Basically the PS Vita can charge using microUSB making it flexible to allow any smartphone charger to charge the system’s battery fully. The PS Vita is a second-generation by Sony and it is now easier to charge it given that it only holds a charge for about 6 hours when fully charged.
Vita-1000 (Original Vita, featuring both 3G and Wi-Fi) systems require both cable as well as amperage. It uses the proprietary USB cable and a car adapter will work well for the Vita-1000. When using other chargers, you will require a 1500 or 2000 mA output to USB and charge it while it is off. When you charge it if it is on, it can only manage to acquire only 5000 mA charge when using a computer USB port for example. The external battery of Vita is 3500mAh and is more powerful to be charged from a computer. The vita-2000 has low power and can be charged from any power-providing USB port. It basically uses a standard Micro-USB B outlet. To avoid damaging the system, the USB output should be at most 2000 mA or below.
How to correctly charge the PS Vita by AC and USB
Charging your PS Vita systems battery using the AC adaptor and the cables provided requires being aware of certain important things so that the charging is effective. Use the following order when connecting to charge:
- Connect the USB charging cable to the PSV with both the charging cable and the system logos face up. When the logos are mismatched the charging will not be effected.
- Plug the USB cable into the AC adaptor and then connect the AC power lead into the adaptor with all the connections firmly and securely fixed.
- Connect the AC power cord to nearby power outlet. The cord should be connected last to an electrical outlet for safety reasons.
According to Sony, the charging of the PS Vita systems battery when using an AC PS Vita charger outlet can take up to 2 hours and 40 minutes to fully charge from flat.
Charging PS Vita via USB cable
Different from previous PSP systems, charging PS Vita using USB cable is done differently. With the modern PS Vita, charging with USB cable requires the battery to be completely flat for the charging to be implemented. Next, the PS Vita has to be completely switched off and not in standby mode for the charging to be effected at all. However, charging your PS Vita via USB is much simpler. It only involves the following few steps:
- Connect the PS Vita via the USB to your system with the logo facing up and finally to the PC.
- Make sure the device is fully off and not in standby mode so that the charging can be accepted. The system can be switched off by simply pressing the power button for about 2 seconds and on the screen, tap on ‘power off’ and the charging will be effected.
Charging the PS Vita using the USB charging method takes longer time as compared to using the old method of AC charger. It is important to also note the charging of this device using USB is only effective when it is completely off. Immediately you switch on the PS Vita while charging, it stops charging.
The PS Vita features internal Lithium-ion battery rated at 2210mAh and charging it through your PC takes approximately 6-8 hours to fully charge. It also depends on the nature and state of the PC you are using to charge the PS Vista. An older PC might not produce required current to charge the PS Vista faster. A standard 2.0 USB charging port for example has an output of up to 500mAh at 5V. A 3.0 USB charging port on the other hand provides an output of up to 900mAh which is better current to charge the device.
How to know if your PS Vita is charging
It is important to note that you can charge your PS Vita while it is in use. You can know the remaining percentage of your PS Vita because it is displayed on the information bar. When the PS is fully turned off or if it is in standby mode, there is an orange display light that appears when it is charging. Immediately the device is fully charged, the orange light disappears. Note that it is hard to turn on the PS while the orange light is blinking when you are charging via AC.
When charging via USB, the system doesn’t display anything on the information bar to show that it is charging, because this device is completely off and the orange light will only appear on the PS button and immediately goes off when the device’s battery is fully charged.
To know if the USB port your PS Vita is using to charge has required current supply to charge, turn the system off and connect it to the USB port. The PS Vita button will indicate an orange light. Let it charge for few hours and then disconnect it and see if there is increase in battery power on the information bar. If the battery power has increased, then the port has enough power supply to charge the device. Turn off the PS Vita and let it charge for approximately 6-8 hours.
When charging the PS Vita using the wall charger, charging animation shows on the top right battery icon; green bolts of electricity pulse over the icon. This is because it has enough power supply as compared to charging through a different device. The type of charger you use also depends on the type of generation the PS Vita you have. For example, if you have Vita with silver line on its edges, you are most certainly using the first generation model. Such PS requires proprietary cable provided by Sony or any other useful alternative cable by other manufacturers. A slim PS Vista on the other hand is a second generation model and uses standard Micro USB charger.
