NT's 12pin USB cable is unique?

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ms2003

Senior Member
Jan 22, 2010
163
19
ShangHai
NT uses a 12pin micro USB cable as NC, it seems a special standard, if we use standard 5pin micro USB, only connect to computer is OK, but seems have some trouble to charge, could we find any replacement one?
 

kes00601

Senior Member
Nov 29, 2011
51
5
NT uses a 12pin micro USB cable as NC, it seems a special standard, if we use standard 5pin micro USB, only connect to computer is OK, but seems have some trouble to charge, could we find any replacement one?

You'll need to purchase from B&N (unless somebody else can find another source). It is unique. If you look at it, the connector not only has 12 pins, but is longer. The extra length is what initiates contact for charging.
 

HMG10

Senior Member
Nov 29, 2011
210
48
Although its slower to charge attached to the PC (500mA instead of 2A), it does charge. I left mine overnight and it was fully charged using a standard micro-usb cable.

My Samsung Galaxy Tab is like this. There is a software work around that makes it charge faster over USB (see http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1323957). This gives hope that someday we get similar functionality.

I have heard it will only charge on PC via USB if the screen is off. Otherwise, it uses too much power to really charge it.
 

salvachn

Member
Dec 21, 2010
30
3
Mumbai
What would happen if I put the USB port into a power adapter? I use them to charge my phones when I don't have access to my laptop's USB ports.
 

ms2003

Senior Member
Jan 22, 2010
163
19
ShangHai
Although its slower to charge attached to the PC (500mA instead of 2A), it does charge. I left mine overnight and it was fully charged using a standard micro-usb cable.

My Samsung Galaxy Tab is like this. There is a software work around that makes it charge faster over USB (see http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1323957). This gives hope that someday we get similar functionality.

only the output will affect? if i found a charge head that provides 2A output will it work?
 

SoonerLater

Senior Member
Mar 11, 2011
303
41
FWIW...

I tried using the official Nook cord with an Apple iPad (2 amp) usb charger. The NT never indicated that it was charging.

I tried using a quality micro USB cord with an iPad charger and with the official Nook charger, but it never indicated that it was charging.

I haven't tried a standard micro USB cord to a PC (yet).

So far, only official Nook cord and official Nook charger work for me. Alas.
 

xecuter

Senior Member
Oct 11, 2008
181
58
FWIW...

I tried using the official Nook cord with an Apple iPad (2 amp) usb charger. The NT never indicated that it was charging.

I tried using a quality micro USB cord with an iPad charger and with the official Nook charger, but it never indicated that it was charging.

I haven't tried a standard micro USB cord to a PC (yet).

So far, only official Nook cord and official Nook charger work for me. Alas.

using the nook cord here with my htc phone charger. all works well
 

dmoisan

Member
Oct 2, 2007
9
1
USB Extension cables appear to work with charger

I tried a USB extension cable with the Nook charger and it does work. That means, I think, that the A end of the USB is standard.

I know nobody wants to sacrifice the Nook cable but I'm surprised no one has done this yet. I thought at least the Nook Color cable would be cross-compatible with the NT and someone would have buzzed out the Color cable by now.

There's the bi-color charge LED, but I can't see how they could put a charge chip in there; no room.
 

johninsf

Senior Member
This cable is unique....and poorly constructed/misaligned to the 2 prong AC adapter. The USB does not fully insert into the AC Adapter. If not perfectly placed/propped while plugged in to charge, the NT does not charge or charges slowly.

My remedy has been to move the NT closer to the plug so that there is little to no bend in the cable leading to NT.

Will B&N send another if I request online/call? Or, must I unroot and go to a B&N?
 

dragon_76

Senior Member
Apr 21, 2007
618
100
Chicago, IL
FWIW...

I tried using the official Nook cord with an Apple iPad (2 amp) usb charger. The NT never indicated that it was charging.

I tried using a quality micro USB cord with an iPad charger and with the official Nook charger, but it never indicated that it was charging.

I haven't tried a standard micro USB cord to a PC (yet).

So far, only official Nook cord and official Nook charger work for me. Alas.

I have an Apple USB extender between the Nook wall plug and USB cable. Charges fine.

