TF300 32gb review and comparison - Transformer TF300T General

I have been going through 10" Android tablets like good beer (no driving of course). So far the A500, Thrive, Prime, A510, Excite Quad 16gb and now the TF300. Many reasons for returning them:
A500 = Weak wifi and visible verticle screen lines.
Thrive = Kept it, but sold recently due to poor Tegra 2 video support
Prime = Weak wifi, iffy touch response
A510 = Gets too warm/hot on right side- this also impacts battery life if sustained. Also has visible verticle lines, but not as bad as A500.
Excite Quad = Bad light bleed, poor file support, battery drain issues and crazy big connector (the footprint of that and the cable is about the same space as the tablet). File management was also an issue (like the Thrive, the Excite is poor in this regard).
Office Max has (at the moment) the TF300 on sale for $350 and the keyboard for $100, so got both for the same price as the A510 and Excite. This seemed too good to not jump on, so got both yesterday morning. Here is a review/comparison with the A510 & Excite:
Build = Good, but A510 and Excite are better
Display = Some light bleed bottom right corner, but IMO, better display than the A510 and Excite and GREAT touch response like the Excite.
Sound = Kind of weak and not on same level as the A510 and Excite. Headphone sound is good.
Performance = About the same as the A510, which is very good. Excite seemed a little better and benchmarks support this.
Heat = Coolest tablet I have used. The A510 gets hot when using the GPU and even the Excite gets warm.
Wifi = Great. All three perform fine, but the 300 appears tops.
File management = Great. Seemless with dock. I have a 64gb loaded in the tablet and a 128gb card loaded in the dock. All apps work fine and media is stutter free. Ditto for 64gb thumbdrives too. IMO, this tablet equals the A510 and both are FAR better than the Excite.
GPS = Seems fine, but I do not use it on tablets.
Keyboard = Better than expected and game emulators are more playable than using virtual pads (though touch is good). Handy if no controller is around. Speaking of controllers, they work as good as my laptop.
Battery life = Only had less than 24 hours, but battery life is in between the A510 and Excite, which is good. Seems the battery life will actually be better than the A510 with dock attached.
Stuff I do not like:
Plastic docking section. Not sure how long this will hold up compared to metal. Metal would seem a better option for the back and the curved section the tablet seats in.
Proprietary connector. I prefer the A510 design since can use a normal micro USB in a pinch for trickle charge with a computer.
No USB connector on tablet. This seems flat out silly to me. Even Samsung is adding them now. I have already had a few times where I was at another computer, but had no way to transfer data. At least with the iPad the cable is so common you can get one in a pinch- not so with this. The good news is the Asus cable is small like iPads and not a giant monster like the A510 (what were they thinking?).
I will restate more directly- It is flat out STUPID to have no USB, but no connector on this tablet is by design, since Asus has already stated with the Prime and Transformer they made the most margin on the docks, so want people to buy them.
As a complete system, the tablet and dock rock, but just as a tablet, the usb issue is huge to me. If the total price was $550 rather than $450, I would not have bought this, since too close to laptop price territory for me. Not sure I would just have the tablet though, so total price drove me to the TF300.
Net result is all current tablets have issues and there really is no "perfect tablet", IMO. If I did not have or want a laptop, even at $550 the TF300 is good. For what I paid though, the TF300 and dock rocks hard!
Note: Acer just released their A700 and the performance seems to support concerns Anandtech had that the Tegra 3 efficiency sweet spot is 1280X800 and anything beyond that appears to trend in diminishing returns. Until Nvidia pulls an Apple and makes a more robust GPU for the Tegra 3, I think users are better off with a good IPS 1280X800 display.

Asus does make a 40-pin to USB 2.0 converter for the tablet. It costs around $32 on E-bay.
You stated that you didn't like it not having one because you couldn't trickle charge it from a computer. USB connectors have an output of .5A max, the TF300 charger is a 2A. That effectively means that you'll have to be connected to a PC 4 times longer to get the same charge as from the charger. Even charging an advanced phone from the USB port takes forever. In my opinion, that is completely unreasonable as an expectation. USB on these things is for data transfer, not charging.

I really love how fast the TF300 charges. From empty to full in about 2 hours.

meatrocket said:
Asus does make a 40-pin to USB 2.0 converter for the tablet. It costs around $32 on E-bay.
You stated that you didn't like it not having one because you couldn't trickle charge it from a computer. USB connectors have an output of .5A max, the TF300 charger is a 2A. That effectively means that you'll have to be connected to a PC 4 times longer to get the same charge as from the charger. Even charging an advanced phone from the USB port takes forever. In my opinion, that is completely unreasonable as an expectation. USB on these things is for data transfer, not charging.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reasons were charging and data transfer. The nice thing about trickle charge is you can use the device or transfer data and not take a battery hit. Handy if without the stock charger for extended time.

rushless said:
The reasons were charging and data transfer. The nice thing about trickle charge is you can use the device or transfer data and not take a battery hit. Handy if without the stock charger for extended time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True that! But come on - 10 -15 hours worth of transfer? Still, we would have to have some type of USB cable, standard or proprietary. Standard would definitely be better. Like you said, at least it's not the 510's cable!

