[charliebrown]

My iPhone battery has been wearing down rather quickly so I plugged it into the USB in the center console. Immediately my radio goes silent and I get a message on the Volt screen that asks if I want to open Pandora or Stitcher or something else. It seems I have to unplug my phone for those messages to go away.

How can I just charge my phone?

 

[jsmay311]

My iPhone battery has been wearing down rather quickly so I plugged it into the USB in the center console. Immediately my radio goes silent and I get a message on the Volt screen that asks if I want to open Pandora or Stitcher or something else. It seems I have to unplug my phone for those messages to go away.

How can I just charge my phone?

I agree, it's pretty annoying.

There are 2 options as I see it:

1. Use a 12V_outlet-to-USB adapter, then plug your USB charging cable into that. There are a million of these available on Amazon or Best Buy or Walgreens or wherever.

2. Get a special USB adapter that allows charging but blocks data. This is what I use in my Volt with my iPhone:
https://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-Charge-Block-Adaptor-SmartCharge/dp/B00QRRZ2QM

Looks like this would work also: https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Universal-Charge-Only-Adapter-Android/dp/B00FA9GXKM

 

[VoltenRock]

I always thought there was an extra USB port for phone charging that does not communicate with the radio. However, I've never looked for it and couldn't find anything in the manual, only that there are three accessory power outlets:
. Inside the front of the floor console.
. On the rear of the floor console.
. Inside the instrument panel storage area.

 

[Sean-a-Tron]

Car USB ports are not intended to charge phones since they only provide 0.5amps. They are strictly meant for music. Get an accessory port charger, they will charge your phone faster and more reliably.

 

[MnVikes]

My setup is a Kmashi 20,000 mAh portable battery plugged into the Volt for slow charging. Then I plug into the 2.0A port for fast charging my phone. Plus if I need I have a portable battery I can take with me.

 

[llninja]

Car USB ports are not intended to charge phones since they only provide 0.5amps. They are strictly meant for music. Get an accessory port charger, they will charge your phone faster and more reliably.

A half an amp is plenty to charge a phone. You only need 2.1A for a tablet or some of the biggest phablets.

 

[charliebrown]

Thank you JSMAY; will order one of those data blocking ports tomorrow.

 

[sduck]

A half an amp is plenty to charge a phone. You only need 2.1A for a tablet or some of the biggest phablets.

If you're going to be plugged in all day - it's incredibly slow charging in real life via the usb port. Virtually any 12V_outlet-to-USB adapter is going to charge your phone at least twice as fast.

 

[coachD]

Easy fix, as soon as it starts playing hit the radio button on the center console and it will switch back to radio

 

[llninja]

If you're going to be plugged in all day - it's incredibly slow charging in real life via the usb port. Virtually any 12V_outlet-to-USB adapter is going to charge your phone at least twice as fast.

At the expense of battery longevity. Charging twice as fast is convenient but also means extra heat which hurts the battery. Remember, there's no temperature management system active which turns on some fans in a smartphonelike there is in a volt. The best the phone can do is sense it's getting too hot and throttle down the charging to compensate.

This won't matter if you upgrade phones every year, but it does matter to those who hold onto their smartphones for 5+ years before upgrading. My wife still carries an iPhone 5 (4.5 generations ago....5, 5s, 6, 6s, SE-sort of based on the 6s CPU, 7). Sure you can replace the battery, but my daughter's iPhone hold button was never the same after a mall kiosk repair guy replaced her battery. She spent 2 years using the accessibility home button on the touch screen to workaround this. Luckily she was able to turn this feature on before the home button broke completely.

 

[Sean-a-Tron]

If you're going to be plugged in all day - it's incredibly slow charging in real life via the usb port. Virtually any 12V_outlet-to-USB adapter is going to charge your phone at least twice as fast.

At the expense of battery longevity. Charging twice as fast is convenient but also means extra heat which hurts the battery. Remember, there's no temperature management system active which turns on some fans in a smartphonelike there is in a volt. The best the phone can do is sense it's getting too hot and throttle down the charging to compensate.

