Develop Bugs

Multimedia dock available NOW!

I was browsing around on ebay and found a multimedia dock for our beloved TB's. Its deff not the highest quality dock i have ever seen, but it looks like a viable replacement until Verizon or HTCpedia release the official one. It doesnt look like it is slanted slightly to have a nice viewing angle but still its $30...the one from Verizon is $60. Let me know what you guys think.
http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-Sync-Battery-Charger-Cradle-HTC-Thunderbolt-4G-/380333733043?pt=PDA_Accessories&hash=item588da834b3

That one has been available for a little while now. There is a thread where someone has a link for it cheaper also. I'm holding out for the Verizon one.

I would avoid this one, I purchased one from amazon and returned it the same day. The viewing angle is horrible, it is difficult to put in and take off (almost dropped my TB taking it off), and worst part about it, It did not charge the phone. All the lights worked on it, but would not produce a charge. I will wait for the verizon one if it ever comes out.

halopower said:
I would avoid this one, I purchased one from amazon and returned it the same day. The viewing angle is horrible, it is difficult to put in and take off (almost dropped my TB taking it off), and worst part about it, It did not charge the phone. All the lights worked on it, but would not produce a charge. I will wait for the verizon one if it ever comes out.
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aw really? i wanted to get this only for charging purposes but whats the point if it doesnt charge

Bah, Noob with first smartphone here! I failed to read any replies, and jumped at the deal, and even ordered the silicon soft case from the same guy.
I want to plug the phone into my Roku box's USB to show videos and pictures I took on the phone. I went to the Verizon store and they said that their multimedia cradles would be available soon, but so far 3 weeks have past and no cradle.
Well, I guess I could fix it if it don't work, I just hope that the extended battery fits.
I bought the soft case to see if I could cut out the extended battery hump easily with a laser engraver.

Misleading title, please change.

Hmm... I've been wanting a cradle for awhile now. So I jumped on this offer, and like any good online buyer, I look for reviews on the product AFTER I buy it. Can you guys confirm that this won't charge the phone? I was just looking for something to hold the phone up while I use WiFi keyboard. :/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JX1FOY?tag=5336653508-20

OK I have this dock but I knew going in what it was going to be about so I can give you an idea of what you're getting.
The dock has two connectors on it. One is a USB cable (removable) and one is an A/C plug. The A/C plug is there ONLY to charge the second battery and does not charge the bolt when plugged into the dock. It WILL charge the extended battery (the OEM extended batt does fit in the spare battery slot) but not when it's actually on the Bolt. You can't fit the Bolt in the dock with anything other than the stock battery on it.
The USB cable plugs from the dock into (duh) a USB port on your PC. When it's plugged into the USB port the Bolt does detect the connection and I have been able to charge the Bolt this way. I've also been able to mount the SD card this way to move files and stuff. It doesn't charge as fast being USB vs wall charger but it does charge it. I'm looking at it right now and it just charged it to 100 percent.
The USB cable will not plug directly into the Bolt. It's Mini USB and not Micro USB. Another issue is that you can forget leaving the Bolt in a case and putting it on this dock. It will not fit with any case that I've seen. As was previously mentioned the viewing angle is a bit harsh (it's not angled.) It's basically a straight up and down mount so unless you're putting the dock somewhere at least at eye level it's not as easy to view.
This dock also has NO HDMI port on it. I have mine at work because I don't need the HDMI here. I'm going to get the OEM dock for home use since it's expected to have the HDMI out.
So to summarize it does charge the Bolt's stock battery in the dock as well as the extended in the spare battery slot. You can use the USB functions while plugged into the dock. I'm streaming Pandora right now while docked. The viewing angle is a bit harsh when the dock sits below eye level. The Bolt charges over USB with this dock. The spare battery will only charge via the attached A/C plug. You can't charge it in a case. The USB cable (removable) is mini USB NOT Micro USB and there is no HDMI.
Hope this helps.
ETA: I should add that you could use one of those USB to A/C adapters and plug the USB cable from the dock into A/C and charge that way (if you just wanted a faster charging solution.) I have tested it and it does charge that way.

Many thanks Cubs2008 ! This is exactly what I was looking for. I feel bad that I bought the dock on Ebay for $27 when I could have gotten it on Amazon for less, but lesson learned. Glad to know that I can charge the phone and the battery! Now to figure out the viewing angle problem (post it notes under the front end?). lol.

BigMcGuire said:
Many thanks Cubs2008 ! This is exactly what I was looking for. I feel bad that I bought the dock on Ebay for $27 when I could have gotten it on Amazon for less, but lesson learned. Glad to know that I can charge the phone and the battery! Now to figure out the viewing angle problem (post it notes under the front end?). lol.
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I paid even more ($34 I think) but it does what I need it to for now. If I needed HDMI at work I'd have waited but no point in that.
As for the viewing angle it's really not too bad if you can raise the dock more to your eye level. It does wiggle a little bit left to right in the dock (but very little.) You could put it on a book or something that would raise it up and it's fine. I sit pretty low at my desk in my chair so it's not nearly as much of an issue for me (and it's not quite at eye level.)
There is one more thing I forgot to add...someone mentioned getting it in and out of the dock being a pain and I totally agree. It's due to the fact that it basically sits almost upright in the dock. There are times where I've gotten frustrated just trying to get it in or out of there. It's because I always think of angling it into the dock rather than going straight down with it. When I do drop it straight in it usually slides right in with no issue. However I also have a Zagg max coverage shield on my Bolt so I may have more of an issue because of that.
Good luck!