Edit :was reading and posted by mistake.. Anyways I'm loving the Tf300t . I use this as a netbook replacement since all i use latops is for internet and MSword and this lasts much longer. Sometimes II'm using this all day and with wifi on i have to charge it once through the day with the dock. but thats over 12 hours nonstop with no screen off ... I use it heavily constantly streaming video,torrenting, web etc so its reasonable I think

meatrocket said:
True that! But come on - 10 -15 hours worth of transfer? Still, we would have to have some type of USB cable, standard or proprietary. Standard would definitely be better. Like you said, at least it's not the 510's cable!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair points. Sadly, I am having massive battery drain issues I mentioned in another thread. It has happened twice in a row in a very clean environment (restarted and no apps using notifications). If I do not figure this out soon I will return both. That said, since using a stock device there should be NOTHING to figure out- it should just work.
I am wondering if leaving my 128gb sd card in is leaving the dock active, but battery use only shows (two tasks) most percentage being display and then some for idle. No media activity and the files on the card are PSX games and video (the PSX has .nomedia in the directory). The Toshiba Excite would burn over 12%, but was a media task doing it (Toshiba issue). In this case, only the display and idle shows as using battery.
Just last night in 6.5 hours from 100% in both, it burned through the dock and 35% of the tablet. The display was off before going to sleep and checking in the middle of the brief night. I got a great deal on the both, so this is bitter irony.

rushless said:
The reasons were charging and data transfer. The nice thing about trickle charge is you can use the device or transfer data and not take a battery hit. Handy if without the stock charger for extended time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really sure what the problem is... The part of the cable that plugs into the charger is a USB connection, so you can transfer files to/from your comouter. It also trickle charges just like you want. I know because when I was messing with creating a Debian chroot image, my tablet was connected to my laptop for a long time and inched its way from ~50% to 100%. It took a loooong time, but it charged.
Really, the only downside to the proprietary connector is that you can't just use any micro-USB cable you want; it has to be the Asus cable.

Cool. Did not know on the trickle. Now, if I can just solve the battery drain to avoid a return. Love the dock & tablet system, but the battery drain is a killer.

rushless said:
Cool. Did not know on the trickle. Now, if I can just solve the battery drain to avoid a return. Love the dock & tablet system, but the battery drain is a killer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm watching your other thread on the battery issue. Please update when you know something. Sorry to hear you're having this problem. There's nothing that sucks worse than a new toy that won't work right!

Does the trickle charge only work with the tablet? While connected to my computer when using with dock attached, the dock drained to nothing and the tablet did not charge once the dock was dead.
I guess I answered my own question perhaps, since the dock did not charge at all and no way for the tablet to use the USB source since feeds through the dock which died. It is a series charge flow.

Related

What's the big deal with wireless charging?

Warning: When I make this post, I have no intention of being rude. Moving on.
Lately I've seen lots of posts like, "Wireless charger, cheap on Amazon!" and "Wireless charger, 40$!" Ok, thanks for finding these things for us! But is wireless charging practical? Why is wireless charging being made such a big deal? Persononaly, I cant justify avoiding the phones intended function, just to charge wirelessly. Not to mention, I have to pay 40+$ for said wireless charger. I mean really, is it that important to "preserve the USB port"? On the other hand, I do think wireless charging is a neat idea, but only that.
So I guess my question is, are there reasons that make this worth my money? What are they?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Laziness and neatness for me. It's less work to place it on a wireless charger than to have to find the usb cable and plug it in. Plus it eliminates the eyesore of having an unplugged USB cable right next to my bed all day.
It's great that Google included it for those who have a use for it but I have to say I'm with the OP. It just doesn't make much sense to me to have to buy an expensive device that takes up space to save a few seconds spent plugging the device in once a day. Different strokes for different folks, eh. Plus I'd have constant paranoia about whether the device was actually going to keep charging while I sleep (irrational, I know. Nobody said I had to make sense.) That's why we love Android (or not, for the trolls lol)
nbell13 said:
Laziness and neatness for me. It's less work to place it on a wireless charger than to have to find the usb cable and plug it in. Plus it eliminates the eyesore of having an unplugged USB cable right next to my bed all day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I guess that's reasonable... But is it really worth 40+$ to save yourself a few seconds everyday?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Alot of Nexus 4 users upgraded from the Gnex. The Gnex had a horrible USB port. If you go to the Gnex Q&A section and search for bad USB port you will get easily over 100 threads. And although the Nexus 4 is obviously a different manufacturer, it was enough to make us paranoid. Add the paranoia to the fact that wireless charging is just cool new technology definitely makes it worth $50 TO SOME people.
I like cables. Seriously. Cheap and reliable. But that's just me.
I think the idea of them is great, but they just aren't for everyone. I'd love one, for the visuals but in all honesty, I have no reason to own one. For one, I don't even have a good surface I could put it on, most of them have something on or are not near a plug socket.
The wireless charging orb from Google advertises charging the Nexus4 in 4 hours.
In my experience the wall charger does it in about 2 hours.
I've been using my Nexus4 for navigation in my car. A car mount with wireless charging
indeed sounds great - plugging and unplugging the USB port in the car is uncomfortable.
But I discovered that with the GPS on and the screen at high brightness the phone
can not be properly charged with a 0.5A car lighter adapter. 2A ones do work.
So I wonder if a wireless charging car mount is even a possibility. It is questionable whether it
can pump the necessary power to run the phone in such a demanding application.
Mind you my setup can get pretty hot at times on the USB and it's the dead of winter in here.

