My Nexus 5 has issues when charging.

[Mai72]

I had my Nexus 5 for about a year and a half now. When I first got it I had zero issues with charging. It charged pretty quickly, and I had a fully charged phone within a decent time.

Now, I can have it plugged in for a little over an hour and it will only be charged at 30%. I'm still using stock plug, but my usb cord is different. Would this make a difference? The stock usb cord that was sent with my phone frayed so i ended up throwing it out.

Just today I was playing a game with the phone plugged into a wall outlet. It got hot so I ended the game. When I looked at the battery it was reading 0%. It didn't even budge.

I've read that you shouldn't use task killers. That they do more harm than good. I like using them so I haven't deleted them from my phone. Maybe this is whats causing my charging issues? I'm on my phone constantly. I use it for everything. Just wanted to bring that up.

Thanks.

 

[mikeymikec]

My wife is having a similar issue with hers.

I haven't had that problem with mine (which is about a year older than my wife's), and I use a few different cables.

I've only had a problem similar to this if I check how much the battery has charged after I've been using it as a satnav in the car, the charge rate goes way down and I suspect it's because power is being used more by the phone than by the process of charging the battery. I therefore assume that it's my wife's usage/apps that are the cause of her problems (my wife also uses her phone *a lot*, even when sat three feet away from her desktop PC). My wife is reticent to troubleshoot technical problems (and won't let me look into them), and prefers to complain about them to me, which is frustrating to say the least considering my "I like puzzles / fixing problems" nature!

Uninstalling Facebook + FB Messenger made quite a bit of difference on her phone both to general battery consumption and to charging rates.

(emphasis on 'assume' because I don't know it for a fact!)

 

[dawheat]

This made me recall a thread I ran across back when I owned the OPO. Basically different gauge USB cables made a difference in charging rates. I don't know if all devices respond in a similar way, but might be worth to try it with a higher quality USB cable.

https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/oneplus-one-charging-cable-alternative.68517/

 

[razel]

It could be your cable/charger. They can go bad. I was using a Kindle Fire charger to charge my Nexus 5 at the full 1.5 amp rate and it eventually reduced itself to only charging at .5 amps. I figured it just went bad and tossed it.

The stock charger is ok. From what I remember it wasn't even UL rated. When you don't have anything plugged in it makes a faint noise. The stock LG OEM cable is just as bad. Neither the stock charger and stock cable will allow you to charge your Nexus 5 at a max rate of 1.5 amps either. The charger maxes out at 1.2, but the OEM cable is incapable of supplying that.

Not all is bad though. Just toss both aside and buy a 3 pack of Anker cables off Amazon for like $7. Use that along with either the iPad 12 watt charger/Qualcomm 2.0/G.E. 2 amp+ USB charger ($10 @ Target) and you'll be able to fully charge your Nexus 5 within 90 minutes. It averages 1.5-2% per minute. Depending on battery temperature.

If your issue still persists, your battery could have just gone bad. Luckily changing it isn't bad at all. The back on the Nexus 5snaps right off. If you don't want to change it yourself, your local cell phone shop can do it. Best of luck.

 

[mikeymikec]

Speaking of Anker, their USB car charger kicks ass in terms of charge time and doesn't even get warm.

 

[Mai72]

I just found the problem.

It's my shitty cable. The original cable that was sent with my phone frayed, so I bought a cheap one. I downloaded an app called Ampere on Google Play. With the cable I was previously using I was getting 200-220 mA. Since I've switched the cable I'm getting over 1000 mA. I'm actually near max. I plugged my phone in 20 minutes ago on 4% and it's already at 45%.

This app is actually very impressive. Check it out.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gombosdev.ampere&hl=en

 

[Mai72]

Speaking of Anker, their USB car charger kicks ass in terms of charge time and doesn't even get warm.

Anker chargers kick ass. I have their small charger and it easily charges up my phone with zero heating issues.

 

[isekii]

Anker cables are great too, so are their tempered glass protectors

 

[razel]

Glad it worked out for you. Toss that frayed USB cable in the trash. Once cables get damaged you don't want to continue using it as it may short things. Happened to my friend with a USB charger cable he kept in his car. Ended up poping a car fuse and he needed to replace his phone battery.

The power quality of the typical Anker chargers are ok. They make so many for so many markets it's hard to recommend them. Anytime you plug anything into your wall... don't do so unless it's UL rated (or is marked with the Euro equivalent) It doesn't mean you have to spend much on a USB charger. I have seen great cheap USB chargers from Duracell and G. E. (General Electric). In fact my current favorite after the iPad 12W is the IKEA KOPPLA 3 port USB. It's like $10. Not UL rated, but is rated by the Euro equivalent.

 

[leper84]

I have both generations of Nexus 7 and a Nexus 5 and I can tell you that the USB ports on all of them suck. They bend and won't let the cable clip in and retain. For the 5 I can only get a LG branded charger to actually work through the usb port now.

Solution- Get a wireless charger. It doesn't really take that much longer than plugged in, and the convenience of just setting your phone down every night is unbeatable.

 

[Crono]

This made me recall a thread I ran across back when I owned the OPO. Basically different gauge USB cables made a difference in charging rates. I don't know if all devices respond in a similar way, but might be worth to try it with a higher quality USB cable.

https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/oneplus-one-charging-cable-alternative.68517/

Yeah, not all USB cables are equal. Mostly cheap and older cables are insufficient for pairing with higher current adapters. I knew about adapters having different amperage (usually 1.1 or 2A) but I didn't know the USB cables differed in gauges until a few months ago (an older thread here or somewhere else). It made sense once I actually paid attention to the million or so micro USB cables I had been using.

 

[soccerballtux]

Yeah, not all USB cables are equal. Mostly cheap and older cables are insufficient for pairing with higher current adapters. I knew about adapters having different amperage (usually 1.1 or 2A) but I didn't know the USB cables differed in gauges until a few months ago (an older thread here or somewhere else). It made sense once I actually paid attention to the million or so micro USB cables I had been using.

seriously. they need to pass a law about that. all the cables from china with your basic chargers are like 30gauge good for 500mA if you're lucky

 

[Mai72]

I'm actually using the cable that came with my anker astro.

It's very short but top quality. It will do for now until I can order a good cable for my Nexus 5.