Thanks for the information, Cubs2008! Very much appreciated.
Wish I had a contact at a factory in China... probably wouldn't be very difficult to produce a better quality desktop dock at a competitive price!

pdxdon said:
Thanks for the information, Cubs2008! Very much appreciated.
Wish I had a contact at a factory in China... probably wouldn't be very difficult to produce a better quality desktop dock at a competitive price!
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No kidding! If they would've angled the dock in front just a little bit and added an HDMI port this thing would've slayed the OEM dock. It still does a lot on its own IMO and we probably would've seen the dock for $60+ instead of around $30.
I'll still get the OEM dock when it comes out but this one does do what I need it to at work. Yay.

Cubs2008 said:
No kidding! If they would've angled the dock in front just a little bit and added an HDMI port this thing would've slayed the OEM dock. It still does a lot on its own IMO and we probably would've seen the dock for $60+ instead of around $30.
I'll still get the OEM dock when it comes out but this one does do what I need it to at work. Yay.
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they can't just add an HDMI port just like that. if they could we already would see a post on here about a hdmi cable.

The dock arrived today...
Here is the lowdown after disassembling it:
It looks to be assembled by children with a hot glue gun and old fashioned soldering gun. There is gobs of hot glue used to hold in the 2 LED's. One is an insanely bright blue led, and the other, untested and discarded, is a bi-color led.
There are 2 completely isolated circuits inside, one being a simple micro-USB connector on a cable that is hot glued in place, with the blue LED tapped off the 5V from the USB. I could not find any resistor inline with the LED, so it's lifespan is questionable at best.
The second circuit is the battery charger board held in place with 1 screw at one end, and the mini-USB socket at the other. It has wires to the bi-color LED. This is powered by a 5V 1A wall wart. It does not supply any power to the USB that connects to the phone
The LED's have their full length of lead wire in tact, with over-sized shrink tubing loosely covering them, and all that excess lead wire is sticking out of the hot glue like cat whiskers.
In effect it electrically comparable to a $5 battery charger, and a separate $1 USB to micro-USB cable, nothing more.
There is no media functions whatsoever. It is difficult and time consuming to plug the phone into the cradle, and you cannot use it with the extended battery or any type of case.
Advice: pass! Use your easier to plug in HTC USB cable, and if you want a separate battery charger, get another brand.

lippstuh said:
they can't just add an HDMI port just like that. if they could we already would see a post on here about a hdmi cable.
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They probably could've when they manufactured it.

wow, Cubs2008 thanx for the indepth info!

I wanted to add to the topic that you can actually stand the entire dock upright with the Bolt plugged in and the extended battery in there and it will stay standing up. I'd advise placing the battery and the Bolt in it landscape and then pick the entire dock up and it will stand up. I've used it this way with no ill effects.

I work for vzw and the Samsung charge and thunderbolt have a charging dock that not only charges, but comes with an extra battery that charges in the dock itself. Should be released very soon.
4Geezy ON DopeDiculous's ROOTED TBeezy!

dopediculous said:
I work for vzw and the Samsung charge and thunderbolt have a charging dock that not only charges, but comes with an extra battery that charges in the dock itself. Should be released very soon.
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How soon is "very soon" then?

