Nexus 4 charging orb is LIVE on Google play

HyperM3 · Feb 25, 2013

Updated to the official AOKP build 4 and that apparently fixed the "jingle" when putting phone on the orb. I hear it now and that makes me happy knowing the phone is correctly placed and charging.

As long as my future phones use the same QI charging method then I think its worth it to get. Otherwise, just save your money and plug the phone in.

JunBringer · Feb 27, 2013

MT Rotor said:
Is it worth it now that you all have used it?

In the longrun it'll depend on how many phones come out with Qi charging built in. If they come out with a new back for my Note 2 it'll automatically be worth it for me, but I think I'll be happy either way.

MKeditor · Mar 4, 2013

MKeditor said:
Mine died. Worked great on Friday. Came to the office today....dead. Google is giving me an RMA.

I wrote that back on the 18th of February. I'm still trying to get an RMA. this is an epic fail in customer service. I don't want a replacement anymore. This process has stolen all joy. A perfect lesson on how to lose customer loyalty.

striker325 · Mar 4, 2013

I just ordered the google charging orb and I would like to ask if I get a ringke slim case for the phone will it still be able to "stick" onto the orb?

Joon525 · Mar 4, 2013

Yes it will work fine. (I have the same case and orb)

HyperM3 · Mar 11, 2013

Ok, after how many weeks Ive had this orb now I can with confidence suggest against buying it.

I was having issues with it charging properly every time I put the phone on the orb. I got the jingle and the LED lit up showing that it was on there correctly but a few hours later and I was down on the %, not up. Half the time it would take almost until it was time to wake up for it to be nearly fully charged(almost 7 hours!).

A couple times I tried charging it without the case on it to see if that helped. That only worked for about 2 minutes until it slid off the orb every time. The case went back and on it never slipped off the orb with it.

I have since gone back to using the USB connection directly and just using the orb as a rest so I can see it at night.

Thats my experience with it. YMMV.

APBTx2 · Mar 11, 2013

I have one and I love it! If I had a desk job; I'd buy a second for work. I use my phone a lot, so it often needs charged- so it's nice to have the phone charging every time I set it down- when I'm at home, that is.

Joon525 · Mar 12, 2013

HyperM3 said:
Ok, after how many weeks Ive had this orb now I can with confidence suggest against buying it.

I was having issues with it charging properly every time I put the phone on the orb. I got the jingle and the LED lit up showing that it was on there correctly but a few hours later and I was down on the %, not up. Half the time it would take almost until it was time to wake up for it to be nearly fully charged(almost 7 hours!).

A couple times I tried charging it without the case on it to see if that helped. That only worked for about 2 minutes until it slid off the orb every time. The case went back and on it never slipped off the orb with it.

I have since gone back to using the USB connection directly and just using the orb as a rest so I can see it at night.

Thats my experience with it. YMMV.

I'm getting something similar going on.
It'll be charging but then when I check back later it seems to have just stopped charging at some random point in time.

I'm wondering if it has to be placed more precisely or something. (I don't want to really believe that though.)

Krunk83 · Mar 12, 2013

Joon525 said:
I'm getting something similar going on.
It'll be charging but then when I check back later it seems to have just stopped charging at some random point in time.

I'm wondering if it has to be placed more precisely or something. (I don't want to really believe that though.)

It's just cycling. Nothing to worry about. It stays at charged and then stops charging until it drops back to 90% or so then start again back up to 100. All wireless charges do this.

Joon525 · Mar 12, 2013

Krunk83 said:
It's just cycling. Nothing to worry about. It stays at charged and then stops charging until it drops back to 90% or so then start again back up to 100. All wireless charges do this.

I should've clarified....it was at 70% one time and this morning it was at 45% which to me is way below any cycling threshold unless someone can point out something I don't know.

Dolmangar · Mar 12, 2013

I decided to hold off on the Qi chargers for now. Price point is still too high, and it seems like half the people who get them seem to have troubles. I ended up buying a USB dock and calling it a day for now. Not as "simple" but works just fine. Maybe in 6 months the problems will be worked out.

Amazon.com: RND Dock for LG Nexus 4 (compatible without or with a slim-fit case) (black): Cell Phones & Accessories

sjssf · Mar 12, 2013

I decided to clean it last night before sending it back. I used a scant amount of gentle soap with water on a paper towel. Did the phone too and it worked for the first time for me! I don't trust it but I'm willing to keep an open mind.
The price is insane.
I wish I hadn't bought it but-

Monygg85 · Mar 14, 2013

Got the orb as a gift. Works just fine so far. Might charge a slower than the regular USB cable but nothing substantially slower for now! I love the convenience and look of the orb. I tried a few different positions on it with the N4 and it seems to always catch a charge. The only thing that I notice sometimes while I take a glance at it charger after awhile, is that it does cut off...randomly. But I just read, in this thread, that apparently its normal for wireless chargers to do that. At the end of the day... it does get the job done!

JunBringer · Mar 16, 2013

Now that we see the Galaxy S 4 is going to have Qi standard wireless charging built in I'm pretty excited that the industry should follow through with it, thus making my Orbs worth it in the longrun. Hopefully they put out a replacement back for the Note 2 so I can use it on that as well. I assume they'll put it in the Note 3 since it's in the GS4.

Joon525 · Mar 17, 2013

So here's a strange sequence of events.

