Other than a faulty charging port, is there any reason to use a wireless phone charger over wired?
Wired is more efficient, you can pick it up and use it while charging, and the cable usually comes free with the phone. What is the point of wireless charging pads?
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So I can keep the waterproof case sealed.
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Does the thickness of the case increase the heat byproduct of wireless charging?
it shouldn't.
There shouldn't be any heat at all from the signal passing through the plastic (It's basically transparent to RF's,). The heat mostly comes from the RF interacting with the metal in the receiving antenna and inducing an electric current.
The extra space isn't going to cause more heat on its own, but the phone is still going to get warm, and a thick case can prevent that heat from dissipating properly. A good charging design will already have taken this into account, and start limiting current if the temp gets too high.
The primary downside to using induction charging through a case is decreased power transfer efficiency due to the greater distance.
The case may prevent the heat from the phone (which should be the same) from dissipating so it can possibly build.
Although most phones made in the past decade will detect that, and suspend wireless (and possibly wired) charging if the phone's circuits are heating, until the temperature drops.
I use wireless charging 99% of the time. It's convenient to plop your phone or earbuds down and effortlessly grab them when it's time to go.
The other reason I like wireless: less wear on your phone's USB port. Even though USB-C is supposedly good for millions of plug/unplug cycles I've had several phones with USB-C that get wonky after about 2+ years. "Wonky" as in having to hold the cable just right to transfer data or even successfully fast charge.
Wireless charging drastically cuts down on the amount of times you'll be ramming a USB cable into it's port, hopefully prolonging it's useful life.
That wonkiness often times is just lint jammed into the charging port, and a thorough cleaning fixes the issue
It's heartening to see someone else sharing what's usually my line! I recommend a wooden toothpick for the aforementioned cleaning.
Ditto. The plastics floss/pick combos work even better. Being thinner and super flexible, they are less likely to cause damage and reach the tiny crevices better.
Adding on to this, it's good to switch to wireless before the point gets wonky if you want to use the cable for data.
Yeah, the USB port on all my phones was the first thing to go, and then you're just stuck doing the stupid little dance of getting the cable to go in at the exact right angle to get it to charge. With wireless (especially with MagSafe), you just put it on the charger and you never need to worry about cables. I've got a plug on my USB port to keep dirt out now.
Wow, I’ve never had any issues with USB ports on any of my phones. Which one of us is the outlier? Do you ram the cable in too hard? Do you bend the connector in weird ways?
Nah, it's just lint and other crap getting into the port. You can clean the USB-C ones easier than the micro-USB ones, but eventually they all go.
You do realize that wireless charging is also very inefficent and reduces your battery lifespan, right? It's also kinda weird that your port goes bad after such a short time. Maybe you should clean it more often and make sure not to put any tension on it when you use it. I even have a 10 year old phone and the port (micro usb) still works perfectly fine.
I've been wireless charging exclusively for 5 years and had minimal change in battery life.
I'd be interested to see how you measure that. It's also not really a matter of opinion. Even though you may not notice a wild difference, your battery did degrade more than it would've, if you'd used a wired charger.
Also, the inefficiency is bad enough for me to rule it out. You literally waste at least twice as much power compared to a wired charger (source). Although we're not talking about a crazy amount of power, it's pretty selfish to waste it just because you don't want to plug in a charger.
I've had the phone for 6 1/2 years. It has a small 3000 mha battery. Initial reviews had it at 8 1/2 hours battery life at release. When I posted that I had been using the phone for 2 hours and was at 72% so extrapolated that 7 3/4 battery life. So less than a 10% drop. Granted I'm not a heavy phone user so I probably put less wear on my battery in general.
Yes use it for convince, but I've also had to replace phones for broken USB ports which in the grand scale is probably more wasteful than the extra power use.
On one hand, yes, your port can break at some point. On the other, why would you throw away the whole phone if the usb port can be replaced? Going even further, you could always use your usb port for charging until it breaks and after that you could start using wireless charging. For data transfer there are plenty of apps and ways to wirelessly transfer data so that wouldn't be a problem either. At the end of the day, you're barely using your usb port and you're also wasting twice as much (or more) energy that you would if you used a wired charger.