[Q] Kernel with modifiable charging Current? (much like in stweaks)

Hello everyone, i've been a lurker for over a year now, primarily at the note 2 forums.
I've recently sold my n-7100, and now i've got a Note 10.1 N-8000. It's great and all, though one gripe I have would be the --SLOW- charging of the thing. Sometimes it'd even drain while being used (akin of other former phone, the n-7000 and it's 0.7 amps charging.)
Cutting it short, i've been using Andreilux's fantastic Perseus kernel for the longest time, and one ingenious feature he included would be the ability to modify the charging rates. Based on my limited knowledge, samsung pretty much bottlenecks this for safety purposes, such as having that 100ma margin thingamajigger when it detects unstable currents, hence lowering the input current. His kernel had the ability to turn that off, and pretty much allow a full 2A to stream in while charging my (former) note 2. (not to mention a full 1.5a while charing on my usb3 port.)
I'm putting this up in the air for everybody else, for apparently development for the n-8000 (rom/kernelwise) isn't as lush as with the Note 2.
I hope this post of mine doesn't end up in the recesses of the forums, for I feel that this would be a very important feature for us owners of the wonderful Note 10.1.
Thank you.
Carnauba Red said:
Hello everyone, i've been a lurker for over a year now, primarily at the note 2 forums.
I've recently sold my n-7100, and now i've got a Note 10.1 N-8000. It's great and all, though one gripe I have would be the --SLOW- charging of the thing. Sometimes it'd even drain while being used (akin of other former phone, the n-7000 and it's 0.7 amps charging.)
Cutting it short, i've been using Andreilux's fantastic Perseus kernel for the longest time, and one ingenious feature he included would be the ability to modify the charging rates. Based on my limited knowledge, samsung pretty much bottlenecks this for safety purposes, such as having that 100ma margin thingamajigger when it detects unstable currents, hence lowering the input current. His kernel had the ability to turn that off, and pretty much allow a full 2A to stream in while charging my (former) note 2. (not to mention a full 1.5a while charing on my usb3 port.)
I'm putting this up in the air for everybody else, for apparently development for the n-8000 (rom/kernelwise) isn't as lush as with the Note 2.
I hope this post of mine doesn't end up in the recesses of the forums, for I feel that this would be a very important feature for us owners of the wonderful Note 10.1.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Think usb3 is at best 900ma. How long does yours take to charge?. Neved been a problem for me. Longer is the best for the battery.
Takes around 5 hours+, i only gain around 2-3% per hour with the screen turned off. :x Battery monitor widget reports a fluctuation between +850~+90 mA. On my old note 2 I'd have no problem having a consistent 1.6+ amps, and Galaxy charging current (on my note 2) states that i'm running a full 2A, or rather my phone is sucking as much juice as it can to recharge without samsung's safety gates bottlenecking it. Now I know you folks care a lot about your devices and would say that it's bad and it'l decrease the battery's lifetime, etc. I've come to accept whatever risks there are.
I just really wish someone could pull off what Andreilux was able to do for my note 2, where I didn't have to go through the trouble of modifying my usb cable's pins/rummaging through "working" chargers that'l deliver its rated capacities and what not. Unticked the "Disable power margin", as well as this other option I can't remember what it was exactly, and bam, original charger+cable was delivering 2A without any hicks, chaging 3100mah in around...2 hours or less. And plugged in to my usb 3 slot, GCC reported 1.5A being delivered.
*aother note on my 10.1 n-8000
And often the battery would DRAIN even while it's being charged. A few reconnects of my usb cable and it delivers around +250ma worth of charing, which is SLOW. I'd be lucky if it sticks to 1000+.
So there. If the master himself (andreilux) is unable to provide one for our note 10.1, i'm pretty sure there are other brilliant minds with great capacity who'd be able to give this feature for us.
I've seen in other threads how they were discussing/showing the tweaks towards the charging current being done, like what's going on here. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1327873
Hell sign me up! Ive had my 10.1 since the day they came out and Im So SICK of the slow charging! I feel I should wake up to a 100% charged device if I remember to plug it in before I go to sleep! my Note2 charges about 1.5 hrs, My tablet, who knows Sometimes 5 hrs sometimes 10!
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Xparent Purple Tapatalk 2
Jonathanpeyton said:
Hell sign me up! Ive had my 10.1 since the day they came out and Im So SICK of the slow charging! I feel I should wake up to a 100% charged device if I remember to plug it in before I go to sleep! my Note2 charges about 1.5 hrs, My tablet, who knows Sometimes 5 hrs sometimes 10!
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Xparent Purple Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been checking the forums day by day with crossed fingers as to having some magical kernel Implement this tweak. :fingers-crossed:
Aye, my tablet's charging is acting weird as well, 8 hours or more for a charge? christ!

