+- PINE64 (https://forum.pine64.org)
+-- Forum: PinePhone (https://forum.pine64.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=120)
+--- Forum: General Discussion on PinePhone (https://forum.pine64.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=127)
+--- Thread: Pinephone visibly losing power while plugged in (/showthread.php?tid=19840)
Pinephone visibly losing power while plugged in - Hiraghm - 05-22-2025
I have a pinephone community edition running mobian.
Most of the time it sits, off, because we're not allowed to have phones at work, and I don't have a lot of people to talk to (when I'm at home, I use my desktop, anyway).
I've noticed lately that plugged into my computer, it seems to lose about 1% power every 3 minutes or so.
Plugged into the power outlet, however, it seems to lose about 1% power every 3 minutes or so.
The only way I seem able to charge it now is to turn it off and plug it in.
I've set it as power-saving as I can figure out. It sits in suspend mode with the screen off.
I have wifi, bluetooth and cellular on.
The battery icon shows the thunderbolt, and I get the message that its charging... but it's draining faster than it's charging.
There's nothing wrong with the cable; I've used it to connect an android tablet that charges just fine.
I've flipped the usb-c end in case there's a frontwards/backwards way to insert it (hey, I'm desperate).
It does not get hot. Plugged in or not, it only gets *slightly* warm.
Can anyone help me with this? I haven't seen this specific problem anywhere in the forums. I love my pinephone and don't want to give it up.
RE: Pinephone visibly losing power while plugged in - mikehenson - 05-23-2025
(11 hours ago)Hiraghm Wrote: Can anyone help me with this? I haven't seen this specific problem anywhere in the forums. I love my pinephone and don't want to give it up.
Hello!
I suggest getting a better wall charger.
Related points to keep in mind
The Phone will draw 3-5 Watts just sitting.
Computer USB ports can typically have a .1amp to .5amp at 5V is max 2.5 Watts. This is why you are seeing a battery drain.
You will need at least a 5 Watts wall charger. Most little wall chargers that come with EVERYTHING are 5 to 8 watts. Buy a QC3.0 or PD65W charger.
Here is a link[1] to a good 20 Watt charger I use.
The phone also has smarts to talk with the charger and set the current draw. This to help battery life. In Arch Linux, I use a package called powersupply[2] it shows me what current the charger has and what PD version it is using. It also shows me what wattage the phone is using.
To your Android tablet statement:
Android has INSANE power management and can "charge" slowly with a few watts. All modern Android devices will tell you "Charging Slowly" "Charging" "Charging fast" "Turbo Charging"
[1] https://ameridroid.com/products/usb-a-usb-c-ameridroid-us-adapter-20w
[2] https://gitlab.com/MartijnBraam/powersupply