topic Re: Hudl 2 charging problems? in Tech Help - Software/Hardware etc

Hudl 2 charging problems?

JayG — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 10:30:51 GMT

Impressed as I am with what my Hudl 2 tablet can do, it can't do anything for very long if the battery isn't charging properly, and I'd already discovered that when using it in the car as a Satnav, connected to an in-car charger, it ran down faster than it was charging, and have also found that it doesn't seem to charge via the mains charger when switched on (or if it does it still discharges quicker than it charges.)
Even powered down it only charges slowly via the mains charger (around 20 hours from fully discharged as far as I can tell.)
Yesterday I installed an app called 'Battery Doctor' to find out what was going on - at around noon I switched the Hudl completely off and half an hour later checked the app to see what was happening - it showed it was charging (5% charged - I had run it completely flat) and an estimate of about 2 hours 30 minutes to fully charge.
Powered it back down again and left it on charge - 5 hours later it was still only at 49%, and Battery Doctor told me that it was 'draining fast' and the estimate was another hour or so to fully charge, which of course didn't happen because I was using it!.
Whether you've already got one or have asked Santa for one, if you get similar problems you may like to read the following link - it seems that Tossco have finally admitted there is a problem with it, and will issue a firmware upgrade on 5th Jan, although that isn't likely to please many new 'Hudlers', and has already been postponed at least once since they first promised it (before Christmas would have been a very good idea!)
Don't fancy the so-called 'fix' of doing a factory re-set, partly because it only seems to work temporarily, and partly because I've spent a lot of time customising it to how I want it - the same goes for taking it back, although I shall have to if it carries on like this and the firmware update (when it eventually happens) doesn't work. Hard to tell whether everyone is affected - I think there would be a much bigger stink if they were, so if it is a firmware glitch it possibly only arises when there are certain customisation changes to the factory settings, although I for one haven't been trying anything 'weird' with mine!
LINK

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

HairyMcbiker — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 10:35:52 GMT

Not noticed the issue on mine (ok SHMBO's). You NEED to use a 2A charger & cable, any old one will not do, the charger & cable I used to use for my android tablet wouldn't charge the hudl. Not sure about car chargers, the only one I have is ok for my phone but I doubt it would charge the hudl.
I found the cable issue on my phone (LG-610) which if you use a "normal" cable says slow charging, but if you use the supplied cable it says fast charging.

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

PeterLoftus — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 10:45:12 GMT

I was going to say that you should use the charger supplied with the HUDL2. That is probably most relevant to when you were using it in the car
My HUDL2 doesn't have the battery life of SWMBOs iPad but I knew that before I bought it and it is acceptable

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

JayG — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 10:47:05 GMT

Both mains chargers, and the in-car adapter are Tesco-branded items bearing the Hudl 2 logo, and the mains chargers are both rated at 2A output, so it's not that. The connecting cables used are also 'OE'.
The discussion in the linked thread suggests that the problem Hudl's are unable to recognise that the charger is capable of supplying more current than, say, a PC USB port does, so fail to charge fast enough to keep up when the tablets are in use, and only very slowly even when shut down.

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

Strat — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 10:52:49 GMT

I was surprised at the difference a third party USB cable can make.
I have cables that provide fast charge but no data connection when plugged into my PC
Cables that only allow a slow charge but a data connection and more recently...
A cable that allows a data connection and a high charge rate
The cables are now marked up according to their relative merits

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

JayG — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 12:05:25 GMT

Hmmm - I've been using the longer cable which came with the in-car charger kit because the one that came with the Hudl is somewhat deficient in the length department! Perhaps it's time to try it again, and with both chargers, to see if it makes a difference, although most of the contributors to the linked external thread seem to think there definitely is a firmware problem, if only for some users.
After all my trials and tribulations on the 'ADSL' board which were all about what happened when I acquired a TG582n so I could use my Hudl 2, my head is just about done in now!

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

JayG — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 22:49:35 GMT

More experimentation today despite having far more urgent things to do!
Hudl 2 charges 'properly' using the charger and cable supplied with the device whether switched on or powered down, and also using the OE charger with the long USB extension cable supplied with the in-car/mains charger kit.
What don't work properly are 1) the in-car adapter, and 2) the mains charger unit which comes with it - until I find out otherwise I recommend avoiding this piece of kit, even though it was sold by Tesco Direct and bears the Hudl logo (it's currently shown as unavailable, so won't be too difficult to avoid - I have to suspect it isn't compatible with the Hudl 2 even though there is nothing in the blurb to suggest otherwise, and the rated output of the mains charger appears to be 'OK' for it.)
Is there actually a Hudl 2 firmware glitch? Possibly not, but never say never.
Merry Christmas to all, especially those presented with a new Hudl!