My Accessory Cache - 4 Reviews in 1

So I went a little crazy today. Before k begin, I need to explain some events leading up to this accessory shopping spree. I have been out from work for 5 weeks while recovering from lumbar back surgery. For the 2 weeks prior to surgery and during my recovery I had 4 Asus Transformers. This week i had enough with 2nd and 4th chances. Dont get me wrong, Asus made a great product. I would be still using if I got my hands on a July unit. HOWEVER, 1 week with the Tab 10.1 and I am wondering why I was so hung up on ports. I go back to work Monday. So I am going to rely heavily on this light and thin wonder, meanwhile my work laptop will be 'bolted' to my desk (too big and heavy still to tote around.) Here are the accessories I picked up today and my initial thoughts.
1) Keyboard Dock - This keyboard is compact but they aren't joking when they say full size. Having owned and used the Asus Keyboard for the Transformer, the Samsung kit is far more productive for me. I felt sort of cramped on the Asus and always had to disable the trackpad. Thumbs would glaze it and cursor would end up where it shouldn't be. The dock lit right up. No funky hide the clock, and I just had to change from ThumbKeyboard to Samsung. This is easily done with the notification option when using any keyboard in Honeycomb. Once I undock, it was a breeze to switch back to ThumbKeyboard. The dock had no tight squeezes on the unit itself or the invisible shield.
2) Media Dock - I did get the clock screen. Tapping back took me back to my last used activity. From there I could home, recent apps, or back my way out. Not tired the HDMI pass through as I don't have the adapter, and ill hook up my work deal speakers on Monday. The angle is great for my sitting height at my desk or event when standing. The ease of docking/undocking was easy. The downer is the front inside edge of the dock cradle has to little tiny notches. They tend to ruffle the invisible shield in the lower L/R corners of the Tab. You can flattened back out once you undocn. But I am sure it'll result in a new invisible shield periodically. this is going to sit on my desk at work. That way I can charge, use, listen to music, or multi task while my work laptop is in tied up. It'll function perfectly for that purpose, but the Invisible Shield wear and tear will be a test to see if it stays.
3) Samsung Wall Charger - Just like the one included with the tablet. Same length and module wall plug. Will use with Media dock while included plug will stay at home with Keyboard Dock. I've learned my lesson with non OEM chargers... they can damage your battery and its ability to hold charge. So I am drawn to OEM plugs or certified by OEM partners. But honestly $50 for a 3ft cable and wall plug? Even the Apple chargers are less than that. But no alternatives mean I pay the price.
4) Samsung Leather Pounch - I was very shocked when I pulled it out of the case! THIS THING IS NICE! High quality leather and soft felt interior, but most importantly it is thinner than the Tab itself. Therefore it does not double or tripple the thickness of the Tab's thin profile. Which is what drew me to the tab to begin with. It will work great to transport to/from/around work and other travel needs. I highly recommend for those who don't want a flipper always dangling around while thumbing it. I found that a annoying with my iPAD1 and Asus experiences. So if you aren't a fan of the full size keyboard and angle setup, this will be a great thin, light, and safe method to protect your tablet. It is basic but stylish. Best of all its a 1 step process to remove the Tab10.1 for docking with the above.
So.... I am actually looking forward to returning to work Monday now. LOL. Mission accomplished. The Bluetooth keyboard and notebook case were on my lost but no one has then in stock yet to examine. The two Belkin cases were very nice and high quality, but they both add considerable mass. And most importantly require more than 1 step to remove the Tab for docking. That is not desirable to me as over time it makes the safe guards that keep the tablet from falling out of the less effective.
I hope this is helpful. I know there are a few other review and comments about the two docks. But I wanted to give more of a 'my personal setup' perspective to my review as well as share why personally a stable and pimped out tablet is so important to me right now.
Enjoy and let me know of you have any questions or comments.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk

djchad72 said:
3) Samsung Wall Charger - Just like the one included with the tablet. Same length and module wall plug. Will use with Media dock while included plug will stay at home with Keyboard Dock. I've learned my lesson with non OEM chargers... they can damage your battery and its ability to hold charge. So I am drawn to OEM plugs or certified by OEM partners. But honestly $50 for a 3ft cable and wall plug? Even the Apple chargers are less than that. But no alternatives mean I pay the price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are plenty of alternatives. A solder blob and a resistor turns an iPad charger into a Tab 10.1 charger. There's also a good possibility that a kernel tweak will allow the Tab 10.1 to use unmodified iPad chargers (I just need to find if there are separate ADC channels for D+ and D-)
There is NO reason why any iPad charger could damage the Tab - USB is USB is USB, 5 volts is 5 volts is 5 volts. Samsung's weird detection resistors violate the USB Battery Charging standard (so do iDevices for that matter), and it is purely a racket to milk money from users.
Your views on OEM chargers are archaic and date back to the days when dumphones were so dumb that charge control intelligence was in the charger/power supply and not in the phone itself. This hasn't been valid for 95%+ of phones for years, and isn't valid for 99% of the devices that are discussed here on XDA, if any. These days, if a battery in a smartphone or tablet gets damaged by improper charging, the device itself and only the device is to blame, because all charge control intelligence has been moved into the device.

I disagree. I bought non standard non OEM wall charger and cables for a Palm Pre. That was only 2 years ago. It fried both batteries and my battery charger pack. The batteries would degrade quickly upon operation and random reboots crept up. Techs examined the batteries and they tested bad. They had to replace.
I know there are 3rd party makers that can be trusted. But in the end the OEM and end user is going to only take so much before replacement get bothersome.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk

The only thing I can think of there is that the charger was weak and browned out, potentially confusing the phone's charging circuit.
Either that or the charger was SERIOUSLY defective. I'll be honest - before using a charger I do check that it is at least regulating to around 5 volts, so far I haven't had any surprises. The only surprise I've had were Monoprice "1A" chargers that were really only capable of 400-500 mA.
An iPad charger with the charging resistors tweaked so that D+ and D- are around 1.2 volts will be indistinguishable from the real deal for our tabs.

Zens Wireless Charging Kit

Saw this article this morning. Thought I'd share it.
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Galaxy-S-III-wireless-charging-kit-introduced-by-Zens_id32935
Won't be coming out until September, for about 85 USD, but at least there will be options.
Does anyone know how much the official one will cost?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2

anyone know how wireless charging compares to outlet powered charging as far as strength and charge time?