Charging Speed

i have had the V20 for about 12 hours in which time it charged from about 50% to about 75% ... my Note would accomplish the same in about 15 minutes ... and yet the V20 is supposed to run the same type of quick charger on the same size battery ... something about this doesn't rub me the right way
yes i did use the phone and unplug it a few times etc but it still should have been much faster ...
it was connected using its own cable and charger BUT through a USB extension cord ... so then i thought maybe that's the problem - maybe i need a longer type C cable and to get rid of extension cord ... but i need to have an answer to that BEFORE buying new cables ...
so i plugged it in directly ( no extension ) and tried to see if it charges in correct mode ...
and here is where i face plant into a wall of excruciating stupidity ... every single app out there measures charging current, whereas what i really want to know is whether the charger is running at 5V standard voltage or using the quick charge 9V voltage ... amazingly there doesn't seem to be an app to show this - or is there ?
my galaxy note would simply say " adaptive quick charger connected " when plugged into quick charger but the V20 doesn't say anything like that.
accubattery app says my screen on charging rate is 760 ma and screen off is 1760 ma ... and the charger of course states 1.8 A so that's consistent ... but is that at 5V or at 9V ? the charger supports both - which one is it ?
this is killing me - so much stupidity. it shouldn't be that hard to figure out whether the phone is charging correctly or not.
anybody have an idea how i could find out whether the charger is actually stepping up to 9V without physically cutting the USB cable and using my multimeter ?
EDIT: i realized i have a kill-a-watt ( actually two of them ) and i can measure power draw from 120V outlet ... so i did that. the draw fluctuated from about 6 to 13 watt. now if we assume 90% efficiency on the charger then full power would have to draw 18 watt from outlet - clearly it never got close. on the other hand at 5V it should have maxed out at around 10 watt power draw, and it went quite a bit over that so it would seem to be using the 9V mode ...
at this point however i'm up to 90% battery and can't expect it to charge at full rate any more as some battery charging algorithms taper off above 80% or so ...
i tried with and without extension cord and noticed no difference ... also if i remember correctly my Note also charged fine over this same extension cord ... but i'm not sure
EDIT: played with turning off 2nd screen as well as shutting down device completely - this phone is crazy. power draw is all the place - at one point it went to ZERO and stayed there until i unplugged it and plugged it back in, then it would fluctuate between zero and 14 watts ...
you know back in the day i had LG Nitro HD and it had worst battery performance of any phone ever ... and this V20 seems to be living up to that legacy. WTF.
anyway, it seems the charger and the cable and extension are not to blame - it seems there is some kind of software weirdness that is resulting in very sporadic power draw ...
slow charging is one of the reasons i switched from iPhone back to Android - i expected this V20 to perform similarly ( blazing fast charging ) to the Note 4 i had before the iPhone 6S Plus ... but it's charging performance so far is almost identical to the iPhone - slow as a snail.
i already spent $80 on case and screen protector and i'm supposed to spend a bunch more on extra cables and memory card as well as sell my iPhone and at the same time i'm thinking - maybe i should just return it ? going to have to observe it for a while longer before making any decisions either way ... terrible.
The V20 is QC 3.0
The Note 5 is QC 2.0
The V20 will negotiate with a 3.0 charger to tell the charger what power it requires at that moment so power will fluctuate during charging.
this will show you which devices are 3.0 and 2.0
https://www.qualcomm.com/documents/quick-charge-device-list
Quick charging explained
http://www.androidauthority.com/quick-charge-3-0-explained-643053/
nest75068 said:
The V20 is QC 3.0
The Note 5 is QC 2.0
The V20 will negotiate with a 3.0 charger to tell the charger what power it requires at that moment so power will fluctuate during charging.
this will show you which devices are 3.0 and 2.0
https://www.qualcomm.com/documents/quick-charge-device-list
Quick charging explained
http://www.androidauthority.com/quick-charge-3-0-explained-643053/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah it fluctuates a lot. i gave up on apps and just using Kill-a-watt now which is a physical power meter you insert into 120V outlet. it shows power draw from charger, not output, but we can assume about 90% efficiency from input to output of charger.
i let the V20 drain to 40% overnight and restarted the test today. with the extension cord it went up to 16 watt draw from outlet and stayed there - charge quickly went up to 55% then i tried without the extension cord and now its only at 11 watts. this is with both screens off. so far my conclusion is that using an extension cord makes no difference but the level of charge on the phone does impact the charging speed. you need to drain the phone to measure full charging speed.
i will continue with my testing but i am somewhat relieved. 16 watts is close to spec, in fact the spec is 16 watt but on the OUTPUT side of charger, not input, so i'm withing about 10% of spec.
i'm also a lot less nervous buying charging cables now that i verified 16 watt charging over many years old USB 2.0 extension cord ...
EDIT: wow it went from 55% to 68% while i was typing this message ! this is very different from what i saw yesterday ... it was running at 11 watts while i was typing. looks like the phone charges fast as long as it is: 1) drained and 2) left alone. if the phone is almost full and you keep playing with it the level of charge barely changes.
