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Yesterday night I was playing with the phone before sleeping. It was charging not with the provided ac adapter, but with the usb-miniusb cable + an aiino usb-ac adapter. Well, the weird thing is that using google maps, the touch/multitouch control was completely f****d up. I mean, it was impossible to pinch-to-zoom, using the zoom buttons worked, but when I used only one finger to move around the map, instead of moving it was zooming randomly in&out without a reason. So I unplugged the cable and it was working perfectly...
It seems your 3rd party ac adaptor is not appropriately grounded so there is a small current on the touchscreen. Capacitive touchscreens recognize minimal changes in currents on the surface. That's why fingers, oranges, organic material work with it, but no stylus or other pens.
Hmm that's an interesting point, I didn't think about that. Do you think I should stop using that charger? Could it damage my device in some way?
I got it with my iPhone 3GS on a car charger too. But it didn't hurt the device at all.
I cannot guarantee this though...
I always used it with my iphone 3g too, and also used my iphone while it was charging...but I never had such an experience on iphone's multitouch...that's really strange!
I had the same issue with a generic ac micro usb charger I bought on ebay.
Since the phone was just newly released, there seemed to be a premium on the chargers described as being for the galaxy s so I went and bought a much cheaper micro usb charger compatible with motorola devices. I figured the contacts would all be the same and all micro usb chargers the same.
Wrong.
As soon as I plugged in that charger, the touch screen was borked. The display was fine but the touch response was shot. If I tap the application drawer in the home screen, it would register a click on some other random spot on the display. The phone was utterly useless while plugged into this charger.
To troubleshoot, I tried mixing it up between the original samsung charger and the generic, resetting etc, and it always came down to the charger. Crap with generic, prefect with original.
TL;DR - not all chargers compatible with samsung galaxy s, borked touch response from generic charger.
Perhaps it would be useful to change the title off this post and move to the accessories forum? Useful for people to add their feedback on generic chargers they've used.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Btw, the charger did charge the phone but I guessed having extra current run through the screen would damage the capacitive sensors.
Compared to the original samsung which has 4 contacts, the micro usb plug on the generic had an extra contact. I tried to open up the plug to see if I could do something about the extra contact but it broke and I the it out.
Shame I didn't think to make a video to share.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
changaz said:
I had the same issue with a generic ac micro usb charger I bought on ebay.
Since the phone was just newly released, there seemed to be a premium on the chargers described as being for the galaxy s so I went and bought a much cheaper micro usb charger compatible with motorola devices. I figured the contacts would all be the same and all micro usb chargers the same.
Wrong.
As soon as I plugged in that charger, the touch screen was borked. The display was fine but the touch response was shot. If I tap the application drawer in the home screen, it would register a click on some other random spot on the display. The phone was utterly useless while plugged into this charger.
To troubleshoot, I tried mixing it up between the original samsung charger and the generic, resetting etc, and it always came down to the charger. Crap with generic, prefect with original.
TL;DR - not all chargers compatible with samsung galaxy s, borked touch response from generic charger.
Perhaps it would be useful to change the title off this post and move to the accessories forum? Useful for people to add their feedback on generic chargers they've used.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I changed the title, now I think to move it the help of a moderator is required...
i have the same problem with my crap charger. but mine won't even charge, it charges up like 1% / 30 minutes and I can't use it while the phone is turned off because it just turns on by itself. crap.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
I use my nokia n97 charger to charge galaxy since I bought it no problem at all
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
i bought my SGS on ebay and it didn't come with a charger.
the 3rd party charger i bought on ebay doesn't charge the phone and makes it do all sorts of things by itself.
just a warning to others, you may want to spend the extra money on a charger that specifically says it's compatible.
carlocb said:
Yesterday night I was playing with the phone before sleeping. It was charging not with the provided ac adapter, but with the usb-miniusb cable + an aiino usb-ac adapter. Well, the weird thing is that using google maps, the touch/multitouch control was completely f****d up. I mean, it was impossible to pinch-to-zoom, using the zoom buttons worked, but when I used only one finger to move around the map, instead of moving it was zooming randomly in&out without a reason. So I unplugged the cable and it was working perfectly...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same problem with my desire, with a 3rd party microusb charger .... when i use pinch to zoom the screen goes crazy
Note that if I touch the usb cable ground (outer metal part) with one hand, my touch screen then works.
cedricberger said:
Note that if I touch the usb cable ground (outer metal part) with one hand, my touch screen then works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is definitely something to do with Capacitive touchscreens.