It is more inefficiënt, yes. But why would it reduce battery lifespan? Is it because of the added heat from the wireless charging coils? My battery probably stays cooler with wireless charging then using the wired turbo charger. Which is more and more standard these days.
All our modern charging methods are really bad for batteries. Wireless is inductive which means the charging voltage is noisy and very variable, this means heat and that stresses the batteries faster. But, wired charging with PD uses really high voltages, which are sometimes way too fast. Also stressing the battery. We'll see what comes of it but the recent couple of phone generations are prone to be the ones with the worse battery life expectancy.
Companies are usually aiming for 80% at two years time. That means that a phone that barely survives a day when new, will not make it through the day two years after. As the battery loses capacity, it requires more charges per day, accelerating the degradation.
Here's iFixit assessment of wireless charging.
This is MKHB on why heat hurts batteries and how companies try to fight back the damage of fast charging.
Wired turbo chargers are bad as well. However, although I don't know about iOS, Android lets you plan your charge cycle. That makes my phone take about 8 hours to charge while I'm asleep.
Or you could just not use a fast charger and not worry about that. Either way, you're moving the goalpost. Not all phones support fast charging and not everyone has a fast charger. I'd wager most people charge their phones with lower power (15/20w more or less).
Follow up: does it work well with cases?
Wireless charging is unaffected by normal plastic or silicone cases (unless it's super thick, like an OtterBox). Metal cases don't work.
Thanks. Also love your username
I'm actually really impressed because I've had a pixel 6 for over 2 years and the USB c port is doing great. But you're right, I should probably get a simple wireless charger just to cut down on some of the plugging
Yep, convenience of plopping the phone down really is 100% of it for me. Especially with Apple’s magnets setup, it’s a one-hand, one-second operation, and then the phone is standing at attention on its cradle stand. The thought of having a dangling cable on my desk and picking it up and fiddling to plug it in then laying the phone flat seems like something from 10 years ago. I’ve even forgotten once or twice what kind of port my phone has.
I'm disabled. Wireless charging, especially when I can use the magnets that auto locate the coil, is a huge win.
(I also use charging wires with removable magnetic tips, that I leave in the device. But that wasn't the question.)
I said the public charging stations was the most legitimate answer I read before but this is obviously the most legitimate answer.
I've never heard of these magnetic wires before, do they work well? I feel like I would prefer that
I've used the mag chargers for years and really love them. The little metal lug can feel a bit odd, and I had to clean metal shavings off it when I did fab for work, but it's all around great to use. It basically turns your charging cable into a coaxle cable, so it can't do data, but the cable can spin freely as you charge and can be magneted to other things when you aren't so the cord is easy to manage.
Much of a difference in charge time if any?
Honestly, between the two I've never noticed. The cables can die easy, but that's because I get them cheap.
Reasonably well. The magnets aren't very strong, so the device in question pretty much has to be stationary while it's charging, also, while most of them allow data, it is almost always USB 2 speeds. Right now I'm using them to charge headsets, a Logitech trackball, and provide data for an Xbox controller.
I get them from Amazon; " magnetic USB charge wire" should be a sufficient search to get you in the ballpark.
I have a wireless charger by my bed for charging overnight, it's easier to just plop my phone on the stand when half asleep rather than fumble with a cable. Also, charging speed doesn't matter because it's going to be plugged in for a few hours when I and it's easy to grab when my alarm goes off. But when I need a quick charge, then it's a fast charge cable all the way
I use one at work to passively charge my phone without having to deal with cables. Keeps my desk a bit tidier.
I like keeping my desk clean too but there is the inevitable person who says "clean desks are for simple minds and true geniuses thrive in chaos" so I have to keep a corner of loose wires to look smart
You can certainly have both. Fewer cables means more room for chaos, like my USB powered mini handvac
I would trust you in whatever industry you work in
Is yours under the surface? I tried using one, but didn't like the clutter of the pad on my desk. I'm a special kind of neat freak in my immediate work space though.
Probably if you're too lazy to grab a cord, line it up with the plug, and press gently but firmly. With wireless, you can just lob it vaguely in the right vicinity and not overstrain your fine motor skills.
The amount of times I have tripped on a charging cord and sent my phone flying...
... but it's weird that it happened twice, right?
I thought it you don't line it up exactly right it charges slowly and heats up a lot, ruining the battery
if it's not aligned properly, it should shut off to prevent that from happening. (or, for example, if you place something else that's metal over it.)
