Charger Gets Hot 1020

[deannah2]

I find the standard charger (one that comes with the 1020) seems very hot while charging. Anyone else see this? Is it normal? Thanks for any answers .. I am new to cell phones and just wondering.

 

[Muessig]

When you're charging a phone you've got to expect some heat. Once your phone is charged it should cool down again. If you're talking hot enough to burn you or that it's too hot to hold for a few seconds then you could be looking at a faulty charger. Anything less than this is most likely working fine. It's still charging up your phone alright is it?

 

[deannah2]

When you're charging a phone you've got to expect some heat. Once your phone is charged it should cool down again. If you're talking hot enough to burn you or that it's too hot to hold for a few seconds then you could be looking at a faulty charger. Anything less than this is most likely working fine. It's still charging up your phone alright is it?

Yes, it charges the phone fine, just seems very warm. It does seem to cool down once the phone is charged. Not hot enough to burn the hand, just very warm. Thanks for your response!

 

[tgr42]

In case you're wondering why a properly functioning charger gets warm... It's because, like all chargers, it's less than 100% efficient at supplying power. You can read a little about efficiency of AC adapters here: AC adapter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm not an electrical engineer but, as I understand it, the efficiency of a power supply basically tells you what percentage of the input power is put to good use. The remaining power is wasted as [usually undesirable] heat output. Given that phones are designed to charge as quickly as possible (without damaging the battery too much), they can suck down a lot of power in a short time. This means that even if the charger is relatively efficient (80-90%?) the 10-20% that becomes waste heat adds up to something you can easily feel in your hand.