$85 to me just seems ridiculous for a wireless charger when the technology obviously doesn't cost nearly that much. I think even after these official setups come out that I will stick with the palm touchstone conversion if I decide I want to do wireless charging. Even if I mess something up I can buy and screw up 8 of those before I even get close to paying $85.

kmdtcs said:
$85 to me just seems ridiculous for a wireless charger when the technology obviously doesn't cost nearly that much. I think even after these official setups come out that I will stick with the palm touchstone conversion if I decide I want to do wireless charging. Even if I mess something up I can buy and screw up 8 of those before I even get close to paying $85.
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I agree, the touchstone cost less, but with the touchstone charging rate is only 500mAh which has slow charging time.
I'll like to see the official one first.

The Qi standard offers a maximum of 1A in low power mode but a lot of the ICs on the market (TI) only support up to 500 mA. 500mA is about half of dedicated wall charging one I believe and the same as when you plug it into your PC to charge.
kms108 said:
I agree, the touchstone cost less, but with the touchstone charging rate is only 500mAh which has slow charging time.
I'll like to see the official one first.
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---------- Post added at 10:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:02 AM ----------
I plan on modding a case to do this. I am currently looking for some schematics because I have a feeling that this was provisioned in the design of the phone.

giritrobbins said:
The Qi standard offers a maximum of 1A in low power mode but a lot of the ICs on the market (TI) only support up to 500 mA. 500mA is about half of dedicated wall charging one I believe and the same as when you plug it into your PC to charge.
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1A is more like it,the SGS3 has a charging rate of 1A through the mains.
i'm not in a rush for one so i'll see bother before I decide.

1Android said:
anyone know how wireless charging compares to outlet powered charging as far as strength and charge time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not too sure myself, but I've heard some people say it takes longer and others that say it takes just as long. I know when my husband had the palm pre and would use his touchstone it really didn't seem to be a very noticeable difference in time.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2

Does seem a little pricey, but would love to pick up one for my desk at work, grab and go when I go out on the floor.

It's new technology(For phones at least) so obviously they gonna rip off the early adopters, I mean I bought one for Nintendo DSI for £3 which has identical technology to what they put in that so I'm gonna take that apart and if it works just buy a cheap battery cover and stick it together.

If it is qi or compatible then the energizer charging pad will work. It is well worth the money imo. I used it with tbolt every night , before my slim, lean, toned s3 arrived. Now I just can't decide whether to ripe one of my spare tbolt qi doors apart or wait for factory s3 qi door.
For what I've seen if the palm is so easy why not use the "proper" dock and hack a tbolt or similar door.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Hopefully this combined with the Verizon version that someone posted some photos of will put some pressure on samsung to hurry up and release the official one...

Sonof the zens unit is $85 then the official Samsung one will be $100or more.

still no word on the wireless kit?

kms108 said:
I agree, the touchstone cost less, but with the touchstone charging rate is only 500mAh which has slow charging time.
I'll like to see the official one first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For overnight charging, this is a good thing - extends the life of your battery. The higher your charge rate, the less your battery will ultimately live. The performance of your battery overall will degrade. Slow charging is a good thing.
If you want a fast charge, just plug into a USB cable if you are in a pinch.
Also, I read in the Galaxy Nexus threads (where the Palm Touchstone mod originated) that there's a software mod they are applying to increase that rate up to be nearly as quick as the 1A charger. The same type of mod may be applicable here.

I just got my ZENS+Shield kit for the S3 that has the protective shield instead of the OEM-style backing. I'm loving it!
Previously I had been using an OEM back with a Touchstone wireless charger installed in it, but I really wanted to have my elago slim hard case that makes the buttons recessed. I made an ugly hack that made it work most of the time but I hated having to fiddle with those Palm Touchstone chargers and making it align to the magnet.
Sometimes my cat could get annoying and just nudge it or maybe the phone would vibrate enough from alerts, it would get into this "charge-discharge" loop state that can't be good for the phone, sometimes even fully lose contact. It was just not very reliable -- I found myself sometimes just plugging it into USB to get a better charge.
The ZENS wireless back fits really well and provides the backing I wanted. I wish the texture was a bit more grippy but it's not exactly slippery. It's on-par with the stock grip. It's a bit heavier and slightly more bulky than the elago case but that's because it provides a bit more protection and has a rubbery pad for some sort of shock protection.
The charger is great too. I can put the phone in just about any position and it'll charge. They even brag it'll charge if you put it on a high volume speaker in the instructions (but it may take up to 2 mins for it to "negotiate" in that case.) It seems to charge faster than my Touchstone.
It's Qi standard so I should be able to use it with any charging pad. I was shopping for a second charger but the 3-position Energizer looks much too big as does the Duracell and the single position Energizer is slanted and I've read some people have issues with it sliding off. I like that the ZENS charger is flat and the size is nice, so I ordered another.
There's one downside to the ZENS charger but I think other chargers (except the Palm Touchstone) suffer the same problem: they do not use USB as a power source. My ZENS charger uses some ugly wall-wart. Also it's a bit more expensive.