Sent from my BNTV250 using xda premium
 

zmobie

Senior Member
Nov 30, 2011
117
22
This cable is unique....and poorly constructed/misaligned to the 2 prong AC adapter. The USB does not fully insert into the AC Adapter.
Yeah, it's terrible. I don't have any charging issues, but the misalignment causes a ton of electricity to leak, so don't leave it on a couch or a fuzzy blanket unless you want (shockingly) pleasant surprises for hours. I wish they would make an all-in-one-piece as well (do they? would be a good add-on). Sheesh, poor design.
 

jimmysuggs

Senior Member
Nov 16, 2011
159
19
With the billions and billions of 3rd party cords out there, it seems amazing that none exist for the nook tablet. I don't really wanna pay 30 bucks for a backup charger.
 

bustergonad

Member
Dec 28, 2011
10
0
2mA too much?

I noticed that the official Nook charger output is rated at 1.9mA - I've just bought a generic 2.0mA USB plug adapter and am hoping that it will work with the existing Nook USB cable. I'm hoping the extra 100mA won't fry the thing...
 

bscythe

Member
Feb 9, 2008
11
8
Troy,MI
The extra pins in the Micro end of the Nook USB cable are used to support the higher power draw of the Nook when charging at full rate (2.0A) since the max rated current of a Micro-USB connector is only 1.8A. I am sure they also use the additional pins to make the cable proprietary and possibly also control the bi-color LED. The extra pins are set further into the connector so that they do not cause compatibility problems with standard Micro-USB cables.

In addition to this, the charger brick that comes with the Nook has its Data lines shorted, to each other I believe, to indicate to the Nook that it is plugged into an adapter and not a computer.

The combination of those two things is what is needed for the Nook to charge at its full charge rate. Since the USB A end of the cable is a standard 4-pin design, extension cables that offer all 4 pins/wires will work fine.

The Apple adapter (even the 2.0A version) will not work because it uses a voltage divider (couple of resistors) on the data lines to indicate to the iPod/iPhone what style charger it is (1.0A or 2.0A). One of the data lines is held at 2.1V and the other at 2.7V. Depending on which one (D+ or D-) is at what voltage determines what style charger it is. So the Nook does not recognize the "non-zero" voltage values on the data lines and assumes it is a PC, so it will only charge at 500mA.

Other vendors power bricks use the same "short the data lines" trick as the Nook adapter so several others will work. I believe as mentioned already in this post that HTC uses this same method.

WARNING​

Be careful though because if the adapter is rated at less than 2.0A (e.g. 1.0A) you could cause damage or fire. I am not sure if the Nook will slow down charging if it detects the charge voltage dropping if it is trying to pull too much power out of an underrated supply.

If you really want to use your Apple IPad adapter with your Nook Color/Tablet cable you could modify a USB A/A extension cable to disconnect the Data lines and then tie together only the data lines on the side of the cable that will go to the Nook. Again, this can be dangerous, I can not take any responsibility if you attempt to do this.
HTML:
                                USB A/A Extension Cable
[          ] GND ----------------------------------------------------- GND [             ]
[          ]   D+  ------} <-tied to D-                   cut and taped-> D+  [             ]
[ Nook  ]   D-  ------} <-tied to D+                   cut and taped-> D-  [ Adapter  ]
[          ] +5V ----------------------------------------------------- +5V [             ]
 
Last edited:

silentheero

Senior Member
Dec 8, 2010
182
43
AdamOutler has confirmed that it will charge on any usb cable, but the tab must be off and it will not show signs of charging. I'm pretty sure that this was charging from the computer.

My device battery is way low.. I'm charging on normal USB so it's trickling up at a rate of about 0x0010 per 2 minutes. At this rate, the device will be ready to use in aproximately 1.5 hours... And until then i'm sure nothing will show on the screen.

This may or may not apply to using the Barnes and Nobel cable. I do not have one available though.

So, if you ever come across a situation where the device won't turn on even after being plugged in, leave it plugged in for a few hours. It could have a case of the "sleeping death".

Also, I'm able to verify that the device... even when totally powered off will charge on a standard USB cable.

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=20905962&postcount=190
 

Montisaquadeis

Senior Member
Nov 16, 2011
352
35
Has anyone else had issues with the end that plugs into the nook bending out of place and preventing the cable from working? Since its the cable that is not working and since the tab is still under warranty can I take it back and get the cable replaced for free?
 

