Question about ASUS Eee Pad Transformer battery and recharging

[DarrylB]

Here's my situation, recently I had a new ASUS Eee Pad Transformer shipped to Canada from Thailand and it came with the European USB charging accessory which is not compatible with our outlets here. So, earlier today I went to a local Staples and purchased a basic/standard USB/AC adapter. Basically my battery has completely died and before I plugged it in to recharge with my new $20 USB charger I would get a screen that flashes quickly on and off that shows an icon of a battery with a small area in red, meaning the battery is dead. Simple enough and makes total sense, as to be expected. Anyhow, when I plugged the charger in I noticed there is no indication that the tablet is actually being charged. Is this normal or should there be some sort of light or something?

About an hour later, I know that's not enough time to fully recharge the tablet, but out of curiosity I just wanted to see if I could at least boot up. Now, the battery icon no longer appears and it goes to the main login screen but then after only a few seconds shuts down again. I did catch a glimpse of it saying "connect your charger" but it is actually connected which is partly why I'm confused. I guess my other question is, will a basic USB/AC adapter/charger work or do I have to purchase an actual ASUS standard charger?

The fact that it went from showing a battery icon to proceeding to the actual login screen (even if it does shut down right after) tells me it's acknowledging something but is it actually charging?

 

[Walkop]

Sorry to hear about your problem here.

The issue here is that the Transformer won't charge via a USB 2.0 cable - it will only charge with any degree of reasonableness if the tablet is completely off and even then it charges very slowly.

You'll need to either buy the ASUS charger (which will likely be the best choice for quality) or find a AC/USB 3.0 charging plug.

Also note that as you already have a USB 3.0 cable, your current wall plug is the issue as it doesn't have the extra heads on the plug for fast charging.

Either that, or you could buy a power converter.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Android Tablet Forum

 

[DarrylB]

Thanks again Walkop. I figured as much would be the case but being as this tablet is still new to me I had to ask to be sure. Most likely I'll just end up ordering the actual ASUS charger online which as you mentioned is probably the best solution. Live and learn, trial and error, all part of life I suppose!

 

[DarrylB]

...oh and I must confirm while I have your attention Walkop, even with the standard ASUS charger, is there or is there not an indication (light) that the tablet is in fact being charged?

 

[miked]

You could use a converter plug; European to US type. The ASUS charger has 15V output, that is why a "regular" USB charger won't work. The tablet does not have a charging light only the optional keyboard dock.

 

[DarrylB]

thanks for this information miked, much appreciated!

 

[boeing777]

I just got the TF101 as well and have some questions re batteries. I took my TF on my first business trip without the charger because I figured 14-16hrs would be enough. And even if it wasn't I wanted to see how long it took to die. Well I left the GPS on and it died in about 6 hours (dock included.) I may have left the GPS on in the airplane as well, so maybe that's why. I am now doing a test at home using mostly web browsing (wifi on obviously), some youtube stuff, a few short games and some general use stuff. Seems like I should be able to get fairly high usage out of it.
My questions are about how the battery operates:
- The battery indication seems only to read the tablet battery level not the dock + tablet yes?
- And it seems to use the dock power first, then the tablet battery is that right?
- The "battery use" section in the settings is confusing as it only seems to show the tablet battery usage not total time between charges but I'm not really sure that seemed accurate on the first run. Anyone getting similar results?

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Android Tablet Forum

 

[Walkop]

"...oh and I must confirm while I have your attention Walkop, even with the standard ASUS charger, is there or is there not an indication (light) that the tablet is in fact being charged?"

Not on the tablet itself, but there is a software notification (on the bottom-left; the battery icon will change) and there is also one on the Keyboard Dock. The one on the dock is on the left-rear side.

Regarding that, there's a common app I just found a little while ago (more of a widget than an app, actually) that can tell you how much battery is left in your keyboard dock! Here's a link to it.
By the way, not sure if you know this (you probably do if you have any other Android device - I myself don't) but you can download apps to your tablet through a computer wirelessly - just go to the Android Market (such as the link I provided), log in, and download the app. It gets sent to your tablet. It's a neat trick!

 

[DarrylB]

Thanks again Walkop, this is all very helpful and I'll definitely be installing that app you suggested! As far as installing apps to your ASUS tablet directly from your computer, I did not know that either. I would imagine you would somehow have to sync the device is all which is likely quick & easy. I'm learning quite a bit mostly thanks to all of your advice!

