Develop Bugs

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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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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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.
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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.
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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?

RAVPower Qi Wireless Charging Receiver Review

http://www.amazon.com/RAVPower®-Wir...F8&qid=1393455689&sr=8-3&keywords=ravpower+s3
After getting my Nexus 5 and getting spoiled with wireless charging, it was quite troublesome to charge via a usb cable when using my s3 as a secondary phone. So I wanted to get a wireless receiver to go along with the Nexus 5.
Packaging
Not much to talk about here, simple box containing the unit with a small plastic wrap inside. No frills.
Build Quality
The receiving tag is very thin, I can't compare it to others but im guessing they are all comparable. I had no problems putting the back cover on. There wasn't a huge bulge were the tag is. There is a slight bump but you would really have to be trying to feel for it to notice its even there.
Performace
Using my Ravpower Qi Charger it detected the tag instantly. There wasn't any time where I had trouble with getting the S3 to start charging. It didn't get any warmer than usual when charging with a usb cable.
I have a Diztronic case on my S3 and it charged it just fine through the case. I've tried other cases such as the ZooGue case had the same results.
Conclusion
For a mere 10 bucks, its sort of a no brainer for the convenience of wireless charging. I been using it for over 2 weeks and never had a problem with it.
You MUST have a wireless charging pad. Ravpower is offering a 20% discount on the receiving tag when you buy a charging pad with it via amazon. Details is under the "special offers" in the middle of the product page.
I recommend the Ravpower Orbit
Review of the Orbit here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=50243963
http://www.amazon.com/RAVPower®-Qi-...qid=1393456590&sr=8-1&keywords=ravpower+orbit
Note: I was provided a sample for an unbiased review

Do these guys make a Qi receiver for an S3?
krash183 said:
http://www.amazon.com/RAVPower®-Wir...F8&qid=1393455689&sr=8-3&keywords=ravpower+s3
After getting my Nexus 5 and getting spoiled with wireless charging, it was quite troublesome to charge via a usb cable when using my s3 as a secondary phone. So I wanted to get a wireless receiver to go along with the Nexus 5.
Packaging
Not much to talk about here, simple box containing the unit with a small plastic wrap inside. No frills.
Build Quality
The receiving tag is very thin, I can't compare it to others but im guessing they are all comparable. I had no problems putting the back cover on. There wasn't a huge bulge were the tag is. There is a slight bump but you would really have to be trying to feel for it to notice its even there.
Performace
Using my Ravpower Qi Charger it detected the tag instantly. There wasn't any time where I had trouble with getting the S3 to start charging. It didn't get any warmer than usual when charging with a usb cable.
I have a Diztronic case on my S3 and it charged it just fine through the case. I've tried other cases such as the ZooGue case had the same results.
Conclusion
For a mere 10 bucks, its sort of a no brainer for the convenience of wireless charging. I been using it for over 2 weeks and never had a problem with it.
You MUST have a wireless charging pad. Ravpower is offering a 20% discount on the receiving tag when you buy a charging pad with it via amazon. Details is under the "special offers" in the middle of the product page.
I recommend the Ravpower Orbit
Review of the Orbit here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=50243963
http://www.amazon.com/RAVPower®-Qi-...qid=1393456590&sr=8-1&keywords=ravpower+orbit
Note: I was provided a sample for an unbiased review
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woneil said:
Do these guys make a Qi receiver for an S3?
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Yeah they do but apparently they sold out of the s3. I imagine it'll come back in stock soon
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

The best deal for a wireless charging pad is from Monster Watts, sold through Vivealive (sp). $14.99, is the WiQiQi charging pad. They charge $5 shipping, first class USPS inside the US. The pad works well. Not much to look at though, but good deal for the $$..
I'm using the RavPower reciever. It works well together. What I have found out playing around with the charger, is that if you have a poor connection between the charger & reciever, you will get the on/off cycling. I have my phone in a Seidio Active case with velcro on the back to secure the phone on the Mountek CD slot car mount I use. The extra thickness of the velcro prevents good reception & I get the cycling. If I remove the plastic frame all is good. If I remove just the velcro all is good. The screen will flash once at charge start, turn off, then flash once when battery full, then turn back off. The phone will then remain on the pad in standby with no cycling.
It all works a treat, I can't wait to get my AirDock for the car to add wireless charging there as well.