Bobcat001

Member
Jan 2, 2012
31
2
New Jersey
the charger brick that comes with the Nook has its Data lines shorted, to each other I believe, to indicate to the Nook that it is plugged into an adapter and not a computer.
Ahhh... So we can't use a generic power brick or car charger and have the NT charge at full rate (unless we also muck with the USB cable). Thanks for this info!
 

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  • 6
    The extra pins in the Micro end of the Nook USB cable are used to support the higher power draw of the Nook when charging at full rate (2.0A) since the max rated current of a Micro-USB connector is only 1.8A. I am sure they also use the additional pins to make the cable proprietary and possibly also control the bi-color LED. The extra pins are set further into the connector so that they do not cause compatibility problems with standard Micro-USB cables.

    In addition to this, the charger brick that comes with the Nook has its Data lines shorted, to each other I believe, to indicate to the Nook that it is plugged into an adapter and not a computer.

    The combination of those two things is what is needed for the Nook to charge at its full charge rate. Since the USB A end of the cable is a standard 4-pin design, extension cables that offer all 4 pins/wires will work fine.

    The Apple adapter (even the 2.0A version) will not work because it uses a voltage divider (couple of resistors) on the data lines to indicate to the iPod/iPhone what style charger it is (1.0A or 2.0A). One of the data lines is held at 2.1V and the other at 2.7V. Depending on which one (D+ or D-) is at what voltage determines what style charger it is. So the Nook does not recognize the "non-zero" voltage values on the data lines and assumes it is a PC, so it will only charge at 500mA.

    Other vendors power bricks use the same "short the data lines" trick as the Nook adapter so several others will work. I believe as mentioned already in this post that HTC uses this same method.

    WARNING​

    Be careful though because if the adapter is rated at less than 2.0A (e.g. 1.0A) you could cause damage or fire. I am not sure if the Nook will slow down charging if it detects the charge voltage dropping if it is trying to pull too much power out of an underrated supply.

    If you really want to use your Apple IPad adapter with your Nook Color/Tablet cable you could modify a USB A/A extension cable to disconnect the Data lines and then tie together only the data lines on the side of the cable that will go to the Nook. Again, this can be dangerous, I can not take any responsibility if you attempt to do this.
    HTML:
                                    USB A/A Extension Cable
    [          ] GND ----------------------------------------------------- GND [             ]
    [          ]   D+  ------} <-tied to D-                   cut and taped-> D+  [             ]
    [ Nook  ]   D-  ------} <-tied to D+                   cut and taped-> D-  [ Adapter  ]
    [          ] +5V ----------------------------------------------------- +5V [             ]
    4
    It's fairly easy to get a replacement NT USB cable under warranty.

    These cables are pretty fragile (poor design) and I hear that BN has replaced many cables under warranty, with no hassle. You just need to call the technical support line (1-800-THE-BOOK) and indicate that your NT USB cable is wearing out. Common problems: "the male end of the cable that inserts into the NT is bent or broken or cannot be inserted into the device" or "the color n indicator built into the cable is not turning amber or green, but is red." They will ask you for your serial number to confirm that the unit is still under warranty and ship you a replacement cable.

    You can do the same thing by bringing your NT and cable to a BN store, but they still have to have a replacement cable shipped to you as they do not have extras to give out. You can also purchase just the USB cable rather than an entire "charging kit," since the AC adapter part seems quite durable and only rarely gives problems.

    I would recommend asking for a replacement cable even if yours is not currently broken, for it WILL wear out far sooner than is reasonable.
    2

    i can confirm that getting replacement cables under warranty is easy. just do a live chat with them, give them your serial number for ur NT and they will ship it off to you. delivered in like 3 days max i think.

    one thing u need to make sure of though when doing the live chat is to have a default shipping address assigned to your bn.com account. thats what i had to do anyways...
    1
    Although its slower to charge attached to the PC (500mA instead of 2A), it does charge. I left mine overnight and it was fully charged using a standard micro-usb cable.

    My Samsung Galaxy Tab is like this. There is a software work around that makes it charge faster over USB (see http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1323957). This gives hope that someday we get similar functionality.
    1
    Hmm wonder if my nook is charging at the full 1amp of my charger without using the nook cable. Upgraded from a weaker 750Mamp charger.

    Check out #2 in my post below.

    http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=25616077&postcount=4