All my other devices charge normally while PC is turned off: old phone, smartwatch, and wireless headphones.
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At least the smartwatch and the headset charge at low rates compared to the FP3. Some powerbanks need to be switched to a special low current mode, in order to recognize them at all.
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Can you give an idea of the rate. My phone connected to a 5V USB usually takes 3m to charge 1% i.e. at approx .5A/Hr even though it can provide 2.4A. So 5 hours approx.
Sorry took sometime to reply but apparently there is a limit on how many replies you can send as a new user.
@anon9989719
When PC is on: approx. 4min to charge 1%
When PC is off: approx. 1h to charge 1%.
I can live with this issue if it is not hardware related to my piece. Tho I’m wondering now if it is somehow related to my issue with Android Auto not working.
My friend is just telling me that his phone (not FP tho) doesn’t even charge when PC is turned off.
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Sounds about right 
Did you see my posts above 
I noticed it did get better, a bit, then a bit more. Thought it is unfathomable. Apparently I read the charging routine a learning curve for the power unit??? I’ll see if I can find a ref to that.
Things are not as out of sorts as I imagined for you.
All the best
With the same PC or another one? Because depending on the PC, it may not have a port allowing charge when off. E.g, my 8y old laptop doesn’t have any USB port allowing charge when powered off, while the 2y old laptop of a family member of mine has such a port, which btw. allows 1A charging.
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Usually PC systems (like this one) never shut down anymore, and so do other devices that are connected to the system. When running Windows, “Modern Standby” could have an impact on these devices, too:
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I think you may indeed have to “live with this”. It’s normal, not an “issue”.
In my experience the FP3 requires at least 750 mA to charge at a “useful” rate, that is, input exceeds consumption. I don’t know what the rating of your PC’s USB port would be when the PC is “off”, but it’s likely to be low (as noted by DeepSea), maybe around 500 mA. That would have been enough for my old Galaxy Ace 4 
, but the FP3 requires a higher current to get anywhere.
Don’t forget that a PC that’s supposed to be “off” cannot provide much power to USB as this still comes from the power supply which has no cooling when the PC is “off”.
Personally I use an old 750 mA charger that puts in about 25% per hour which is what you would expect (3020 mAh battery capacity / 750 mA charge current = 4 hours of charging for a theoretical full charge).
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Every PC mainboard is supplied with power even after the operating system has been shut down before. The power supply unit does not need cooling due to low voltage, and enough power to charge a device should be available…
Yes that’s basically my point. And it’s not so much voltage (which should be constant), it’s the current rating that’s important.
That depends on the device. As I say, 500mA is fine to charge a headset or watch. FP3 is more greedy.
My FP3 can be charged usefully by a regular USB2.0 port of a (powered on) computer. It is the only 500mA=2.5W power source that I have access to. So I verified it is in “charging only” mode and USB Debug is disabled. With all features from Bluetooth, WiFi and 4G enabled, it charges in standby above 10% points per hour. Which is good enaugh for a over night full recharge. To my experience, charging my FP3 is mostly an issue of choosing the proper cable. Might be worth a try to check via $adb shell top on your end to verify no program is using extensive amounts of cpu power.
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As long as the USB port delivers 500 mA and the phone is switched off, there should not be a problem. (Edit: @waldie Thanks for the info.) But some ports supply less than 500 mA when the current is distributed to all USB devices that are connected to a hub, and even a PC mainboard features at least one USB hub, depending on the motherboard…
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Well it turns out the manufacturer recommends a minimum of 1A, so we’re lucky to be able to charge as low as 500 or 750 mA.
500mA is enough to charge the Fairphone in 6 hours / over a short night, which is just about what my USB does.
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According to the link you posted, 1 A is no recommendation, but a requirement. However, it has turned out that <1 A would be “OK”, although I recommend to switch off the phone before charging with less current…
My phone is on when charging and takes 5 hours or more @ some 600mA
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I bet you could charge your FP3 in about three hours or less while switched off…
Thanks @waldie and @anon9989719 for the details. I’ll try again at some stage with a 500mA adapter just to see.
But it’s @OneZ who asked the question; from what @DeepSea writes, it sounds like the USB is not providing even 500mA when the PC is switched “off”. As already stated in this thread, power will vary from machine to machine and even port to port.
Edit: And it’s certainly a good idea to turn the phone off when charging, if one can.
No it’s no different as the phone, when not in use|calling only uses a few percent overnight, but it may save a few minutes
The five hours can be a bit of a drag but I’m getting used to it.
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Yes this seems more to the point, the only problem with that is the OP said he could charge other phones. ???