FAQ: Why is charging of Motorola phones so slow on the travel charger?

Q: Why is charging of Motorola phones so slow on the travel charger?

A: The standard travel charger packaged by Motorola with many current phones
puts out insufficient power for fastest possible charging and for continuous
use while charging.

For example, charger SSW-0509 for the V551 puts out only 375 mA. The V551
detects this as a slow charger, and thus keeps the external display backlight
off during charging. Worse, there's not enough current to keep up with use of
the phone while charging, so while the phone is use, the battery will still be
discharged even with the phone on the charger. With a fast charger the
external display backlight is on during charging, and the phone can be used
while the battery is charging.

Motorola makes fast 1500 mA chargers that are compatible with these phones:
* SPN4716* (where * might be "B" or "C"), also known as
* NNTN4250 (nominally for Nextel, but also works with non-Nextel phones).
These chargers are readily available from dealers and on eBay for under $15
(plus shipping)

For what it's worth, Motorola probably saved less than $1 in cost by packaging
slow chargers instead of fast chargers with these phones.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

---

› See More: FAQ: Why is charging of Motorola phones so slow on the travel charger?

John Navas wrote:
> Q: Why is charging of Motorola phones so slow on the travel charger?
>
> A: The standard travel charger packaged by Motorola with many current
> phones puts out insufficient power for fastest possible charging and
> for continuous use while charging.
>
> For example, charger SSW-0509 for the V551 puts out only 375 mA. The
> V551 detects this as a slow charger, and thus keeps the external
> display backlight off during charging. Worse, there's not enough
> current to keep up with use of the phone while charging, so while the
> phone is use, the battery will still be discharged even with the
> phone on the charger. With a fast charger the external display
> backlight is on during charging, and the phone can be used while the
> battery is charging.
>
> Motorola makes fast 1500 mA chargers that are compatible with these
> phones:
> * SPN4716* (where * might be "B" or "C"), also known as
> * NNTN4250 (nominally for Nextel, but also works with non-Nextel
> phones). These chargers are readily available from dealers and on
> eBay for under $15 (plus shipping)
>
> For what it's worth, Motorola probably saved less than $1 in cost by
> packaging slow chargers instead of fast chargers with these phones.

Well, $1 per charger over one million chargers is...you do the math.
Accountants and MBAs make their living on these numbers.

Q

In alt.cellular.cingular John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:
> For example, charger SSW-0509 for the V551 puts out only 375 mA. The
> V551 detects this as a slow charger, and thus keeps the external display

My v60 and V551 came with SPN5037A-model SSW-0509, and SPN5037B-model 5012,
I don't know which was which. They are both 375mA, and the backlight of
the V551 goes out during charging.

> backlight off during charging. Worse, there's not enough current to keep
> up with use of the phone while charging, so while the phone is use, the
> battery will still be discharged even with the phone on the charger.

After depleting my battery using the v551 Bluetooth GPRS-tethered to the
internet, I plugged in one of the chargers, and continued using Bluetooth
for another hour or two. I recall that the phone did increase charge level
during that time.

Trying to search the difference between the 5037A and 5037B, I found
http://www.aftermarketcellular.com/ic/SPN5037.html $12.95
Which lists the v60 and the V551.
"This Motorola CE series cell phone compatible 110 Volt AC travel battery
charger can operate your cell phone when attached to a discharged cell
phone battery. "

http://www.aftermarketcellular.com/ic/SPN5037B.html $11.95
Which lists the v60 but not the V551.
"This Motorola [...] cellular phone compatible 110 Volt AC travel battery
charger cannot operate your cell-phone when attached to a discharged
cell-phone battery. "

Could it be that some of the early v551 battery life complaints had to do
with the poor charger? I don't shut my phone off when I plug it in to the
charger. It is charged up the next morning.

As it happens, my v551 is moderately discharged right now. With the flip
open, plugging in the 5037B indicates "unable to charge" three times in
three tries. The 5037A shows "charging" three out of three. The 5037B
fails again, three out of three... but I use it to charge this phone often.
With the flip closed, the 5037B goes to "charging" three out of three.
The additional load of the LCD?

A 5037A is newer than a 5037B?

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Mon, 19 Sep 2005 17:34:44 -0600,
"Quaoar" <[email protected]> wrote:

>> For what it's worth, Motorola probably saved less than $1 in cost by
>> packaging slow chargers instead of fast chargers with these phones.
>
>Well, $1 per charger over one million chargers is...you do the math.
>Accountants and MBAs make their living on these numbers.

