Nexus 4 charging orb is LIVE on Google play

[rxmxsh]

Why are you reposting my picture?

 

[Grievous Angel]

Look:

Your point? That yours sticks? Fine. Mine does too--for now, that I wiped it down with a wet rag. It didn't really look dusty or dirty before. Hopefully it will be good longer than 2 or 3 days. Maybe that's the answer? Daily cleaning?

I don't get the "I don't have a problem, therefore you don't have a problem and no one else has a problem" mentality.

Three days after taking it out of the box, the phone would fall off of it. The wife got to work today and said her phone was almost dead. I did a search, found the XDA thread, and found others with similar experience.

Maybe the thing was designed with laboratory conditions in mind.

Your mileage may vary, as did theirs:

Nexus 4 Wireless Charging Orb - Slipping Timelapse - YouTube
Nexus 4 and Orb wireless charger slip - YouTube
Nexus 4 Wireless Charging Orb Slip - YouTube

Whether I get it replaced or refunded, it is not without flaws, and had I read a post like mine, maybe I would have taken a pass on the 60 dollar peripheral, so maybe someone else will benefit from it--some people aren't getting a flawless, magical experience out of it. Maybe it's just a few bad apples, maybe some are more susceptible to dust, or are "dusty" out of the box. I'm only providing experience and info.

Just eyeballing it, I suspect this will only grow over time as the charger loses its "tackiness."

 

[Krunk83]

So since three people have defective chargers everyone's is defective and the unit is garbage. Got it.

 

[Dolmangar]

I've been following this thread since I've been considering the orb. It's a bit above my price point at this time but I expect that it will come down.

However, since the orb is supposed to have an electro-magnet that holds the phone, the stickiness of the dock shouldn't be important. Is it possible that what we're really seeing is a failure of the magnet? Without the magnet the rubber ring can't hold the phone well enough to prevent it from slipping off.

If this is the case it would be a failure in the orb, not just bad rubber or dirt.

Can someone with the orb test to see if it's a regular magnet or electro-magnet? I.e. verify that your phone "sticks" to it when charging and then unplug the orb and see if the phone slides off when the power disappears?

So since three people have defective charges everyone's is defective and the unit is garbage. Got it.

 

[Krunk83]

It's an electromagnet. If you place a piece of paper on it, a paper clip won't stick to it.

 

[Dolmangar]

It's an electromagnet. If you place a piece of paper on it, a paper clip won't stick to it.

This certainly sounds like a problem with your orb as other sites have shown the orb has enough magnetic strength to hold the phone upside down.

Assuming the paperclip is ferrous, one slip of paper shouldn't prevent it from attaching to the orb when powered on if it's designed to hold the phone (as mentioned before I don't have one so I can't experiment with it).

Thanks for the info.

 

[Krunk83]

This certainly sounds like a problem with your orb as other sites have shown the orb has enough magnetic strength to hold the phone upside down.

Assuming the paperclip is ferrous, one slip of paper shouldn't prevent it from attaching to the orb when powered on if it's designed to hold the phone (as mentioned before I don't have one so I can't experiment with it).

Thanks for the info.

The sticking is from a combination of the electromagnet and the suction from the rubber.

Please read "functionality". Nexus 4 Wireless Charging Orb Review: The Best $60 You Can Spend On A Wireless Charger Right Now

 

[HyperM3]

So I finally received my charging orb yesterday. I put my phone on it around 10PM with 35% battery left. I didnt hear any sound that indicated that it connected but I saw my icon flashing with the charging symbol.

I woke up at midnight and it was only in the mid 40%, so I thought it was charging very slowly. I woke up at 2am and it was up to 76%. I woke up at 4ish and it was down to 65%(maybe I didnt put it on the charger correctly). When I woke up at 7am it was at 100%(Yes, I wake up a lot during the night).

Maybe it charges slower than a direct connection but it was fully charged by the time I woke up and thats all that matters. I also have a cruzerlite case on my phone and its possible that inhibited the full charging induction, who knows. But even with the case I didnt have any slipping problems.

I for one am going to keep it, works just fine for me.

 

[Krunk83]

So I finally received my charging orb yesterday. I put my phone on it around 10PM with 35% battery left. I didnt hear any sound that indicated that it connected but I saw my icon flashing with the charging symbol.

I woke up at midnight and it was only in the mid 40%, so I thought it was charging very slowly. I woke up at 2am and it was up to 76%. I woke up at 4ish and it was down to 65%(maybe I didnt put it on the charger correctly). When I woke up at 7am it was at 100%(Yes, I wake up a lot during the night).