EDIT: at 89% charge it's now down to just 4 watts power draw from outlet ... 25% of what it was pulling at 40% charge. so far it looks like it tapers charging speed off gradually with charge level - starts early and tapers it off to almost nothing as it nears full charge ... and all the while it fluctuates with processor and screen use and probably other factors such as temperature. maybe the reason it went to 16 watts when i plugged it in the morning is that the phone was cold from not being used all night and perhaps it now warmed up so the power got tapered.
maybe i'll stop testing it - it seems to be working correctly, just not the way i originally expected it to.
overall i'm disappointed with this phone but the only phone i would trade it for is Pixel XL 128 GB Very Black which is unavailable ... so i guess i will keep it.
the phone i'm most impressed with right now is ZTE Axon 7 i got for my mother - it is shockingly good - if it wasn't for FM radio, IR Blaster, Removable Battery, Laser Autofocus, Dual Camera, Dual Screen and Nougat i would even say the ZTE Axon 7 is BETTER than V20. the main problem with ZTE is it's just not expensive enough for my ego - otherwise it is great. the screen is is super sharp, vivid and punchy, the front facing speakers are loud and crisp and then there's the 2 year warranty. i'm jealous ...
but i will stick with V20 to protect my dignity. because let's face it - if i'm out on a date i want to have the latest, most technologically advanced and most expensive phone - not the cheapest phone, even if it is just as good or better. really happy with my decision to get Axon 7 for my mom though. she loves it as well.
The way QC works is that it will charge fastest from low power until around 70-80% and then slow down A LOT to help preserve the battery. That is why you saw a high wattage and then when you got into the 80's you saw a very low wattage.
QC is mainly for you to get 40-50% of battery power in a relative short amount of time when your battery is low.
I bought a little device that measures the voltage and current of the charge. And I'm using my own Quick Charge 3.0 wall charger.
When the screen is off or powered down, it charges at 9V/1.8A max. Resulting in about 16W of power. Which is pretty much what the supplied LG charger delivers.
When the screen is on, it charges at 5V/0.5A
My QC3.0 charger is capable of up to 9V/2A and 12V/1.5A, 18W of power. The V20 doesn't seem to draw that much power. And now I'm starting to doubt the V20 is truly a QC3.0 device.
BozQ said:
I bought a little device that measures the voltage and current of the charge. And I'm using my own Quick Charge 3.0 wall charger.
When the screen is off or powered down, it charges at 9V/1.8A max. Resulting in about 16W of power. Which is pretty much what the supplied LG charger delivers.
When the screen is on, it charges at 5V/0.5A
My QC3.0 charger is capable of up to 9V/2A and 12V/1.5A, 18W of power. The V20 doesn't seem to draw that much power. And now I'm starting to doubt the V20 is truly a QC3.0 device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll grab voltage/amp reader that I have at home and test my 3 QC 3.0 chargers I have (I'll drain phone to around 20% and then test them and see how it goes) - I'm going to test with the phone off so it pulls the max and see what it ends up with
I have this at work
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018RR30TK
I have this at home
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FCZACFA
And this in the car
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CCBGR1U
g1981c said:
yeah it fluctuates a lot. i gave up on apps and just using Kill-a-watt now which is a physical power meter you insert into 120V outlet. it shows power draw from charger, not output, but we can assume about 90% efficiency from input to output of charger.
i let the V20 drain to 40% overnight and restarted the test today. with the extension cord it went up to 16 watt draw from outlet and stayed there - charge quickly went up to 55% then i tried without the extension cord and now its only at 11 watts. this is with both screens off. so far my conclusion is that using an extension cord makes no difference but the level of charge on the phone does impact the charging speed. you need to drain the phone to measure full charging speed.
i will continue with my testing but i am somewhat relieved. 16 watts is close to spec, in fact the spec is 16 watt but on the OUTPUT side of charger, not input, so i'm withing about 10% of spec.
i'm also a lot less nervous buying charging cables now that i verified 16 watt charging over many years old USB 2.0 extension cord ...
EDIT: wow it went from 55% to 68% while i was typing this message ! this is very different from what i saw yesterday ... it was running at 11 watts while i was typing. looks like the phone charges fast as long as it is: 1) drained and 2) left alone. if the phone is almost full and you keep playing with it the level of charge barely changes.
EDIT: at 89% charge it's now down to just 4 watts power draw from outlet ... 25% of what it was pulling at 40% charge. so far it looks like it tapers charging speed off gradually with charge level - starts early and tapers it off to almost nothing as it nears full charge ... and all the while it fluctuates with processor and screen use and probably other factors such as temperature. maybe the reason it went to 16 watts when i plugged it in the morning is that the phone was cold from not being used all night and perhaps it now warmed up so the power got tapered.
maybe i'll stop testing it - it seems to be working correctly, just not the way i originally expected it to.
overall i'm disappointed with this phone but the only phone i would trade it for is Pixel XL 128 GB Very Black which is unavailable ... so i guess i will keep it.
the phone i'm most impressed with right now is ZTE Axon 7 i got for my mother - it is shockingly good - if it wasn't for FM radio, IR Blaster, Removable Battery, Laser Autofocus, Dual Camera, Dual Screen and Nougat i would even say the ZTE Axon 7 is BETTER than V20. the main problem with ZTE is it's just not expensive enough for my ego - otherwise it is great. the screen is is super sharp, vivid and punchy, the front facing speakers are loud and crisp and then there's the 2 year warranty. i'm jealous ...
