QI Charging DIY

[GoKingsGo]

I took delivery on my white M3 this weekend! What an awesome car! I made my own QI duel chargers and works and looks great! Saved $100 on the one that has yet to be released. Easy to do yourself!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075Q97P9T/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Rogue one]

I took delivery on my white M3 this weekend! What an awesome car! I made my own QI duel chargers and works and looks great! Saved $100 on the one that has yet to be released. Easy to do yourself!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075Q97P9T/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Looks nice, do the phones stay on while driving?

 

[GoKingsGo]

So far so good!

 

[Terran]

Thanks for sharing! Did you mount the Qi charger with double side tape then replace the OEM rubber pad. If this is the case, will it charger with a case on your phone?

 

[wwu123]

I just ordered and received one, but testing it in the house with a 2A power plug, it works fine with my wife's iPhone X but not my LG V30. I've got 3 other Qi chargers that work fine, unfortunately not flat.

Reviews seem to indicate quality is flaky, wonder if I got a semi-bad unit?

 

[jomo25]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0793TJ9YR/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bought a couple of these. Will try them out when they arrive tonite and report back.

They seem thin enough to keep the rubber mat in place. I might macguyver some sugru to keep them and/or the phones in place if necessary. Hoping not (unless I really take a hard turn). Will post experience and pics.

 

[GoKingsGo]

Thanks for sharing! Did you mount the Qi charger with double side tape then replace the OEM rubber pad. If this is the case, will it charger with a case on your phone?

Mounted with blue painters tape on the back and then the OEM rubber pad on top to cover them. Works great through the rubber mat and through my phone case.

 

[jomo25]

So far this solution is working great for me. The pads dont move around (I’ve laced them thru the cable path, and secured them with a single piece of painters’ tape) and the design of the pads works nearly perfectly. And because the pad is PU/Pleather, they have some grip and the phones dont move around while driving so far (though our roads in AZ are probably smoother than a lot of areas). But they stay planted. I think its a viable solution. For reference the pads fit an iPhone X perfectly.

 

[S3XY]

So far this solution is working great for me. The pads dont move around (I’ve laced them thru the cable path, and secured them with a single piece of painters’ tape) and the design of the pads works nearly perfectly. And because the pad is PU/Pleather, they have some grip and the phones dont move around while driving so far (though our roads in AZ are probably smoother than a lot of areas). But they stay planted. I think its a viable solution. For reference the pads fit an iPhone X perfectly.

Did you try placing them under the rubber pad like some have done with the round Qi chargers?

 

[jomo25]

Did you try placing them under the rubber pad like some have done with the round Qi chargers?

I considered it. But actually, the pad gives it some extra stickiness, and because I used painters’ tape to help keep the USB cables in place, it would be visible, unless placed it very carefully. And these Qi pads are so thin, the lip still provides rest/support for the phone, even with the rubber pad.

I will keep trying this and if the Qi pads shifting becomes an issue, i can use double sided tape or Sugru to secure them to the rubber pad.

EDIT: I re-read your post. I think i misunderstood at first. You mean put the Qi pads on the plastic, and then the rubber pad on top. It’s a thought, i’ll Look at it in the morning. Maybe. Esp if I can use painters tape to keep the Qi pads in place. Though then I’ll need to guess a little on where exactly to put the phones on the rubber pad. So, doing it the way I’m doing it gives a clearer “target”. And it might give better charge speed since the rubber pad would add some thickness between the phone and the Qi charger pad.

 

[S3XY]

I considered it. But actually, the pad gives it some extra stickiness, and because I used painters’ tape to help keep the USB cables in place, it would be visible, unless placed it very carefully. And these Qi pads are so thin, the lip still provides rest/support for the phone, even with the rubber pad.

I will keep trying this and if the Qi pads shifting becomes an issue, i can use double sided tape or Sugru to secure them to the rubber pad.

EDIT: I re-read your post. I think i misunderstood at first. You mean put the Qi pads on the plastic, and then the rubber pad on top. It’s a thought, i’ll Look at it in the morning. Maybe. Esp if I can use painters tape to keep the Qi pads in place. Though then I’ll need to guess a little on where exactly to put the phones on the rubber pad. So, doing it the way I’m doing it gives a clearer “target”. And it might give better charge speed since the rubber pad would add some thickness between the phone and the Qi charger pad.

Yes, I was suggesting what you added in your edit. I for one would be interested to see if that would work well. I agree it might slow down the charge speed but you won't know for sure unless you try it.

 

[Terran]

Thanks OP, just installed the round Qi wireless pad per your setup and it works great!