Wireless Charging Questions.

Been thinking of getting a Wireless Charger for my N5 but I have a very important question. Will they work through a case? I use a case on my phone and there is absolutely no value to a wireless charger if I am going to have to remove my case to use it. So I am wondering if you can place it atop the charge station while in a TPU or plastic case and still get a charge? I would also like to know how much slower Wireless Charging is than regular AC charging? Thank you.

Landara said:
Been thinking of getting a Wireless Charger for my N5 but I have a very important question. Will they work through a case? I use a case on my phone and there is absolutely no value to a wireless charger if I am going to have to remove my case to use it. So I am wondering if you can place it atop the charge station while in a TPU or plastic case and still get a charge? I would also like to know how much slower Wireless Charging is than regular AC charging? Thank you.
Click to expand...
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+1
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Yes, wireless chargers work with a case. I've used the LG WCP-700 wireless charger with my Nexus 4 flawlessly with countless cases on the Nexus 4. I fully expect the results to be the same with the Nexus 5. Wireless chargers are very convenient and work great. Just make sure to get a reputable one and don't cheap out on a $20 eBay one.

i also heard that once ur phone is fully charged..the wireless charger will stop charging

I know the LG one stops charging when full. It also trickle charges so if your phone or tablet falls below a 95% charge it starts charging it again till full, then stops again.

All "Qi" standard chargers will work with the N5 with varying degrees of success. They all will generally charge up to a distance of ~3-4mm from coil to coil so they will usually charge thru cases with no problem although there may be a slight degradation in charge rate. I have used several different Qi chargers - the Google Orb, the Owlpad car charger, the LG WCP 300 and the Metrans MWT03. They all charged my N4 'case on' with no trouble although the N4 did seem to charge slightly quicker without the case on. I even mounted the Metrans inside of my desk just under the laminate surface and it charged the N4 fine thru the laminate and TPU case. The Orb was easily the best of lot and charged the fastest, the Owlpad was probably the worst but it was used while driving with the phone generally being used for GPS, music streaming etc and under those conditions, it barely could maintain charge with screen on. With the phone off, it charged fine.
I just got my N5 today and tried it with all of my chargers and they all worked fine, if anything the N5 is less picky than the N4 about placement.

Landara said:
Been thinking of getting a Wireless Charger for my N5 but I have a very important question. Will they work through a case? I use a case on my phone and there is absolutely no value to a wireless charger if I am going to have to remove my case to use it. So I am wondering if you can place it atop the charge station while in a TPU or plastic case and still get a charge? I would also like to know how much slower Wireless Charging is than regular AC charging? Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shouldn't have problems charging through a case

dwaltuberalles said:
All "Qi" standard chargers will work with the N5 with varying degrees of success. They all will generally charge up to a distance of ~3-4mm from coil to coil so they will usually charge thru cases with no problem although there may be a slight degradation in charge rate. I have used several different Qi chargers - the Google Orb, the Owlpad car charger, the LG WCP 300 and the Metrans MWT03. They all charged my N4 'case on' with no trouble although the N4 did seem to charge slightly quicker without the case on. I even mounted the Metrans inside of my desk just under the laminate surface and it charged the N4 fine thru the laminate and TPU case. The Orb was easily the best of lot and charged the fastest, the Owlpad was probably the worst but it was used while driving with the phone generally being used for GPS, music streaming etc and under those conditions, it barely could maintain charge with screen on. With the phone off, it charged fine.
I just got my N5 today and tried it with all of my chargers and they all worked fine, if anything the N5 is less picky than the N4 about placement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dit you try the N5 in the Owl Carpad? did it work or did you neet to do some mods?
I'm also looking at this charger

KevinWolfs said:
Dit you try the N5 in the Owl Carpad? did it work or did you neet to do some mods?
I'm also looking at this charger
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought the owlpad for my N4 and the N5 doesn't play well with my N4 Owlpad. The coils are not aligned and there is little wiggle room in the phone holder. Owlpad does make a N5 version (or a $29 conversion kit to make the N4 Owlpad into a N5 charger). Overall, I wouldn't recommend wireless charging for a car dock. Wireless chargers can't charge at the same rate as a cable and if you, like me, put heavy use on your phone while driving (GPS, bluetooth, music streaming, etc), the charger at best will barely maintain charge and often will lose charge. The beauty of wireless charging is being able to drop your phone at home or office and have it always 'topping off' without bothering to hook up a cable. If you put heavy use on your phone in the car, I recommend direct cable. For the home or office, I definitely recommend wireless. Since going wireless with my N4, my phone seems always fully charged when I leave home or work.

sn0warmy said:
I know the LG one stops charging when full. It also trickle charges so if your phone or tablet falls below a 95% charge it starts charging it again till full, then stops again.
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Click to collapse
which charger is that?

