1. dchawk81's Avatar
    Is there something special about the OEM BlackBerry Tour cigarette plug charger? I tried two generics from eBay and a USB to cigarette adapter in two different vehicles and neither of those will work.

    I don't want to buy the OEM if my phone or both vehicles' ports are somehow faulty, despite the fact that it'll charge when plugged into the computer or the included AC wall charger.

    Both vehicles will power an inverter and my mp3 player.
    08-21-10 05:02 PM
  2. dictoresno's Avatar
    i have some generic and other branded chargers for other devices that dont work with my blackberry. i detects being plugged in, then gives an error stating it cannot be used to charge the phone.

    i know motorola likes making it so only moto branded chargers and cables work with some of their devices. i dont think its that with the blackberrys, since i have some offbrand or other branded cables that work just fine with them. its probably more a voltage/amperage issue. make sure the charger you get/use supplies the required amount of power in order to work correctly. you may need to buy a branded one. only some non-blackberry cables work with blackberrys.
    08-21-10 05:09 PM
  3. dchawk81's Avatar
    This one was advertised to work with BlackBerries but who knows...it was ebay for chrissakes. They keyword spam like mad. I don't know how much voltage or amperage it supplies because it's not labeled and I don't have a meter to test.
    08-21-10 05:20 PM
  4. LrdAnkh's Avatar
    i have a generic auto charger and it works fine
    08-21-10 05:33 PM
  5. Redx's Avatar
    I bought a universal one at Family Dollar for 7 bucks and it works perfectly fine. Way better than 30 for a Verizon one
    08-21-10 06:16 PM
  6. justavillain's Avatar
    I got a Sprint one off ebay and it works just fine with my tour and moment.
    08-21-10 06:20 PM
  7. dictoresno's Avatar
    Make sure you use one which charges phones, not cigarettes.

    Sorry, I couldn't resist. :-(
    08-21-10 06:30 PM
  8. dchawk81's Avatar
    Haha what can I say - I like a little zap in my Swisher Sweets!

    Thanks for chiming in, all. I'm at a loss here because it was sold as a BlackBerry Tour charger via the title and description, not just a generic microUSB plug.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-21-10 08:04 PM
  9. BergerKing's Avatar
    Wal-Mart carries a Vivitar USB charger that has a dual micro/mini USB cable and charges my Tour and Bluetooth headset simultaneously, and sells for $4.73, up in the checkout lanes. It works great.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-21-10 08:37 PM
  10. dictoresno's Avatar
    Haha what can I say - I like a little zap in my Swisher Sweets!

    Thanks for chiming in, all. I'm at a loss here because it was sold as a BlackBerry Tour charger via the title and description, not just a generic microUSB plug.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    it was sold that way just for marketing purposes. just because the plug fits the same one on the Tour...poof!! its a Tour charger. but it could also be a 1500 other things charger.
    08-21-10 09:56 PM
  11. justavillain's Avatar
    but it's a tour charger.
    08-21-10 09:59 PM
  12. dchawk81's Avatar
    Hey justavillain, which Sprint one did you get off ebay? The one I bought was purported to be an OEM Sprint charger...but it's clearly not. There's no branding or anything and the build is pathetic.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-22-10 12:59 AM
  13. the_sandman_454's Avatar
    Is there something special about the OEM BlackBerry Tour cigarette plug charger? I tried two generics from eBay and a USB to cigarette adapter in two different vehicles and neither of those will work.

    I don't want to buy the OEM if my phone or both vehicles' ports are somehow faulty, despite the fact that it'll charge when plugged into the computer or the included AC wall charger.

    Both vehicles will power an inverter and my mp3 player.
    When you say they don't work, you mean they won't do anything at all, and the phone doesn't recognize it's charging by showing the lightning bolt on the battery? If the device recognizes it and shows the lightning bolt, it's charging, but in my experience, even with the vzw branded tour charger, it is SSSSSLLLLOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW...

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-22-10 07:51 AM
  14. dchawk81's Avatar
    There's no lightning bolt. I'm not that stupid - I know the difference between not charging, and charging slowly. LOL.

    My reason for a car charger isn't speed...I actually have four batteries in all so I'm never really left out in the cold. I want to plug it into keep it topped off so it's not draining unnecessarily when I use Sprint Nav and other GPS based travel apps. I currently just swap out a battery when I get to my destination (3 hours' driving with Nav and/or GPSLogger and/or Pandora going can really kill a battery) so I'm solid for the day, but I find it silly and tedious to waste a battery and wait for bootup when I have a power source right there below the phone.

    It doesn't give me an "unable to charge from this source" error either, and I've gotten those before when plugging into my powered down laptop with the original USB cable. The three chargers (two from the eBay seller and my one adapter) act as if nothing was plugged into it at all.

