Aftermarket charger issues and thoughts

[thecaptain0220]

I know that there are a lot of threads about this issue but I have been going through them for a while now and haven’t found the answers that I’m looking for. Could someone please answer these questions without just replying with 20 page threads full of mostly useless information?

My first question is has anyone figured out what actually causes the Droid to start freaking out on aftermarket chargers. I mean the actual technical reason. I just feel like there has to be something very specific causing the issue. Is it something in the charger, a voltage issue, a current issue, etc? It seems like somehow the aftermarket chargers just cause the touch screen to do random things.

Second does anyone know if the use of these chargers is causing any permanent damage to the phone or is it just a temporary thing when the charger is connected?

Finally are there any solutions that allow the use of these chargers in temporary situations? For example I’m on vacation right now and I forgot to bring my charger so I’m using a blackberry car charger with an adapter to use it in a wall outlet. I always like to use my official charger but my fiance has a blackberry and it would be nice if I could use her charger when I forget mine.

I thought of a possible solution when thinking about this problem. Would it be possible to create an application that you could start before connecting the charger? This application would detect when the charger was connected and completely lock the phone so that nothing can happen from all the random screen presses and stuff. Then have it so that when you unplug it from the charger it automatically unlocks the phone. That way if you use an aftermarket charger it can’t do any harm but if for example, you receive a call, you can just unplug it real quick and answer. Basically when you plug the charger in lock the phone and when you unplug unlock the phone. You could even maybe put a battery meter on the screen.

I am a software engineer and could definitely look into creating this if people think it would work. I also would have no problem if someone else feels like giving it a shot.

 

[jimnutt]

The voltage is too high. Many of the aftermarket chargers have unregulated outputs and put out as much as 9Vdc, particularly toward the end of a charge cycle when the current draw is low. The droid is only spec'ed for 4.75-5.25Vdc at 500-1000ma. It's conceivable that the out of spec voltage could damage the phone and/or battery, I pay close attention to the output specs of any charger I use.