but i will stick with V20 to protect my dignity. because let's face it - if i'm out on a date i want to have the latest, most technologically advanced and most expensive phone - not the cheapest phone, even if it is just as good or better. really happy with my decision to get Axon 7 for my mom though. she loves it as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just smh at this whole post. I want my 5 minutes back.
Thats weird, Im using my Note 7 charger on the V20 and it charge the phone completely in less that 2 hours. In my case I always drain my phone to 3% and leave it charging up to 100%. I will check again tonight to be sure.
TempezT said:
Thats weird, Im using my Note 7 charger on the V20 and it charge the phone completely in less that 2 hours. In my case I always drain my phone to 3% and leave it charging up to 100%. I will check again tonight to be sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't drain it that low all the time unless you plan on stocking up on batteries or don't mind depleting longevity of battery quicker than usual.
@rbiter said:
I wouldn't drain it that low all the time unless you plan on stocking up on batteries or don't mind depleting longevity of battery quicker than usual.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tmobile Jump on Demand ftw - I only have devices for 5-6 months tops and then get a new phone
Tested this one one when I got home.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FCZACFA
I was getting 9.2v @ 1.67A = 15w of power. This is the max that my USB multimeter can do so it would seem that this charger is good for QC 3.0 as it did fluctuate voltage as needed.
nest75068 said:
Tmobile Jump on Demand ftw - I only have devices for 5-6 months tops and then get a new phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is still wasteful use on a battery and giving the next guy a raw deal. But to each his own. I try and make everything last and more efficient so the next person feels like they are truly getting an almost lightly used phone. If I sell my note4, they're going to get a lightly used battery on top of the 3 extras, with fixed GPS and better reception and cleaned out USB port with no oxidization. Same with my HTC m8 though that was only used as daily driver for two weeks and then a DAP for trips and occasional home use. Definitely selling the m8. They are basically getting a lightly used phone and the battery should still have some good life coming out of it. And personally I think jump is overpriced leasing but I guess you can drive it like you stole it. I prefer handing down the best experience I can to the next person.
@rbiter said:
That is still wasteful use on a battery and giving the next guy a raw deal. But to each his own. I try and make everything last and more efficient so the next person feels like they are truly getting an almost lightly used phone. If I sell my note4, they're going to get a lightly used battery on top of the 3 extras, with fixed GPS and better reception and cleaned out USB port with no oxidization. Same with my HTC m8 though that was only used as daily driver for two weeks and then a DAP for trips and occasional home use. Definitely selling the m8. They are basically getting a lightly used phone and the battery should still have some good life coming out of it. And personally I think jump is overpriced leasing but I guess you can drive it like you stole it. I prefer handing down the best experience I can to the next person.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My devices go back to tmobile which then go back for refurbishment. With the V20 it's easy for them to just replace the battery.
And you really think they do?
@rbiter said:
And you really think they do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Who knows but tbh it's not my issue at that point.
nest75068 said:
I have this at work
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018RR30TK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tested this one at work. Phone was at 28% and I had been streaming Youtube for a good 2 hours before doing the test.
Ended up pulling 9.17v @ 1.68A = 15.40 watts (again maximum that my tester can do).
I'll be ordering a new tester that can handle up to 25A and testing again to see if I can pull the max 18watts of power that the QC 3.0 chargers says it can deliver
nest75068 said:
Just tested this one at work. Phone was at 28% and I had been streaming Youtube for a good 2 hours before doing the test.
Ended up pulling 9.17v @ 1.68A = 15.40 watts (again maximum that my tester can do).
I'll be ordering a new tester that can handle up to 25A and testing again to see if I can pull the max 18watts of power that the QC 3.0 chargers says it can deliver
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean 25W charger?
Which charger is that? Do share, please.
BozQ said:
You mean 25W charger?
Which charger is that? Do share, please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it's a USB Mutlimeter
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J7236K2
It will support up to 30V testing and 5A (but there is no charger that I know of that can do that much lol)
nest75068 said:
No it's a USB Mutlimeter
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J7236K2
It will support up to 30V testing and 5A (but there is no charger that I know of that can do that much lol)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see.
This looks like a good device.
There are time on my v10 where I'll plug it in and it will charge at a reduced rate so I have to unplug it and plug it back it and it changes to fast charge, that's just been my experience. This is using factory plug and adapter too.
So you might want to make sure the phone says "fast charging" and not "charging".
Sent from my LG-H901 using XDA-Developers mobile app