If it's completely misaligned yes. But there's a wide spectrum between too far off to even turn on, and perfectly aligned.
This is what magsafe/qi 2 fixes by including magnets which should have been there from the start.
Mine didn't, unfortunately. It just charged very slow and got hot. Hopefully newer ones are like you say.
Thank you I didn't realize the wireless chargers used magsafe.
Is magsafe built into the phone, or just in cases?
If you're using an iPhone(12 or newer, Although not the 16e), then it's in the phone. The bit in some cases is to add strength for accessories to snap to where it would be on the phone.
You can get MagSafe cases for some Android devices if you want to use MagSafe accessories with them.
My phone case is designed to attach a camera lens, and actually came with magsafe, but I didn't have any magsafe attachments and ended up removing the magnets from the case because they interfered with the compass, despite promising not to.
Mine's magnetic. I have a charger on my nightstand. It keeps my phone in place, so it doesn't get knocked down where it's hard to get.
I also have a charging cradle on my desk. Keeps it upright. Makes it easy to glance at any notifications or quickly deal with MFA. I do sometimes unplug the cradle and just use it as a non-charging prop.
It's also nice because, being magnetic, it also helps when I am having issues with my hands. (Stiff joints.)
I bought a little $15 phone stand from Amazon that does this great only without the charging stuff. It does have a slot on the bottom so you can plug the phone in while it's on it tho.
I don't trust public wired charging ports to anything other my mobile battery.
Since I can't verify if a weird charging port won't upload malware on site, I'd use wireless charging instead.
You should be able to use the charging only mode that's under developer settings on your phone.
Some charging pads also prop up the phone at an angle, making it easy to read the screen while also not having to hold the phone up. Most phones have their charging port on the bottom, so a phone stand couldn't be used while charging with a cord.
Maybe I'm old and prefer having the phone in my hand rather than propped at an angle unless I'm watching some videos, in which case my phone would be landscape mode anyways so the port is easily accessible
Apple’s mag safe charger is pretty popular and you can easily hold the phone in portrait mode while charging (at 25W with the latest models). The puck is thin and sticks to the center of the back of the phone.
Does it charg as efficiently as a wired power bank?
The one I've used on my Samsung isn't as fast as a wired power bank, but I don't need to wrangle the cables like I do with the wired ones. I wouldn't use a magsafe power bank to charge my phone from 0 (too slow). But leaving it attached gives me an extra couple of hours with just a little extra weight. Useful for things like conventions or travel.
That's not physically possible.
But it is extremely efficient for what it is. The first number I found on google said it's 95% efficient.
That doesn't sound correct, considering the amount of wireless chargers that will take 10W, but can only deliver half that to the phone.
Are those qi2 chargers or qi1? The magnets make a huge difference.
Not even close. Ifixit did some testing, daily MagSafe wireless charging uses 36% more energy than a wire (which includes idle power draw). It also means slower charging.
I'm also old, but I understand people do watch portrait videos. Sometimes a lot of them, in a single sitting. There's a popular social media app which exclusively has short-form portrait videos.
I'm old enough that it would probably be creepy if I did use tik tok
Admittedly, charging ports are the first to break on any electronic unless it has a joystick. Wireless charging is a lot more robust, more water resistant, and allows you to do sleek shit without a weird hole in it
My port isn't worn out, but I'm worried it will become that way. I also don't need it to charge at full speed overnight. Therefore, wireless charger.
I use one in my car - it's more convienet for short trips or trips with multiple stops. I do keep a cable for longer trips though, especially if I need to keep the screen on for GPS - the wireless charger makes the phone warm enough to stop charging over the course of an hour or so.
I've noticed that with the varying quality of USB cables, and them having broken/cracked wires over time, I usually get much faster charging when doing it wirelessly. If anything is way more consistent. With cords it's a crap shot. Is this a fast charge cord? Was it cheaply made, is it deteriorating? I can use 4 different cords and get different results from each
Similar. I got a vehicle that had android auto, but not wireless. Plugging and unplugging all the time I'd go through a cable every few months. Power would work, but the shielding would break and it would screw with cell/GPS until I replaced the cable.
Got a wireless android auto adapter to stop buying cables. That's great but I knew I wouldn't plug in my phone every time like normal, so I use the wireless charging.
