Solution for USB drawing too much power?

Some TV channel in the background is showing that smart phones (and of course they mention the iVariety) use more electricity in a year than your average refrigerator.

 

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the one covered by GLOBAL NEWS I believe was refering to leaving the the "wall wort" plugged in permanently​

and it consumes more then an ​

Efficient fridge

 

Perhaps, if you charge your phone from a toaster...

 

This just happened to me ! And I can recreate it ! Bend the cable right at the plug and it happens !


2013 Prius hybrid 3, Meet Mercy !!!

 

I have a prius V 3. Using a IPhone 5s. Keep getting the same msg!!!

 

Prius V5 2012. I tried plugging in a Y USB cable adapter so it would charge both our "his and hers" ANDROID Samsung GS4's. Got the usual screen ERR "You really don't cant do that here". Called Toyota and they would not even tell me if it was a USB 1, 1.1, 2 or 3 port. They said it was proprietary specifications. DUH ! Ought to try to figure out how to replace the USB port with an upgraded USB 3 multiport.

 

We have two USB ports in the front of the car IIRC.

 

Wouldn't be easier and cheaper just to get a two slot USB power adapter that plugs into the 12V outlet?

 

I got this issue sometimes (30%) with my iPhone 4S using an "ebay" USB cable. Solution is to unplug and re-plug until the message is gone. Normally, it takes only one retry.

 

Yes, the cables are made for portable hard drives. They have two USB plugs, one that is intended to be the power source (that plugs into a more powerful cigarette lighter adapter) and another one that is for data, that plugs into the prius USB port. I picked up mine at a local electronics store. The only other part I needed was a small adapter to convert the mini usb plug into what was needed for my iphone's battery case.

It has worked just fine so far, and no error messages. (I use mine with a battery case for the iphone 4S) Though in the end, I've chosen to generally just use a 12V to USB adapter.

 

Charge the two phones serially and you'll be fine. Wife and I do it all the time. And the cigarette lighter adapters/chargers work fine to do the other phone if you must.

 

I just got the Power consumption of USB device error on my 2012 Prius Plug-in Base. I don't even have anything plugged into any of the USB or 12V plugs. Has anyone determined if this is a software issue?

 

I know these comments are quite old, but they still deserve clarification:

Modern efficient refrigerators average 40 to 50 watts. Decades ago, they averaged about 100 watts. No single smart phone can burn that much without becoming too hot to hold. Even their wall wart chargers would be smoking.

But in the old days, when wall wart chargers were proliferating but before any Energy Star standards were applied to them, the full collection of these chargers and other inefficient idling devices in a common home could consume as much power as a common refrigerator.

 

I know it is difficult to look down there, but maybe something slipped into, or is touching/making contact with you USB port. This could cause a short, so make sure the port is clear of any objects and the cover attached.

Also, the plastic tip on the one side of the port covers 4 pins, if that plastic piece slips out and exposes the pins, the port is toast.

Come to think of it, putting the USB port in the console was STUPID! Not only is it hard to plug stuff in, but I tend to throw my change in there, and then empty it out when I clean the car. If something I throw in there finds its way into the USB port, blam! Idiot engineers...

 

I have had the same "drawing too much power" issue with my 2013 Prius v Five (non-ATP) using an Apple 7+. Anyone else having a similar issue with this setup?

 

Went to Downtown LA dealer for help with this exact problem - I was trying to connect my Samsung S6. They said android devices can only connect via Bluetooth and usb port is only compatible with Apple devices. That's really shitty if true... what's up with the discrimination Toyota? :/ Wish I had known this before purchasing the Prius because I'm Android for life. I feel this is something that should have at least been disclosed.

 

Also, Erica from @PriusTeam you suggest we take our car to dealer to get issue "logged" so that it receives more support ... well the dealer I visited said they couldn't log anything without doing $140 inspection. I think it's ridiculous to expect customer to pay that much just to have a known issue that you don't even have a fix for to be logged. And of course since many like me choose not to pay $140 for nothing it's probably a problem that's under reported with many frustrated customers.

 

Anyone ever figure out what is causing the draws too much power problem with the USB port and how to fix it?
Anyone who says it is the cable or the device that is causing it can't be correct and it is just a excuse, probably from Toyota, as I've been using a 10+ year old ipod, with the same came on my Prius v for 5 years now and I am now, just now, starting to have this problem with nothing changing on the iPod or cable. It must be something with the car.

 

I suspect there is a "USB standard 500ma limit" detector in the head unit.

 

That last sentence doesn't logically follow from your description. You have noted nothing changing with the car either, so at this time it is no more or less suspect than the device or cable.

USB has come in multiple versions over the years. It seems that the Prius USB is equipped with one of the early, lower power capacity (500mA) versions. If your device pulls more than this USB version specifies, then prior success just indicates good luck running on the margins, and you may now be running out of luck as that margin shifts with age.

Apple: Powering peripherals through USB

"Apple devices can request extra power
Apple peripheral devices might request more than 500 mA (Milliamps) at 5 V (Volts) from a port to function or to allow for faster charging. These devices include:

• Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive (when connected to supported computers)
• Aluminum Wired Keyboard*
• iPod
• iPhone
• iPad"