Power hungry

Bryn Thomas

We all know the problems some users have of having their phone run down faster than the charger can supply power. We all know that MRA are saying that this is a HERE problem and they are waiting for a solution too. Well I have spend an inordinate amount of time playing with this problem and come up with workable conclusions.

Keep phone in airplane mode.
Use dark screen.
Keep Quad Lock wireless for torrential rain only.
Use Quad Lock USB charger occasionally.
Use 12v socket ( install if you don't have one ) as main source of power accommodating fast charge adaptor.

I have found that the QL stuff is just not man enough to cope with the power draw of MRA and wireless chargers are for ploughing through rain storms only.

Nick Carthew

@Bryn-Thomas I couldn’t disagree more. Both my wife with her iPhone SE and me with my iPhone 11 do not suffer with negative power drain. I use a QuadLock wireless charger my wife uses a USB cable.

So you cannot make a sweeping statement like that.

Rob Veerman

@Nick-Carthew I can confirm this. Like your wife I use an USB-cable connected to the plug-in facility on my Ducati Multistrada. That combination works well, phone battery (iPhoneSE20) always fully charged while screen is on, a working internet connection (sometimes answering a call which is not allowed, I know) and bluetooth connected to my helmet. Flitsmeister is always an extra on the background for additional flash cam warnings. No problem at all.

Bryn Thomas

@Nick-Carthew That's excellent and I am glad it works for you. It is a well documented problem and I have struggled with wanting the wireless system to work but given up now. I have just completed a 6 week tour of South Africa with some other guys and we all had the same problem resorting to using Scenic in the end. I prefer MRA which is why I have gone the 12v socket route.

Con Hennekens

@Bryn-Thomas said in Power hungry:

Keep phone in airplane mode.

This is not viable if you use tracks or the "Route-as-Track" feature.

Use dark screen.

This is only applicable for devices with AMOLED screens

Keep Quad Lock wireless for torrential rain only.

True, but if you charge continuously with a cable, it is sufficient to unplug your device during periods of heavy rain. If it rains all day, wireless chargers usually don't cut it anyway.

Use Quad Lock USB charger occasionally.

ANY USB charger with QC3.0 or PD3.0 or higher should easily do the job. The problem is that many cheap chargers do not comply to these standards, and many cheap charger cables do not sustain the data connection for the device to inform the charger of it's charging capabilities (yes that is a necessity!). If not met, the charger defaults to slow charging.

Use 12v socket ( install if you don't have one ) as main source of power accommodating fast charge adaptor.

I don't see how you could do that differently on a motorbike

Nick Carthew

@Bryn-Thomas You never said which phone model you use. From what I’ve read and this is by no means a conclusive finding, iPhones seem to fair better than Android when it comes to charging.

Bryn Thomas

@Nick-Carthew Nick I am using an iPhone 15 and/or an iPhone 11. The 11 holds a charge better than the 15 . I have tried to apply all the various techniques to save power but I still get a negative drain. I get around it usually by using a portable power pack to beef up the phone during coffee and lunch breaks.

Karel76

MRA consumption is unbearable and I've also dealt with it. I also got the answer - you are doing it wrong etc... PD4.0 helped. App consumption is insane compared to other navs (kurviger, osmand, waze, mapy.com).

Ralph Janssen

In the beginning I had some problems with my phone. That was a android 9.
I have tested MRA on 4 devices, all android. (Samsung A32, A35, OnePlus Doogee T20 (8" Tablet) ) and don't have any problems at the moment.
The biggest thing I noticed is a quad lock charger, directly connected to the battery works the best. It can deliver more then enough power.

12V socket can be a problem, mostly because of the charger and cables you use.
Wireless charger can work. That is highly deepened on your phone. Some phones (I don't know how iPhones are) cannot charge large amount of Watts by wireless charge.

JP d

I had a problem with a low amp charger even though the cable was good. Moved to a fast charger and all is good now.

I cut the thumb off a rubber glove and cover the adapter in the socket on the bike to keep it dry. And use a cheap waterproof phone case. To keep my phone oneplus 12 and charging cable dry.

