Best induction loop chargers

[Alwyn]

A friend was entertaining us for dinner at our local pub last week. We had an emergency situation and I asked the pub landlady if she could lend me a charger as my mobile/cellphone was running low. She handed me a disk and I plugged it in and placed my iPhone SE 2 on it. Hey Presto it started charging. Up till that point I had no idea that this was possible.

I would be grateful for advice on the best ones. There seem to be several below £10. Amazon offer an Anker model at £13.59. In spite of Anker being Chinese I have found their products to be reliable.

Priorities would be reliability, charging speed and longevity.

 

[NotSavvy]

I hope this is right, for me I have a small Powerbank that comes out with me all times and it has saved me a few times.

 

[MacInWin]

@Alwyn, the Anker is a good device. Make sure it has a power supply, though, as that is also key. You need a robust power supply to get quick charging times. And for other readers of this thread, newer iPhones have the induction charging, but older ones do not.

 

[Alwyn]

Thanks Jake. There are also some that work in a car. Presumably the stand plugs into a usb connection and can be used in the home. If so I would prefer one that clamps to the windscreen with a suction pad.

 

[MacInWin]

I have one of those in my car. I use my iPhone for navigation and also to stream to my car audio system. I'll be going out in a bit, will get the brand name and post it here for you later today.

 

[NotSavvy]

My one is called INIU.

 

[MacInWin]

Mine is from iottie, here:

iOttie - Best Selling Car Mounts and Mobile Accessories

iOttie is a premium accessories based in New York City. Explore our selection of best-selling car mounts, wireless chargers, and Alexa devices.

www.iottie.com

They have multiple styles. Mine is a bit older, by a few years. Here is the mount itself:


And here is how it is actually mounted in my car:



My car happens to have a nice flat shelf just to the right of the instrument panel, so it stays stuck with the suction cup really firmly. The wire to the power outlet is routed down beside the glovebox panel, so it's not terribly intrusive. The button in the middle is depressed when you push the phone in, and the areas are released to grip the phone. To release, there are two arms below the gripper that you compress to push out the grip arms. I think they now have one that holds the phone simply by the magnets, if you want to go that way. I personally prefer the grip arms and this design is the easiest to use that i have seen. I think it is the "Easy One Touch" model, looking at the website.

 

[pigoo3]

We had an emergency situation and I asked the pub landlady if she could lend me a charger as my mobile/cellphone was running low. She handed me a disk and I plugged it in and placed my iPhone SE 2 on it. Hey Presto it started charging. Up till that point I had no idea that this was possible.

This is called "Qi Charging"...aka a wireless charging standard.

I have a couple "el cheapo" examples of these gotten as promotional gifts from work. The kind with a USB-A cable that you can plug into almost anything that has a USB port that provides power. The inexpensive one's I have have worked pretty good (I have one with me with my laptop)...and one on a nightstand by my bed.

Two things for anyone reading to be aware of:

1. You need to have a phone that is capable of Qi charging (not all older phones are capable of wireless charging).

2. "Loop Charger" was mentioned in the thread title (also known as "charging coils"). Many of the low cost Qi chargers have only one charging "loop or coil".

What this means is...you need to get the phone on the charging surface just right...or the device & the Qi charger won't link up & charge properly. Sometimes this can lead to multiple attempts placing the phone on the charging surface before charging beings.

Pretty irritating to put your phone on the Qi charger at night (with about 15% charge left)...then next morning grab your phone...and now it has 12% charge left (LOL).

This can happen more often with Qi chargers with just a single charging coil (at least with early single coil Qi chargers it was this way...maybe newer single coil Qi chargers things have gotten better).

To alleviate this issue (and provide more device placement flexibility)...better Qi chargers have multiple over-lapping charging coils.

Some may have 2-3 overlapping coils...some can have as many as 16 charging coils:





As far as best Qi charger. There are lots & lots out there:

* I'd say first thing determine the budget.
* Decide on flat or upright orientation.
* If this charger will be by your bed next to you...be careful of any LED's the unit has. If you're sensitive to light in your bedroom when trying to sleep...some of these device LED's can be fairly bright in a dark room.

HTH,

Nick

 

[MacInWin]

Good points, Nick. I would add that some units have magnets that pull the phone to the proper position over the coil. Those tend to have just one coil, but the magnets get the alignment right for you. I use this one from Anker on my desk.

 

[pigoo3]

I would add that some units have magnets that pull the phone to the proper position over the coil. Those tend to have just one coil, but the magnets get the alignment right for you.

That's pretty cool with the magnets.

I haven't done any Qi Charger shopping lately. I figured there had to be a way of improving the single coil Qi chargers to improve charging alignment with cellphones. Magnets are probably less expensive than adding lots of extra coils as well.

Nick

p.s. Apologies Jake...I think you mentioned before me that not all cell phones are capable of wireless charging.

 

[pm-r]

And for other readers of this thread, newer iPhones have the induction charging, but older ones do not.

It seems you need an iPhone 8 or later.

How to wirelessly charge your iPhone - Apple Support (CA)

Learn how to wirelessly charge your iPhone with Qi-certified charging accessories.

support.apple.com

Lots of choices here, and even more since these were released:

Best Wireless Chargers for iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus

With the release of the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus, Apple now supports Qi-based wireless inductive charging on its latest phones, and that...

www.macrumors.com

- Patrick
=======

 

[pigoo3]

It seems you need an iPhone 8 or later.

Thanks for checking Patrick...great info!

Nick

 

[MacInWin]

That's pretty cool with the magnets.

I haven't done any Qi Charger shopping lately. I figured there had to be a way of improving the single coil Qi chargers to improve charging alignment with cellphones. Magnets are probably less expensive than adding lots of extra coils as well.

Nick

p.s. Apologies Jake...I think you mentioned before me that not all cell phones are capable of wireless charging.

The Anker stand uses magnets. The iOttie mount in the car doesn't, although they do have one like that. As I said, mine is a bit older and just uses the side grips and small "feet" to hold the phone in the right place to align with the coil. I'm not sure I would completely trust a magnet mount in the car, as I would worry about it falling off if you hit something, say a pothole, that causes the car or truck to bounce sharply. Although, the Anker mount magnet is really strong, even to the point of being a bit harder to get the phone free than I would like. I do like the clean lines. I may have to consider getting a new one for my car....Ah, toys!