Ravpower said it'd come back in stock within a week. Also, I don't have experience with any other Qi charging base, just ravpower and they've worked great for me

Budget magnetic charging cable

I want to buy a magnetic charger and I live in India and very low quality cables are available on the local websites. I have looked for cables on eBay.com which ship to my location but I don't know which one to buy. I need your opinions. My maximum budget is 12$(incl. shipping).
The WSKEN Cable is available at my location. Is the cable worth buying?
Thanks in advance.

I got wsken magnetic cable, and its build quality is fine, but magnet is not that strong - its even weaker than another fake original sony cable i got. But if you just use it to charge your phone without using it, it can do the job.

I wouldnt recommend one with a very strong magnet. There have been some horror stories of the storng magnet PULLING the phones charge port completely out. I got a fairly weak one from amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UOVZOBK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
Fits perfectly with my Cruzerlite TPU case. I even have EXTRA room for clearance. Magnet isnt the strongest which makes me happy as I only charge at night when I'm sleeping as the phone lasts through the day for me.

Yup, it happened to me. I use a Magnector adaptor and it is very strong, after a while the whole connector came off as there was simply a VERY thin acrylic glue foam tape (VHB ?) holding it and keeping water off. By thin I do not mean the thickness but the actual long side surface
The good news is that the connection with the internal PCB board are spring loaded, so I put it back in place and tested it then used a needle to put some cyanoacrlylate glue to hold it, it never came out again and the phone still look ok. Now I always try to removing it with a twisting motion just in case...
It is hard for me to understand how they can claim waterproof and use such thin gasket but I still like this phone a lot!

hmm dont think I'll be getting a magnetic charger any time soon then if it comes off that easily. >_<

It's just the Magnector adapter that seems to do that. None of the others are strong enough to pull the connector off of the phone.

I just bought an OEM one from aliexpress for only $2.71 US. btw you only save .03 if you use the mobile app
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...a-Z1-Charger-Adapter/1775016_32429292298.html

I also have a generic magnetic charger. The one with a circle blue LED in the part near the magnet. I found that it charges slowly compared to the OEM usb cable that came in the box. I used the same OEM charger for both tests.
Charging via magnetic cable is roughly 60-70% of the speed of normal USB charging. Is this just me that I have a low quality cable or is it really that much slower?

I tried two Magnetic cables but they don't work on my Z3 Compact because pins are not aligned with phone and charging not working probably because there is no contact. Actually i got one with LED indicator to work several times but on slightly move it stops charging and it is hard to get it to charge again so I gave up on these cables.
I bought original Sony DK48 Dock and it's working out of the box. Only issue is that I need to remove protective case before charging because with it phone won't fit in Dock. It almost fits so I'll probably try to modify larger adapter so phone can fit with case...

I received my DK48 dock and magnetic cable from Ali Express and they both work great. The charging cable ($2.71) matches the pins perfectly so doesn't appear to be a knock-off. I have a Devilcase bumper and works with the DK48 dock also with the case on--just attach the included back rest. It takes me a few times to get it aligned perfectly to charge but works.

I'm using this cheap one and it works great for me. Magnet is ok so you can even move your phone as long as the cable is parallel to your phone.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Magnetic-Ch...39h-KK-/261850771916?var=&hash=item3cf785b1cc

I'm have WSKEN X-cable Easy Version, and it's great.
You can also try WSKEN X-CABLE DOUBLE METAL which has a charge indicator led.
Both cables charge my device faster than original Xperia Z2 charger and magnet is not too weak/too powerful.
Check WSKEN website for details.