This won't matter if you upgrade phones every year, but it does matter to those who hold onto their smartphones for 5+ years before upgrading. My wife still carries an iPhone 5 (4.5 generations ago....5, 5s, 6, 6s, SE-sort of based on the 6s CPU, 7). Sure you can replace the battery, but my daughter's iPhone hold button was never the same after a mall kiosk repair guy replaced her battery. She spent 2 years using the accessibility home button on the touch screen to workaround this. Luckily she was able to turn this feature on before the home button broke completely.

I manage a phone repair store, so I have a lot of experience with this kinda stuff. The iPhones do not draw very much power from any kind of charger. Usually 5-7 Watts, which generates very little heat. Usage has the biggest effect on battery life in phones.

The iPhone 5 is notorious for being shipped with defective batteries that die prematurely. There was a recall on them but it expired a while ago. I highly recommend to avoid having your phone repaired at any kiosk. We've heard many horror stories from customers of those places. However I don't believe they're responsible for the home button going out. The iPhones rely heavily on that button and it's very common for them to fail.

PS: If a phone repair business messes up your phone, bring it back to them. Nearly all of them warranty their work.

 

[flyingsherpa]

A half an amp is plenty to charge a phone. You only need 2.1A for a tablet or some of the biggest phablets.

Not if you're using it. A half amp will still result in a net drain on most phones if you're using the phone for GPS duty.

OP, a 12V-to-USB aux adapter is best, but be careful where you put it. Some adapters are electrically noisy and if you use it in the top dash compartment, the noise can interfere with the TPMS system. Happened to me, with a name brand adapter. Now I use the armrest port and have no issues.

 

[Raymondjram]

As a cellphone user since 1985, and owning two Samsung Galaxy S8 phones now, I do recommend the 12 VDC adapter. Some may supply over 10 watts for two smartphone at the same time. I need this because my 2009 Chevy Equinox has no USB ports, but has two 12 VDC outlets available.

But the signal blocking adapter is excellent if you travel, because I have read about possible trouble using a public USB port at many sites (including airports and shopping malls) where a malicious hacker can either gather private information or put a virus into any connected phone. Because of this problem, I recommend a small battery-powered USB charger that can recharge one phone if needed, and get recharged itself using any public USB port and a cable. It is usually my wife who need it the most so she carries one in her purse with a self winding USB cable and a MicroUSB to USB C adapter.

 

[Raymondjram]

The iPhone 5 is notorious for being shipped with defective batteries that die prematurely. There was a recall on them but it expired a while ago. I highly recommend to avoid having your phone repaired at any kiosk. We've heard many horror stories from customers of those places. However I don't believe they're responsible for the home button going out. The iPhones rely heavily on that button and it's very common for them to fail.

Although I specialize in Samsung and other Android phones, I have repaired two iPhones, one being a 5S model with a broken screen glass. Replacing the glass is a mission in itself, but moving the "home" button from the broken display to the new display was the hardest part (I have pictures). I am glad that the Samsung Galaxy S8 eliminated that button and now uses a soft "Home" button which is software located on the digitizer touch area. But its curved glass is still hard to replace, according to the iFixit website, which I am a great fan of and use as reference for almost every smartphone I have serviced.

 

[ClarksonCote]

It seems I have to unplug my phone for those messages to go away.

While you can't stop this automatic feature, you can just use the source button to switch back to your desired music source. In other words, you don't need to unplug the phone to make this stop, you just need to switch the source back to the one you wish to use.

Not if you're using it. A half amp will still result in a net drain on most phones if you're using the phone for GPS duty..

I've never understood why GM didn't put a higher power USB charger in there. With a simple resistor, it can be designed to provide 1 amp or more, just like the "high speed" USB charging ports on laptops. My USB laptop has one, with a little lightning bolt next to it to indicate it can provide higher power.

These ports can be designed the same way some laptops and all charging AC/DC blocks are designed, for higher than normal USB power.

 

[hellsop]

A half an amp is plenty to charge a phone. You only need 2.1A for a tablet or some of the biggest phablets.

A half amp won't even keep up with Waze's battery drain with the display turned up bright enough to be seen on the dashboard mount in the sun. 2 amps, though, and I'm not only guided to my destination, I've gotten 20% of a charge in ten miles.

 

[caskConditionedAle]

Hypermilers always charge their phones at home, save those watts for range!

 

[turboguy327]

I put my phone on my wireless charging dock with my mophie case. Works great and will charge the phone with Bluetooth streaming audio, and 3 different navigation apps all going at the same time.