Charging my Playbook

**LiamMontana** · 01-07-2013, 07:33 AM

I only got my Playbook for Christmas so I'm relatively new to using it but today, I've gone to use my regular phone charger to charge the PB and it doesn't seem to charge. I find that odd because the charger fits the port etc. Is there/does anybody know a way around this?

**SlcCorrado** · 01-07-2013, 07:46 AM

They are both micro usb, but I know the stats are slightly different between the two. I would take the one that came with your pb and use it for both devices. Also, I'd invest in a rapid charger. They're only a couple bucks now

**kbz1960** · 01-07-2013, 08:02 AM

The pb requires a lot more juice to charge than the phones need so use your pb charger on the pb. I'm not sure if it's OK to use the pb charger on your phone constantly.

**Banco** · 01-07-2013, 08:10 AM

I must admit it was a few weeks (and visits here) before I realised that the charger that is supplied with the Playbook is different to your normal phone one. I spent a fair while thinking it was a design problem on the Playbook that it took so long to charge.

**Chaddface** · 01-07-2013, 08:11 AM

The charger that comes with the PB is also sold as a premium charger for many BB phones including the 9900. I have used it(PB charger) to charge two 9900's for about a year now.

**peter9477** · 01-07-2013, 08:15 AM

Originally Posted by kbz1960

The pb requires a lot more juice to charge than the phones need so use your pb charger on the pb. I'm not sure if it's OK to use the pb charger on your phone constantly.

It's fine. These devices have sophisticated charging controllers which limit the current which they accept from the charger, so you can't put "too much charge" into it. You can't charge it any faster than it wants to be charged.

**LiamMontana** · 01-07-2013, 08:17 AM

I've sorted it out now. I tried it with my other regular phone charger and it seems to work with that one. I just like having a charger on each floor of my house so I don't have to go up and down the stairs like a doughnut when I want to charge my phone/playbook.

**Banco** · 01-07-2013, 08:43 AM

Originally Posted by LiamMontana

I've sorted it out now. I tried it with my other regular phone charger and it seems to work with that one. I just like having a charger on each floor of my house so I don't have to go up and down the stairs like a doughnut when I want to charge my phone/playbook.

Oh it will work with your normal phone charger. It will just be very slow to charge, that's all. And if you use it with the phone charger in, it will probably actually discharge, albeit more slowly than if not connected. The supplied Playbook charger will fully charge the device in an hour or two. The phone charger could take overnight to do the same.

**billsterjito** · 01-07-2013, 09:53 AM

I have been using my playbook charger with my 9800 for over a year and have no issues with the battery. It is still going strong. In my experience there has been no damage to the phone battery.

F2 · 01-07-2013, 09:58 AM

Just one word of caution. Do make sure to plug any micro-usb plug into the pb in the correct orientation. Too many folks have put them in upsidedown and bent the connector. The port on the pb is designed to potentially accommodate a usb device so the port is more rectangular than the port on your phone. That's another reason some folks recommend the Rapid Charger - it uses a magnetic connection.

F2 · 01-07-2013, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by billsterjito

I have been using my playbook charger with my 9800 for over a year and have no issues with the battery. It is still going strong. In my experience there has been no damage to the phone battery.

Agreed. I've actually been using the normal pb charger with my bb phone for almost two years. As noted above, Rim sells the pb's usb-ac-charger as a "rapid charger" for their phones.

**peter9477** · 01-07-2013, 12:25 PM

Originally Posted by Banco

The supplied Playbook charger will fully charge the device in an hour or two.

For the record: about 3.5 hours from empty to full with the included charger. The rapid chargers take about 3.2h to charge from empty to full.

Both numbers are if the screen is off and you're not running anything that takes significant power. If you do that, the regular charger can take much longer. The rapid charger will still take the same time though.