thoughts on horrible charging problem/wtf is up with my ram usage

Got stuck switching over to the S7E after going through a huge fight with Sprint to get the Note 7, which we all know how that turned out. Anyway, went from an Iphone 6s plus to the note 7, both phones charged in my car, via my portable battery charger, and with wall charger pretty much the same. Saw no real issues. Now my S7E has been absolutely horrid.
Ram usage is never below 65%, which to me is insane, but no matter how much stuff I disable (package disabler pro of stuff I can disable without killing the OS) or uninstall, etc. I can't get it lower. I don't think my Note 7 went above 40% usually unless I left all kinds of crap open. When plugged into the wall, the "fast charge" is about 3-4 hours. Shows fast charging as working. Thought this was faster. Without me using the phone. I also get the weak charge notifications if I try and use it for like facebook. If I plug it into my car or into my portable charger, I might budge 10% an hour if I do absolutely nothing with my phone at all. Tried multiple samsung cables. All the same way. Using the AC adapter that came with the phone, also tried the one from the Note 7. Same result.
on the latest possible firmware, noticed this on the previous firmware, just haven't had time to fool with it.
Thoughts? I've done wake lock debugging and don't see anything keeping the phone from sleeping.
Thinking I might have a defective unit or I am going to find this thing is just a POS in comparison. I could go a whole day with both the iphone 6s plus or the Note 7, I can barely get through half a day with the S7E doing the same normal stuff. Setup exactly the same as the Note 7 was.
Re: charging. Not sure if you're saying the Note 7 charged fine or not, but are you using a charger designed for the iPhone with your S7? If so, it's never going to charge fast, as Apple adopted a proprietary technology to determine if the phone is connected to a charger or to a USB port. With an iPhone charger, your phone will think it's connected to a USB port and limit current draw to 500 mA. Using a charge-only cable (no data pins) should get around this, or use a charger not designed for Apple devices.
As far as RAM usage, Linux (which is what Android is) manages memory to maximize it's usage. Empty RAM is wasted RAM. Android will keep recently used apps, or apps that you use frequently, in RAM whenever possible, so that they're available without having to be loaded from ROM. If another app needs the RAM those apps are using, Android will close the app in use and free up the RAM for reuse. Unused RAM won't make your apps any faster, and will only slow down task-switching.
meyerweb said:
Re: charging. Not sure if you're saying the Note 7 charged fine or not, but are you using a charger designed for the iPhone with your S7? If so, it's never going to charge fast, as Apple adopted a proprietary technology to determine if the phone is connected to a charger or to a USB port. With an iPhone charger, your phone will think it's connected to a USB port and limit current draw to 500 mA. Using a charge-only cable (no data pins) should get around this, or use a charger not designed for Apple devices.
As far as RAM usage, Linux (which is what Android is) manages memory to maximize it's usage. Empty RAM is wasted RAM. Android will keep recently used apps, or apps that you use frequently, in RAM whenever possible, so that they're available without having to be loaded from ROM. If another app needs the RAM those apps are using, Android will close the app in use and free up the RAM for reuse. Unused RAM won't make your apps any faster, and will only slow down task-switching.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not sure you read what I wrote, I am using the cable that came with the S7E and the AC adapter that came with the S7E. Using the same chargers, sans cable as it is different, as the Note 7. This phone is horrible at charging, the note 7 charged like my iphone, extremely fast.
Just wanting to see if others experience the same or not. Have a car adapter and a portable charger that both output 2 amps, both charged the note 7 fast. The S7E charges like molasses.
I understand how android should manage ram, but this phone lags something awful. It freezes constantly, I've actually never owned an android phone that has ever had ram usage so high. I don't mind the delay in opening apps, I despise the constant lag while doing anything more than loading a basic web page. The Note 7 has the same processor/ram no? It was so much smoother, so much faster and ram usage so much lower. The ram being high concerns me something not showing up in debugging is causing my phone to eat battery like a hog. It just would have to be something in the samsung OS.
I am assuming that my issues with this phone are abnormal then. I'll probably try a restore at some point soon and go from there. I would rather have risked the Note 7 exploding than have this phone lol. It's such an insane disappointment from day to day usage aspect in comparison because of this.
nosympathy said:
not sure you read what I wrote, I am using the cable that came with the S7E and the AC adapter that came with the S7E. Using the same chargers, sans cable as it is different, as the Note 7. This phone is horrible at charging, the note 7 charged like my iphone, extremely fast.
Just wanting to see if others experience the same or not. Have a car adapter and a portable charger that both output 2 amps, both charged the note 7 fast. The S7E charges like molasses.
I understand how android should manage ram, but this phone lags something awful. It freezes constantly, I've actually never owned an android phone that has ever had ram usage so high. I don't mind the delay in opening apps, I despise the constant lag while doing anything more than loading a basic web page. The Note 7 has the same processor/ram no? It was so much smoother, so much faster and ram usage so much lower. The ram being high concerns me something not showing up in debugging is causing my phone to eat battery like a hog. It just would have to be something in the samsung OS.
I am assuming that my issues with this phone are abnormal then. I'll probably try a restore at some point soon and go from there. I would rather have risked the Note 7 exploding than have this phone lol. It's such an insane disappointment from day to day usage aspect in comparison because of this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suspect you've got some corruption somewhere that a factory reset may cure. The S7e is very robust and battery life is excellent. If you can hold off, Nougat should be pushed out in January, do a factory reset then to clean out any residue files.