Similar thing happeend to my ipod touch 3g when I used a 3rd party wall charger on it
How bad is it to our phones ?....
I would like to know what is really happening.
Is the usb charger "ground" at an important voltage relative to earth ground ?
Is it at a variable voltage, which would even more confuse our phone ?
Could we safely ground it, and how ? (connecting the usb ground to earth, maybe via a grounded 220V plug ?) .
I think anyway I will at least mesure the voltage (and maybe leaking current relative to real ground) level of this usb "ground"...
Any electronician to explain how it is normally done in quality chargers ?
cedricberger said:
How bad is it to our phones ?....
I would like to know what is really happening.
Is the usb charger "ground" at an important voltage relative to earth ground ?
Is it at a variable voltage, which would even more confuse our phone ?
Could we safely ground it, and how ? (connecting the usb ground to earth, maybe via a grounded 220V plug ?) .
I think anyway I will at least mesure the voltage (and maybe leaking current relative to real ground) level of this usb "ground"...
Any electronician to explain how it is normally done in quality chargers ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure what ground here is! My e-bay travel charger 4.7v 500mA with a Samsung logo has no ground connection on the charger - normal in Europe. Problem probably is that it is possibly not a Samsung unit at all - well it only cost 1euro - It does charge and the screen does freeze until I disconnect it. Only got it today - but nothing is getting hot and no other problems so far. The voltage rating is of course less than the standard 5v.
Bought a Belkin Dual USB car charger (1.0A + 0.5A) online. Will report back.
Rofa1 said:
I'm not sure what ground here is! My e-bay travel charger 4.7v 500mA with a Samsung logo has no ground connection on the charger - normal in Europe. Problem probably is that it is possibly not a Samsung unit at all - well it only cost 1euro - It does charge and the screen does freeze until I disconnect it. Only got it today - but nothing is getting hot and no other problems so far. The voltage rating is of course less than the standard 5v.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My best shots would be no ground (mass) issues, but:
1. stability of the charger output voltage
2. stability of the charger output current
3. value of the charger output voltage
4. capacity of the filter capacitors in the charger (too little - 50/60 Hz hum is distributed to the output)
5. Is the charger impulse or stabilized?
Capacitive screens must be very sensitive to changes of impedance and if there is no stable voltage or current or if the output is interfered with electrical network hum, the touchscreen may go crazy in my opinion...
edit: format tags corrected
Working fine without any capacitive screen issues.
The good thing is it works as charger mode instead of USB. So I assume the 1.0A socket would actually charge faster than USB mode.
v205 said:
Bought a Belkin Dual USB car charger (1.0A + 0.5A) online. Will report back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will be high-frequency noise on the DC output voltage of the charger. Chargers use a high-frequency DC-DC converter method and the cheaper ones don't do a very good job of filtering the high frequency out of the DC at the other end. This noise enters your phone and plays havoc with the sensitive circuits in the capacitive touchscreen.
It is nothing to do with grounding of the input side of the power supply; when you ground the output side (the USB plug) with your hand, your body capacitance filters out some/all of the noise.
You could probably filter this out by adding capacitors or whatever but really, the solution is don't buy $1 chargers for your $x00 phone.
Hey,
Is anyone else noticing that not all micro USB chargers fit properly with this phone? For example, I have a Micro USB charger from my Droid Pro that I really like because it has interchangeable plugs (for use in foreign countries). Unfortunately this charger doesn't fit quite right and sometimes the phone doesn't charge/doesn't detect being plugged in. It seems loose and has a lot of play when it's "plugged into" the phone.