Landara said:
Been thinking of getting a Wireless Charger for my N5 but I have a very important question. Will they work through a case? I use a case on my phone and there is absolutely no value to a wireless charger if I am going to have to remove my case to use it. So I am wondering if you can place it atop the charge station while in a TPU or plastic case and still get a charge? I would also like to know how much slower Wireless Charging is than regular AC charging? Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, they will work though cases. I had a Diztronic on my N4 and it worked great. The charging is a bit slower but rapid charging isn't the point of the wireless chargers.

Has anyone tried the N5 on the WCP400 (the google Orb) yet? I will tonight but am curious (and impatient) while I'm here at work.
EDIT: someone has; here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2513200

Charging rates: with/without a case, wireless vs. wall ?
Landara said:
Been thinking of getting a Wireless Charger for my N5 but I have a very important question. Will they work through a case? I use a case on my phone and there is absolutely no value to a wireless charger if I am going to have to remove my case to use it. So I am wondering if you can place it atop the charge station while in a TPU or plastic case and still get a charge? I would also like to know how much slower Wireless Charging is than regular AC charging? Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So we have the easy answer here ("yes wireless charging works with a case") but no careful studies on charge rates.
The OP also asked how wireless charging rates compare to wired charging.
I would also like to know if and how much using a case for wireless charging affects the charge rate? I use the Google charger (I would post a working link but the XDA site is being *****y about my lack of participation) ( .. play.google.com/store/devices/details/Nexus_Wireless_Charger?id=nexus_wireless_charger ) which also includes a permanent magnet to help align the Nexus 5 to the charger. This is important because if the charging coils are not well aligned charging doesn't work at all and there is much less than a centimeter of margin. Using a case definitely weakens the alignment field because without a case the phone "snaps" to the correct position, whereas with a case you have to feel the alignment field and for the most part position the phone over the charger manually.
We know the distance between the phone and charger coils affects energy transfer (inverse square law for fields), but perhaps wireless chargers automatically adjust the strength of the charging field based on charging amperage or feedback from the phone to optimize charge rates? This would help mitigate the effect of a case but there would still be larger distances at which the field cannot optimally charge the phone. What are these distances, and do some chargers vary the charging field strength based on any kind of feedback?

Compatible Magnetic Qi Car Charger

I've been on Youtube for the last hour reviewing magnetic qi car chargers.
Obviously, they all differ considerably for each phone.
I'm looking for one that just has a flat front surface with no arms or clamps, so this means that a magnet of some kind has to go on the phone cover that I have on my P5.
There are vent and windscreen mount versions, I'm looking for one that is as unnoticeable as possible, so forget the windscreen mount type.
Has anyone got any experience with one of these. Whatever I get must not interfere when charging my P5 on the Google Pixel Stand.
Thanks

How is your phone going to stick to a magnetic mount?

With a metal plate inside the phone cover, placed carefully so it does not interfere with the wireless charging on my Pixel Stand and whatever I get for the car. I've had a normal magnetic mount in the car before using this method and it did not interfere with the wireless charging, as long as its placed properly.

The problem with the Pixel 5, and, to some extent, all phones with wireless charging, is that the location of the space for positioning the metal plate is either at the very top or the very bottom of the phone, thus making the phone either very bottom heavy or top heavy and prone to sliding and slippage.
Apple's MagSafe gets around this because their magnetic mounting system is built around the charging coil so as to not interfere with charging and provide a multipoint magnetic connection that is centered, more secure, and stays in alignment.
The only alternative that I've found that works for Android phones and works well is a system like the Mous Limitless system of cases and accessories. I've been using their case, card wallet, and charger mount for about a month now and they are great. If you want more info on them you can just read my post in the thread below this one where I detail my experience with their products. They also have their own info and explainers on their site at mous.co.

jallenhayslett said:
The problem with the Pixel 5, and, to some extent, all phones with wireless charging, is that the location of the space for positioning the metal plate is either at the very top or the very bottom of the phone, thus making the phone either very bottom heavy or top heavy and prone to sliding and slippage.
Apple's MagSafe gets around this because their magnetic mounting system is built around the charging coil so as to not interfere with charging and provide a multipoint magnetic connection that is centered, more secure, and stays in alignment.
The only alternative that I've found that works for Android phones and works well is a system like the Mous Limitless system of cases and accessories. I've been using their case, card wallet, and charger mount for about a month now and they are great. If you want more info on them you can just read my post in the thread below this one where I detail my experience with their products. They also have their own info and explainers on their site at mous.co.
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Thanks for that and the mous info, funny, I was looking at their products online just last night. I think I'll have a closer look.
Cheers

152bobby said:
Thanks for that and the mous info, funny, I was looking at their products online just last night. I think I'll have a closer look.
Cheers
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Actually, just one other question, does the Mous cases work perfectly with the Pixel stand ? If I go down the Mous route, I have to do my research thoroughly, because a case and a car qi charging pad is not cheap !!

I would imagine there would be no magnetic attachment compatibility if the phone attaches to the Pixel Stand magnetically, but, as far as wireless charging, to the best of my knowledge it does not interfere with any other wireless charging devices.
I have two Anker wireless chargers, one pad and one stand, and I haven't had any trouble with either one.