Just a quick update on my cheap $20 USB charger that I bought from Staples yesterday, as it turns out it does in fact work it just charges REALLY slow! I went ahead & ordered the official ASUS charger online, came to just under $42 after tax and that also includes shipping which isn't bad really.

 

[DarrylB]

Hey Walkop I just want to say thanks again for all of your help. I'm slowly but surely learning and getting a grip on using the Asus Eee Pad tablet, mostly thanks to all of your help and advice as well as from other members here. I've started a series that includes tips and tricks for this wonderful Honeycomb tablet and I also gave you reference Walkop as well as this forum in my first article of the series. Thanks to Spider for giving me the green light to post this link too. I felt it would be good to share. I really enjoy this forum and I'm sure we'll continue to learn a lot from one another more and more over time!

Here's the link: Asus Eee Pad Transformer Tablet Tips and Tricks Part 1

 

[Walkop]

Thanks again Walkop, this is all very helpful and I'll definitely be installing that app you suggested! As far as installing apps to your ASUS tablet directly from your computer, I did not know that either. I would imagine you would somehow have to sync the device is all which is likely quick & easy. I'm learning quite a bit mostly thanks to all of your advice!

You're very welcome - I'm glad to help as always
Also, It's actually even simpler than that - it links into your Google Account (at least, thats how I assume it does this; it's the only way that makes sense) and basically sends a command to your tablet, telling it to download that application. As long as it's on any wireless network, it should download fine. You could be at work (...er, on break) and tell an app to download to your tablet which is at home. It'll automatically download said app through your tablet itself. It's a neat feature.

Just a quick update on my cheap $20 USB charger that I bought from Staples yesterday, as it turns out it does in fact work it just charges REALLY slow! I went ahead & ordered the official ASUS charger online, came to just under $42 after tax and that also includes shipping which isn't bad really.

Great, at least it works. Hopefully it'll be able to keep it topped off until your new ASUS charger arrives. It charges the tablet really fast - 2-3 hours tops, I'd say.

Hey Walkop I just want to say thanks again for all of your help. I'm slowly but surely learning and getting a grip on using the Asus Eee Pad tablet, mostly thanks to all of your help and advice as well as from other members here. I've started a series that includes tips and tricks for this wonderful Honeycomb tablet and I also gave you reference Walkop as well as this forum in my first article of the series. Thanks to Spider for giving me the green light to post this link too. I felt it would be good to share. I really enjoy this forum and I'm sure we'll continue to learn a lot from one another more and more over time!

Here's the link: Asus Eee Pad Transformer Tablet Tips and Tricks Part 1

Well, you're welcome and thanks! I'm definitely flattered. Thanks very much for that reference - I'm glad to help anytime. I noticed your website in your signature a little while ago, and checked to see if you wrote anything about the Transformer - looks like I just missed it

Also, I noticed you mentioned how to adjust your screen brightness on the Transformer by going into Settings/Screen/Brightness. There is actually a much simpler way, if you haven't noticed it. If you tap the notification bar, it will expand to show you all current notificiations - but it will also show, right at the top, a bar seperated from the bottom half that shows date, time, battery, etc. It also has a icon depicting sliders (settings). If you tap anywhere on that bar, it will bring up a mini-settings menu with options for Airplane Mode (shuts off all wireless connections (3G (if applicable) Wi-Fi, Bluetooth)), Wi-Fi, rotation lock, as well as screen brightness. I find this slider extremely useful, as you don't have to leave your current app to adjust many major settings.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Android Tablet Forum

 

[DarrylB]

Well, you're welcome and thanks! I'm definitely flattered. Thanks very much for that reference

You bet, any time my friend!

Also, I noticed you mentioned how to adjust your screen brightness on the Transformer by going into Settings/Screen/Brightness. There is actually a much simpler way, if you haven't noticed it. If you tap the notification bar, it will expand to show you all current notificiations - but it will also show, right at the top, a bar seperated from the bottom half that shows date, time, battery, etc. It also has a icon depicting sliders (settings). If you tap anywhere on that bar, it will bring up a mini-settings menu with options for Airplane Mode (shuts off all wireless connections (3G (if applicable) Wi-Fi, Bluetooth)), Wi-Fi, rotation lock, as well as screen brightness. I find this slider extremely useful, as you don't have to leave your current app to adjust many major settings.

aaaah, very nice, thanks for pointing that out, much easier indeed!