If you look at the micro USB port itself, it seems to be pushed back into the bezel by about 1mm more than "normal" -- so I think this may be the cause of the problem. If I hold the micro USB cables side by side, it seems like the metal part of the official cable is about 1mm longer than the cable for my Droid Pro. Actually, I probably could take an exacto knife to the pro's cable and cut it back a little bit...
So - is anyone else experiencing this? It's worth noting that the official charger works fine and fits snugly, so it's not the phone itself is messed up.
-- Dan
I have had a charger or two that mine hasn't been happy with. I believe that the output of the charger is an issue as well. It seems that an output of less that about 1 amp won't activate the charging circuit. I blame it on the larger battery. My tablet won't charge with too low an amp rating either.
dbeedle said:
IIt seems that an output of less that about 1 amp won't activate the charging circuit. I blame it on the larger battery. My tablet won't charge with too low an amp rating either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Razr Maxx HD charges just fine with an 850 ma charger -- and the phone should charge even with 500 ma since that's the maximum output of USB. Can you please provide further details on how you came to this conclusion?
Only an assumption based on my experiences with other devices (tablets) and chargers, most notably the Palm Touchstone which was/is notoriously picky about the amperage. I have had a charger or two that would not charge the Maxx HD that seemed to seat well in the connector. If I remember right my wife's Samsung Nexus charger is one of these. I can only guess that, if the connector seats well in the socket that lack of amperage could be the cause of the charger not working with the Maxx. I only offer this up as a possible cause to charging issues. There are certainly other possibilities.
Note: I did just try the USB port on my laptop with a know "good" cable and it does activate the charging circuit. So while I'll still contend that not all chargers are equal to the others, in this case I'm probably wrong in thinking the amperage to be the culprit. I'll have to examine some cables a little closer even though they appear to fit correctly!
I thought I would share with you my experience of the QI charger I recently purchased from FastTech.
After seeing some reviews of these wireless chargers I thought I would take the plunge & get one myself.
Website.
Firstly, the FastTech website is pretty well laid out, its fairy easy to navigate & find what you want. What I do like about the site is they tend to include lots of images of the item you are buying - many sites usually include a generic picture that's at a poor resolution, but FastTech really go all out to include as much information as possible. This includes data sheets, specifications, size, weight etc etc. The attention to detail is top notch & nothing of importance gets overlooked.
Choosing the charger.
FastTech list quite a few QI chargers. These range from big twin versions for dual charging, specific chargers for certain devices life the Nexus 4, Galaxy Note 2/S3 down to the cheaper generic ones.
I decided to choose this one:
http://www.fasttech.com/products/11...owered-qi-inductive-wireless-charger-for-car-
I would say that this is generic one but for $40/£30 (At time of writing) its not bad value compared to other QI Wireless chargers on the market.
One of the main reasons I chose this version is that it comes with a Micro USB connector rather than a small round power connector like most other versions do. This means I can use any Micro USB cable I own. It also states that charger works via a car charger or a USB port; most other QI chargers only work using a wall socket which provides enough voltage/amp for the device to operate. At the time of purchasing I was highly dubious that the charger would work correctly using an USB port on a PC but I crossed my fingers that it would.
Ordering & Delivery
Ordering is pretty much as expected & only take a few minutes to register. Entering in the details is easy & the website provided clear & easy to follow instructions, so if you are used to ordering online there's nothing to worry about. I paid via PayPal - quick & easy.
Delivery is free so that's a bonus & once your order is placed & sent, a tracking reference is included along with a nice photograph of your item with your address on to show you that its been posted - nice touch!
