There’s been some talk lately about the N900 and external battery packs and it’s compatibility with these devices. It seems that some external batteries packs simply won’t work with the N900. Some users reported that the Nokia DC-11 for example didn’t want to work. A reader reported that the N900 failed to charge with the Zaggsparq, but Proporta’s line of mobile chargers seems to be doing just fine. There’s even reports that some N900 won’t charge with car chargers.
From my experience I can tell that the N900 works fine with all the Proporta chargers, but the Nokia DC-11 is a bit more tricky. It seems to charge, but you need to power it on first and than connect it to the N900, otherwise it won’t work. The N900 also doesn’t seem to want charge from the DC-11 once it’s totally empty. I’ve also got the Zaggsparq coming in for review so I’ll report about that once we get our hands on it.
If you want some extra power, your best bet is simply to use a spare Nokia BL-5J battery. In the case you do want to use external power, make sure to:
-Connect the car charger or charger to the power outlet and than connect it to the N900
-Turn external battery packs on and than connect it to the N900. In the case of the Nokia DC-11 press the power button before connecting to the N900. Also try to recharge the N900 with the DC-11 before it’s completely empty as their seems to be an issue when the N900 is completely empty.
What has been your experience with external battery packs, car chargers and other non-traditional ways of charging the N900? What works and what simply doesn’t? Share your experience with us.





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I just purchased the Zagg duel USB charger, and it doesn’t seem to work with the N900 or N97. Still testing, and I need to contact them to ask if I’m missing something.
I also didn’t have very good luck with the DC-11, and I gave it away.
matthew bennett,
thanks for the info. Keep us updated as I purchased one myself and it would be a shame if it didnt work with my N900.
I had a few problems charging N900 in a car,somtimes it didn’t see the charger being pluged in and some times it showed as charging while car charger wasn’t working. Never the less , after unpluging usb cable and pluging it back in it charged just fine.
[...] mentioned in a previous post how the N900 has some issues with some external batteries, including the ZAGGsparq. Some chargers [...]
N97 is beautiful in design, but as the N800, it is also very unstable in term of its platform system & software compatibility !!!