Is there a preferred cigar/cigarette adapter to use with the Mous wireless chargers . If I'm going to cough up this amount of money to accompany a already expensive phone purchase, why skimp on the adapter

They supply a USB-C lighter port adapter as well as a braided USB-C cable with the charger mount, but I also have an Anker port adapter with USB-C and USB-A and it works as well.
Also, just for good measure, I thought I'd also attach a front and rear photo from my mount, to give you an idea of what it would look like.
Just remember, as per my post in the other thread, if you don't want to use the supplied vent clip, which I advise against as it's not very secure, you'll need a mount from another device with a 17mm ball joint. I previously had an iOttie One Touch CD slot mount and it worked perfectly.

Excellent information, much appreciated, thanks. I'll update you with my progress.

152bobby said:
Excellent information, much appreciated, thanks. I'll update you with my progress.
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Thanks. I have placed my order for the P5 case and the vent mount adapter (my intentions is to try the vent mount, if no good, I'm sure I can detach the mount part at the rear and attached it to my car dash with double sided tape). I did manage to contact Mous and they kindly gave me a 20% code for my first order

152bobby said:
Thanks. I have placed my order for the P5 case and the vent mount adapter (my intentions is to try the vent mount, if no good, I'm sure I can detach the mount part at the rear and attached it to my car dash with double sided tape). I did manage to contact Mous and they kindly gave me a 20% code for my first order
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If the tape method doesn't work, some of these options might. Just make sure the ball is 17mm. They all seem to be around $10, so not terrible, and cheaper than buying an entirely separate mounting system just for the ball joint.

Thanks, I've been looking at these, should I need one. However, I don't see these with the part that would go on the rear of the Mous charging pad for the ball part to click in to ?

152bobby said:
Thanks, I've been looking at these, should I need one. However, I don't see these with the part that would go on the rear of the Mous charging pad for the ball part to click in to ?
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The ball cup and threaded nut are on the back of the charging pad.

Of course it is, I've just looked at the Mous air vent mount....I knew I shouldn't have had another beer !
Thanks, I'll see how it goes when it arrives.

152bobby said:
Of course it is, I've just looked at the Mous air vent mount....I knew I shouldn't have had another beer !
Thanks, I'll see how it goes when it arrives.
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My Mous items arrived today. The case fits nicely, the car air vent actually works well in my car, but I can see it pulling off the vent eventually when removing the phone, but it's not where I want my phone. So I have ordered a 17mm ball joint from Amazon, so I can have it exactly where I want my phone to sit in the car. I've tested the wireless charging and magnetic strength and all is good. I have also tested the wireless charging on my two Pixel stands and my Anker stand also and they all charge fine through the case. So all good for a while . Looking at the case in more detail and feeling it, I have high confidence in this case protecting my phone should I drop it. Thanks for the help I've had in making a decision for this purchase.

