aftermarket wireless phone charger

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Found on one of the FB groups...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2255800088812412.html
https://www.facebook.com/groups/463488294398832/posts/1212835336130787

Looks great but I'm not sure if it charges any faster than the armrest one, and the notes on the listing and the FB post make me wonder how you actually install it. Curious if anyone's got a real how-to.

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endquote said:
Found on one of the FB groups...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2255800088812412.html
https://www.facebook.com/groups/463488294398832/posts/1212835336130787

Looks great but I'm not sure if it charges any faster than the armrest one, and the notes on the listing and the FB post make me wonder how you actually install it. Curious if anyone's got a real how-to.

View attachment 17110 View attachment 17111
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I have one of these on order (takes a while from China). I had saw the SCP one before, but it's way too expensive for what it is. Found this one on aliexpress and decided to give it a shot (even though it is also a bit too pricey for what it is).

I'll post some thoughts once it arrives and I get it installed.
 
Got my Aliexpress shelf charger and it does NOT come with it's own 12V socket. Seems like you're meant to reuse the built-in, but I couldn't get that thing to budge, so I ordered a replacement from Outmotoring for like $14 after shipping. Otherwise the install is pretty simple.

I actually have two USB ports (1 USB-A and 1 USB-C). The USB-C is the one that's removable and I'm able to re-use into the shelf, so I'm losing the USB-A port that's built-in to the existing spot, but not a big deal.

I had to "modify" the 12V power to the included harness with the aftermarket shelf. The included harness 12V plug (where your existing 12V power plugs into the harness) is too small to fit, so I just pulled the pins out of the OEM plug and stuck them in which worked fine.

Charger seems to work well and my phone didn't stop charging the whole way into work this AM. We'll see this evening how well it actually charges since my phone was already at/near 100% this morning.

I'll take some pictures soon to show.
 
Speaking of the armrest phone oven, has anybody actually contacted their provider to register the LTE signal booster?
 
SameGuy said:
Speaking of the armrest phone oven, has anybody actually contacted their provider to register the LTE signal booster?
Click to expand...
I was going to, for shiggles, but after realizing i'd never actually use it I didn't bother.

I did "test" it a few times and I'm lead to think it may actually do something, though it could've been coincidence. When I was showing a bar or two I'd slap my phone in and it'd show an extra bar on occasion.
 
methorian said:
Got my Aliexpress shelf charger and it does NOT come with it's own 12V socket. Seems like you're meant to reuse the built-in, but I couldn't get that thing to budge, so I ordered a replacement from Outmotoring for like $14 after shipping. Otherwise the install is pretty simple.
Click to expand...

I'd like to do this, but I think I'll need explain-it-like-i'm-five level instructions. It sounds like a bit of a science experiment that might come out janky if I don't do it right. Wish it was a little more plug-and-play.

SameGuy said:
Speaking of the armrest phone oven, has anybody actually contacted their provider to register the LTE signal booster?
Click to expand...

I tried to, but the form for t-mobile required a serial number of some kind that I couldn't find anywhere, so I gave up.
 
endquote said:
I'd like to do this, but I think I'll need explain-it-like-i'm-five level instructions. It sounds like a bit of a science experiment that might come out janky if I don't do it right. Wish it was a little more plug-and-play.



I tried to, but the form for t-mobile required a serial number of some kind that I couldn't find anywhere, so I gave up.
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Once I get the replacement 12V socket I'll post some pics with instructions. It's really not very difficult at all.
 
SameGuy said:
Speaking of the armrest phone oven, has anybody actually contacted their provider to register the LTE signal booster?
Click to expand...

I did, with Verizon. Don't ask me any details about that process, because it was so long ago... :confused:

Of course, it is exceedingly rare that I actually put my phone in there once I learned how much it bakes my phone.
 
So not so great news on the aftermarket shelf Qi charger.

Left work yesterday with my phone at 74%. It's hot out (~90F) and had preconditioned my SE for about 10 min before I left. Stuck my phone (iPhone 12 Pro) on the shelf when I got in. Noticed it did stay "charging" the whole commute home (~48min), but when I got home it was pretty darn toasty and still at 74%. Was using CarPlay the entire commute. Unlike the OEM armrest charger my phone didn't stop charging due to heat, and it didn't freeze/etc, but it didn't gain any charge and was still a bit toastier than I'd like.

I'm going to continue testing (ie - leave for work with lower battery on the phone and have the car not as warm inside since it's early AM) to see, but this aftermarket solution may not actually be a great charging solution.

If it still isn't performing super well I may work on gutting it and trying a magsafe solution using it instead. (My experience with a true magsafe charger in my i3 was great fast charging without as much heat, even with CarPlay.)
 
methorian said:
when I got home it was pretty darn toasty and still at 74%. Was using CarPlay the entire commute.
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That sounds pretty normal for Qi charging. It's at most 15 W and at best 80% efficient, so it's a slow charging standard and rather wasteful. Doesn't surprise me using CarPlay drains battery about as fast as Qi can charge.

MagSafe is more efficient because the magnet ensures proper charging coil alignment.
 
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I switched to an iPhone Mini, and because of its small battery and the fact that CarPlay is the most demanding activity I do on my phone, I really wanted a good charging setup. This is working well for me.
I'm enjoying this setup -- attaching and removing is easy, the phone actually gets charged while streaming/mapping, it doesn't block my view, and it didn't fall off on today's 175mi drive to run with my local Mini club.

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