Was hoping someone could help me out here. I've noticed that if I'm using Google Music and/or Google Maps Navigation my battery continues to drain even if it's plugged in. It's rather frustrating because I like to listen to music and I also like to keep my eye on traffic during my commute home. It's even more frustrating that it drains even if it's just music!
I had a 1A charger that I used with my old Droid Incredible for years without any issue. I thought that maybe with the 4G I needed some more output so I went out and purchased a 2.1A car charger. It doesn't seem to make any difference at all. I'm still seeing the same battery drain rate.
I thought maybe it was thinking the chargers were usb (as a 500mA charge would definitely be insufficient) but as far as I can tell it believes it's plugged into a wall charger.
Does anyone have any ideas? This is extremely frustrating!
First, using a 2.1A charger on your phone will not charge the phone any faster than the current limiting circuitry in the charger system built into the phone will allow. These phones are designed to be charged at a specific rate for many reasons but not the least of which is to extend the life of the battery (considering it's not user-replaceable). Also, charging these batteries too fast can result in increased heat and irreparable damage, another reason why the current is limited.
If your phone is depleting rather than increasing in charge while using it in the car, it could be simply that the various tools and features you are using at the same time are consuming more than the current limiting circuitry will allow the phone to receive from the charger.
First, do you NEED 4G while driving? 4G is a known power hog and will drain your battery in a relatively short period of time - even if not communicating in 4g, but just on. Even with Google Music or Google Navigation 3G is sufficient for the speeds of data these two features require. Change your system settings from CDMA & LTE to CDMA Only and you will cut back dramatically on power consumption.
Second, do you run the phone in the car with the display at 100%? Again talking about power hogs, the display is arguably the biggest power hog - especially with bright backgrounds. You can reduce display power consumption dramatically by setting your display brightness to "automatic", or even lower if you can still see it, and setting your wallpaper to a darker image (Black is best), thereby using less power to produce light.
Third, do you leave the display on 100% of the time while using the phone in the car? I understand the need to know where you are going and if you are using Navigation it makes sense that you'll need to see the map at times, but if you set the screen to timeout to 30 seconds, when you approach a turn the navigation will "wake" the unit, the display will turn on, and it will give you audible directions for that upcoming turn. If you are leaving it on simply so you can see the "album cover" or CD Case artwork for the artists you are listening to, you are wasting power and you should probably keep your eyes on the road for the most part anyway. Again, set it to timeout in 30 seconds. Also, if "music" is code for "video" then there's another issue altogether and I think you know what I mean there.
Fourth, keeping your "eye on traffic" means you aren't just using the GPS and Google navigation features, but also extra data communication to obtain traffic statistics, which of course if you are on 4G will do so at the highest power consumption rate. For solutions to this, see "First", "Second", and "Third".
Fifth, are you also doing "other" things with the phone while driving??? Again, keeping your hands off the phone and on the wheel, and your eyes on the road is probably a good bit of advice for self-preservation among other, less-selfish reasons.
I use my phone on every commute, I stream FLAC audio from the home computer AND use the Google navigation while driving, not to mention a phone call or two at times. I am using the Motorola Rapid Charger Accessory Adapter (which supplies less than 1 Amp if I'm not mistaken), and my phone doesn't deplete while driving - in fact it gains about 20% of capacity during the 30 minute commute I have daily each way.
If you approach the power consumption intelligently and conservatively you will not be disappointed. If however you use every available feature and resource all at the same time, be prepared for huge battery consumption and for a charger to be unable to keep pace with the consumption rate.
YRMV.
