Android : Difference between BATTERY_STATUS_DISCHARGING and BATTERY_STATUS_NOT_CHARGING

Question

I want to know the difference between the two flags

BatteryManager.BATTERY_STATUS_DISCHARGING

And

BatteryManager.BATTERY_STATUS_NOT_CHARGING

I developed an application that uses these two flags, and I expected to see "discharging" when I unplugged the phone from the charger, but instead it simply says "not charging".

What is the difference between the two ?

Answer 1

I can find no clear definition of the two in the Android APIs or elsewhere online.

My best guess is that BATTERY_STATUS_DISCHARGING indicates that the device is actively draining power, while BATTERY_STATUS_NOT_CHARGING indicates that the device is plugged in but is not receiving enough power to actually charge -- for instance, if it is plugged into a low-power USB port.

However, there are other reports from developers that certain devices never return BATTERY_STATUS_DISCHARGING, even when completely unplugged: https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/forum/#!topic/chromium-reviews/1AjyPYt0tQs

In particular, the Nexus 7 2013 seems to have this bug (confirmed by personal experience): https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=124768.

Presumably, you ran into a similar bug.

Answer 2

The other option for not charging is simply that the battery is full, hence no need for charging or that there is no battery at all.