Wireless charging - do you use it?

[jacktesterson]

I just bought the 5 quid one from ebay. Lets see how good it is.

Mine works fine

 

[pmark]

Just a follow up on the chargers. I received the cheap $8 charger from the ebay link that is posted in this thread and while they work, I like the $20 one that I got from Amazon better. The ebay one is very light and the top of it is kind of a glossy plastic. It takes longer for me to find the correct charging spot for my phone. I'm not always sue if the phone is charging without turning the screen on. The one from Amazon has a rubbery top and is much easier to find the charging spot. The base of it is heavier too and doesn't move around that much on my desk.

Both of them work, but the $20 one is better "quality".

 

[RachelEdwards]

I have one on my desk at work, one by the couch in the living room, and one on my bedroom dresser. It's so much easier just to sit the phone down on the pad rather than spending a frustrating minute to a minute and a half trying to figure out whether the phone is upside down or not, get ahold of the cable, make sure that the cable is facing the right direction and stick it in.

I was recently at a bar that had it built into the bartop, which was very cool. Eliminates the situation where you lose your friends because someone's phone died.

You are so fancy of wireless charger. Built it into the bartop is a good idea. how many pad do you have in total?

 

[sm625]

Only for my Philips toothbrush.

Toothbrushes have an advantage in that they are able to place the brush exactly where it needs to be in order to get max efficiency. That's why they work halfway decently. That's the only reason I would trust wireless charging. I dont want to walk out the door with my phone at 12% because my nightstand got bumped and the phone got moved 0.6cm outside its charge zone.

 

[Silenus]

'I don't see the point', 'it's not that hard to plug it in', 'it only takes a few seconds to plug in'.....These are all things I USED to say. It's exactly the kind of things that one says before they try wireless charging.

Technically yes, it only takes a moment to plug in, and wireless charging shouldn't be that big a difference. But I have found the perceived difference, after having gotten used to it, is FAR bigger than I expected. Wireless charging has definitely become a must have feature for me.

Having said all that....I have no desire to spend $40+ on a wireless charging setup. I went cheap on one the ebay ones, and it has actually been quite good to my surprise! Great bang for the buck. I charge my Nexus 5 and 7 on it. If you are even a little curious about it...just get one of the cheap Qi pads from Amazon/eBay and give it a try. It hard to go back once you get used to that little bit of extra convenience.

 

[Silenus]

Just a follow up on the chargers. I received the cheap $8 charger from the ebay link that is posted in this thread and while they work, I like the $20 one that I got from Amazon better. The ebay one is very light and the top of it is kind of a glossy plastic. It takes longer for me to find the correct charging spot for my phone. I'm not always sue if the phone is charging without turning the screen on. The one from Amazon has a rubbery top and is much easier to find the charging spot. The base of it is heavier too and doesn't move around that much on my desk.

Both of them work, but the $20 one is better "quality".

Can you link to the Amazon one you got? I have a cheap ebay one and while it works fine the glossy top is the only thing I don't like. I'm looking to get a second pad for work.

 

[pmark]

Can you link to the Amazon one you got? I have a cheap ebay one and while it works fine the glossy top is the only thing I don't like. I'm looking to get a second pad for work.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also some of the cheap ebays ones that I have are crap. My phone doesn't charge on them all of the time, it keeps on connecting/disconnecting. It charges perfectly on the Amazon one every time and I'm about to get a couple more of them.

 

[soccerballtux]

The convenience and lack of wear & tear on phone is worth it in my opinion.

save the microusb port

I wish micro USB was better designed. As much as people hate on Apple for proprietary stuff, the mechanical design of the Lightning cable is far superior.

I spoke with phone repair guy at mall he said he gets plenty of the iPhone5's in for the Lightning connector. I expressed surprise saying it was better than microusb, he assured me he sees just as many failures. I expressed surprise.

I just bought the 5 quid one from ebay. Lets see how good it is.

careful. My $8 amazon one was cooking the phone. 46-47C after 10% of charging (might have been fault of 1A charger instead of 2A...I'll have to try swapping). So I upgraded to the $12 one here:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EWCEHNS...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
battery tops out at 37-41C. IMO, enough to nuke it, but a replacement battery runs $15 and the convenience of having the phone always topped up is worth the tax.

I use tasker to start MightyText any time I provide power. My JuiceDefender profile keeps Wifi running when MightyText is running or the phone is charging (so my FolderSync syncs can run). Oddly enough JuiceDefender doesn't consider wireless charging to be "plugged in" but the MightyText running manages to keep the Wifi on nearly indefinitely.

Plop phone down on desk, open MightyText in browser, never have to pick up phone again and battery not used nearly as much. Also safer on hands for texting. Turn phone on, his sync now button (you can make schedules but meh...don't have PC on all the time...and don't like the notifications from it checking for sync ability...)

