Wireless Charging on your SGS4 in 20 minutes...

[Dalvik_Cache]

I have to admit that when I got my SGS4 I was rather excited about it's wireless charging abilities. I have the Frost white SGS4 with the S-View back plate and cover. Let me start of by saying I LOVE my S-View cover. I picked up a Nokia inductance charging pad from my office, brought it home and eagerly put my S4 on the pad; boy was I disappointed. After 5-10 times of picking my phone up and putting it back down, all with no pretty little charge LED coming on, I realized something wasn't right. I immediately hopped and Google and realized that my shiny new S4 was "wireless charging capable", not wireless charging equipped. I have several friends who made the same mistake, so don't feel bad if you did. In fact, I personally believe that Samsung may have been just a little deceptive with their marketing, but that's a story for another day.


Anyhow, I set out to find a solution to my problem and stumbled upon the "Wireless Charger Receiver Module" by Qi. I got mine of Amazon for about $12. That's a pretty cheap price in my humble opinion to add wireless charging support. The Qi pad essentially gets placed on the back of the battery in such a way that the two contacts touch the two charging terminals on the back of the phone. It has a small 3M sticky strip you pull off to make it more permanent. Once that's done, just put your back-plate back on, and you are ready to go. If you go looking for this gem make sure you get the one for the S4. The Internet is littered with the charging pads for the S3's and it's sometimes difficult to get the right one. The one for the S3 may or may not work, I won't be the girl trying it!




Tip: I found that the easiest way to align the charging pad on the battery is to put the battery in the phone, place the contacts against the pads, and then remove the tap and stick it to the battery. I have included a few pics for you.


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[wicked]

Nice! How fast does it charge Mandy? I'm guessing not as fast as standard charger the phone came with?

⇝ Tapatalked from my Galaxy S4 ⇜

 

[Dalvik_Cache]

I haven't done a full charge on it yet... It seems pretty quick. I would say it's a bit slower, but doesn't seem to be a lot.

Nice! How fast does it charge Mandy? I'm guessing not as fast as standard charger the phone came with?

⇝ Tapatalked from my Galaxy S4 ⇜

 

[FoxKat]

Nice write up, Mandy!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[bkdodger]

Good info Mandy.. Nice write up... :thumbup:

Noted 2x~4 beta

 

[jtcsifl]

I'm guessing this wouldn't work under an Otterbox Commuter case or any hard external case???

 

[Dalvik_Cache]

I would be surprised if it didn't. I have the DNA as well, and it has a thick case on it and works fine. Ill put a case on it tonight and let you know!

I'm guessing this wouldn't work under an Otterbox Commuter case or any hard external case???

 

[FoxKat]

Mandy is right...as long as the phone is within a reasonable range of the magnetic field created by the charging pad, it will charge. The deeper into the center of that field, the more efficient the charging will be. The first generation pads had specific markings to show the center of the field and in some cases even magnets to assure proper placement.

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More advanced charging pads use multiple coils in a matrix so you don't have to be so careful where you've placed the phone in relation to the pad.

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Patent US8169185 - System and method for inductive charging of portable devices - Google Patents

Inductive charging is also used for CARS and the technology is moving along fast!!

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Inductive charging is the solution against the wild growing of charging poles. | Europe is ready for large scale electric transport and HECO > EV and PHEV Charging.

Inductive charging for cars has been around since the 1990s (early electric vehicles), but hasn't reached the levels now being toyed with since these cars of today require far more current, and are designed to travel much greater distances on a charge.

They're even toying with wireless electric buses which charge while traveling on the road. DailyTech - USU Researchers Trial Wireless Charging of Electric Bus

 

[FoxKat]

I'm guessing this wouldn't work under an Otterbox Commuter case or any hard external case???

The only way a case would prevent inductive charging (other than due to proximity), is if it's a completely closed ferrous (steel), case which would interrupt the magnetic field and prevent it from reaching the receiving coil(s). This method is used to create "shielded speakers" where the large magnet structure on the rear of the speaker is either completely enclosed in a steel shell, or a second magnet is fused to the rear with an opposite polarity - effectively canceling the magnetic field created by the speaker and allowing the speaker to be placed close to sensitive electronics such as Phosphor Gun (picture tube), TVs.

Mumetal » How does a Magnetic Shield work?

 

[ktklein72]

I got mine of Amazon for about $12. That's a pretty cheap price in my humble opinion to add wireless charging support. The Qi pad essentially gets placed on the back of the battery in such a way that the two contacts touch the two charging terminals on the back of the phone. It has a small 3M sticky strip you pull off to make it more permanent. Once that's done, just put your back-plate back on, and you are ready to go. If you go looking for this gem make sure you get the one for the S4. The Internet is littered with the charging pads for the S3's and it's sometimes difficult to get the right one. The one for the S3 may or may not work, I won't be the girl trying it!
Tip: I found that the easiest way to align the charging pad on the battery is to put the battery in the phone, place the contacts against the pads, and then remove the tap and stick it to the battery. I have included a few pics for you.

How about a link to the one you purchased on Amazon?

 

[FoxKat]

Could it be this one? Amazon.com: Smart Tech Qi Wireless Charger Wireless Charging Receiver For Samsung Galaxy S4: Cell Phones & Accessories Price is a little higher but it's the same pic.

 

[ktklein72]

Appears to be the same one. I wasn't even able to find that one when I was searching. Who knows what else might be hiding on Amazon's site!?!?!

 

[FoxKat]

The thing about Amazon is that the same item can be found in various searches and not in others, and a wide variety of prices can be found as well, but you have to HUNT! I see it as more of a Flea Market than a true Market when looking for things. I've seen WIDE price disparity for the same product, same condition from different searches. There really isn't ONE good way to search on Amazon. It's an adventure every time I look. I may find what I'm looking for right away, but will spend 10 or 15 minutes digging until I find it at the price I feel is worthwhile.

Maybe that's part of their model...the longer I'm on there searching for one thing, the greater the chance I'll see something else I need...or simply want due to impulse shopping.

I have a friend who owns a couple warehouses and he buys overstocked, shipping damaged, customer returned, and otherwise like-new products from Amazon in mass. He gets a 54' truck delivery ever three days...he's got over 1/2 MM in inventory - much of it has yet to be gone through. There are no manifests with them, just "here's the price for this palette, take it or leave it". We've found some pretty amazing and expensive things in those Gaylords, and in many cases there's absolutely nothing wrong with them.

He then cleans them, tests them (if they need testing), and re-packages them as like new, finally to repost them right back on Amazon for a profit but lower than retail - essentially competing directly with his supplier for the same customer. Funny part is, Amazon makes out either way since they get a portion of his sales price similar to eBay. It's an interesting business model.

 

[reybie]

What about a link to a reliable (inexpensive) charging pad? Never even considered having one before but now that I see it doesn't really add bulk to the phone, it might be worth looking into.

 

[leeshor]

Great post Mandy, but I'm still trying to figure out how to charge in 20 seconds. j/k