[CJMajesty]

I know its probably too late now but I just charged my curve with a car charger from my motorola razr v3i.I figured since the razr and the black berry both are able to be charged via the 5-pin usb cable on my laptop that maybe it would work and it did.
Now I'm thinking instead of going out and buying a OEM blackberry car charger with the the same usb port I can just use my moto. I always buy OEM so ill save myself 30 bucks. Does anybody think that would cause any problems with the battery or the curve itself? Thanks in advance!
CJ

[John Clark]

It'll work just fine.

[Trevor]

I have heard of this working fine in other cases as well. Honestly, if it was going to do any damage it would have done it already.

[EMitchell]

The ATT rep that sold me my BB said it would work fine.

[Solachica]

I thought the same to. I pluged in the BB on the pc using the razr cable and I think it gave a message not enough power to charge or something so.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[EMitchell]

I thought the same to. I pluged in the BB on the pc using the razr cable and I think it gave a message not enough power to charge or something so.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

That's interesting. I've only charged my BB using my razr cable attached to my PC's USB port, and it's worked fine. I haven't tested my razr car cable yet, but I can't imagine why it wouldn't work.

Since the BB is a bus-powered device, in USB-terms, the USB port will only supply up to 500mA of current. Is there a chance that you had a USB hub between your PC and your BB? If so, it is possible that less current is being supplied than is required by the BB.

[karu]

I thought the same to. I pluged in the BB on the pc using the razr cable and I think it gave a message not enough power to charge or something so.

same thing happen to me, i switched from plugging up front of my PC to the back usb that's attached directly on the motherboard and worked better. your charger should work, i use my external harddrive plug that uses the same type of cable and works great.

[CJMajesty]

Guys im taking about the car charger. Its the Motorola 12Volt AC adapter charger you plug into your car. not the USB cable. I hope it not too strong and frys something. It charged it pretty damn fast & it didnt go back down to 0% quick either.

[JoeBlackberry]

I have been using my Motorola usb charger (car and AC), my Garmin usb charger as well as others. As far as I know, all mini-USB plugs and chargers are universal. USB's are designed to a fixed set of specifications (voltage, amps, signal connections, etc.) So it should not make a difference which brand you use.

[DearFloyd]

^ Correct. It doesnt make a difference but some mini usb cables have different voltage so the only issue would be amount of time it takes to charge.

[TreyStyles]

Yeah...I bought the 8830 the day it came out and I've been using my motorola car charger and a motorola wall charger. Don't even know where the BB charger is actually. Everything's workin just fine.

[outlawglamour]

Do you think the motorola charger will eventually cause problems with your phone? Or perhaps shorten the battery life? The reason for the question is, I thought if you were using a certain device, it would be neccessary to use the branded product.

[osupike18]

I am with the other guys. I have been using my car charger that I had for my Razr with my Curve. You wont run into any problems. All the chargers are made by the same people, they just put a different brand on them. Do you want to go spend $30 just so your car charger for your BB says RIM or Blackberry on it?

[MDBerry969]

When i purchased my Curve i noticed that it had the same connector as the Razr, and i asked the rep can i use the Razr's charger and he said it wouldn't work. So i purchased the BB charger, It ended up being defective, so i used my Razr charger and it worked fine. A few weeks later i took the BB charger back to a different ATT store for an exchange. While i was in the store i noticed that the BB charger had a MOT sticker on the cord. Once i pointed this out to the rep at this store he said that its the same cord it is compatible with both phones. After finding this out, i got my $30 back

Shame on them!

[pvdiamon]

I know its probably too late now but I just charged my curve with a car charger from my motorola razr v3i.I figured since the razr and the black berry both are able to be charged via the 5-pin usb cable on my laptop that maybe it would work and it did.
Now I'm thinking instead of going out and buying a OEM blackberry car charger with the the same usb port I can just use my moto. I always buy OEM so ill save myself 30 bucks. Does anybody think that would cause any problems with the battery or the curve itself? Thanks in advance!
CJ

A question in the thread was if it could hurt the phone over time. I have a Moto wall charger I plan to use. My understanding is that BB uses a chip that prevents overcharging. I know Nokia OEM stuff is the same. Not having the chip supposedly shortens battery life. Does anyone know if Motorola OEM chargers also use the chip that prevents overcharging?

