Have found what appears to be an E61 bug - which 9500 communicator users have also experienced (same battery: BP-5L)

If the battery is quite low then it refuses to charge - and actually discharges!

When this happens the battery is dead and the E61 microprocessor cannot turn on and charge the phone.

I even bought a new battery & charger to confirm this.

The new battery showed 3 bars on the charging scale - then charged overnight with the phone off to save power - idle screen showed charging, then it beeped to say low power.

There have been other people confirming that there is a bug - see the following links

http://my-symbian.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26221

http://ogeddes.typepad.com/weblog/2006/06/update_on_nokia.html

http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34169

http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/archive/t-37916.html

Even Nokia 9500 users who use the same BP-5L battery have had the same issue

See http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31310

Perhaps we can help Nokia here - if people who have and haven't had the issue can post their ROM version here to see if it's linked to a particular ROM version.

To get your E61 ROM version enter *#0000#

My version is Version 1.0610.04.04
19-04-06
RM-89
which DOES have the battery charging issue.

This is a serious issue for an otherwise perfect phone.

Perhaps others can post their experiences here and get someone to take it with Nokia - or get Nokia to look at it and offer a new flash ROM that fixes this.


Andrew Grill
www.andrewgrill.com

No such problem here. I've heard about the battery _meter_ bug before, but nothing about what you're describing - which would be a serious bug. Have you tried something simple like rebooting the phone before charging it? Have you tried a hard-reset? Maybe you have a defective unit...

We all have the same firmware version, btw.

Agrill, you said "There have been other people confirming that there is a bug - see the following links"

...but NONE of those links (that I can access, one requires registration) have anyone discussing any kind of bug in the E61.

In fact only one of them even MENTIONS the E61, and even then it's not discussing any bugs of any kind.

-The first one requires registration so I can't comment on it.

-The second one is someone complaining about E61 wi-fi battery life being lower than they expected, but nothing about a bug.

-The third one is about the Nokia 9500 and is a meter bug, not a battery bug. The battery works fine but the meter doesn't indicate fullness properly.

-The fourth one is about the Nokia 7710, not the E61 or 9500.

-The fifth one is about the Nokia 9500, and again it's a meter bug, not a battery bug.

Agrill, did you even read the links that you posted?

Hello Agrill,

I've just bought my nokia e61 2 day ago and I have the same problem as you. My battery is almost done and I can't charge it. Every time I plug in the cable i get a message "Not charging" ....

what is the solution ?

I had this problem but only with one of my power cord adapter thingies. When I used the one which came with the phone it worked fine but when I used another one I bought from www.i2020.co.uk (which was Nokia branded - I don't know if another manufacturer made it for Nokia than whoever made the original) it gave the same message. It might be worth checking with a different dongle thingie - they're quite cheap and it's a real hassle living with only one anyway. I have 3 on the go - well, 2 actually, as one doesn't work!

Tim

I haven't had this issue. However when the battery is very dead you have to leave the power cable in for 5 minutes before any visible signs of charging are shown.

If it doesn't work doing a recharge with the phone off is probably a good idea.

I've tried with another charger from Nokia (the original one) and it's working perfectly now. I thing that the adapater that came with the pda doesn't work with some old charger from Nokia.

It may not be relevant - but Windows Mobile Phones (HTC Wizard, etc) need a non standard power source. The Mini USB socket automatically looks for MS ActiveSync (from a PC) and themt he USB controller kicks in and supplies power - and so the power supply need a bit of additional hardware as well - this is often missing on their car chargers.

I've tried with another charger from Nokia (the original one) and it's working perfectly now. I thing that the adapater that came with the pda doesn't work with some old charger from Nokia.


You're quite right - I've done some further testing and there's nothing wrong with my adapter - I was using it with an older charger. Interesting, then, that everyone seems to think that a Nokia charger is a Nokia charger and it clearly isn't. There must have been some change in them at some point.

Tim

You're quite right - I've done some further testing and there's nothing wrong with my adapter - I was using it with an older charger. Interesting, then, that everyone seems to think that a Nokia charger is a Nokia charger and it clearly isn't. There must have been some change in them at some point.

Tim

From my own observations with solar and other alternative chargers, early Nokia smartphones and lesser devices were happy with 6V or so, which is why that's what so many after-market chargers use. Recent smartphones though seem to want something higher and more consistent - I guess they're hungrier? 'Not charging' is the classic pop-up error message when the charging voltage or current is insufficient.

Steve Litchfield