Now comes the 'negative' part..... delivery! Its takes a long time, approximately 21 days to be precise. That's from Hong Kong to the UK. I've ordered stuff from Hong Kong in the past & its usually taken less than 10 days, buts that's usually small stuff. What didn't help was the parcel tacking - it wasn't very informative. The only time I got an up date was when the parcel arrived in the UK & the tracking reported that it had arrived in the country. However, it still took 4 days from then to get to my house.
I'm not really saying this was an issue for me but I was getting a little nervous whether I would turn up!! So, If anyone orders anything from FastTech please be aware that you might have to wait over 3 weeks for your item.
Packaging & Contents:
The charger arrived in a standard jiffy bag & the box containing the charger was inside. The box was wrapped up with some additional bubble wrap to help prevent it from any bumps or knocks it may suffer from its 6000 mile (give or take!) journey from Hong Kong to the UK. Luckily it had seemed to have done its job as everything seemed ok & the box was fairly undamaged apart from a slight crease in one of the corners.
The QI charger comes in nice thick white card presentation box very similar to the boxes that mobiles are shipped in. Its design is simple & minimalistic with just a few logos & a photo on it to indicate what's inside.
Once in the box you are greeted with the QI Charger. Under the charger & its cardboard support sleeve is the Micro USB cable & tucked away in the corner is the mains wall charger in a box - this is the European version & doesn't fit a UK wall socket. I don't know why, but I convinced myself the a Euro 2 Pin to UK 3 Pin adapter was included but there isn't. The FastTechs website clearly states that the charger only ships with a EURO style plug, I have no idea why I thought that there was an adapter included.
QI Charger - A closer look.
The QI charger is made standard white plastic, nothing special. Its approximately the same size as a Galaxy Note 2, so if you have seen or held one of these then you will know how big it is. One thing that stands out about the charger is that its incredibly light, this along with the cheap looking white plastic, makes the device feel exceptionally cheap. Because it is so light it actually makes the unit feel hollow & its hard to be convinced that there is actually anything inside.
I also think the colour doesn't help. The white plastic picks up mucky marks quickly - in fact it was covered in dirty finger prints before I even touched it. In my opinion, I believe black plastic would have helped the overall look of the device.
The build quality is ok, again nothing special - screw-less design with two half's glued together. The underside has four small corner dimples moulded in the back plastic which the charger sits on when put on flat surface. Its a shame that these aren't little rubber feet to give the charger a more no slip effect when on a hard surface.
Usability.
As mentioned before, I could not check how the charger worked using the mains adapter because it only fitted a European wall socket. So, I tried it out on one of my PC USB ports. I used a USB2 socket because this is the common port that most PC/Laptops have. My PC has does have USB3 sockets but these can provide a different (better) current which may not represent everyone else's setup. Once plugged in the chargers green power light comes on. This light is constant & cannot be turned off unless you unplug the charger.
Unexpectedly, the charger worked really well using only a USB port. This was a real surprise as the wall charger has an output of 2A & a USB2 port only has an output of 500mA, I was expecting the phone not to charge properly because of the big difference in current. It also worked fine when plugged into my laptops USB port.
As you can see from the photos the phone charge 'zone' is quite forgiving & the phone can be placed on the charger without the need to position it accurately. I found that I could place my phone on the charger relatively care free. There was no need to readjust the position or find a millimeter perfect position for the charging that some other QI charges seem to have.
It has to be noted though that the QI charging coil in the Nexus 4 is offset towards the bottom of the phone - about 1/3 of the way up. The induction charging coil in the QI Charger is central, therefore the phones best position on the charger is so that the top of the phone is level with the edge of the charger where the USB cable is inserted. If I placed the phone centrally on the charger it would not charge.
I noticed that there is a very slight magnetic attraction between the phone & the charger when the induction coils are aligned. This is particularly usefully as it helps with the phone location to the charger (you can feel it 'grab') & also prevents the phone from moving/slipping if the charger is place on a slight slope.
When the phone is placed on the QI charger & connects, the charger emits a single beep & a blue light starts to flash in the corner of the device to indicate a successful pairing & charging has started. Also, the phone acknowledges that a connection to the charger has been made and produces a quiet tone to say its now charging.
