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Wireless charging

Coolhands

Newbie
Sep 23, 2012
30
4
Anyone try the wireless charging back covers/charging pads yet? Was looking into getting one but certsinly do not want to pay 130 bucks for Samsung's. Someone at the Verizon store showed me a pad from a different company but I forgot to check the price... Lol

Any suggestions? Thanks!
 
Picked up the Samsung back cover and a Nokia charge pad. Works great and doesn't heat like I heard from other people. 85 bucks total with a slight Verizon wireless customer discount. Unfortunately, the back cover is a bit larger than the original one so my Speck candy shell no longer fits.

I had the inductive back on the Droid 3. It is one of those niceties that you think will be useless until you get it. Once you have it, you never want to go back.

However, the added thickness means that very few cases will fit it. Since I really like the case I have, I will pass.

FYI, you can get the pad at 50% off on Samsung's website if you register as an S4 owner.
 
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IIt is one of those niceties that you think will be useless until you get it. Once you have it, you never want to go back.
You're right, I do think it would be useless.

I am genuinely interested in what earthly use it could be to anyone. I cannot believe that anyone could be too lazy to plug a cable in (it literally takes 2 seconds) and that is literally the only advantage I can see to wireless charging.

The drawbacks are numerous. It's slow (about a third of the charging speed of the wired charger), precludes the use of most cases and is fairly expensive.

What is it about wireless charging that you like so much?
 
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If you registered you S4 with Samsung you get 50% off accessories (good for up to 5 items in one purchase), so you could get the samsung kit for 1/2 off. Only problem is first the charging pad was on back order, but appears to be back in stock again, only to see that the charging cover is now on back order. You don't get the discount on items on back order because they don't charge you until they are in stock. And the discount is only good for 1 purchase. So you need for both to get in stock and then you should get 1/2 off both items according to the coupon saying it's valid for up to 5 items in 1 single purchase.
 
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You're right, I do think it would be useless.

I am genuinely interested in what earthly use it could be to anyone. I cannot believe that anyone could be too lazy to plug a cable in (it literally takes 2 seconds) and that is literally the only advantage I can see to wireless charging.

The drawbacks are numerous. It's slow (about a third of the charging speed of the wired charger), precludes the use of most cases and is fairly expensive.

What is it about wireless charging that you like so much?

I use my phone on the charger a lot. I try to keep it charging at work all day (im streaming), and from work to home, I may be gone for 6-8 hours. I like to leave work with a full charge.

But I am also constantly taking my phone with me, when I leave my desk... meetings, lunch, breaks, etc,etc.

So thats probably 16-20 plugging in and out each day.

And while its sitting there, im also using it. Its a big phone, and I do a lot of work with just my thumb...so it rests on my pinky on the bottom. My pinky is constantly rubbing against, and putting pressure on the plug.

So for me, saving all the plugging in and out I do during the day, not having the wire in my way when I use it, and just being able to put it back down, and let it charge, still be streaming, etc. Is quite useful.

We all use our phones different. To each his own.
 
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You're right, I do think it would be useless.

I am genuinely interested in what earthly use it could be to anyone. I cannot believe that anyone could be too lazy to plug a cable in (it literally takes 2 seconds) and that is literally the only advantage I can see to wireless charging.

The drawbacks are numerous. It's slow (about a third of the charging speed of the wired charger), precludes the use of most cases and is fairly expensive.

What is it about wireless charging that you like so much?

USB ports also get worn after a lot of use. So it seems like having less wear on the port seems like a pretty good positive.
 
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Also the power cord isn't that long, so in my bedroom it's pretty tight when charging on my nightstand. If I want to look at my phone, I have to get out of bed, unplug it, then plug it back in when done. With wireless charging it would be much easier and won't require you to get in and out of bed to connect/disconnect from the charger.
 
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Clearly it's a matter of taste but I have never worn out a USB plug on any of the devices I have owned with USB ports and that must be at least a hundred. You would have to be incredibly clumsy to do so.