Minus the sales lost to disgruntled prospects and customers, which makes it
not necessarily a win for Motorola, a factor often overlooked by "bookies" and
MBA types without real market experience. My personal opinion is that this
kind of thinking is what contributed to Motorola's big decline in cellular.
New that the company has been bouncing back it seems to be forgetting how it
first got in trouble.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

My complaint with the Moto chargers is with the connection. I had a Mpx 220
( and their Bluetooth headset) and the chargers never really make a solid
connection.
Also, when I plugged the phone into the USB connection (To charge & active
sync), the computer was always beeping as the computer made a connection,
and then lost the connection with the phone. (On and Off all the time as
the connection is always loose).
I now have an Audiovox, and the connection type is a much more solid
connection.

--
Dana


"John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> Q: Why is charging of Motorola phones so slow on the travel charger?
>
> A: The standard travel charger packaged by Motorola with many current
> phones
> puts out insufficient power for fastest possible charging and for
> continuous
> use while charging.
>
> For example, charger SSW-0509 for the V551 puts out only 375 mA. The V551
> detects this as a slow charger, and thus keeps the external display
> backlight
> off during charging. Worse, there's not enough current to keep up with
> use of
> the phone while charging, so while the phone is use, the battery will
> still be
> discharged even with the phone on the charger. With a fast charger the
> external display backlight is on during charging, and the phone can be
> used
> while the battery is charging.
>
> Motorola makes fast 1500 mA chargers that are compatible with these
> phones:
> * SPN4716* (where * might be "B" or "C"), also known as
> * NNTN4250 (nominally for Nextel, but also works with non-Nextel phones).
> These chargers are readily available from dealers and on eBay for under
> $15
> (plus shipping)
>
> For what it's worth, Motorola probably saved less than $1 in cost by
> packaging
> slow chargers instead of fast chargers with these phones.
>
> --
> Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
> John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Mon, 19 Sep 2005 21:31:25
-0400, "Dana" <[email protected]> wrote:

>My complaint with the Moto chargers is with the connection. I had a Mpx 220
>( and their Bluetooth headset) and the chargers never really make a solid
>connection.

FWIW, I've never seen that problem.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

In article <[email protected]>,
John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:
>[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]
>
>In <[email protected]> on Mon, 19 Sep 2005 21:31:25
>-0400, "Dana" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>My complaint with the Moto chargers is with the connection. I had a Mpx 220
>>( and their Bluetooth headset) and the chargers never really make a solid
>>connection.
>
>FWIW, I've never seen that problem.

People have been complaining about "unable to charge" and other symptoms
related to poor contact between charger and phone since the days of the
V60.

What is amazing is that the bottom of the line Motorola phones use a
simple coaxial DC power jack which provides a much more secure connection.
Perhaps this will also go away if the world moves to an integrated
mini-USB jack which provides both data connectivity and DC imput for
charging as the Razr and successors do.

"John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> Q: Why is charging of Motorola phones so slow on the travel charger?
>
> A: The standard travel charger packaged by Motorola with many current
> phones
> puts out insufficient power for fastest possible charging and for
> continuous
> use while charging.
>
> For example, charger SSW-0509 for the V551 puts out only 375 mA. The V551
> detects this as a slow charger, and thus keeps the external display
> backlight
> off during charging. Worse, there's not enough current to keep up with
> use of
> the phone while charging, so while the phone is use, the battery will
> still be
> discharged even with the phone on the charger. With a fast charger the
> external display backlight is on during charging, and the phone can be
> used
> while the battery is charging.
>
> Motorola makes fast 1500 mA chargers that are compatible with these
> phones:
> * SPN4716* (where * might be "B" or "C"), also known as
> * NNTN4250 (nominally for Nextel, but also works with non-Nextel phones).
> These chargers are readily available from dealers and on eBay for under
> $15
> (plus shipping)
>
> For what it's worth, Motorola probably saved less than $1 in cost by
> packaging
> slow chargers instead of fast chargers with these phones.


I have a half dozen Moto chargers form various purchases over the last
several years. Not one of them makes a stable connection to charge a phone.
They are absolutely worthless and have been one of the biggest reasons I've
stopped being so loyal to Motorola. I still have an MPX220, but the only way
to charge it is with the USB connection to my desktop. Since I don't leave
it running all night, which is typically when I re-charge my phone, it is a
real inconvenience. More often than not, I leave the MPX home and carry my
Treo. I hope Motorola starts to get it, but I'm not very hopeful.

Why not use a portable charger with the mini-USB connector? You can get
them on ebay for under $10 or OEM ones for about $15. I have several for
my v3. The new lightweight ones weigh virtually nothing and have a
faster charge rate too.