Strangely, I found that the QI charger actually charged my phone more quickly that a standard USB cable that's connected to a PC/Laptop. It also charges the phone all the way up to 100% & keeps it there. Once the phone got to 100% I experienced no power loss over the space of about 45 minutes. However, this might be a concern as once at 100% the charger doesn't seem to switch off & the phone remained warm.
On the subject of heat, as with most QI chargers the phone got hot while being charged wirelessly. I monitored the temperature of the battery & it never got over 41C
My Nexus 4 has a DBrand skin on the back & it didn't seem to interfere with the charging process. I don't own a bumper or case so I couldn't test how well the charger would work if one of those were fitted to the phone.
For those of you who might want to use the charger at night, the green & blue lights are fairly bright & might be a tad annoying if you intend to use it in the bedroom.
Conclusion.
In a nut shell the QI Wireless Charger that I purchased from FastTech works really well & it actually exceeded my expectations when plugged in to a PC or Laptop.
The position of the phone on the charger is fairly forgiving & a full battery charge is accomplished even on USB. All in all I'm happy with how the charger works & has it has permanent place on my desk at work.
....... but........
However, taking a step back & looking at the whole QI Wireless charging method I feel like its all a bit redundant & not real necessary.
Currently, QI chargers are just too expensive in what they are. The Nexus 4 Orb sells for silly money & the cheap chargers still retailer for more than 10 wall chargers put together! At the end of the day it only charges the phone, and 'Only' is a word that needs emphasising; because if I use a USB cable to charge the phone I can still use the phone with the cable plugged in. Also if the cable is plugged into a PC/Laptop I can transfer files as well. The QI charger takes all these useful features away.
Also you are still tied to where the QI charger is plugged into so you don't gain any real world additional freedom from a charging cable. It kind of feels like a docking station without the bonus of being able to transfer files to the PC.
In a way I feel that QI chargers are sold like a cool iPhone feature - they look cool, people who see it go 'wow' & it makes your mates jealous. But at the end of the day its not really that different to the thing it replaces & may not even work any better!
OK, it looks like from the above statements that I actually hate QI wireless charging & that people shouldn't bother with them. That's not what I think at all & in fact believe that the charger is a cool gadget, I've been showing it off to nearly everyone that passes my desk at work. I've written this review to point out the Pros and Cons of buying & owning a QI Wireless charger & to show that it might not suit everybody's expectations. My only major criticism is the price. The charger I purchased does not look or feel like its worth £30 ($40). If the price drops below £10 ($15) then the price would genuinely reflect the product. I'm assuming that the price currently reflects the new QI charging technology, hopefully prices will start to drop in the upcoming months when (or if) QI charging becomes popular.
So to sum up, if you're in the market for a wireless charger for your Nexus 4 phone then I highly recommend this QI Charger from FastTech. However, consider it more of an cool impulse purchase rather than a must have, can't live without gadget.
Pros
Works as intended.
Fully supports PC USB charging
Charges to 100%
Positioning of phone on charger is quiet lenient
Free delivery & parcel tracking from FastTech
FastTech offer refunds if unhappy with item & replacements if device is faulty.
Show off to your mates
Cons
Feels cheap
Quite Expensive
Doesn't necessarily replace wired charging
Packaging only contains European wall charger
Delivery took longer than expected from FastTech
Get laughed at by mates for spending £30/$40
MARKS OUT OF 10
DESIGN: 7
FUNCTIONALITY: 9
FEATURES: 7
VALUE FOR MONEY: 4
OVERALL: 7
Hope you enjoyed the review. Please post comments below.
Review by Chris B
cmberry20 said:
However, taking a step back & looking at the whole QI Wireless charging method I feel like its all a bit redundant & not real necessary.
