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My Huawei IDEOS u8150 is new and ever since I used the AC charger that was supplied with it, my device gets a bit hotter (a noticable 5 degrees Celsius extra compared to charging via USB from laptop).

Why is it not that hot when I try to charge it through PC/laptop?

I hear a whirring noise from the AC charger always and the adapter gets a little warm too.

Also, my device charges faster on the AC charger compared to the laptop charge method. Is this normal on all devices in general? Or all Huawei devices? Or is this something faulty I should worry about?

ale
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Irfan
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    See also: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/5262/why-is-charging-from-computer-using-usb-slower-than-using-an-outlet – ale Oct 26 '11 at 20:53

1 Answers1

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I'm not an electrical engineer, but I'm pretty sure there's either

  1. more current flowing through a wall charger than there would be a USB charger or...
  2. the same amount of current which is just flowing faster from the wall than from the USB port

which is why the wall charger will fully charge your battery faster. That heat is totally normal and nothing to worry about (unless it gets hot enough to burn skin, then I'd recommend not touching it).

newuser
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    Wall chargers typically provide a greater current, I believe. The charger for my Fascinate is labeled as 700mA, and I think my EVO is 1A. A standard powered USB2 connection will provide ~500mA. – eldarerathis Jun 16 '11 at 14:51
  • Indeed, I know that USB 2.0 standard is to provide 500mA. – newuser Jun 16 '11 at 14:58
  • so is it bad for the battery health (quick charging)? – Irfan Jun 21 '11 at 13:06
  • @Power-Inside: Don't think so. What's bad for a battery is over charging, so don't leave your phone plugged in all the time and you'll be fine. – newuser Jun 21 '11 at 14:28
  • I think i've read somewhere online that said Heat deteriorates a battery's life.. So I guess its safer ,if not, better to go for laptop charging? – Irfan Jun 21 '11 at 14:38
  • @Power-Inside: Well, I think it depends on the actual construction of the battery in question. Car batteries, for instance, die a lot faster in constant heat. I also think the length of exposure to heat is an important variable in how it will affect a battery's life, but if you just want to play it safe then go ahead and use the slower, cooler charging method. – newuser Jun 21 '11 at 14:55