Q: Why won't my Motorola phone charge on my non-Motorola USB cable or
charger?
A: This is caused by the wrong cable or connection.
The problem is that not all Mini-B USB cables and connections are the
same -- some are 5-connection and some are 4-connection.
The reason is that Standard-A USB has only 4 connections, whereas Mini-B
USB has 5 connections, the extra connection being the device ID pin.
Some Mini-B USB cables omit the 5th connection.
Only 5-connection will work properly for Motorola charging (without a
Motorola USB driver). A correct cable or connection is what's needed.
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).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Motorola mini USB (EMU) chargers for RAZR, KRZR (with power output if known):
* Wall "travel" (AC) charger (comes with the phone)
+ Motorola SPN5185/SPN5185A/SPN5185B/98604H: 550 mA (mid)
+ Motorola SPN5202/98605: 850 mA (fast)
* Car (12V) charger
+ Motorola SYN1630/SYN0847/98603H/VC700
* External rechargeable battery/charger
+ Motorola SPN5353/P790/98782H
* (5 pin) mini USB cable to computer: 500 mA
+ Motorola SKN6371C
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(For what it's worth, Motorola probably saves less than $1 in cost by
packaging slower chargers instead of fast chargers with its phones.)
On 2009-03-09, Richard B. Gilbert <[email protected]> wrote:
> John Navas wrote:
>> Q: Why won't my Motorola phone charge on my non-Motorola USB cable or
>>
>> charger?
>
> Have you ever noticed how SELDOM these "Frequently Asked Questions" are
> asked here?
The general idea of an FAQ is to pre-empt those questions so people
*don't* ask them. If the answer to a question present in a FAQ answers
the question about to be posed by somebody, and it solves their problem,
of course there's no point in actually asking.
It could be said that if no question in the FAQ is being asked, the FAQ
is doing its job well!
Soruk wrote:
> On 2009-03-09, Richard B. Gilbert <[email protected]> wrote:
>> John Navas wrote:
>>> Q: Why won't my Motorola phone charge on my non-Motorola USB cable or
>>>
>>> charger?
>> Have you ever noticed how SELDOM these "Frequently Asked Questions" are
>> asked here?
>
> The general idea of an FAQ is to pre-empt those questions so people
> *don't* ask them. If the answer to a question present in a FAQ answers
> the question about to be posed by somebody, and it solves their problem,
> of course there's no point in actually asking.
>
> It could be said that if no question in the FAQ is being asked, the FAQ
> is doing its job well!
>
I would be curious to see just how often these questions would be asked
if the "FAQ" were not posted ever couple of weeks.
Once upon a time, M.I.T. hosted a huge archive of FAQs from various
newsgroups at rtfm.mit.edu. The site does not seem to be working at the
moment. Since it has been about ten years since I last accessed it, it
may be just a bit of nostalgia instead of a working site.
"Richard B. Gilbert" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> Soruk wrote:
>> On 2009-03-09, Richard B. Gilbert <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> John Navas wrote:
>>>> Q: Why won't my Motorola phone charge on my non-Motorola USB cable or
>>>>
>>>> charger?
>>> Have you ever noticed how SELDOM these "Frequently Asked Questions" are
>>> asked here?
>>
>> The general idea of an FAQ is to pre-empt those questions so people
>> *don't* ask them. If the answer to a question present in a FAQ answers
>> the question about to be posed by somebody, and it solves their problem,
>> of course there's no point in actually asking.
>>
>> It could be said that if no question in the FAQ is being asked, the FAQ
>> is doing its job well!
>>
>
> I would be curious to see just how often these questions would be asked if
> the "FAQ" were not posted ever couple of weeks.
Based on a Google Groups search I never found a single time this question
was EVER asked in alt.cellular.cingular or alt.cellular.attws, other than as
part of John's "FAQ." In the alt.cellular.motorola groups, the few charger
related questions were typically "can I use the charger that came with phone
model A with phone model B."
In the past I suggested he rename his postings to "NAQ" (Never Asked
Questions") but he responed that "FAQ isn't a literal threshold..."
In this case, it's not only "not literal"- it ain't even close...
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