Currently, QI chargers are just too expensive in what they are. The Nexus 4 Orb sells for silly money & the cheap chargers still retailer for more than 10 wall chargers put together! At the end of the day it only charges the phone, and 'Only' is a word that needs emphasising; because if I use a USB cable to charge the phone I can still use the phone with the cable plugged in. Also if the cable is plugged into a PC/Laptop I can transfer files as well. The QI charger takes all these useful features away.
Also you are still tied to where the QI charger is plugged into so you don't gain any real world additional freedom from a charging cable. It kind of feels like a docking station without the bonus of being able to transfer files to the PC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have one of these with euro plug (not usb). the comment above is exactly how i feel after couple of usage. not only it doesn't do data transfer, but usage too is inconvenient, due to (a) you can't pick up your phone, (b) touchscreen is much less responsive during charge. with that $40, i might as well bought a real dock and other accessories.
Just a quick update.
I can confirm that the charger stops charging the phone once 100% is reached. I think there's '100% with still a little more left to charge' & '100% Full'! I noticed that the charger would still carrying on charging for 5 minutes or so once 100% was reached, I think that it must be because the battery isnt quite fully charged. After that, the blue light switches of the phone is allowed to discharge. But as soon as the phone looses less than 1% the charger recharges it.
It basically trickle charges the phone to keep it at 100%. I certainly don't get the issue where the phone has lost 5 to 10% of its charge once 100% had reached.
Thank you for the honest and detailed review. I was considering this charger and looking for qi wireless chargers for the past few months but was never fully convinced about buying one because its not really as useful as it is just "cool". I thought it might be convenient to make a car dock out of because I wouldn't have worry about plugging and unplugging it. But I think for now I will just use a usb cable and maybe look at wireless chargers again once they're cheaper.
Thanks for the review OP. Like the person above me said, I too have considered getting one of those. The price it's at now is pretty tempting, but I don't think the Misses would appreciate me buying a $30 charger. I do think it would be an interesting thing to have and to mess around with but ahhhh I don't know. And speaking of USB 2.0... When do we think that phones will have USB 3.0?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
I bought one of these and it's great - except for the lights and beeping (I'd like to use it by my bed) - has anyone opened theirs up and successfully altered it?
thigger_tom said:
I bought one of these and it's great - except for the lights and beeping (I'd like to use it by my bed) - has anyone opened theirs up and successfully altered it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I decided to have a go today. Opening it needed a sharp blade to help pry open the case (there are a /lot/ of plastic clips) but eventually ended up with everything accessible. Everything's soldered onto a single board with only the coil and USB connector separate. However, the buzzer can be opened up and the metal plate removed which silences it:
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There's a small flat hole in the side - put a small screwdriver in there, twist and the top will pop off. The round metal plate can then be picked out (I used blu-tack) before putting the top back on. I've kept the plate on the off-chance I ever want it to beep again.
A bit more blu-tack to cover each of the LEDs and I now have my ideal charger!
I'm pretty unhappy. I just unboxed mine, set my N4 on it and it's not working. I also bought a charging coil for my Note2. The N4 has the poetic Bumper on it and it seems that that small distance is too much for it to charge through. The Qi standard is 5mm to 40mm. This device doesn't seem to work at even 1 to 2 mm.
As a test I took a plastic SD card case I have that is 4mm thick and the charging coil from the note2 and with it, it won't work. but without it between it works fine.
Basically this thing is useless if you have a case.. I really thought the point of a wireless charger was that it would work through a case. LAME! I'll update if I learn anything more but as of this time, I'll probably be returning or selling mine...
joeavery2 said:
I'm pretty unhappy. I just unboxed mine, set my N4 on it and it's not working. I also bought a charging coil for my Note2. The N4 has the poetic Bumper on it and it seems that that small distance is too much for it to charge through. The Qi standard is 5mm to 40mm. This device doesn't seem to work at even 1 to 2 mm.
As a test I took a plastic SD card case I have that is 4mm thick and the charging coil from the note2 and with it, it won't work. but without it between it works fine.
