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2012 Nexus 7 Discussion Forums (1st Generation) => Nexus 7 Help => Topic started by: jrdouce on November 01, 2012, 12:23:02 PM

Title: Charging Time?
Post by: jrdouce on November 01, 2012, 12:23:02 PM
Just wondering how long other's Nexus 7 takes to fully charge?

Mine charge time seems unreasonably long.  It was at 35% when I plugged in into my PC, after 4 hours of not using it, it's at 66%.  Battery drain isn't bad, sometime it's worse than others depending on what apps - like live wallpapers, I've got installed.   But at this rate it will take 12 hours to charge.    I'm not sure it's always this bad, but it does take several hours every time.

Just curious, is this common?  Is there something I can do to speed it up?

Thanks
Title: Re: Charging Time?
Post by: bjs229 on November 01, 2012, 12:30:52 PM
I found that usb charging takes a great deal longer than just  using the supplied adapter and plugging into the electric outlet.
Title: Re: Charging Time?
Post by: JayJ on November 01, 2012, 01:17:35 PM
A USB on a PC doesn't provide as high current as the AC adapter so won't charge as quickly...
Title: Re: Charging Time?
Post by: S.Prime on November 01, 2012, 01:18:15 PM
USB 2.0, the most common type of usb port,  delivers 5 volts at 1/2 amp,  whereas the wall charger that comes with the Nexus 7 delivers 5 volts at 2 amps, if I read the small print on the charger correctly. The higher the amps from the charger, the faster the device charges.
Title: Re: Charging Time?
Post by: gp123 on November 01, 2012, 03:05:39 PM
My N7 charges from 10% to 100% in about 3 hours using the charger that came with the unit.  I tried another charger spec-ed at 5v @ 2.1 a and it took about 2 hours longer to fully charge.
Title: Re: Charging Time?
Post by: bjs229 on November 01, 2012, 05:49:56 PM
There you go. Use the supplied wall adapter and you should have much better results.
Title: Re: Charging Time?
Post by: jrdouce on November 02, 2012, 06:09:20 AM
Thanks all.  I was unaware of that.  I always thought, since the USB port is a computer standard, that the wall chargers emulated that.  Good to know. 

I charge using the supplied charger and wall outlet about 1/2 the time, but that's over night when I don't see how fast it is.  I only see how slow it is when I'm trying to charge it at my desk before I leave work.
Title: Re: Charging Time?
Post by: NSILMike on November 04, 2012, 07:01:08 AM
Yes, USB is a defined standard.  A compliant USB port on a PC will always be 5V output, and 500mA.   However, many USB ports on PCs may be 'hub' ports, so that 500mA can be shared between multiple devices. (In win 7 go to device manager, find one of the hubs, right click it and go to properties then to the power tab to see who is using that specific port, if you are interested.) 
However... the designer of the USB device is essentially free to build the battery charging circuits to handle higher current, which does not 'violate' the standard.  So, in general you could use any usb charging dongle on any usb device as long as you check the dongle for current output and you don't exceed the current supply shown on the specific dongle meant for your specific gadget. 
Too much info...?   :D