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

PeterLoftus — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 23:12:09 GMT

I'm sat in bed now charging and using my HUDL2
Merry Christmas @JayG

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

JayG — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 12:42:29 GMT

Just to confirm that although the Tesco Direct in-car charger and accompanying mains charger both carry the Hudl logo, are rated at 2A output, and are described as 'also compatible with hudl2 products', neither of them charge my Hudl2 properly, although both USB leads in the kit do work fine with the OE charger.
Luckily there are currently still no sellers for it!
THIS article tries to shed some light on the vexed question of what charger works with what device, although you may be none the wiser after reading it.
As an aside, I treated my Hudl 2 to a 32GB micro SD card to help out its rather diminished internal memory, and to cut a long story short and to save other people's time and possibly money, you cannot transfer apps to the SD card, nor can you get existing apps to store their data on the SD card.
All you can do is move picture, video and music files to it using a downloaded file manager app, or by connecting to a PC, which does seem to make the memory card considerably less useful than I originally thought it would be, especially when it comes to BBC i-player downloads - you can't shift either the programs or the download files from the device memory.
Please feel free to enlighten me if you have managed to achieve what I have so far failed to do.

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

HairyMcbiker — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 14:05:27 GMT

The app2sd function has been missing in most KK roms. Google removed it and few suppliers actually added it back. Custom rom/rooted device are the only way and at the mo no custom roms for the 2, and rooting is difficult.
The "extend to 32Gb using micro sdcard" is confusing as all you can store, as you say are video/music on them.

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

JayG — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 15:32:36 GMT

I contacted Tesco Direct Customer Services via their website on Sunday to point out that their in car/mains chargers weren't fit for purpose as they were both incapable of charging my Hudl 2.
Had a phone call on Monday to say that a refund was being processed even though I hadn't asked for one (they were only £5 and the USB leads were OK.)
She pointed out that the items had been discontinued and they didn't want them back.
We had a brief discussion as to whether they were 'faulty' - I said I thought it very unlikely they were both faulty, just not up to the job they were advertised and sold for.
Just got to find an in-car charger now that does actually deliver the 2A the Hudl requires - Googling suggests that these aren't the only chargers around which don't do what it says on the tin.

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

shutter — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 16:14:18 GMT

You could try this....
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-MICRO-USB-POWER-CAR-TRAVEL-CHARGER-FOR-TESCO-HUDL-7-8-3-HUDL2-TABLET-/200980057608?pt=UK_MobilePhones_MobilePhoneAccessories_MobilePhoneChargers&hash=item2ecb584e08
no personal connection or usage.... but... it is a UK seller... and 14 days return is acceptable, *(buyer pays postage)...
for £1.75 got to be worth a punt . !
OR... you could contact them first and ask them directly if it is suitable and WILL charge the HUDL ...

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

JayG — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 18:15:07 GMT

Quote from: shutter
OR... you could contact them first and ask them directly if it is suitable and WILL charge the HUDL ...

Thanks for the suggestion - I will ask the question (choosing a charger which not only says it outputs 2A but is also prepared to do so for a Hudl 2 is not as straightforward as I originally thought! ::))

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

HairyMcbiker — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 19:23:18 GMT

From my trawling, I have found the "high" charge secret (maybe), the micro usb has a 5th pin normally unused, if it is connected then the device thinks the power is 2A rather than 500mA.
This explains why the hudl cable works on the chargers but not the supplied cable.
Might be total baloney but ...

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

Strat — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 19:57:10 GMT

As I've mentioned before I have various micro USB cables.
When fed by a 2 amp supply the cables offer various amps into my phone between 320ma and 1 amp.
I have them marked up so I can pick a 1 amp one for charging the phone.
I have one labelled Data Transfer Only by the manufacturer as it doesn't pass a charging current to the phone.

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

JayG — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 21:22:12 GMT

Quote from: JayG
Quote from: shutter
OR... you could contact them first and ask them directly if it is suitable and WILL charge the HUDL ...

Thanks for the suggestion - I will ask the question (choosing a charger which not only says it outputs 2A but is also prepared to do so for a Hudl 2 is not as straightforward as I originally thought! ::))

I've just put the question to the e-bay seller (Strat & HM - the new Tesco Direct USB cables both work fine with the OE charger, it's the Tesco Direct in-car and mains charger units themselves which don't work whichever cable I use.)

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

JayG — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 11:31:32 GMT

E-bay seller didn't reply to my query, so they either don't know whether or not it will charge a Hudl, or their product is in the same category as those from many other sellers who don't seem to realise that the Hudl requires a minimum of 2A to charge at full speed, and that Apple devices appear to have different requirements from others, even though one USB socket looks much the same as another.
I've ordered THIS one which I will use with my OE connecting cable - hopefully it will be up to the task - I'll let you know.

Re: Hudl 2 charging problems?

JayG — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 17:39:06 GMT

Today I finally got to literally test drive the in-car charger linked to in my previous post - it had no trouble keeping my Hudl 2 at 100% charge even with GPS on and the screen permanently illuminated.
The leaflet which came with it refers to the two USB ports as being for 'Apple' and 'Other' protocols, so at least one manufacturer appears to have realised that chargers with an output of 1A (or less) will not do the business for a Hudl, and that not all devices are equal in other respects either.
As Strat has already mentioned, the connecting cable itself can make a difference - probably best to use the OE cable, although in this instance the longer one supplied with the feeble Tesco Direct charger worked fine.