When off the bike ensure you cover the charging cable otherwise your phone won't charge till it dries, plus rain might damage the cable.

A squirt of WD40 also helps keep the cable usb clear of water. Learned all this the hard way, 6 hrs riding in continuous Welsh rain.

Bryn Thomas

@Ralph-Janssen I have tried wiring the QL charger directly to the battery and it does seem to punch out more power . A bit worried about the fuse situation there though .

Ralph Janssen

@Bryn-Thomas
What about the fuse?
The QL 12V charger (with the 3 position switch) does have 3A fuse and some other protections.
So I don't see a problem to connect it directly to the battery

Bryn Thomas

@Ralph-Janssen You are talking about the 12v to USB Smart adaptor. I am talking about the USB Charger . There is no 3 way switch .

Ralph Janssen

@Bryn-Thomas
The second one os a bit newer then the one above. I did not now there where more then one charger. And it does not look like it has a fuse.
And indeed, the first one I have on my bike.

What I read about the USB charger you use;
Quick Charge 2.0 (5V-2A, 9V-1.67A, 12V-1.5A)
So, if I'm correct, most smartphone charge with a 5 volt so it can only deliver 10W on the 5V and that is not a lot.
(I did not do a complete research so maybe iPhones can charge with 9v or 12v)
10W is probably not enough for using MRA next.
And of course your cable from the charger to the phone is important as well.

The charger I use (with the 3 way switch) has a 5v -3a = 15W output.
And that seems enough to charge the phone while using MRA next.

The first thing you can try is changing your USB charging cable to see if that is the problem.
Otherwise you can try to buy the other QL charger. Then your are fully protected.

Bryn Thomas

@Ralph-Janssen Hi Ralph, thanks so much for taking the time to help me with this. It all makes a lot of sense and I have been told that the QL charger is a bit gutless. I am 75 years of age and enjoy my biking and touring and I enjoy using MRA but this power usage thing has become a bit boring. Nice to get an informative answer rather than been told I have it all wrong and I shouldn't make broad statements. etc .
Incidentally, I have just toured South Africa with friends from Canada and the UK and they all had issues with power falloff. ( quite a broad statement ). I believe I have found a workaround as I would like to keep using MRA. I was just sharing what is working for me. regards.

M. Schrijver

MRA is still power hungry but it is not as bad as it used to be.
Today i've tried OSMAnd for the first time. This one is also power hungry. Looks similiar to MRA.

Quad Lock has multiple wireless chargers.
One is connected to a usb socket and the other is connected direclty to a 12v source. The last one can charge with higher power.

I use a Pixel 6a. This one always charge slow (no wireless). But still fast enough to keep the battery full.
With MRA as the only app running, the battery stays full. when i play music also, the battery usage is a bit higher than charging. I will loose 1-2% per hour. Some other apps do a better job. But this situation will give me no problems during a day.
So, i'm not complaining but it still can be improved.

Adrian Avram

@M-Schrijver said in Power hungry:

Today i've tried OSMAnd for the first time. This one is also power hungry.

Maybe you have a problem with your phone, but I use Osmand when MyRouteApp does not do what is supposed to, i have it on my Samsung S24 Ultra and iPhone 13, but I have no power draining issues ! The device even stays cool while using Osmand in comparison with MRA and drops about 7% battery life per hour.
You should check if other apps are using your location while driving, maybe that's why your battery life is draining faster !

M. Schrijver

Flitsemeister is always running at the background. No matter app what i use.
With MRA and OSMAnd, there is little drainage.
With Google Maps, Waze and TomTom Go there is no drainage. Phone is even charged a bit when using one of these apps.

Bryn Thomas

@Adrian-Avram Thanks Adrian - will check.

JP d

iPhones don't charge near as fast as Android. I think this is a factor. My Oneplus 12 comes with a 100w charger and using MRA and listening to music it still gains charge at a good rate. Make sure you have a genuine fast charger usb c port and a fast charging cable.

I don't have QL wireless because even on my phone on a main wireless charger you can't get more than 15-20w. So I guess it's the same on the bike. Much slower than a fast charger and cable. Good luck