Cell phone charger question - 5.0v vs 5.1v

[thatguy]

We just got new phones.. I got a LG Cosmos and my wife got a Samsung Intensity II - And im a little pissed off with the chargers..

BOTH phones use a micro usb connection.. BUT the Cosmos charger has 5.1 volt output and the Intensity II is a 5.0 volts output.. I tried using the the 5.0v charger on my phone and got a message saying to check the charger something is wrong and to connect the right charger.

Would the 5.0v phone be damaged if i used the 5.1v charger on it? We hate having to carry separate chargers when we travel..

Why would a companies use the same micro usb connection, BUT make the required voltage different? That just makes the world very confusing..

thanks

brian

 

[bebster]

Standardized chargers as supposed to be on the way this year. Would be real nice to get rid of my old charger museum from all the phones we've had over the years.
CTIA - The Wireless Association

 

[thatguy]

Standardized chargers as supposed to be on the way this year. Would be real nice to get rid of my old charger museum from all the phones we've had over the years.
CTIA - The Wireless Association

I was hoping with these two phones we would have 'standardized chargers' since they have the same conneciton, I really dont understand why they would require 5.1v if normally a usb connection puts out 5v

thanks

brian

 

[jinman]

Brian, are both chargers the same wattage? Is it possible the 5.0 charger is dropping below 5.0 VDC because it is being overloaded? I just bought a used Dell laptop. The charger the seller gave me was 65W instead of 95W. As soon as I booted the computer while attached to the charger, the computer gave me a warning message. I found the correct charger online for less than $10 and bundled it with another purchase for free shipping. It was cheaper to do that than drive 150 miles round trip to exchange the charger. Even with the new correct Dell charger, I've received the warning message 1 time out of maybe 50 starts.

I think the power supply "bricks" are notorious for being overrated. I bought some 2-amp 24 volt bricks to replace some that were damaged by water. They would maintain 24 volts until I got to 1.5 amps and then just die. If they were 2 amps, it was just an instantaneous level. There was no way they would supply 2 amps continuous.

 

[thatguy]

jinman - the LG has output listed as 5.1V @ 0.7A / input was 0.2A, the other has output listed as 5.0V @ 0.7A / input as 0.15A..

when I tried the 5.0V charger and got the error message there was nothing else going on at the same time..

These are Factory original chargers that came with our phones - not some chinese knockoffs causing the problem..

thanks

b

 

[Skyco]

My wife has a Cosmos and we've plugged all sorts of micro-usb chargers into it without problems...both AC and cheapy car ones we paid $5 for...no problems.
She is currently using the one that came with a Motorola Bluetooth because it has a longer cord, it looks too small and too thin of a cord but it works...it doesn't even have a voltage/current rating on it.
Can you plug the cord from the Cosmos into a computer and see if that charges?

I doubt the 5v phone will be damaged by the 5.1 v charger, but couldn't guarantee it...most phones have the charger logic/regulation electronics in the phone I believe...so I'd do it.

Searching on google for Cosmos charging problems I did find a mention of the connector interface sometimes requiring a little wiggling to get it to work. Maybe try the non functioning one a few more times to "wipe" the contacts clean?

 

[jwstewar]

I really like the new "standardized" charging connections. We just got all new cell phones. 2 HTC and 2 Samsung. I now have no clue whose charger is whose. They are all swapped around. Getting ready to take the camper out. I was thinking this was going to be a pain having to have 4 chargers to get all the phones charged. I had a Powered USB Hub laying around. I plug it in to the AC wall outlet, then plug the cell phones in to the hub via USB. All 4 cell phones are now charging and only using one AC outlet in the camper. I ordered 6 cables off ebay - 4 for the camper, one for the car (radio has a USB port on it that I can charge from), and one to leave at work. Got the cables for $.99 each and free shipping. Now I won't have to worry about carrying chargers around anywhere.

 

[thatguy]

Small update.. Both of our charges are 2 pieces: usb cable (plug is micro and standard) and charger that plugs into the wall..

I used the 5.0v cable/charger and got the error message
I used the 5.1 cable and the 5.0 charger and no error message
I used the 5.1 cable and another usb charger (suppose to be 5.0v) and got the error message

I have no idea why it works sometimes and not others..

I did notice that although i got the error message - the battery indicator showed that it was charging with all the situations..

brian

 

[dmccarty]

...
Searching on google for Cosmos charging problems I did find a mention of the connector interface sometimes requiring a little wiggling to get it to work. Maybe try the non functioning one a few more times to "wipe" the contacts clean?

Our phones have a very small opening for the USB connection. Furthermore, the opening has a door that can close to cover the connection. If the door is not FULLY snap open, the USB connector cannot fit tight.

Since the OP is getting varied results make sure the connection is fully engaged.

Later,
Dan