 

[nOOky]

No need to charge wirelessly, every place I go in my normal life I have a uUSB cord hanging out of something to charge it with.

 

[RossMAN]

Any other suggestions for the perfect Qi charger for Nexus 5? Budget is $30 give or take.

 

[notposting]

Any other suggestions for the perfect Qi charger for Nexus 5? Budget is $30 give or take.

Nokia stand charger on discount, AT&T stores have any in your area?

 

[AstroManLuca]

I spoke with phone repair guy at mall he said he gets plenty of the iPhone5's in for the Lightning connector. I expressed surprise saying it was better than microusb, he assured me he sees just as many failures. I expressed surprise.

I guess they're just as unreliable... from an end-user perspective, though, as long as they hold up, it's nice not having to worry about the orientation of the cable.

 

[RossMAN]

Nokia stand charger on discount, AT&T stores have any in your area?

If you're referring to this one, unfortunately it's OOS in my area. Thanks for the suggestion looks like a great deal for those who have it in stock nearby.

 

[v-600]

careful. My $8 amazon one was cooking the phone. 46-47C after 10% of charging (might have been fault of 1A charger instead of 2A...I'll have to try swapping). So I upgraded to the $12 one here:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EWCEHNS...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
battery tops out at 37-41C. IMO, enough to nuke it, but a replacement battery runs $15 and the convenience of having the phone always topped up is worth the tax.

It does get a bit warm but nothing worrying. The biggest problem I have is my case has a bumpy back that lifts the phone off the pad a long way and makes it harder to place correctly. Even after a week though I can see the convenience of it, and a new case is easy to get.

 

[www.am27]

well my device does not support wireless charging and i m not interested in it(i don't like it).. Its not totally wireless you need to have those pads(don't know what it is called) and its working through inductive method with electromagnetic field so the charging is slow.. you cant use the phone conveniently when charging. For me its total useless... Good for those who likes it and dont want to plug in and out every time.

 

[lopri]

I've been using a Nokia one with my N5 and it's been working fine. The charger has a trouble with my N4, though.

 

[Keysplayr]

Had the option to get a charging pad in my new Jeep, but opted out. I feel the technology hasn't quite been "perfected" or optimized yet. Maybe a year or three.

 

[VVV]

I have a Nexus 5. I bought 3 wireless pad from eBay for $9 each. Gave one to my friend, one at home, one at work. They all worked flawlessly. Sure, they're not as fast as plugged in but you get the advantage to simply put your phone on it while not in use so your battery is always charged, never got too low or drained out.

Don't buy the original (too expensive) or any fancy pad, those cheap chargers from eBay work. If you look at the components, it shouldn't cost more than $10.

 

[frostedflakes]

It has its uses. I still use wired if I need to charge quickly. But the wireless charging pad is nice for setting the phone on after getting home and letting it charge back up overnight, keeping it topped off and trickle charging the phone, those kind of things.

The real potential of wireless charging I think is when it becomes ubiquitous and is built into restaurant tables, car center consoles, furniture, etc.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I got 2 of these for $20, working good so far.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KKJ0MAE/...332200_TE_item

 

[tortillasoup]

Any updates? Trying to buy a wireless charger that works reliably when placed upon the pad. I got a cheap ebay wireless charging pad and it's extremely finicky. It likes to cycle on and off or not make connection at all at least 75% of the time. One time I unplugged the USB port and plugged it back in to see if it would glitch and what do you know, it went into a cycling on and off before I removed the phone and replaced it again.

 

[WelshBloke]

My WP Nokia Lumia 920 has it built in and I love it. No more trying to figure out if I have the micro USB upside down or not. Plop the phone down and viola!

 

[Viper GTS]

Any updates? Trying to buy a wireless charger that works reliably when placed upon the pad. I got a cheap ebay wireless charging pad and it's extremely finicky. It likes to cycle on and off or not make connection at all at least 75% of the time. One time I unplugged the USB port and plugged it back in to see if it would glitch and what do you know, it went into a cycling on and off before I removed the phone and replaced it again.

Buy a more intelligent charger. The good ones will have more than one charging coil (typically three) and will auto-switch to the one most suitable for the device placement. Some (one?) will even move the coil to the device which is awesome but probably overly complicated.

I had simple single coil chargers that worked great for my Nexus 4, GS4, and Nexus 5. When I went to the 6 I had trouble reliably hitting the charge position so I bought Tylts. No issues since.

Viper GTS

 

[Ophir]

I've been using this one on an N6 with a slim case. Charges every time straight off without any trouble on placement. It's extremely convenient... not sure I can go back to plugging in every night.