Magnet Locations with Droid

[Catboater18]

I just got one of the Mikradles. It works nice. Smaller than I thought and works with my case. So I had seen a video about the magnet for GPS, but couldn't get it to work. With the Mikradle when you "dock it" a clock screen and other settings automatically come on. This got me to wondering is there different locations of magnets for different functions? I've not found an answer to this in the FAQ's about magnet location. Thank you in advance for your response and sharing your knowledge.

 

[masterxchief]

There's one magnet below the camera. If I remember correctly it will go in multimedia mode or car mode depending on the width and position of the magnet.

 

[smokiedabong]

It only has one sensor , it chages multimedia mode to car mode by polarization . You have to turn the magnet around to get in car mode .

 

[cuskit]

It only has one sensor , it chages multimedia mode to car mode by polarization . You have to turn the magnet around to get in car mode .

This is absolutely correct! Motorola installed this as an inherent function of the Droid. For MIKRADLE, I check each magnet for polarity before installing (I use an adhesive for this - therefore it cannot be taken out and flipped over).

To clarify - car mode is a navigation screen to access several features of the Google Map app that comes with your phone. MIKRADLE does not utilize this car mode as it's not really targeted at car use. Though I did have one customer who requested a "custom setup" with the magnet installed for the car mode since they wanted it for use in a delivery van, and told me he would be using an adhesive to glue the MIKRADLE to the dashboard in his truck. He also installed a strip of velcro on the back of his Droid as well as the face of the MIKRADLE to keep it from flying off while driving. I had no problem doing this - I thought it was a cool idea! mikey

 

[masterxchief]

It only has one sensor , it chages multimedia mode to car mode by polarization . You have to turn the magnet around to get in car mode .

Good to know. I saw a video on Engadget a long time ago where they said something about width and position of the magnet so I assumed that was the case but I guess not.

 

[Catboater18]

This just gets more interesting. Okay, after being in the Mikradle for a couple of hours we take off for some shopping. I'm still playing and learning. Take Droid with me, set it up in cell phone holder (not Droid related) - (Its just one of those simple ones without magnets that stick in the ac vents). Use it in GPS mode and it doesn't shut off. What gives? Used it last week in GPS mode, when we were learning how and it would shut off all the time. Now I have changed stay mode to 10 minutes from like 2 minutes. But it stayed on the whole time we were traveling. About 1 hour each way. Sure didn't need a magnet to keep it in GPS mode. Any ideas? The more I learn the less I find out I know. ;-)

 

[cuskit]

This just gets more interesting. Okay, after being in the MIKRADLE for a couple of hours we take off for some shopping. I'm still playing and learning. Take Droid with me, set it up in cell phone holder (not Droid related) - (Its just one of those simple ones without magnets that stick in the ac vents). Use it in GPS mode and it doesn't shut off. What gives? Used it last week in GPS mode, when we were learning how and it would shut off all the time. Now I have changed stay mode to 10 minutes from like 2 minutes. But it stayed on the whole time we were traveling. About 1 hour each way. Sure didn't need a magnet to keep it in GPS mode. Any ideas? The more I learn the less I find out I know. ;-)

I'm not sure what you are asking. GPS mode? Are you talking about navigation/mapping? A magnets polarity will induce either multimedia mode (such as when you have it on your MIKRADLE) or car mode (which MIKRADLE will not do as delivered). A magnet is one way to induce the car mode, or you can use the Car Home App to turn it on. This is just an interface to control several things such as Voice Search, Navigation, View Map, your Contact list or Search. This appears as a kind of "vertical curved bar" on your screen with icons for each of the above. Is this what you meant stayed on for a couple of hours? Navigation will stay on until you shut it off.

I guess I need you to tell us more..

And yea - the more you think you know about these Droids, the more you find you know less! I'm in total agreement there! But here on these forums there's always someone who knows something! Best class you can attend to learn your Droid! mike

 

[smokiedabong]

The Navigation screen will always stay on , without a magnet or holder . If you just access Maps or watching a route in Maps the screen still goes to sleep , but if you hit Navigate , the Navigation screen is always on .

 

[Catboater18]

The Navigation screen will always stay on , without a magnet or holder . If you just access Maps or watching a route in Maps the screen still goes to sleep , but if you hit Navigate , the Navigation screen is always on .

Thank you all for the replies and yes, I have learned something else. I did hit Navigate, but did not realize that would cause those different results. Each day its a new game with this thing. Fristrating, but fun.

 

[ezeStand]

Hi,
Attached is a fairly accurate location of where the magnet needs to be in proximity to the phone. For Multimedia mode the North pole of the magnet faces the phone and for Navigation mode the South pole. The magnet does not need to be very large. The magnets embedded in the Motorola Multimedia dock and Navigation dock are only about 1/8" diameter so you only need a very small magnet to get it to work.

 

[Big Ry]

i dont suppose theres any magnet configuration that shuts off the screen is there?