My issue is typically also with Android Auto. The sound fidelity, especially low end, is much better with a good cable, and when the cable starts to go bad it will default to just Bluetooth for audio which is noticable
Some phones can get hotter (which is bad for battery health) when charging wirelessly.
The cold is also bad for batteries, so if you’ve been out in the winter for a while, it’ll help warm your phone up.
But how often are you charging outdoors? I have my phone in my pocket when I'm not using it during such temps, which always keeps it decent. Li-ion really only starts taking a hit from cold temps <40° F; in fact, slightly cold is better than room temp.
It's convenient to place my phone on at my computer and it's just always charged. It is a little less efficient, but if you're running a heater anyway then technically they're both lossless (though gas heat may be cheaper for you if you have gas heat).
It makes the phone harder to use, which is ironically useful to some. tbh I don't understand lol
Most people can put their phone down long enough to let it charge, pause the doomscrolling and touch grass.
Well, I don't have a ton of use for my phone while sleeping, personally.
I use wireless charging at night and at work. I have a stand that charges my phone, ear buds, and watch simultaneously, which replaces three cables with one and keeps my nightstand/desk free of clutter. I use cables only when I need to charge quickly.
They're very convient, I use them for the phones, airpods, battery phone cases (airpods cases even with a silicon skin still on much less). Just nice to be able to leave your device on them while running them and know they won't die out
So you just don't like plugging the cable in?
Also charge battery phone cases that are much easier to slip on the wireless charger than plug with micro usb
When I sleep at my mom’s house, there’s a smart lamp my brother put in the spare room that has 1 USB port on it and a wireless charging pad. I opt to use the wireless charging pad at night for my phone and the USB for my watch. Makes it so I can charge two devices simultaneously without having to switch out USBs.
in a car, having wireless charging pad is nice for the convenience of taking it with you and putting it on very quickly and easily, especially if you’re actively driving and just want to do it with the least amount of distractions. Even with USB type C being reversible, you still need to make sure the cable gets in the hole and that’s dangerous to do while driving. But with a wireless pad, you don’t have to look and the magnet helps guide it on correctly for you. You still shouldn’t do this while driving, but out of the two, a vastly safer alternative. Besides that, it’s nicer to be able to just grab your phone and go when leaving the car and also easier when entering. Another addition is that a wireless charging pad takes the place of two accessories and combines them together. So you now have a mount and a charger in one instead of both being separate.
Hygienically speaking, it’s cleaner in that you don’t have to touch the charger. Best for public use like a coffee cafe. People are gross and I try my hardest not to have touch contact with stuff if I can help it. So to be able to drop my phone down without touching a cable a million other people have been touching helps with that too.
Even though I like it…I still want a port. A lot of cases don’t allow you to make direct contact to have wireless charging, so it’s not always an option. Also don’t always want to have my phone laying down, sometimes I want to use it while it’s charging, especially when typing, and that’s near impossible with 90% of charging pads unless it’s a special type of MagSafe for iPhones. Then there’s also the fact that I like it as an option in case something breaks. If the port is dirty or damaged, I still have the wireless charging option. Same in reverse if the wireless function ceases to work for some reason.
It's also safer, because you're not connecting something that might carry data to the USB port. Wireless charging cannot transmit data. USB can, so delivering a virus or something that way isn't out of the question, where it would be harder to do that over wireless charging.
I think the public use one is the most legitimate reason I've read so far, I would definitely prefer a wireless charger if it were public but I've also never used any sort of public charger before
I know people love these and I'm not going to go and break anyone's balls but the reality is, because it is inductive charging you will never get clean voltage
Anything electronic, it really doesn't matter what it is, is going to suffer basically the equivalent of "mechanical damage" when powered/charged with unstable current
An inductive charging is always going to be highly unstable, there's no way around that
Anybody who tries to tell you different just doesn't understand that this is a real thing, and yeah, really nobody should ever use wireless charging unless they're willing to accept continual device (battery) damage
I get what you're saying but as a counterpoint I charge exclusively via wireless and my last phone lasted 4 1/2 years. The only reason I replaced it was my friends kid was playing a game on my phone and dropped and it got damaged. It was running just fine right up to the end.