Phone at 61% placed on orb.
Started charging normally.
Came back to look at it and the red light was not on, awaken the phone and see that it is indeed NOT charging.
Remove the phone and place it on there again.
Got no audible confirmation but notice the red LED flickers a little and then goes out. Phone status is NOT charging.
Checked the plug connections and everything's tight. So I plug the phone in directly to the micro USB plug and let it charge to 66% and then...
Closed all applications and then plugged the micro USB plug back into the orb and put the phone on it. Audible confirmation and red LED, phone is now charging.
A few minutes later I hear the audible confirmation again and notice the phone is still charging which leads me to believe that the phone wasn't charging at some point and then picked up a charge again.
The phone is currently charging as I type this.

I'm kind of wondering if it might be the phone and not the charger?

hstroph · Mar 17, 2013

Monygg85 said:
... At the end of the day... it does get the job done!

Many of us don't have the rest of the day to wait for a simple charge.

Sylon · Mar 17, 2013

Joon525 said:
So here's a strange sequence of events.

Phone at 61% placed on orb.

Started charging normally.

Came back to look at it and the red light was not on, awaken the phone and see that it is indeed NOT charging.

Remove the phone and place it on there again.

Got no audible confirmation but notice the red LED flickers a little and then goes out. Phone status is NOT charging.

Checked the plug connections and everything's tight. So I plug the phone in directly to the micro USB plug and let it charge to 66% and then...

Closed all applications and then plugged the micro USB plug back into the orb and put the phone on it. Audible confirmation and red LED, phone is now charging.

A few minutes later I hear the audible confirmation again and notice the phone is still charging which leads me to believe that the phone wasn't charging at some point and then picked up a charge again.

The phone is currently charging as I type this.

I'm kind of wondering if it might be the phone and not the charger?

Sorry, can't help you with the issue itself. But I am curious with this red light you speak of. Is this caused by an app or am I missing a setting option somewhere? I don't get a light while charging.

Joon525 · Mar 18, 2013

Sylon said:
Sorry, can't help you with the issue itself. But I am curious with this red light you speak of. Is this caused by an app or am I missing a setting option somewhere? I don't get a light while charging.

Sorry I guess I should have mentioned it before...using the LightFlow app.
But doesn't the red LED light up even when totally stock? Maybe I'm mistaken but I thought that it did.

Joon525 · Mar 24, 2013

Joon525 said:
So here's a strange sequence of events.

Phone at 61% placed on orb.

Started charging normally.

Came back to look at it and the red light was not on, awaken the phone and see that it is indeed NOT charging.

Remove the phone and place it on there again.

Got no audible confirmation but notice the red LED flickers a little and then goes out. Phone status is NOT charging.

Checked the plug connections and everything's tight. So I plug the phone in directly to the micro USB plug and let it charge to 66% and then...

Closed all applications and then plugged the micro USB plug back into the orb and put the phone on it. Audible confirmation and red LED, phone is now charging.

A few minutes later I hear the audible confirmation again and notice the phone is still charging which leads me to believe that the phone wasn't charging at some point and then picked up a charge again.

The phone is currently charging as I type this.

I'm kind of wondering if it might be the phone and not the charger?

So after a little research I come to find that the AC adapter that comes with the Orb is different from the one that comes with the phone (which I was using to power the Orb).

The adapter that comes with the phone has an output of 1.2A.
The adapter that comes with the Orb has an output of 1.8A.

So I'm using the right AC adapter now and we'll see how it goes.

Embarrassing to say this but it could be operator error. :mad:

jmar · Mar 24, 2013

Got two. Excited!

jhawkkw · Mar 24, 2013

I've been on the fence with the wireless charging. Any real practical uses that make it beneficial to normal charging?

JunBringer · Mar 24, 2013

Joon525 said:
So after a little research I come to find that the AC adapter that comes with the Orb is different from the one that comes with the phone (which I was using to power the Orb).

The adapter that comes with the phone has an output of 1.2A.
The adapter that comes with the Orb has an output of 1.8A.

So I'm using the right AC adapter now and we'll see how it goes.

Embarrassing to say this but it could be operator error.

I had a similar issue and I used the AC adapter that came with the orbs.

jhawkkw said:
I've been on the fence with the wireless charging. Any real practical uses that make it beneficial to normal charging?

I just enjoy the simplicity of casually placing the phone on the Orb if it's nearby personally. It's not remotely a necessity by any means.

jmar · Mar 24, 2013

jhawkkw said:
I've been on the fence with the wireless charging. Any real practical uses that make it beneficial to normal charging?

The reason I got 'em is to preserve the USB port. And because its cool.

Monygg85 · Mar 24, 2013

So after a month, strange things have been happening. My phone charges for a little bit and then stops. I re-adjust it and it starts up again. Maybe it continues, maybe it doesn't and needs re-adjustment on the orb again. Very annoying as sometimes I put it on the charger at night at 30% and wake up to it at 50%.

Is there a certain place or way I should be placing the phone? Should I be periodically cleaning the orb ..from dust...? Im missing something here...

charliecc · Mar 25, 2013

Monygg85 said:
So after a month, strange things have been happening. My phone charges for a little bit and then stops. I re-adjust it and it starts up again. Maybe it continues, maybe it doesn't and needs re-adjustment on the orb again. Very annoying as sometimes I put it on the charger at night at 30% and wake up to it at 50%.

Is there a certain place or way I should be placing the phone? Should I be periodically cleaning the orb ..from dust...? Im missing something here...

Is your phone slipping while on the orb? It can move very slowly, so when you set it up, mark the phone with a bit of chalk or something so you can see how it's aligned with the orb. When you encounter the charging issue again, see if it's shifted. If so, give the orb a good clean.

Nexus 4 charging orb is LIVE on Google play

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