I charge my phone once a day over-night on my bedside table, which is right next to my bed (logically enough) and carry a spare battery, which strikes me as far more convenient than having to keep plugging the phone in at every opportunity or even resting it on a charging pad.

I remain wholly unconvinced but it's your money and no-one is making me buy one so good luck to you.
 
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Clearly it's a matter of taste but I have never worn out a USB plug on any of the devices I have owned with USB ports and that must be at least a hundred. You would have to be incredibly clumsy to do so.

I charge my phone once a day over-night on my bedside table, which is right next to my bed (logically enough) and carry a spare battery, which strikes me as far more convenient than having to keep plugging the phone in at every opportunity or even resting it on a charging pad.

I remain wholly unconvinced but it's your money and no-one is making me buy one so good luck to you.

I have worn out 3 mini usb ports on phones. It have nothing to do with clumsy. Its the pressure.

2 batteries wont do me. I also carry a spare.

"value", is purely subjective. What is a value to you, may not be a value to someone else.

And for $44, which is what i paid for my charging pad and receiver combo, it was well worth it.
 
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Great info...By chance does anyone know if Galaxy 4 w/wireless charging back will still fit in the Otterbox Defender case and if so can it recharge on the pad in the case. Samsung had no idea :-(

I'm not sure about fittment in the Otterbox case, but I'd imagine the difference in the rear battery cover wouldn't be big enough to cause it not to fit.

I'd also think the charging would work with the case on. People using the MonsterWatts QI wireless charging kit show that it still works even with a case over the back of the phone, so I'd imagine the samsung cover with wireless charging would also allow charging while a case is on.
 
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The one from fasttech, takes 2 weeks to get it in. Basically equiv of a 1.0A charger directly connected.

So here's some pics using the fasttech cheap one:

N7 charger using the OEM 2.0A charger/cable:
20130620_164937.jpg


Normal discharge rate:
Screenshot_2013-06-20-10-03-49.png


On the OEM 2.0A charger:
Screenshot_2013-06-20-10-04-09.png


On a usb port on my docking station:
Screenshot_2013-06-20-10-04-37.png


On the QI:
Screenshot_2013-06-20-16-47-43.png


On the QI in an incipio double cover:
20130620_164912.jpg


The charging part fits under the stock battery cover just fine and cases work with it installed and the OEM stock back.

N7: https://www.fasttech.com/products/1272303
Qi Patch: https://www.fasttech.com/products/1355305

LMK if you have any questions!
 
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You're right, I do think it would be useless.

I am genuinely interested in what earthly use it could be to anyone. I cannot believe that anyone could be too lazy to plug a cable in (it literally takes 2 seconds) and that is literally the only advantage I can see to wireless charging.

The drawbacks are numerous. It's slow (about a third of the charging speed of the wired charger), precludes the use of most cases and is fairly expensive.

What is it about wireless charging that you like so much?

I had mixed feelings about the drawbacks. I never cared about the slow charging, because I dropped it on the pad and go to sleep.

I don't care about the price. I already have a Qi pad, and with the 50% off coupon, it would be $19 for the back.

I do care about the issue of it precluding most cases though. What that means is that for a convenience that you will use maybe once a day you give up all sorts of choices in how you carry the phone. I hated that issue with my Droid.

There is another downside that you are not mentioning. I never knew why, but when phones are on a Qi pad they have a tendency to turn off an on rather spontaneously (Somebody explained why elsewhere in this forum). So if you have the damn thing next to your bed, all of sudden you have the light from the glorious screen on the S4 blazing in your eyes as you try to sleep.

The convenience was just about pure laziness. Didn't have to every plug in my phone, just through the phone on the pad. And, the pad doesn't draw current while not plugged in, so I didn't have a charger that always had to get pulled out of the wall.