Basically this thing is useless if you have a case.. I really thought the point of a wireless charger was that it would work through a case. LAME! I'll update if I learn anything more but as of this time, I'll probably be returning or selling mine...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Might be a defective unit, or the coil isn't fully connected, or not enough juice from your USB. Is yours the same brand as OP's?
hmm, not sure if you have a faulty charge or if you have been unlucky with the build quality of your QI Charger.
I packed my phone up with some business cards & a foldered sheet of paper & it still happily charges up. I would say the gap it about 5mm to 6mm. (1/4" if you live in 'merica)
This is still being charged via USB 2 on a desktop PC.
thigger_tom said:
Well, I decided to have a go today. Opening it needed a sharp blade to help pry open the case(...).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you manage to open it ? I tried to insert a very thin flat bladed screwdriver between the two parts of the device and slide it around it but nothing popped-up or anything, plus it slipped and I stabbed my thumb so I prefer not to use a knife...
I'm affraid I could break it by forcing the screwdriver inside.
I'd like to mute it because I work in an open space office. Also, this "beeep" is pretty annoying. The blue LED and the Nexus 4's LED are enough for me.
Thanks
Nekrozys said:
How did you manage to open it ? I tried to insert a very thin flat bladed screwdriver between the two parts of the device and slide it around it but nothing popped-up or anything, plus it slipped and I stabbed my thumb so I prefer not to use a knife...
I'm affraid I could break it by forcing the screwdriver inside.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used a sharp blade from a pocket knife. Inserted the edge of the blade along its length into the groove and used it to pop open the clips (there are loads). I think you could probably do it using one of the plastic pryer devices they use to open iPhone cases. I wouldn't recommend a screwdriver as there isn't enough surface area and the plastic is quite soft so you'll probably just make a load of marks in the side of the case.
You don't need to use the pointy end so there shouldn't be a risk of stabbing yourself doing it like that!
My thumb and I thank you.
I have the HTC car dock with works perfectly, charging my phone up nicely even while the display is on and GPS is in use. Meanwhile my wife's phone in her car dock (also using the HTC cigarette lighter adapter) won't charge. The charging light comes on, but battery power still drops, When viewing battery state charts in GSam Battery, the only change to the steady downward trend is that it turns green when on that charger. It doesn't even slow charge loss when plugged in vs not. I've noticed the same thing when I use a different 1.0 amp rated cigarette lighter adapter for my phone.
My first thought is that the phone isn't recognizing the charger as being capable of a full charge and is just taking a slow charge that isn't enough to even slow the discharge. I found this thread which even though the pics are broken is easy enough to follow to make a charge-only cable. Has anybody done this mod and successfully fixed similar charging issues?
Ok so I was told by a Sony store employee that the Z4 might have wireless charging and most likely it is Qi based. I have had a lot of experience with wireless charging with the N6 for which I bought a Tylt Vu since I was told it was the fastest but alas it's much much slower than the stock charger and also slower to a cheap Nokia stock charger belonging to some dumb phone.
I prefer the magnetic dock system it charges my Sony faster than the wireless system of the N6 it would truly be a step back if Sony only included Qi and deleted the magnetic system from the next flagship. Don't get me wrong the Tylt Vu is a very capable dock but when compared to the likes of Sony DK docks it's not half as grippy neither does it charge as fast.
What do you all think ?
I like the convenience of wireless charging that my nexus 5 had, It's something I miss on the z3. Not really a fan of the magnetic charging
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rxil said:
I like the convenience of wireless charging that my nexus 5 had, It's something I miss on the z3. Not really a fan of the magnetic charging
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Out of interest, how can anyone have a problem with magnetic charging? The usb socket is a weak point on many devices; often they're glued or soldered onto the boards with no regard for longevity - indeed, it wouldn't surprise me if they are deliberate weakpoints, exempt from warranty ("you must have broken it") etc. Magnetic connectors solve all that. Sure, add QI to magnetic (and usb, for data transfer if you can't use wifi for some reason) but I see no downsides to providing magnetic.
