Charging a RAZR phone via USB

December 2, 2008 12:15 PM

Is there any way to get a RAZR phone to reliably charge via USB on a Windows machine? I have a v3m and everything seems hit or miss, regardless of the cords or drivers I use. Since there's gazillions of these handsets still in use, I wonder if someone has discovered a solution.
posted by Yakuman to computers & internet (6 comments total)

Can I ask you what drivers you are using? The specific file name and version. Thanks.
posted by 8dot3 at 12:26 PM on December 2, 2008

I too had the same problem. Google wasn't much of a help. Must have tried 20 different downloads and none worked right. Finally I found this and it worked. I've tried it on both XP and Vista and works great. It won't charge your phone if it's fully dead for some reason, but if you have just a bit of juice, it works great.
posted by sanka at 12:27 PM on December 2, 2008

I went through this before.

You want the aforementioned driver, AND you want to make sure you're plugging it into a USB 2.0 port, so the computer can deliver enough power.
happy charging!
posted by dunkadunc at 12:39 PM on December 2, 2008

I found one driver on Sprint's site that worked with my Sprint RAZR v3m and my wife's AT&T Razr v3c. I think the driver sanka linked to will work for you.

Also, I found a copy of Motorola Phone Tools on eBay for like $3, and that made transferring files to/from the phone possible. I think it's also possible if you have an adapter/reader for the microSD card as well (and you won't need the software, but I'm not 100% sure).
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 1:56 PM on December 2, 2008

I started out with a USB 2.0 port, Motorla Phone tools installed, and the p2k drivers, and I've never had any problems. this is with the base (cingular) V3.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 2:12 PM on December 2, 2008

I too haven't had any problems. Provided I made sure to listen for the "bing bong" noise that indicates that the device was recognized. Sometimes it doesn't take on the first try.

But an alternate method would be to just get another charger or two. They are available super cheap out there. Far as I know, the phone does all the fancy "don't wreck the battery" charging math, so a crappy charger shouldn't wreck anything.
posted by gjc at 6:14 PM on December 2, 2008