 

[jomo25]

Yes, I was suggesting what you added in your edit. I for one would be interested to see if that would work well. I agree it might slow down the charge speed but you won't know for sure unless you try it.

I did give this a try - putting the rubber mat over the flat chargers I have. It still charges to my surprise. I figured between the the thickness of the rubber mat + the extra distance because of the raised rests on the mat that it might not charge. On my iPhone X, it still registered as charging. Though perhaps the rate would be very low.

That said, I didnt like that set up at all. The mat was loose because it wasn’t sitting in the area and on top of the chargers. And, it was hard to tell exactly where to put the phone. And it didnt seem any more grippy than with the chargers on top. So I went back to my pictured setup immediately.

I didnt snap any pics with the mat on top. I looks like what you;’d expect it would. It felt horrible though.

 

[S3XY]

I did give this a try - putting the rubber mat over the flat chargers I have. It still charges to my surprise. I figured between the the thickness of the rubber mat + the extra distance because of the raised rests on the mat that it might not charge. On my iPhone X, it still registered as charging. Though perhaps the rate would be very low.

That said, I didnt like that set up at all. The mat was loose because it wasn’t sitting in the area and on top of the chargers. And, it was hard to tell exactly where to put the phone. And it didnt seem any more grippy than with the chargers on top. So I went back to my pictured setup immediately.

I didnt snap any pics with the mat on top. I looks like what you;’d expect it would. It felt horrible though.

Thanks for testing this and letting us know your opinion of it.

 

[dhu1]

Thanks for testing this and letting us know your opinion of it.

I just did this setup today. Works great. I only did one qi charger since I had to leave a slot for those who were looking to do lightning charge. Overall works great even with the rubber pad and the apple leather case on.

 

[S3XY]

I just did this setup today. Works great. I only did one qi charger since I had to leave a slot for those who were looking to do lightning charge. Overall works great even with the rubber pad and the apple leather case on.

Does the rubber mat sit flat or at least isn't wobbly? Which charger did you use? I'm hoping it's thinner than the one jomo25 used.

 

[dhu1]

Does the rubber mat sit flat or at least isn't wobbly? Which charger did you use? I'm hoping it's thinner than the one jomo25 used.

Rubber is not wobbly but I think the amount of material in between the charger and phone makes it such that any movement may stop the charging. I tested it in drive today and I had to reset it a few times. I think I will likely just use this as a temporary solution until the wireless pad comes out.

 

[smak]

So far this solution is working great for me. The pads dont move around (I’ve laced them thru the cable path, and secured them with a single piece of painters’ tape) and the design of the pads works nearly perfectly. And because the pad is PU/Pleather, they have some grip and the phones dont move around while driving so far (though our roads in AZ are probably smoother than a lot of areas). But they stay planted. I think its a viable solution. For reference the pads fit an iPhone X perfectly.

So normally you put your

So far this solution is working great for me. The pads dont move around (I’ve laced them thru the cable path, and secured them with a single piece of painters’ tape) and the design of the pads works nearly perfectly. And because the pad is PU/Pleather, they have some grip and the phones dont move around while driving so far (though our roads in AZ are probably smoother than a lot of areas). But they stay planted. I think its a viable solution. For reference the pads fit an iPhone X perfectly.

These look great. The phone should stay on easier, because the shape of the charger is close to the shape of the hone.

I have one question which I've never seen answered. The phones charge on top of the mat, and then you can close down the flap to hide them?

How does it look with the flap up? Does it look weird to drive like that?

 

[jomo25]

So normally you put your

These look great. The phone should stay on easier, because the shape of the charger is close to the shape of the hone.

I have one question which I've never seen answered. The phones charge on top of the mat, and then you can close down the flap to hide them?

How does it look with the flap up? Does it look weird to drive like that?

I leave it open most of the time, actually. I could close it, but don’t. I might tend to forget it if I closed it. For me, it looks fine while charging. Can barely see the pads, since they are behind the phones.

 

[wwu123]

I've tried one each of the round charger from the OP, and the rectangular one. Both seem to work fine with my wife's iPhone X, oddly neither seems to work particularly well with my LG V30 only sporadically starting charging - this despite the LG working fine with three other Qi charging cradles around the house.

I decided to keep the rectangular one since it would at least sometimes sense my V30. The challenge with putting it under the rubber mat is there are four "nibs" on the back of the mat, that seat into four round holes in the back plate - the nibs prevent the mat from sitting flat on the Qi pad, although I'm sure one could easily trim the nibs off.

So I've got it sitting on top of the mat for now. It does make the phone sit high enough that it's not resting "in" the bottom groove but just on the lip; if not careful enough to catch the lip, the phone can slip out and down into the bottom compartment ;-)