    I don't mind plunking some cash down on a good charger if I know it'll work properly. I just don't want to be stuck with an expensive charger that still doesn't function properly for whatever unknown reason.
    Last edited by dchawk81; 08-22-10 at 02:20 PM.
    08-22-10 02:13 PM
  15. the_sandman_454's Avatar
    Well, here's a dumb question. If you have access to and can power an inverter, why not just take your wall plug-in one with you, just use that, and then you don't have to buy any cigarette lighter adapters?

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    Last edited by the_sandman_454; 08-22-10 at 04:10 PM.
    08-22-10 04:08 PM
  16. treytyler3's Avatar
    main thing with cheap chargers is that most cannot recognize when your battery is full so they will keep charging or trying to and possibly overheat or warp the batter...micro usbs can have diff pin configurations occasionally too (rare)...i have 34$ 'name brand' universal dc chrgrs that don't work tho on only my blackberry...other blackberrys work and other micro usb devices work...i guess sometimes you just get unlucky..but personallly no i wouldn't buy the cheap chargers
    08-22-10 06:46 PM
  17. dchawk81's Avatar
    Well, here's a dumb question. If you have access to and can power an inverter, why not just take your wall plug-in one with you, just use that, and then you don't have to buy any cigarette lighter adapters?

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    I don't have my inverter secured in any way because it's used for a lot of things, so it's cumbersome and dangerous as a while-driving solution. I'd like to keep it as safe as possible. I've thought about doing that, but with it sliding around it could become unplugged, defeating the entire purpose of messing with it in the first place.

    In addition, the wall charger is used to power the dock at home and to be honest I'd rather not constantly plug and unplug it as a simple matter of convenience. The wall charger can stay at home and the car charger can stay in the car.

    Heck I don't really even need a car charger, but it'd be nice to have.

    For what it's worth, the eBay seller is offering a refund, which I've accepted.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-22-10 07:30 PM
  18. justavillain's Avatar
    Hey justavillain, which Sprint one did you get off ebay? The one I bought was purported to be an OEM Sprint charger...but it's clearly not. There's no branding or anything and the build is pathetic.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    OEM SPRINT CAR CHARGER HTC EVO FAST SHIPPING - eBay (item 140443117070 end time Sep-19-10 11:52:25 PDT)

    That one but if you look around you can usually find them cheaper. I think glancing through I seen another one for like 6$ with free shipping. I can get photos of mine to show that it's legit if you or anyone wants.
    08-23-10 09:05 AM
  19. Denny_Crane's Avatar
    I've always used Motorola chargers for my Blackberry's and I've never had a problem.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-23-10 11:43 PM
  20. dchawk81's Avatar
    Thanks. I've just ordered one of those Sprint models. Hopefully I have better luck with it.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-24-10 06:43 PM
  21. Jude526's Avatar
    I bought mine from Verizon when I had the Tour it worked also on my Curve and also works on the Bold. It works on both cigarette outlets in my car. Charges up quickly no issues.
    08-24-10 07:44 PM
  22. dchawk81's Avatar
    Thanks Sean and Jude. I'm a Sprinter so I went ahead with the Sprint branded charger. Received it yesterday and it works fine.

    Also, thanks again to justavillain for pointing out the Sprint chargers being cheap as chips on ebay. I almost paid ~4x as much to get one from the big yellow man himself.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-28-10 03:25 AM
  23. Pete6's Avatar
    This is an old problem and it keeps coming up. It is obviously confusing and worrying people so here's an explanation and an answer.

    Modern BlackBerrys require a 700mA charging current at 5 volts. This is what the label says on the original BlackBerry wall charger.

    The original USB specification was for 500mA at 5 volts. If this is adhered to then a USB port or charger will not charge a late model BlackBerry.

    Of course, most car chargers supply more than 500mA. Clearly the one you have does not. Examine the label on the device and see what the current is limited to. If it is 500mA then it ain't gonna work.

    You need one that will supply more than 500mA (1A is fine) BUT the device MUST, must, must be voltage regulated to 5 volts. Stick the car voltage of 13.2 up a BlackBerry and you will have a useless piece of metal and plastic.

    So what you need is a car USB charger regulated to 1A current and 5 volts.
    08-28-10 04:01 AM
  24. dchawk81's Avatar
    Thanks for the clarification. As I said before though, there is no label. It's just another one of those uber cheap eBay electronics with no documentation, labeling, etc. Slapped in a bag and sent out the door.

    Also, as stated earlier, I already bought a Sprint charger and it works fine.
    08-28-10 06:36 AM
  25. Saxamaphone's Avatar
    I've got a generic one from ebay and it does not charge mine either. The red light comes on near the plugger in part (for the car) but it does not have the bolt part on the phone. . . I too wondered if there was something special about a BB car charger that the generic one doesn't have.
    08-28-10 10:16 AM
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