Maybe it charges slower than a direct connection but it was fully charged by the time I woke up and thats all that matters. I also have a cruzerlite case on my phone and its possible that inhibited the full charging induction, who knows. But even with the case I didnt have any slipping problems.

I for one am going to keep it, works just fine for me.

The charging coil is on the bottom half of the phone, so positioning matters. Also, I've noticed that the charging sound sometimes doesn't chirp. I'd say 75% of the time it does though.

 

[hstroph]

The charging coil is on the bottom half of the phone, so positioning matters. ...

N4 Back image shows the inductive coil location more precisely.

 

[Krunk83]

N4 Back image shows the inductive coil location more precisely.

Looks like the bottom half to me.

 

[hstroph]

Looks like the bottom half to me.

Feel free to split hairs if you like, but there's very obviously plenty of room below the inductive pickup for non-productive positioning of the charging orb.

 

[Krunk83]

Feel free to split hairs if you like, but there's very obviously plenty of room below the inductive pickup for non-productive positioning of the charging orb.

I won't argue with that. But there is more space up top then on the bottom. My point is that if you place too high it won't charge.

 

[HyperM3]

I won't argue with that. But there is more space up top then on the bottom. My point is that if you place too high it won't charge.

Its hard to place it too high as the bottom of the phone will hit whatever the pod is resting on first.

That being said, anyone know the charging rate for the orb? Im still watching it at night and it seems very very slow at first. After a couple hours though it goes really quick.

 

[JunBringer]

If you read the directions it'll tell you to place the orb closer to the bottom of the phone. There's a picture.

 

[HyperM3]

If you read the directions it'll tell you to place the orb closer to the bottom of the phone. There's a picture.

Directions? Who reads directions, I'm a guy.

 

[HyperM3]

Ok, another night, another round of frustration. I have a tendency to look at my phone throughout the night. I liked the fact that I could just take it off the orb instead of pulling the charging cord along with it.

However, the problem is apparently its very sensitive as to where its placed back on the charger. When I woke up this morning my phone was at 65% battery and apparently not charging. It was maybe just a few MM away from being on the correct part of the orb. Maybe I need to try using the charger without my case on it. I dont know but I cant have this much inconsistency.

 

[Krunk83]

The correct part of the Orb? You mean the correct part of the phone? The phone needs to be place on the Orb so the bottom half is in contact with the phone, portrait or landscape. You can test this very easily.

 

[HyperM3]

The correct part of the Orb? You mean the correct part of the phone? The phone needs to be place on the Orb so the bottom half is in contact with the phone, portrait or landscape. You can test this very easily.

Yeah, thats what I meant. This is not tested easily. For what they charge for this item, the least they could do was put a little light on it somewhere to indicate you are charging correctly. My phone is set for silent during the night so Im not going to get any sound indicator(not that I hear it anyway when its not silent). I dont want to have to get up and look at my little icon everytime I place my phone on the orb to make sure its charging correctly. Definitely not efficient.

 

[Krunk83]

Doesn't your screen light up when it starts charging? How is it not tested easily? Just move it around until you find all the spots it charges, then you know. You can get light flow to have it activate the LED when it charges. I have cyanogenmod and this is a stock feature that I use. I also see my phone light up when I place it on the charger. Seems pretty simple to me.

 

[HyperM3]

I dont want my LED lighting up or blinking at me otherwise it will disturb my sleep. Yes I have that option in my AOKP rom, not what I want. Why is what Im asking so challenging and making you offended?

My $19.99 ebay charger has a stupid little light that goes on when the phone is connected. Like I said, how hard would it be to put that in a $60 charger?

 

[Krunk83]

Who said I was offended? I could care less, I'm happy with my orb. Also, the LED isn't bright at all.

 

[Sylon]

Doesn't your screen light up when it starts charging? How is it not tested easily? Just move it around until you find all the spots it charges, then you know. You can get light flow to have it activate the LED when it charges. I have cyanogenmod and this is a stock feature that I use. I also see my phone light up when I place it on the charger. Seems pretty simple to me.

If the phone's battery charge is over a certain amount (I think it's either 90 or 95%), then the screen will not turn on, nor will it play the jingle*, when placed on the Orb.


*Jingle plays if you are updated to 4.2.2

 

[JunBringer]

Since I'm not using a case at the moment it's very easy to position the phone correctly. I'm very happy with my orbs.

 

[MT Rotor]

Is it worth it now that you all have used it?