The life of cell phone chargers
My cell phone charger died last night. That means I have to race out today and get a new one before my cell phone battery gives out. Or drive around in the car in order to charge it there, much like a reverse version of when I used to take my wailing infant son and place him in the carseat until the movement of the car lulled him to sleep.
So this is my question for all you techies out there: why do cell phone chargers die so early? And do they have to be so expensive to replace? This one has only lasted a few months, as have all my others.
It’s not as though I abuse them. On the contrary, I treat them quite respectfully. I have never stomped on one, thrown it against a brick wall, wrenched it powerfully from its moorings in the outlet, or otherwise mauled it.
And yet they continue to repay my solicitous care with unreliability, dying with no warning whatsoever. They don’t go gentle into that good night, they go precipitously and with apparent malice aforethought.
And so I ask that mother of all questions: why? I know that somewhere out there, among you readers, lies the answer. Or perhaps several answers. I await your wisdom.
[UPDATE: Mystery solved. Thanks to all who replied with so many creative and knowledgeable suggestions.
My previous phone had a charger that attached with a sort of tooth/prong arrangement. It was inherently very fragile. Each charger lasted only a little while before it broke, and I was continually having to replace them. They actually stopped making that kind of phone, fortunately, because it was so problematic.
However, this new phone had a much simpler problem, I’m embarrassed to say. It just needed the old “open it up and take out the battery and put it back in again” treatment. Now, even I am aware of this all-purpose remedy, but the fact that the phone worked perfectly in every other way led me to think the charger was the problem.
I never said I was good at this stuff.]
Just FYI – Whenever I change Cellphones, I routinely buy extra batteries, chargers, etc., so I will have them when I need them.
I buy the accessories, and the phones, from EBay. MUCH cheaper than Alltel.
Make sure your next cell phone charges through a USB port. That way you can charge it from a USB hub. It seems so obvious; I’m surprised it took so long.
To answer your question, I think it is because they are cheap, and what is the point of making them good since they are a revenue stream.
Really “hate” to say this but for over 9-years, none of my cell phone chargers have failed. However, one of my providers failed and has since been reborn in a way. But the chargers live on, even the car chargers.
Perhaps it’s payback for once having been “one of them” before your rebirth as one of us; we always pay for our once and youthful sins.
Actually, these devices are very simple: a combination of low-voltage step-down transformer and a rectifier. Nothing new in it, exept for their size. They are too small to be robust, and are fragile by the same reason as race horses: competition between producers for low weight and small size, driven by customer’s expectations. So a practical advice: choose the most heavy and big recharger. It should not become hot when used. They die because of overheating, burning out transformer coils made from too thin wire.
I’m with OldGrouchy, I’ve never had a charger fail. The phone always dies first.
Most phone chargers are built to be cheap. There are two kinds of chargers, transformer and AC-DC converters. The transformer ones will only run on 120 V. The AC-DC converters seem to be more common today and will run on anything from 120 to 240 V, 50-60 Hz. The input voltage range will be written on the side of the part that plugs into the outlet.
Both kinds are pretty crappy but the Ac-DC converter type are more susceptible to power spikes. Power spikes can take out the transformer type too but it seems to happen less often.
You may have really spikey power to your house and that’s what’s taking out the chargers. You can get some good power filters but that’s pretty expensive. The simplest solution is to get a charging adapter that runs off of the USB on your computer. The computer power supply is more robust is a lot less likely to be taken out by power spikes.
I forgot this. Lots of people make usb charging adapters. I use Gomadic (http://www.gomadic.com/) because they make adapters for just about every cell phone, PDA, and many other things. The same cable works with everything and all I have to get is the appropiate connector adapters.
I also have never experienced a failure with a charger for my cell phone. It may have a great deal to do with the stability of the power in your area. As noted above, they aren’t designed with a great deal of robustness, so spikes and other transitory power conditions tend to be hard on them.
I’ve never had a failure either and have used more than several different kinds. I’m thinking power surge also. You might want to plug it in through your surge protector. Also I just got a new mortorola and got all my chargers, including a usb one with motorala phone tools from Amazon, a total of three cables and software for $40 including shipping from three different suppliers. I suggest you give it a look.
I’ve worked in the electronics industry for a number of years.
Most people don’t have your problem, so I’d say it’s probably a flaky phone or flaky power.
If all your failing chargers are the same make and model then it’s likely that they’re badly made. In combination with power spikes or dips from your wall socket, that could be the whole explanation. Can you get a different kind of charger for your phone? Some phones only take exactly one kind. Others are more liberal (Ha!).
If you’ve got lots of spikes and/or dips in power: 1) Other appliances should also be having problems. 2) The power company will probably fix it for “Free”, if they can prove the problem exists. That’s what you’re paying them for.
The transformer supplying power to your house could be flaky. The electrical ground connection to your house could be corroded. Usually, the power company will test your power for free, too.
On the other hand… The one component in common here seems to be the phone itself. If the phone is drawing too much power from the charger, the phone would probably be very warm after a half hour of charging. Is it?
If it is a problem with the phone, there is an excellent chance that just replacing the battery will solve the problem. Take your phone into the repair center and ask for a diagnosis. Many cell phone plans include ‘insurance’ which gives you free repair for this sort of thing.
Oh, and do the chargers get really warm while working? Or just the phone? Or both or neither?
Try blowing out the slot that you plug the charger into.
That happened to my wife: she kept her phone in her purse and the connection got gunked up with…..stuff.
The tech at the store took a can of air, the kind you use to clean computer equipment, and cleaned out the slot that way. Worked like a charm.
My goodness…I’ve never had one go out on me. I did have to clean out the above mentioned slot—due to storing the phone in the same pants pocket as a mini-reese’s. Bluetooth headsets…those I end up replacing.
Lots of folks wrap the electrical cords on chargers and other small devices way too tight around the device when it’s not in use; eventually, the strain breaks the wires inside the insulation. I always instruct folks to leave a “service loop” of wire before you start wrapping the wire around the device so that the wire does not suffer any sharp bends.
Hi Neo,
As some have said before your problem may lie with either the “cheap” charger or with the power company. There’s not much you can do about “cheap” chargers… However, you can challenge your power company.
Buy one of these: http://us.fluke.com/usen/products/Fluke+VR101S.htm?catalog_name=FlukeUnitedStates&Category=PHASE1(FlukeProducts)
Plug it into a socket, record the power quality for a few days. One of us can then translate the power quality graphs for you.
If it is the power company’s fault, you’ll then have information to back you up.
Just incidentally, you shouldn’t have to run the car to recharge the phone battery. The cigarette lighter works without the key even being inserted (or at least it has in every car I have owned) and the drain of charging a phone battery is miniscule compared to the capacity of a car battery.
surge protectors are really needed for home appliances and PC*’;
I think many of the chargers now a days are fairly low tech and low quality. I’ve had brand names and knock offs live a long time and die pretty quickly. I think part of it is the match between phone and charger. If the voltage is a little higher than needed or a little lower the current going thru the charger will vary. High current will cause heating and premature failures as electrical components age faster and break down faster on hot conditions.