Razr Battery Charging

Can someone enlighten me on unexpected behavior?

I use a Razr V3 on a prepaid T-Mobile account, averaging perhaps 2 or 3 calls
a month.

Every day I come to work and plug the Razr into a USB cable dangling from the
computer. To my surprise, the phone invariably shows one bar on the three-bar
charging bar. It charges for a couple hours, reports "Charge Complete" with
three bars, and the next day it will be back to one bar.

On the weekends, I plug into a real AC charger with the same result.

I've replaced the battery, admittedly with an eBay off-brand unit, without
affecting the problem.

If I don't plug in, after a few days I'll get a "low battery" beep and
warning. The phone seems fine, the little bit I use it.

Do I have a bad battery, bad phone, or complete misunderstanding?

Art

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› See More: Razr Battery Charging

I agree with Bill -- if you can live a bit 'dangerously,' let it run
down to the warning point. There should be enough left for a minute or
two. Lithiums are supposed to have less 'overcharge memory' than NiCads
and NiMH batts but my Thinkpad laptops have a special charging routine
to avoid killing the battery.

I just graduated (company made me move) to the Razr style GSM phone
(AT&T). The battery is smaller than in my old CDMA phone (Verizon).
Make/receive two or three short calls each day. Am having to recharge
every other day instead of once a week. My impression -- GSM, when
idling must use a lot more juice than did CDMA.

--
pj

Bill wrote:
> I believe you have over charged the battery.
> I let mine beep low battery before I charge it.
>
> Maybe three or four days.
>
> "Arthur Shapiro" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Can someone enlighten me on unexpected behavior?
>>
>> I use a Razr V3 on a prepaid T-Mobile account, averaging perhaps 2 or 3
>> calls
>> a month.
>>
>> Every day I come to work and plug the Razr into a USB cable dangling from
>> the
>> computer. To my surprise, the phone invariably shows one bar on the
>> three-bar
>> charging bar. It charges for a couple hours, reports "Charge Complete"
>> with
>> three bars, and the next day it will be back to one bar.
>>
>> On the weekends, I plug into a real AC charger with the same result.
>>
>> I've replaced the battery, admittedly with an eBay off-brand unit, without
>> affecting the problem.
>>
>> If I don't plug in, after a few days I'll get a "low battery" beep and
>> warning. The phone seems fine, the little bit I use it.
>>
>> Do I have a bad battery, bad phone, or complete misunderstanding?
>>
>> Art
>
>

Arthur Shapiro wrote:
> Can someone enlighten me on unexpected behavior?
>
> I use a Razr V3 on a prepaid T-Mobile account, averaging perhaps 2 or 3 calls
> a month.
>
> Every day I come to work and plug the Razr into a USB cable dangling from the
> computer. To my surprise, the phone invariably shows one bar on the three-bar
> charging bar. It charges for a couple hours, reports "Charge Complete" with
> three bars, and the next day it will be back to one bar.
>
> On the weekends, I plug into a real AC charger with the same result.
>
> I've replaced the battery, admittedly with an eBay off-brand unit, without
> affecting the problem.
>
> If I don't plug in, after a few days I'll get a "low battery" beep and
> warning. The phone seems fine, the little bit I use it.
>
> Do I have a bad battery, bad phone, or complete misunderstanding?
>
> Art

I think, perhaps, misunderstanding. Your RAZR should be able to run on
standby for three or four days if you start with a fully charged
battery. From your description, it seems that your RAZR will, in fact,
run for several days if you don't make or receive calls. If you spend
three or four hours talking on the phone you will probably run your
battery down to near zero.

I put my phone on charge when I go to bed at night and take it off when
I get up in the morning. Like you, I very seldom make or receive
calls; I carry the phone in case I need to make or receive a call when
I'm not at home.

"Arthur Shapiro" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Can someone enlighten me on unexpected behavior?
>
> I use a Razr V3 on a prepaid T-Mobile account, averaging perhaps 2 or 3
> calls
> a month.
>
> Every day I come to work and plug the Razr into a USB cable dangling from
> the
> computer. To my surprise, the phone invariably shows one bar on the
> three-bar
> charging bar. It charges for a couple hours, reports "Charge Complete"
> with
> three bars, and the next day it will be back to one bar.
>
> On the weekends, I plug into a real AC charger with the same result.
>
> I've replaced the battery, admittedly with an eBay off-brand unit, without
> affecting the problem.
>
> If I don't plug in, after a few days I'll get a "low battery" beep and
> warning. The phone seems fine, the little bit I use it.
>
> Do I have a bad battery, bad phone, or complete misunderstanding?
>
> Art

I think the sensing circuit is confused.

You need to run it flat and charge it up again (with the charger).

USB lines usually only trickle charge a phone, and whilst they will keep a
switched on phone going, will do very little to actually charging the
battery.