Phone does not charge plugged into computer

[robmaguire]

Hey there,

I have my Samsung Galaxy S3 plugged into my MacBook Pro's USB port, and the computer is plugged into an outlet. I'm using the S3 as a mobile hotspot. Despite charging via USB, the S3 is gradually losing charge, at a rate of about 1% per hour, rather than charging.

I'm wondering if it's possible that using the phone as a mobile hotspot could possible require more power than the phone is gaining while charging.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Sydman]

Are you using the cable that came with the phone?

When I do that with my Razr it charges fine, how old is your MacBook? Could be it does not have enough juice coming out of that USB port to charge the phone enough with how much battery you are using tethering.

 

[jstafford1]

Not all usb ports are powered on laptops. And also it might be pulling more power than the port puts out. Does it charge when not using it as a hotspot??

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

 

[bsweetness]

Hey there,

I have my Samsung Galaxy S3 plugged into my MacBook Pro's USB port, and the computer is plugged into an outlet. I'm using the S3 as a mobile hotspot. Despite charging via USB, the S3 is gradually losing charge, at a rate of about 1% per hour, rather than charging.

I'm wondering if it's possible that using the phone as a mobile hotspot could possible require more power than the phone is gaining while charging.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

That's exactly it. Using the phone as a mobile hotspot is a major battery drain. Not only is the phone actively using a 3G/4G connection, but it's then turning around and sending out a WiFi signal for other devices to connect to. Additionally, the USB port on your MacBook doesn't put out the same level power to the phone that using a wall charger will (although some computers now come with a special USB port that puts out more power, specifically for charging devices). So, the two of those things together will definitely result in a power drain. The USB port provide the power needed in order to keep up with the amount of battery that's used.

 

[94lt1]

I agree, all usb's are not created equally as far as output. And hotspot is a huge drain on a battery. That's why on gb, there was a default message suggesting you plug in the device..

Also remember that a USB port was fine for charging on a dumb phone...smart phones are way too power hungry especially when the radios are reaching out...

 

[wcjeep]

Not sure about Apple tech. I've read on average Windows computers are 500ma charging capability.

 

[lloydstrans]

usb protocol says (usb 3) max is 500ma if your phone is fully charged it will only ask the host (your mac) for 100ma the more it is discharged it will ask for more, in 100ma intervals. as stated in the above post the power requirements are massive, it may level off at some point when your phone asks for more power and it equals the drain. usb 4 has 1000ma capacity but your phone will still ask for 500.

 

[_Evelyn_]

Similar Iussues for help:
I connect my cell phone with computer via USB cable, but cannot see any SD Card info on the computer, what's the matter?
Could anyone help me?
Thanks.

 

[wcjeep]

Similar Iussues for help:
I connect my cell phone with computer via USB cable, but cannot see any SD Card info on the computer, what's the matter?
Could anyone help me?
Thanks.

What can you see ? What mode does the S3 say when connected to USB ? What pc operating system ? Are you running additional memory capacity?

 

[lloydstrans]

wcjeep, can take over from here. I still have some whittling to do on a HDMI cable to fit in a micro USB port.

 

[robmaguire]

Thanks

Thanks for the feedback, it's pretty much what I expected. Cheers.