From:Ric
[email protected]

> "John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]...
>> Q: Why is charging of Motorola phones so slow on the travel charger?
>>
>> A: The standard travel charger packaged by Motorola with many current
>> phones
>> puts out insufficient power for fastest possible charging and for
>> continuous
>> use while charging.
>>
>> For example, charger SSW-0509 for the V551 puts out only 375 mA. The
>> V551 detects this as a slow charger, and thus keeps the external
>> display backlight
>> off during charging. Worse, there's not enough current to keep up
>> with use of
>> the phone while charging, so while the phone is use, the battery will
>> still be
>> discharged even with the phone on the charger. With a fast charger
>> the external display backlight is on during charging, and the phone
>> can be used
>> while the battery is charging.
>>
>> Motorola makes fast 1500 mA chargers that are compatible with these
>> phones:
>> * SPN4716* (where * might be "B" or "C"), also known as
>> * NNTN4250 (nominally for Nextel, but also works with non-Nextel
>> phones). These chargers are readily available from dealers and on
>> eBay for under $15
>> (plus shipping)
>>
>> For what it's worth, Motorola probably saved less than $1 in cost by
>> packaging
>> slow chargers instead of fast chargers with these phones.
>
>
> I have a half dozen Moto chargers form various purchases over the last
> several years. Not one of them makes a stable connection to charge a
> phone. They are absolutely worthless and have been one of the biggest
> reasons I've stopped being so loyal to Motorola. I still have an
> MPX220, but the only way to charge it is with the USB connection to
> my desktop. Since I don't leave it running all night, which is
> typically when I re-charge my phone, it is a real inconvenience. More
> often than not, I leave the MPX home and carry my Treo. I hope
> Motorola starts to get it, but I'm not very hopeful.

In alt.cellular.cingular Mike S. <[email protected]> wrote:
> People have been complaining about "unable to charge" and other symptoms
> related to poor contact between charger and phone since the days of the
> V60.

Or is that actually an underpowered charger that has now been corrected?

> What is amazing is that the bottom of the line Motorola phones use a
> simple coaxial DC power jack which provides a much more secure connection.

I was surprised to see that the v220 and v551 had different DC and USB
connections. The v220 uses a standard USB cable where the V551 has that
odd Motorola-exclusive poor connector.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

In article <[email protected]>,
<[email protected]> wrote:
>In alt.cellular.cingular Mike S. <[email protected]> wrote:
>> People have been complaining about "unable to charge" and other symptoms
>> related to poor contact between charger and phone since the days of the
>> V60.
>
>Or is that actually an underpowered charger that has now been corrected?

No, since cleaning the contacts on the phone often fixes it.

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Tue, 20 Sep 2005 19:36:50 +0000 (UTC),
[email protected] wrote:

>In alt.cellular.cingular Mike S. <[email protected]> wrote:
>> People have been complaining about "unable to charge" and other symptoms
>> related to poor contact between charger and phone since the days of the
>> V60.
>
>Or is that actually an underpowered charger

That's my guess in many of the cases -- you've got the phone on the charger,
but the battery still goes flat, which makes it look like the charger isn't
working.

>that has now been corrected?

Hardly -- Motorola is still bundling wimpy chargers.

>> What is amazing is that the bottom of the line Motorola phones use a
>> simple coaxial DC power jack which provides a much more secure connection.
>
>I was surprised to see that the v220 and v551 had different DC and USB
>connections. The v220 uses a standard USB cable where the V551 has that
>odd Motorola-exclusive poor connector.

That odd connector is actually a good design that enables high-end features
like drop-in car adapters.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Tue, 20 Sep 2005 20:55:43 +0000 (UTC),
[email protected] (Mike S.) wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>In alt.cellular.cingular Mike S. <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> People have been complaining about "unable to charge" and other symptoms
>>> related to poor contact between charger and phone since the days of the
>>> V60.
>>
>>Or is that actually an underpowered charger that has now been corrected?
>
>No, since cleaning the contacts on the phone often fixes it.

They didn't get dirty by themselves. How is abusing the phone the fault of
Motorola?

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

In article <X3%[email protected]>,
John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:
>[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]
>
>In <[email protected]> on Tue, 20 Sep 2005 20:55:43 +0000 (UTC),
>[email protected] (Mike S.) wrote:
>
>>In article <[email protected]>,
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>In alt.cellular.cingular Mike S. <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>> People have been complaining about "unable to charge" and other symptoms
>>>> related to poor contact between charger and phone since the days of the
>>>> V60.
>>>
>>>Or is that actually an underpowered charger that has now been corrected?
>>
>>No, since cleaning the contacts on the phone often fixes it.
>
>They didn't get dirty by themselves. How is abusing the phone the fault of
>Motorola?

It isn't. But designing a connector which places uncovered electrical
contacts facing outwards, where they can get dirty or contaminated with
routine use, is their fault.

In alt.cellular.cingular John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:

>>Or is that actually an underpowered charger that has now been corrected?

> Hardly -- Motorola is still bundling wimpy chargers.

Although they are both rated at 375mA, it seems that the old one and new
one that I have are actually different in practice.

I have found separate listings at the same web site offering the "v60" and
"v60 + v551" chargers at different prices, the old one with an admonition
about not being able to use the phone while charging a dead battery.

I haven't seen good specs for the chargers on a Motorola web site.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5