Heltec v3 not charging batteries when connected to usb

Support
1

Hello, I bought 3 LoRa devices (433mhz, 2 Heltec v3.1 and 1 LilyGO) with 2 more on the way (2 Heltec 868mhz to test the different frequencies and see which performs better for me).

My issue is that the Heltecs, for some reason, won’t charge the LiPo batteries by themselves with their own charging circuit when connected to USB. They’re 2000mAh each, and I’m not sure what to do other than charge the batteries by third-party methods (either removing them and use an external LiPo charger or add an TP4056 module in between the battery and the heltec).

The LilyGO works fine and charges the battery by itself.

Is there something I’m missing with the Heltecs? Did I choose the wrong boards?

1 Like
2

Heltec v3.1 has a TP4054 charging chip on board. There’s a fairly bright orange LED that indicates when it is charging.

Heltec v3.1 is an ok board with a quite recent version of the ESP32.

Compared to the T-beam, power management is more primitive. It does not make the best use of the battery. It uses an LDO regulator for 3.3V power so anything over 3.3V (from the battery or +5V ) is turned into heat when running the device. Power to charge the battery comes from +5V / +VUSB through the TP4054.

Out of the box, this is not the best device to use with a battery.

1 Like