To me though, the issue of having to give up a case I like is a deal breaker. I'd rather just plug in the phone with the USB cable and get to pick from any case I want.
 
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WOOOPS, it's mic'd out at 1.7mm when I measured earlier, but that's with the "adhesive sticker" that would stick it to the battery.

Removed that an it came in measured at 1.2mm, and now it makes the stock back cover flush!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah! FLUSH, no bulge. I should have really removed that new sticker but just got to using the calipers on it!

Excellent stuff for $11.60 and a two week wait for shipping!
 
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You're right, I do think it would be useless.

I am genuinely interested in what earthly use it could be to anyone. I cannot believe that anyone could be too lazy to plug a cable in (it literally takes 2 seconds) and that is literally the only advantage I can see to wireless charging.

The drawbacks are numerous. It's slow (about a third of the charging speed of the wired charger), precludes the use of most cases and is fairly expensive.

What is it about wireless charging that you like so much?

Well for starters, it's pretty cool! :smokingsomb:
 
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20130622_135548.jpg



It doesn't fit in my incipio double case.

It charges at the same rate as my $11 one.

I like the slight thickness to the phone compared to stock. I would rock this if there were a double type bumper with interior soft rubber and tpu on the outside ala nexus type cover.

edit: this is commenting on the samsung wireless back which is thicker than oem.
 
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For some, wireless charging is the way that works best for them. More power to them:) (no pun intended:p )

I've often thought of getting one, but never looked into it very much for my device.

I can see the convenience of dropping it on the pad at night, go to sleep, wake up, pick up the phone and go:)


And it does look pretty cool I must say:)
 
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...I do care about the issue of it precluding most cases though. What that means is that for a convenience that you will use maybe once a day you give up all sorts of choices in how you carry the phone. I hated that issue with my Droid.

There is another downside that you are not mentioning. I never knew why, but when phones are on a Qi pad they have a tendency to turn off an on rather spontaneously (Somebody explained why elsewhere in this forum). So if you have the damn thing next to your bed, all of sudden you have the light from the glorious screen on the S4 blazing in your eyes as you try to sleep...
To me though, the issue of having to give up a case I like is a deal breaker. I'd rather just plug in the phone with the USB cable and get to pick from any case I want.

I use wireless charging on my S4 and I have tried several different receivers, as well as the Samsung wireless charging cover. If you want to use the Samsung cover, there is a case on Amazon called Diztronic that will fit over it. It's a matte black, soft TPU case.

There's also 2 main types of receiver inserts: The white ones are about 1.6mm thick, and you will notice the bulge when installed. There's also a black one that is only 0.6mm thick and makes practically no bulge. You can distinguish it because it has the microprocessor on the tongue in between the connector pins and the main body where the charging coil is at.

To eliminate the annoying turning on and off of the phone screen while it's trickle charging, simply enable the dock clock function on the phone, enable the full screen mode, and it will solve that problem.

To activate the dock clock app:
> go to the apps drawer and tap on the clock icon.
> On the top tabs (where it shows Alarm/World Clock/Stopwatch/Timer), swipe it to your left and it will reveal an additional tab for the Desk Clock.
>Once you tap on it, it will reveal the dock clock.
> Tap on the bottom right on your phone (the menu soft key) and you can go into the app settings where you can show/hide the calendar, weather and dock settings.
> If you tap on the "full screen" icon in the upper right, it will go into the screen saver mode. From there you can go into settings again and configure additional options like hide status bar, wallpaper, weather, etc.

The key is to enable the "screen saver" or full screen mode. Otherwise, if an email, text or other notification comes in, it will turn off the dock clock. What I did, is I made an NFC tag that I stuck on my charging plate is that when I place my phone on it, it activates the dock clock. Then I just tap on the full screen icon and it's set for the night.

If you find that the screen is too bright, there's an app called screen filter that dims the screen to your liking. I am using it simultaneously on my NFC tag.
 
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