Wireless Qi charging mod possibilities?

With my aging Nexus 6 coming to the end of its lifespan as a daily carry device, I've been looking for other devices. Looking into the Google Pixel 3 / 3 XL or OnePlus 6T, both phones have a few issues of concern that will likely require compromise from the Pixel's lack of RAM for a flagship as well as the OP6T's lack of wireless charging. I will never understand how OnePlus has such a grudge against Qi charging as an option; simply because it is not as fast as a USB connected "Dash" charge (unsure why they won't use the standard Qualcomm quick charging spec that many devices uses) doesn't mean it isn't desirable, as I've been charging my phones predominantly via wireless Qi since the Nexus 4 days!
However, I was wondering if interested enthusiasts could remedy OnePlus' oversight with a Wireless Qi mod? After market, latest-generation Qi receivers are apparently plentiful and inexpensive (I'd worry of suspect quality in some cases) , but many seem the type to be placed on the rear of the chassis inside a case and connect to the USB plug. They can also be placed inside the phone itself, but still make the connection via the bottom USB port. While neither of these are entirely disqualifying, it would be much better if there was a way to connect the Qi receiver internally, leaving the USB port accessible. Back in the days of the earlier Galaxy devices, I can remember there used to be receivers mounted internally in certain devices - https://www.amazon.com/VILIGHT-Wire...1790504&sr=8-24&keywords=wireless+qi+receiver - is one example, thanks to the way the battery and layout of the phone is set up.
Perhaps something similar could be done for the OnePlus 6T? Does anyone know the feasibility regarding the internal layout of the 6T? If we are not lucky enough to just be able to tap into a few connections, could there be some sort of (ideally solder free) mod done with relative ease? Perhaps there is something else I'm not considering, but I assume it all hinges on the internals of the 6T.
Its insane that users should need to consider a mod in order to add such a common feature in flagship or even mid-grade phones, but if there's a relatively good chance of a mod like this it would encourage me to look closer at OnePlus this time around. Thanks.
Watch jerryrigeverything's video on YouTube?
RanceJustice said:
With my aging Nexus 6 coming to the end of its lifespan as a daily carry device, I've been looking for other devices. Looking into the Google Pixel 3 / 3 XL or OnePlus 6T, both phones have a few issues of concern that will likely require compromise from the Pixel's lack of RAM for a flagship as well as the OP6T's lack of wireless charging. I will never understand how OnePlus has such a grudge against Qi charging as an option; simply because it is not as fast as a USB connected "Dash" charge (unsure why they won't use the standard Qualcomm quick charging spec that many devices uses) doesn't mean it isn't desirable, as I've been charging my phones predominantly via wireless Qi since the Nexus 4 days!
However, I was wondering if interested enthusiasts could remedy OnePlus' oversight with a Wireless Qi mod? After market, latest-generation Qi receivers are apparently plentiful and inexpensive (I'd worry of suspect quality in some cases) , but many seem the type to be placed on the rear of the chassis inside a case and connect to the USB plug. They can also be placed inside the phone itself, but still make the connection via the bottom USB port. While neither of these are entirely disqualifying, it would be much better if there was a way to connect the Qi receiver internally, leaving the USB port accessible. Back in the days of the earlier Galaxy devices, I can remember there used to be receivers mounted internally in certain devices - https://www.amazon.com/VILIGHT-Wire...1790504&sr=8-24&keywords=wireless+qi+receiver - is one example, thanks to the way the battery and layout of the phone is set up.
Perhaps something similar could be done for the OnePlus 6T? Does anyone know the feasibility regarding the internal layout of the 6T? If we are not lucky enough to just be able to tap into a few connections, could there be some sort of (ideally solder free) mod done with relative ease? Perhaps there is something else I'm not considering, but I assume it all hinges on the internals of the 6T.
Its insane that users should need to consider a mod in order to add such a common feature in flagship or even mid-grade phones, but if there's a relatively good chance of a mod like this it would encourage me to look closer at OnePlus this time around. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought the Nillkin Type C Wireless Charging Receiver from amazon and stuck inside the case that came with the phone. I had bought another case on amazon but that one was too thick to get a QI signal to go through. The charging is ok, not the fastest tho.
I am looking at getting this. Former Nexus 6 user myself. Someone already mentioned this, but here is the amazon link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BFCBPJ...&pd_rd_r=1a965010-e45d-11e8-bc94-f9678d2f68d0
other option:
https://www.amazon.com/Nillkin-Wireless-Charging-Receiver-Charger/dp/B01M11UT3V
I have the nillkin on my OP6. Since I always use a case, it's a non-issue to stick the charge pad inside the case.
Thank you all for the links to reliable plug-in Qi receivers; if I go with the OP6T I may end up getting one of those if there's no other alternative. User reports and feedback on Amazon suggest these are pretty delicate in how they're bent and the like, so I am curious if anyone is unplugging/replugging them (to connect to the USB port for some other reason) with reasonable frequency without issue?
I've not seen any content from "jerryrigeverything" on YouTube but I'll check it out when I'm able to do so.
The big question however is the viability of an internal Qi receiver installation that does not require plugging in via the external USB jack....
Thanks!
RanceJustice said:
Thank you all for the links to reliable plug-in Qi receivers; if I go with the OP6T I may end up getting one of those if there's no other alternative. User reports and feedback on Amazon suggest these are pretty delicate in how they're bent and the like, so I am curious if anyone is unplugging/replugging them (to connect to the USB port for some other reason) with reasonable frequency without issue?
I've not seen any content from "jerryrigeverything" on YouTube but I'll check it out when I'm able to do so.
The big question however is the viability of an internal Qi receiver installation that does not require plugging in via the external USB jack....
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will need to remove the back which is glass and do internal soldering.
Pass.
I've loved wireless charging on the n6. And was bummed about it missing on the 6t. But honestly battery life is so insanely good on the 6t. I mean insane! And it charges so fast, I don't feel the desire to get wireless charging anymore. I kid you not. Battery life and charging are fantastic compared to the Nexus 6.
I'm down to 38% and it's been 23 hours since I took it off the charger.
I have been using the nillkin since I got phone. I had a note 8 and used wireless exclusively. So once I got the 6t I have been doing the same. The battery life on this phone is so good I just charge once a day. I go to sleep lay it on wireless charger and wake up to 100%. No messing around with cables. It also charges just as fast as the fast wireless charging on my note 8.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01M11UT3V?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_yo_pop_mb_pd_t2
Just got this and it's working very well
USB C Qi Wireless Charger Receiver, sharllen Universal Ultra Thin Charging Adapter Receptor Receiver Patch Module Chip iPhone 7 7Plus, iPhone 6 6Plus, iPhone 5 5s 5c SE - Rose Gold https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CSQ43X2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rhK5BbC3RQZQB
Sent from my crosshatch using XDA Labs
Has anybody with one of these noticed any issues with heat?
I have an aftermarket Qi adapter attached to the battery of my Samsung S5 phone and whether with an old or a new battery, the phone generates a lot of heat when charging from a low battery state. I've been concerned about overheating the processor.
Nsane457 said:
Has anybody with one of these noticed any issues with heat?
I have an aftermarket Qi adapter attached to the battery of my Samsung S5 phone and whether with an old or a new battery, the phone generates a lot of heat when charging from a low battery state. I've been concerned about overheating the processor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
QI Charging (any charging for that matter) is going to generate heat,more so on slow QI Charging.
It takes longer & there's no heat pipe/paste in the OP6T to aid in dissipating the heat. (see video teardown,FF to the 1:30 mark):
I always use a small desktop fan near my charging points at home.
I'm not a battery conserving hawk or handle my phones as if they're priceless museum pieces,but,a small fan is any easy to use solution & in cooling the phone,may actually speed up the charging process a bit.
I have a couple that have worked previously, but couldn't for the life of me get them working on my OP6. I've ordered an OP6T so hopefully will be able to get it working when it arrives.
I have a strange issue with the QI Receiver i bought from Ali express. When i put the Qi Receiver on the back of the phone and put it on a charging pad, i can see the battery percentage goes up all the way to 100% but the phone never thinks that its getting charged. I mean the charging symbol never comes up and even BBS and other Battery Monitor apps don't think its getting charged. But the percentage reaches 100. Does anyone know a solution for this issue
ozzmanj1 said:
I've loved wireless charging on the n6. And was bummed about it missing on the 6t. But honestly battery life is so insanely good on the 6t. I mean insane! And it charges so fast, I don't feel the desire to get wireless charging anymore. I kid you not. Battery life and charging are fantastic compared to the Nexus 6.
I'm down to 38% and it's been 23 hours since I took it off the charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had wireless charging on a few devices previous to my OnePlus 6t and loved it. When I'm using OOS 10.3.8 and xXx magisk rom I charge my phone once every two days and I'm a HEAVY user!! I usually get about seven hours screen on time on my 6t!!! Insane battery is right!! I do miss wireless charging though. Appreciate everyone sharing here. I may try some things out as well. If and when I do I'll return and comment about it. Cheers.

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