I've tried several magnetic chargers and adapters and always facing the same problem, too weak magnet and if the phone is moved even an inch the cable falls off. Finally I got WSKEN X-CABLE for 7$ and that did the trick, everything works great including fast charging. You can literally hold your phone up in the air by the charger. And no, the magnet is not too strong as described in previous posts, with a slight pull it comes off without breaking the phones charging port. There is even a little plastic widget included to attach the cable into the right position angle and you can perfectly use the phone while charging. Link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/112026597308?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Wireless Charger

Has anyone tried any of the USB C Qi chargers that plug in the bottom and stick to the back of the phone or go inside a case like this;
Type C Wireless Charging Receiver, Nillkin Magic Tag USB C Qi Wireless Charger Receiver Chip for Google Pixel/Pixel XL/Nexus 6P/LG V20/HTC 10/OnePlus 3 and other USB-C Devices https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M11UT3V/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_kyzuybBPW89RC
Probably going to buy the Axon but just thinking about accessories that I can get.
Thanks

I bought a Nillkin Magic Tag QI charger and Spigen case. So far I'm loving them both.

utlilb said:
I bought a Nillkin Magic Tag QI charger and Spigen case. So far I'm loving them both.
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Thanks for the reply!

utlilb said:
I bought a Nillkin Magic Tag QI charger and Spigen case. So far I'm loving them both.
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How long is that Qi charger? Does it protrude into the fingerprint scanner at all?

xtermmin said:
How long is that Qi charger? Does it protrude into the fingerprint scanner at all?
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The cable is a little longer and when stretched out will block about half the fingerprint scanner. But the ribbon is flexible enough to fold over itself and move the whole charger down enough. I recommend using a case to help hold the charger in place.

I bought this QI charger in the mini size
Type C Wireless Charging Receiver, CHGeek USB C Qi Receiver Module Patch Wireless Charger Film for LG G5, LG V20, Nexus 5X, 6P, Pixel XL, HTC M10, OP3 OnePlus 2, Huawei P9 and other USB-C Smart Phones
and it goes underneath this case
ZTE Axon 7 Case, CoverON® [HexaGuard Series] Slim Hybrid Hard Phone Cover Case for ZTE Axon 7 - Green Neon
The combination fits and works flawlessly in the numerous QI wireless charger pads that I have scattered through the home and office and on the wireless charger pad built into my 2016 Toyota Tacoma. I replaced a Nexus 5 with the Axon 7, and the convenience of wireless charging with the Nexus was such that I wanted the Axon to have it as well. Of note, the mini charging pad does not go up as far as the scanner, so there is no interference there, and the charging pad is so thin that it is imperceptible under the case.
PS: I had to remove the Amazon links since the site apparently thinks I might be a spammer. You can google the item description text, which I copied and pasted from Amazon, and you should be able to find it that way.

Which cases do and don't work with wireless charging

I'll update this as I get to test with more cases.
My test charger is the the Samsung Wireless Charger: http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/mo...charging-stand-black-sapphire-ep-ng930tbugus/
bought through a 2-pack deal from Groupon
DO support wireless charging
Luvvitt clear case quick charge works fine (https://www.amazon.com/LUVVITT-Scra...g-Samsung/dp/B06XRQ9XRS/ref=sr_1_1?s=wireless)
Do NOT support wireless charging
Sparin hard case with ring - does NOT support wireless charging (https://www.amazon.com/SPARIN-Protective-Rotating-kickstand-Samsung/dp/B06XHFY9BZ/ref=sr_1_1)
Damda glide and Damda folder (https://vrsdesign.com/collections/galaxy-s8-plus/products/galaxy-s8-plus-case-damda-glide-series) - I bought the glide and realized it when I tried to use the wireless charger, the case is just too thick to accommodate all the cards
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XSVS3Q8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
This one made me sad because it also has a built-in ring in the back. *sigh* it's a really well made case with an integrated ring and yet won't work with wireless charging.

Cases that do and don't
Terrapin flip case doesn't
Griffin Reveal does work.