Is there a way to keep the USB port powered?

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by gravitylover

My usb plug isn't powered. Is it supposed to be? It doesn't charge my phone but works fine for music if I put a flash drive in.

Not all phones charge. It depends how they register as a USB device when plugged in. Many android devices won't charge in my experience.

[XPLSV]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

...Damn new cars that turn all the sockets off.

I have one vehicle that I keep on a battery maintainer throughout the winter months. The maintainer plugs into the cigarette lighter...couldn't get it to work, at first. Turns out, I have to have the ignition key turned to accessory, THEN plug in the maintainer, then I can turn the key to off and remove it. Only way to get the maintainer going and it will then continue its mission for days, weeks, or more.

[ermax]

Originally Posted by gravitylover

My usb plug isn't powered. Is it supposed to be? It doesn't charge my phone but works fine for music if I put a flash drive in.

It supplies 5v at 1a. So yeah it will charge. A lot of cars only run 500ma so ours actually charges better than many. But I have a 2013 FRS with touch screen. Other years with different HUs may be different.

[extrashaky]

I gave up on that dumbass OEM port years ago. I have an add-a-fuse plugged into the fuse panel under the dash powering twin 2.1A USB ports hidden under the dash. I have cables running from them to the door to power my engine monitor and to my phone mount next to the head unit.

I have a quad unit I might swap in there eventually. Or maybe not.

Originally Posted by gravitylover

My usb plug isn't powered. Is it supposed to be? It doesn't charge my phone but works fine for music if I put a flash drive in.

Power coming from it is very weak. My Galaxy 3 wouldn't charge from it. I don't know if my current phone will, since I have better charging options now.

[ermax]

Or maybe it’s an Android thing. Ive only tested iPhones in my car and they charge fine.

[gravitylover]

I'm allergic to iPhones so yeah... my Android phones don't charge. I usually just use a charger plugged into the lighter but I'm tired of wires in the way and losing the console space. Guess it's time to look at a better solution this spring.

[ermax]

I would prefer hardwired USB over Bluetooth but with rapid charging. Luckily I rarely need to charge my phone other than at night so it hasn’t been much of a priority.

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by gravitylover

I'm allergic to iPhones so yeah... my Android phones don't charge. I usually just use a charger plugged into the lighter but I'm tired of wires in the way and losing the console space. Guess it's time to look at a better solution this spring.

Theres the extra lighter port in the glove box. Works great. Just run the cord out the side of it and up the center consol

My scosche mount has a clip to hold the cord even so dont have to fish around for it

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by JIM THEO

May be Techstream has an option for keeping enabled the infotainment while car is off

Absolutely not, I've been through techstream for days and have never found a setting that touches on accessory power really.

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

@ermax

The USB port definitely doesn't output the proper power ratings for a lot of newer modern android devices. I think USB A to C limits things to 1.5 amps in a legacy environment like our stock older cars. I Installed a JVC android auto unit for a friend and it retained the stock USB port and it maintains a reliable charge with high load on the device like waze or google maps, spotify and other apps running. Yet my car with the stock nav module head unit swap no longer powers my newer Oneplus 6T enough to hold it's charge long enough.

I also believe that fast charging on some phones with different quick charging methods uses the wires that transfer data so it's one or the other, or both with some caveat. My friends JVC head unit fast charges his pixel with the stock factory google cable in the head unit fine. It'll take some finaggling to figure out whats the limiting factor on android devices.


Perhaps at the point where you start tearing apart the dash to add another charging solution it'd be more prudent to hide a battery bank somewhere? Or even change the head unit so you can fast charge to get the power you need before you shut the car off?

[ermax]

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

@ermax

The USB port definitely doesn't output the proper power ratings for a lot of newer modern android devices. I think USB A to C limits things to 1.5 amps in a legacy environment like our stock older cars.

The USB standard is actually 500ma. The manual for my head unit says it puts out 1a which is enough to slowly charge my iPhone 7 while running Waze (with screen on) and Apple Music. I also own a Suburban which runs the standard 500ma and it drops in charge while running Waze and Apple Music. With no apps running it will charge but slowly.

Androids typically have monster batteries to make it through a day so I wouldn't be surprised if they run higher wattage.

The headunit in my car is this one:


.....

Okay so before I posted this I did some reading on how Androids work. Looks like you have to short the data pins to force it to look like a dumb charger or else it will be limited to 500ma. Obviously to short the data pins you would have to disconnect those lines from the HU so you would lose your connection for playing music and it would become a charging port only. So it looks like Android is limited to 500ma on our head unit which explains why it can't keep up with Waze while the screen is on. I suspect 1A would be fine for an Android if you were actually using it. I also saw some info on rooting the phone so you can force fast charging may work.

[BellaItalia]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

Power coming from it is very weak. My Galaxy 3 wouldn't charge from it.

Flaky at best. When i plug my galaxy 6 active (BTW, it's an active not because i'm active, but because the phone is, falling down all the time and jumping around, watched it to cartwheels down some stairs once, impressive!), i get an error message of device drawing too much power and will shut off usb device and has a confirm "button"...but if i ignore it, or even hit the confirm, it still charges, so i leave it in and it charges

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by ermax

The USB standard is actually 500ma. The manual for my head unit says it puts out 1a which is enough to slowly charge my iPhone 7 while running Waze (with screen on) and Apple Music. I also own a Suburban which runs the standard 500ma and it drops in charge while running Waze and Apple Music. With no apps running it will charge but slowly.

Androids typically have monster batteries to make it through a day so I wouldn't be surprised if they run higher wattage.

The headunit in my car is this one:


.....

Okay so before I posted this I did some reading on how Androids work. Looks like you have to short the data pins to force it to look like a dumb charger or else it will be limited to 500ma. Obviously to short the data pins you would have to disconnect those lines from the HU so you would lose your connection for playing music and it would become a charging port only. So it looks like Android is limited to 500ma on our head unit which explains why it can't keep up with Waze while the screen is on. I suspect 1A would be fine for an Android if you were actually using it. I also saw some info on rooting the phone so you can force fast charging may work.

Also because USB C is designed is designed for more than just phones, it's a multi device thing, they max out at 4.5-5 volts and 20 amps for things like laptops or bigger tablets that allow it.
The increased power on some oem android auto head units, for instance mazdas, is so that you can keep your charge level. It's the reason why they swapped out the old USB hubs as part of android auto upgrades on the mazda connect systems.



Also not turning this into an android debate but the "monster" battery statement is invalid that's totally manufacturer related, 3700 mah on my OP6t makes it last past a whole day for me and the dash charging is crazy fast, alot of these android phones have quick charge or a rapid charge tech to compensate.