John

[-sandman-]

Actually, sometimes I use my old razr wall charger (travel charger)...I actually noticed the voltage ratings on both my BB charger and Razr are the same. You are fine...

Although, I never heard of the BB having a 'chip' in it......when I charge my BB with my Razr charger the green light just stays lit when it is done versus blinking while it is charging. Is this true with the BB charger....?

I assume many people use the USB cable to charge off of their computers,,,,this has no chip obviously....and what is overcharging anyway? Once its charged, its charged no?


eR

[pvdiamon]

My understanding is overcharging means that current continues to be applied to the charged battery, which I guess isn't "healthy" for it. I think it is sometimes referred to an an IC chip? Intelligent chip maybe? Whatever, I"ve seen it referred to in other arenas. I suspect Moto chargers have it, but I've only seen it in reference to BB and Nokia thus far. So any info would be welcome on Motorola.

John

P.S. You can see the IC info when you Google various chargers including IC. Interestingly, I don't see it associated with the Razr Motorola FMP5202A charger on vendor sites. I'm not sure what that means.

[75Stripes]

Since about 2000 or so it's fairly common tech that chargers stop supplying current when the battery is recharged. Sometimes, the wall charger that comes with your 'berry could be defective. I have a coworker that just purchased her 8310 (AT&T, we work there in data support, we're actually the people you call to fix your 'berry ) and her phone wouldn't vibrate at all, no matter the profile. She forgot her charger one day and borrowed another coworker's motorola charger and her phone suddenly started vibrating. Turns out her bb charger wasn't supplying enough power for the phone to vibrate. Got it replaced and has worked fine since.

[derrico70364]

If you go buy the AT&T car charger for the bb it will have a black tag on it that says “moto & bb" I'm guessing that means motorola and bb is using the same connector uses the same votlage.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[pvdiamon]

Since there are chargers (maybe just old ones) that don't have the IC ability to avoid overcharging, is using an older charger potluck, or is there a way to know that it is appropriate and won't overcharge (presumably having the IC).

John

[pvdiamon]

OKAY, I guess I'm on a mission. On the other blackberryforums.com, I was told the phone itself has a charging circuit that controls the charging current and prevents the device from being harmed by overvoltage/current. I also phoned Motorola, sounds like I was connected abroad, they never asked for the model number, but took my description of the plug type, and essentially reiterated the above, that it is designed not to overcharge, but has no IC.
John

[MissLove]

I tried charging my 8100 with my old RAZR car charger and it didn't work..at least I don't think so cuz I didn't see the little icon appear next to the battery when I normally charge it.

[holvey]

OKAY, I guess I'm on a mission. On the other blackberryforums.com, I was told the phone itself has a charging circuit that controls the charging current and prevents the device from being harmed by overvoltage/current. I also phoned Motorola, sounds like I was connected abroad, they never asked for the model number, but took my description of the plug type, and essentially reiterated the above, that it is designed not to overcharge, but has no IC.
John

This is correct, chargers are very dumb devices and it is a shame that the phone companies charge $30 for them. No charger has a chip that prevents overcharge. Your phone however does. Try this, plug your blackberry into the wall or charger, and there is an icon that shows that it is being charged (mine is a little plug end) now unplug your blackberry from the charger, and unplug the charger from the wall. Plug it back in and the icon doesn't appear. This shows that your phone acknowledges that their is a current present.

mini USB is a standardized power supply as JoeBlackberry said. If it has the same input and output specs, it will not damage anything.

[mkorrubel]

the protective chip against over-charging is in the phone not in the charger.

I use motorola chargers ( wall and car ) for some years now to charge my Berrys and no problem what so ever...and I want to keep it that way LOL...

Don't worry keep charging.....

[manual_overide]

they should work the same. if you are concerned just look at the back of the two chargers. they should say they provide 5v DC power at 0.7A (5 volts at 0.7 amperes). i just use my motorola chargers because they are already plugged in where i like them.

A wall charger just converts your 110v AC house mains into DC at a certain useful voltage. There is nothing inherently smart about them... usually. Some contain circuitry that can communicate with a battery to get a charge status (charging, complete, etc.) but those are usually found on digital cameras and stuff.

I have noticed that charging off a USB cable used to work w/ my BB but now does not. I'm not sure why this is. Can anyone provide some insight?