics?
Since this is what we do for a living, the post came more from experience and our knowledge base than research.
Robert
Heya i got to your site by mistake when i was searching bing for something off topic here but i do have say your site is really helpful, like the theme and the content on here…so thanks for me procrastinating from my previous task, lol
Hey, this is my first visit to your blog… We are a group of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us valuable information to work on. good job
I’ve really enjoyed reading your articles. You obviously know what you are talking about! Your site is so easy to navigate too, I’ve bookmarked it in my favourites
Your bookmarking strategy is working as I Found you through Stumbleupon.
You article surely was one of the highest points of my Saturday. I was on Bing searching for something totally unrelated when the post caught my attention. I’m glad I took the time to read your post!
Thanks for writing about this. There’s a heap of important tech information on the internet. You’ve got a lot of that info here on your web site. I’m impressed – I try to keep a couple blogs somewhat live, but it’s a struggle sometimes. You’ve done a big job with this one. How do you do it?
You made some good points there.I did a search on the topic and found most people will agree with your blog.Thanks
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me.
Look for a follow up to this topic shortly.
Excellent article, I am a big fan of your website, keep up the good work, and I’ll be a regular for a very long time.
Unlike many posts on the internet, this was fun to read and gave me some valuable input. I will have to put a backlink on my website. Regards. J
I must say that on the whole I am really happy with this site. After reading your post I can tell you are excited about your writing. If only I had your writing ability. I look forward to more updates and will be returning. Thanks!
Good day I’m curious if I can use this article in one of my blogs if I link back to you? Thanks
lol several of the reviews folks write are so silly, in many instances i think about if they in fact read the articles and reviews and items before writing a comment or if perhaps they actually skim the title of the post and come up with the first thing that drifts into their minds. in any case, it is actually pleasant to browse smart commentary every now and then instead of the exact same, outdated post vomit which i oftentimes discover on the net
Mark, as long as credit is properly given and supported with a link back to us, you can re-post our blog entries. Robert
OK good to see- interesting comments are always welcome! Peace.
Good infomation here, thanks.
Just found your blog on google and I think it is a shame that you are not ranked higher since this is a terrific post. To change this I decided to save your site to my RSS reader and I will try to mention you in one of my posts because you really deserv more readers when publishing content of this quality.
Thank you.