**UPDATE**
So I have had both the car wireless charger and the Mous case for my P5 for nearly a week now and I have come across a charging issue. I emailed Mous customer support about it and got a reply today, which to be honest, does not really help me and I think they almost admit that the Mous products are not all they are cracked up to be. They refer to iphone (which certainly does not help me).They have offered a full refund, but I am going to do some more testing myself, as I have a 2 hour drive to do tomorrow and I "think" the issue I am having is to do with me using Android Auto (Google Maps) wirelessly in the car whilst charging, I'm not exactly sure yet, but I am not replying to them until I have done this final test. I am going to use wireless Google Maps for half of my journey with the P5 on the charger and the other half with the phone just sitting on the charger charging with no Google Maps on.I have copied and pasted their reply below, my original message to them, is at the end of their reply, so read this first before reading their reply and possibly give me your thoughts ?
Hi Bobby,
Thanks for reaching out to us and I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve had some issues with your Wireless Charger.
I've had a word with our tech wizards, and they have suggested that you please see possible troubleshooting advice for your phone not charging correctly below:
1. For Apple users: Apple is frequently updating their firmware, which affects the wireless charging system. Therefore some of Apple's own updates could make wireless charging worse or better while they are tuning the software.
2. Wireless charging works by transmitting power from one coil of wire to another, however, the alignment of these coils is very important to transmit the power efficiently. Please make sure that your phone (even without a case) is positioned correctly and centrally, as this will improve charging time and efficiency.
3. Please ensure the voltage is set to the highest possible output to ensure your charger has the best chance of functioning through our case. Some wireless chargers will not have enough power to transmit power to the phone with a case on so make sure you are using a wireless charger that has power from the mains or uses a high-quality USB adaptor supplying more than 1.2 Amps.
4. We will soon be launching Mous wireless charging accessories which are designed to work seamlessly with our cases and will perfectly auto-align the receiver and transmitter coils in the phone and charger.
However, I can appreciate that this is not relevant for everyone, so you are welcome to return your Car Mount if you still wish.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Richard
Customer Experience Advisor
Mous Products Ltd.
On Mon, 24 May at 1:28 AM , Bobby McLeish
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wrote:
Hello, I have only had my Mous items for a few days. I think there is a issue with my charging pad. It seems to only charge my phone for about 5% and then stops, if I leave the phone attached to the charging pad, it starts to charge again after about 10 minutes and then repeats this. The charging pad itself is quite hot, I think the charging pad is turning itself off when it gets too hot, so I suspect the charging pad is faulty ? I am using the official Mous Pixel 5 case and also the cable and car charger plug which came with the charger. I have ensured that there is no hot air coming from the cars air vent (it is completely off). I think this needs to be replaced, can you get back to me on what to do about this ? Thanks, Bobby.
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152bobby said:
**UPDATE**
So I have had both the car wireless charger and the Mous case for my P5 for nearly a week now and I have come across a charging issue. I emailed Mous customer support about it and got a reply today, which to be honest, does not really help me and I think they almost admit that the Mous products are not all they are cracked up to be. They refer to iphone (which certainly does not help me).They have offered a full refund, but I am going to do some more testing myself, as I have a 2 hour drive to do tomorrow and I "think" the issue I am having is to do with me using Android Auto (Google Maps) wirelessly in the car whilst charging, I'm not exactly sure yet, but I am not replying to them until I have done this final test. I am going to use wireless Google Maps for half of my journey with the P5 on the charger and the other half with the phone just sitting on the charger charging with no Google Maps on.I have copied and pasted their reply below, my original message to them, is at the end of their reply, so read this first before reading their reply and possibly give me your thoughts ?
Hi Bobby,
Thanks for reaching out to us and I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve had some issues with your Wireless Charger.
I've had a word with our tech wizards, and they have suggested that you please see possible troubleshooting advice for your phone not charging correctly below:
1. For Apple users: Apple is frequently updating their firmware, which affects the wireless charging system. Therefore some of Apple's own updates could make wireless charging worse or better while they are tuning the software.
2. Wireless charging works by transmitting power from one coil of wire to another, however, the alignment of these coils is very important to transmit the power efficiently. Please make sure that your phone (even without a case) is positioned correctly and centrally, as this will improve charging time and efficiency.
3. Please ensure the voltage is set to the highest possible output to ensure your charger has the best chance of functioning through our case. Some wireless chargers will not have enough power to transmit power to the phone with a case on so make sure you are using a wireless charger that has power from the mains or uses a high-quality USB adaptor supplying more than 1.2 Amps.
4. We will soon be launching Mous wireless charging accessories which are designed to work seamlessly with our cases and will perfectly auto-align the receiver and transmitter coils in the phone and charger.
However, I can appreciate that this is not relevant for everyone, so you are welcome to return your Car Mount if you still wish.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Richard
Customer Experience Advisor
Mous Products Ltd.
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Click to collapse
Is it a slow charging issue? One thing I've noticed with wireless car chargers is that, even when they are getting full power, they can't keep up with the power drain from using maps and other apps. I can't say if this applies to iPhone as well, since my last iPhone was the 4s, and I only have experience with the wireless on the Pixel 5, but whenever I run Google Maps and listen to Spotify at the same time, the power draw and charging hit a sort of break-even.
The Mous charger is a little bit better since it uses USB-C, but my previous charger that used Micro-USB couldn't keep up. I also think heat plays a role in it as well. Hot, sunny days on the dashboard seem to keep the phone hot. Add that to the heat produced from the wireless charging and you've got a recipe for faster battery drain. That's just speculation, though, so don't quote me on that.
All that said, I have noticed it stopped charging a couple times recently on particularly hot days, but once I got moving and the AC had time to cool the inside temperature down it started charging again. I also have both of the vents on the left and right side of the charger aimed directly at the mount to help get more airflow around it.
I haven't seen it happen enough to show cause for concern, but if yours is cutting out that often then it may actually be faulty. If you haven't already, try a different USB-C car adapter. If it does the same thing, take it inside your home and plug it into a USB-C wall charger. My guess is, if it's not a faulty pad, that it's either a car adapter or heat issue, and trying those two things will eliminate one or the other, or maybe both. Finally, just for good measure, if it's still an issue, try a different USB-C cable. Sometimes it's just that simple.
Just a sidebar, if you use Discord on your phone, consider closing it when not in use. I've noticed since their latest update that it burns through my battery to the tune of about 20%/hr when I'm on 5g.

I've been researching this one. It has a heafty price but, reviews have been majorally positive.

I have the Mous Limitless 3.0 case and the wireless charging vent mount with my pixel 5. Had them for about 4 months. The case and mount work very good. Magnets are strong. I've never had the phone fall while driving and it charges at 15w reliably for me. Both vertically and horizontally. I think it's important that you use the included cable and cigarette lighter adapter.
I have an Anker Qi desktop charger and it charges at 15w through the Mous case. Not magnetic, though.
Downside for the Mous is the whopping price tag. I also think the case is a bit bulky but I'm used to it now.