Maybe it's because I only use low power wireless chargers, or maybe it's something with Samsung's wireless charging controller. Who knows.
That's not a counterpoint, you're just describing that you had a battery that was okay for 4 years
It doesn't say anything really I'm sorry friend
Eh, I couldn't think of a better word so I just went with it.
Can you explain why it's not possible to stabilize the voltage on the receiving side before the power is sent to the battery?
That can be done but the voltage that it receives is variable so that's causing damage. Which ripples down the chain, it's not avoidable no matter how much you put in capacitors and diodes
It's really just an unavoidable aspect of electricity, people think of it as magic fairies floating through wires but really it's like ropes pulling on things, and just like mechanical things, ripples and vibrations fk things up!
If you're really want to get down to it, electricity is destroying things by its very flow. But you want to reduce the unwanted harmonics as much as possible and wireless is not the way to go
You just repeated your claims without explaining them or backing them up with any details. You sound like someone selling essential oils and crystals as medicine. Try again?
Thanks for further proving my point.
You don't have a point. You're in a psychological spin out because you're wrong. Blocked
I just like being able to walk by the nightstand and have the phone "lock" to the charging pad when I lay it down.
In my car it is a lot more convenient than a charging cradle for being able to use turn by turn while driving.
Mainly it is convenience of not having to lug a cable and I have a bit of fear of breaking the interior of the usb-c, it feels fragile to me.
I have an iPhone with MagSafe, so I can use it while charging.
Using a charging pad without MagSafe and cannot use the phone while charging can also be a plus for some people, it forces you to not being constantly on the phone.
That's a bingo
The battery packs that are wireless enabled were the thing for me.
I can recharge my phone in my pocket, while walking around the city, without a rats nest of wires popping out of my pants.
I'm surprised that you can wirelessly charge like that. In my experience, wireless chargers are really finicky about positioning, unless they have some multiple-coil trickery going on, which a lot of battery pack chargers generally don't. Having them in a pants pocket seems like a really good way to throw that alignment off.
Qi2 standard really helps with that. It incorporates the magnetic alignment and higher speeds from Apple’s MagSafe. Magnetic alignment makes wireless charging much better. Still less efficient than wired charging, but much more efficient than Qi without magnetic alignment.
If your phone doesn’t have the magnetic ring baked in you can often find cases that provide it, or magnets you can add to the outside of a case. Though my phone does have the magnets baked in, I also have a Snap 4 Luxe and I 3D printed a case that fits around it, to minimize the distance between charger and phone. Works really well!
The one's I have seen are phone cases. You put the wireless battery in a special pocket in the back of the case that ensures perfect continued alignement and secures it in place.
On my S5, there's a little flap that you had to open and close to maintain the IP67 rating. Constantly opening and closing it was a recipe to breaking it off, where wireless didn't put that kind of wear in.
With my newer phone, it's easier to keep the cable with a battery pack to charge when out and about, and charge wirelessly at home, since I generally don't need it done with any great speed, and it saves having to buy/replace another cable, or forgetting to unpack and take it with me.
Qi charging is also pretty standard, which is also good if I have a few devices with different cable needs, but mutually support the same wireless charging standard, since I can put an iPhone and an android on the same pad, without having to swap cables back and forth.
I bought a wireless magnetic battery recently, and what quickly turned me off was that it charges at ~2/3rd efficiency (so effectively I have only 2/3rds of my powerbank capacity) and speed compared to its wired mode, even though it's fast wireless and a solid brand and build. Also heats up my phone battery way more, so I just snap it to my phone and use the short and unobtrusive usb-c cable to charge it instead.
Now, if I was changing phones every year or two and I didn't care about keeping its battery life - sure, I'd use the wireless charging without worries, although it will still be slightly slower than wired (but still fast charging anyway).
This is one of those things where you either live it and love it, or never understand.
Qi charging changes your very life.
This cannot be explained in words.
I've switched over to mostly wireless charging, but have to say I'm not completely convinced of it yet. I switched phones in part because my old phone's battery started having issues and the charging port became loose. I want to prevent that happening on my new phone for as long as I can, so I'm using wireless charging for the most part.
Though wired charging is still so much faster and more efficient. If I really need a charge, or I'm in a hurry, I plug the phone in to charge. I just try to be in the habit of setting my phone on the charging pad when I get home from work.