+1
poldie said:
Out of interest, how can anyone have a problem with magnetic charging? The usb socket is a weak point on many devices; often they're glued or soldered onto the boards with no regard for longevity - indeed, it wouldn't surprise me if they are deliberate weakpoints, exempt from warranty ("you must have broken it") etc. Magnetic connectors solve all that. Sure, add QI to magnetic (and usb, for data transfer if you can't use wifi for some reason) but I see no downsides to providing magnetic.
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I agree that the USB port is the weak spot on a device, and will you bring up some good points I don't want to have both of them on my device I'd rather have one or the other but USB charging is more mainstream than the magnetic charging. I've only had my z3 for a few days and haven't gotten around to using the magnetic charging. Waitimg for the adpter in the mail.
Slow charging, for example overnight: Qi for comfort reasons, not cable attached and charging time doesn't matter
Very fast charging, for example "i got 5%, have to get out in 30minutes and got to make it through the day!": USB due to fastest charging times
Casual charging, for example "let's plug it in in the afternoon, my Z3 will make it through the night without any losses and through the next day": Magnetic charging
I don't want to wear out the USB port flap, so i bought the magnetic charging cable even before the Z3 arrived. I guess it will do in everyday usage, i'll have a look on the charging rates. If they're too slow for "power charging", i'll switch to USB.
However, a few months ago i only charged my phone over night. I would have loved to have Qi charging back then, so much better than to find out how to plug in the USB cable in complete darkness.
CentaXx said:
Slow charging, for example overnight: Qi for comfort reasons, not cable attached and charging time doesn't matter
Very fast charging, for example "i got 5%, have to get out in 30minutes and got to make it through the day!": USB due to fastest charging times
Casual charging, for example "let's plug it in in the afternoon, my Z3 will make it through the night without any losses and through the next day": Magnetic charging
I don't want to wear out the USB port flap, so i bought the magnetic charging cable even before the Z3 arrived. I guess it will do in everyday usage, i'll have a look on the charging rates. If they're too slow for "power charging", i'll switch to USB.
However, a few months ago i only charged my phone over night. I would have loved to have Qi charging back then, so much better than to find out how to plug in the USB cable in complete darkness.
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Some people claim the magnetic charging is faster than usb. I wouldn't know - i've only used usb to charge it once, and I was playing around with stamina mode at the time (for some reason stamina mode really slows down charging).
I wish this phone supported wireless charging! I charge with the Sony DK magnetic dock and it works well but can get a little finicky to get seated properly but I still prefer it to fiddling with those micro-USB connectors. I charge overnight 90% of the time and so even if wireless charging is slower that's fine with me. I'm ok having to plug in if I need a quicker charge when I forget to charge the night before, although with the Z3 that's not as big a deal because it's not too tough to stretch two days out of a charge with moderate use (on a bit of a limp towards the end of the second day).
This phone would be pretty close to perfect for me if it had wireless charging, a removable battery, and no ultra-slippery glass back (I really don't like the glass back!!).
I just slide the phone into the correct position no need to put in in a specific way. I have fixed the dock with double side tape all I need to find in the dark is the groove in the dock and slide the phone in place. As far as overnight charging is concerned I use the dock overnight without any problems. For the Nexus 6 the tylt vu dock its not a stable combo I mean it's really not sturdy any sort of vibration causes the Nexus 6 to detach so it's not the dock for overnight recharge.
I use qi chargers on samsung's phones and magnetic on Z ultra. Qi charger is very convenient and beside slow charging and heat disipation there is no minuses ( I have qi car charger from nokia and works well with all phones), magnetic charger is faster BUT you are still connected to a cable and the weak magnet is making the solution unusable in car. A COMBINATION OF THEM WILL BE THE PERFECT SOLUTION
P.S. Sony make some great accesories...why the h__l they did not made a magneting car dock I don't understand...
P.S.2 qi charger for moto 360 works like a charm....the best solution of all regarding smartwatch charging