Don't want to bother with a cable at night.
I travel on the go often, wireless charging is too inefficient for me. I'd rather charge with my PD battery pack.
Another point, I use my PD pack to charge everything from my phone, drone, camera, to my laptop, ear buds.
Most of those don't have a wireless charger so I just stick to wired PD charging.
My partner hates wires and cables. A loose usb c is ugly. A puck is elegant apparently
I feel like I've been a usb c my whole life and I just want to be someone's puck
Maybe a bit of an edge case but I use a wallet case and I still carry a credit card. Wireless chargers have cooked my credit card a few times.. and nfc Google pay doesn't always work.
My desk wireless charger is magnetic, and my keyboard is wireless and can be switched between devices. So I can switch to my phone and bang out a message on my keyboard while my phone is held up comfortably.
Universal charging is a good point if you have a bunch of stuff that can be wirelessly charged
When my mom finally ditched her land line and ported the number to a smart phone, getting a wireless charger that propped the phone up was a nice way to set up a sort of designated place to keep the phone (where the landline phone had been) so that there's less chance she misplaces the phone or forgets to charge it.
You can also keep a wired charger in the same place but it charges faster
If charging speed were your top priority, sure. She doesn't use her phone hardly at all so the battery rarely gets depleted much, therefore how quickly it charges isn't really that important. Not having to mess with a wire makes it more convenient to grab and go when she does need it, and more convenient to put it back when done. And no risk of damaging the USB port.
I'm still confused about this "hassle" people have with a wire, like you just plug it in. I used a 2016 iphone se for 5 years, still use it now for an bedside alarm and have never had any issues with the port. I've used a samsung for the past 4 years and never had an issue with the port, now that I think of it, in the 20 years I've used cell phones I've never had any issues with any phone ports. I'm sure there are some that get damaged but it seems to be so unlikely that I don't see the need to spend extra money on a pad
It is a hassle, even if very very slight. One you need to plug in something small. The other you just drop a big thing onto a slightly smaller big thing.
Arthritis, poor eyesight, poor lighting, temporary/permanent hand disability are some that I can think of that greatly benefits wireless charging and found plugging in a cable a hassle.
Fair enough, I didn't mean to he ableist
Bonus: the landline was already wired so just don't unplug it ever and use it like before.
We did have wireless handsets back in the day…
I didn’t feel like typing that part.
And they had little docks to charge them (and transmit) but they also make docks for your phone.
Unplug the phone
It's easier than putting a cord in.
I have one scenario where it’s useful. When in the car and entering a parking lot and you have to scan a qr/bar code on your phone, you can easily pick it up and get it out the window. That said, wireless chargers on cars are terrible.
How so? I wired one into my center console and it works like a charm.
I’ve heard lots of complaints from people owning various brands that the built-in wireless charging pads are useless. Regularly cut off, phones don’t stay in place, etc. These are for the regular Toyotas, Hondas, etc., not the high end models.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/28/23936220/apple-says-bmw-wireless-chargers-really-are-messing-with-iphone-15s
I'd never trust built in ones. They are almost surely the cheapest possible to implement just to tick a checkbox for marketing
I have a 6.5 foot cable for the car so I can yoyo that bitch out the window if I wanted to and have it still charging at high rate at all times
Yeah, to prevent the charging port becoming faulty?
First, you're just wrong. You know there are 2 amp wireless chargers, right?
And you're missing a group that gains MASSIVE benefits from wireless charging, which is the disabled. Imagine your hands never stop shaking and you either have to try to fiddle a USB C into an Itty bitty slot, or just plonk the phone down on a puck. Which one would appeal to you?
Username also checks out
No, it's the ports on phones that are proof of concept, constantly getting full of dust or just stop working correctly. I'll take a wireless charger, thanks.
If someone claims to care about the climate, then using wireless charging makes them kind of a hypocrite. I asked ChatGPT to do some back-of-the-envelope math - so take these numbers with a grain of salt - but if everyone in the world switched to wireless charging, it would increase global energy consumption by around 12 TWh per year. That’s roughly equivalent to the total power usage of a small country like Iceland.
Huh, I never considered the inefficiency to be that bad
Surely that would very a lot depending on where they get their energy from? Even the most measly household solar panel can deliver 10W to a charger, in which case, the energy impact would be negligible.