yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Solutions Etcetera:
First let me say that I never experienced this initially. It was tough for me to understand how some of you were having so much trouble (maybe eating too many fries) :D

Then Summer got here and mine began to slip. I had tried my usual cleaning methods and none of them prevented my phone from slipping off the charger within about half an hour.

I am not sure what started this happening, just that the mean ambient temperature in the house has gone up from the high sixties to the high seventies or low eighties, and everything has a light coating of tree pollen (I live in a forest area).

Turns out soap solved the issue. A quality bar of soap with a good tallow content. I hold my index and ring fingers under running water and then rub them on a bar of soap (I do this twice). Then lightly run them in a circular motion around the ring of the orb. I then lightly rinse my fingers and run them around the orb once more. The goal here is to remove most of the soapy solution, but not all of it.

I then dry by lightly twisting the face of the orb into clean, soft towel.

It has been a week and the thing still sticks like glue.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] espionage724:
Best suggestion ever, in my case anyway :)

Picked up some dollar lint roller one day and decided to give it a try. My N4 sticks without any issue now to my orb :good:
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Krunk83:
My fix until another replacement arrives.

nexus⁴
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Devilicus:
I started having this same problem with my phone slipping off the orb, but I did find a solution that works: alcohol wipes. I just wipe down the front of the orb real quick, takes off all the lint and stuff, and dries immediately. I do this every couple weeks and no more slipping. Also, the Rearth Ringke Fusion case really helps it stick to the orb well if you're using a case.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Krunk83:
I'm case-less. Also, I shouldn't have to use a case for it to work. I've cleaned it with everything.

nexus⁴
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] GorillaPimp:
You really can't expect it to work right as dusty add that is. It totally kills the effectiveness of the sticky substance.

Careful using alcohol you will strip the gummy surface and the orb paint. A damp cloth works well for me. The charging rate for me is diminished when I have the Ringke case on. Tried to leave my double twist alarm clock app on very dim the other night and the phone was dead by morning. That doesn't happen with the case off.

I'm pretty disappointed in the orb. I'd be happier with a mat or an old school dock like the nexus one's. Maybe throwing an nfc tag on it will change my mind.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Krunk83:
Dude. I don't waste my time cleaning it anymore. I've cleaned it and it still slips. My paperclips work great. My new one gets here Monday. I'm keeping the paper clip since I sure the new one week slip too.

nexus⁴
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] estallings15:
Simple but effective! Good thinking.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Krunk83:
Unfortunately this did not work. I am getting a refund as we speak. This charger was a total failure.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] anwedr:
A shame to hear your disappointing experience with the orb. I've had mine since launch and am loving it.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Krunk83:
It's disappointing. Maybe I'll try one if those flat ones.

nexus⁴
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] junkinmytrunk426:
Heres my simple hack using just a slightly concaved drink coaster. the lip from the coaster keeps it from slipping.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Krunk83:
Pretty lame that you have to do this for it to work properly. Since my refund I have had no issues with the USB plug and it sitting in my night stand.

nexus⁴
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] lucas_saldanha:
How I solved the slipping problem

I did a tweak on my wireless charger to solve the problem of slipping. Beneath the charger there is a black rubber circle. It has one side (the backside) thicker than the frontside.

What I did was changing the sides of the rubber ring (180º). The thicker part now is in the frontside of the charger. With this tweak I changed the inclination of the orb (slightly) and my phone isn't slipping anymore.

Hope this trick help you guys! I'll put some pictures to show the result.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] thisisnocrap:
been using the orb for 3 months now and never experienced the slipping issue. i can even see the dust that have accumulated on the surface of the orb but it's still sticky. btw, i think having a back screen protector helps with the issue since i have bought the orb i've used it with a back SP on the nexus 4
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] lucas_saldanha:
Some have the issue, others don't. There is a suspicion that the humidity in the region can affect the slipping. :cowboy:
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] GorillaPimp:
I'll try that. Good idea.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kenatsun:
Nice try, but...

Lucas, thanks for the creative idea - my last best hope for salvaging this piece of junk, the Orb.

Alas, it didn't work. I rotated the ring, put my half-charged phone on it, and went to bed. This morning, the phone looked like it was still more-or-less on the charger. But it was totally dead.

This is my third Orb. All have failed in the same way. Google has replaced them for free, but has ignored my requests to do the right thing: instead of sending me yet another copy of this fatally mis-designed product, send me a different charger, one that actually works.

Has anybody found a way to get them to do that?

~ Thanks, Ken
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] cochinguy:
Slipping Nexus Wireless Charger

I had this problem. It is caused by dust building on the silicon round layer on the charger. I cleaned with a wet cloth and the with dry cloth. I cleaned the rear of nexus phone also. Now sticking as before.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kenatsun:
I just did both of those. Nothing changed.

This time I actually timed the skid. From the time I put the phone on the orb in charging position (vertically and horizontally centered on the charger), it slides to where it is no longer charging in about 12 seconds, and the bottom of the phone lands on the desktop in just under 2 minutes.

However, I may have fixed it with the help of a bit of self-setting rubber from Sugru dot com. See the 4 attached pix:

1. My Nexus 4 going onto the Orb

2. Proper position - charging.

3. Where it slides to in 10-15 seconds - not charging.

4. The arch of little bits of rubber ("sugru") stuck onto the back of the N4 settles on the top rim of the Orb, keeping the phone up in charging position.

I'm only one day into this workaround, so not totally sure it is a solution. But so far so good. The Orb is still a piece of junk, and Google should be ashamed of foisting it off onto the world. But if you have bad Orb karma like I have, this may be a way to cut your losses.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] quentin0:
There is no additional perceivable grip when the phone is plugged in, so the point is moot.

The charger does not hold the phone via magnets, I've tested this with steel objects and there is no attraction. I am willing to repeat it as many times as I have to.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] shaunole:
I'm experiencing the same issue. I've tried all sorts of positioning and no matter the position, or the angle, it slowly slides down the face of the orb. I do have the official N4 bumper, but have tried with it both on and off. Still the same experience. Since this doesn't appear to be common, I'm attributing it to some form of a defect in the manufacturing process.

I contacted the play store support and they are sending me a replacement.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] canecbr600:
I never said revision 10 didn't have qi charging, just that it wasn't certified.....

Below is where they list it, and only revision 12 is listed. The specifically differentiate rev 12!

http://www.wirelesspowerconsortium.com/products/details/210/mobile-phone
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Wisefire:
Those who say it is slipping, are you using some kind of case etc.? Maybe try another...

As for me, mine holds with my plastic clear case, TPU, and without.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gissentml:
Mine is fine. Here is a video.

http://theultralinx.com/2013/02/google-nexus-4-official-wireless-charger-review.html
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Solutions Etcetera:
No problems here. I find that cleaning your orb with a washcloth dampened with warm water keeps it very sticky.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] nexicon:
You idiots. There is NO magnetic pull to this charger!! It contains none! it's just really f%$#in grippy!!!

Sent from my Nexus 4
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] USSENTERNCC1701E:
Clearly you don't understand inductive charging. The coil in the charger creates a magnetic field, which induces a current in the coil in the phone. Even if charger does not contain a permanent ferromagnet, or the phone; the two coils still become magnetic because of the current in the coils. Don't call people idiots when you are ignorant yourself. It may not be a significant force, but it is non-zero.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] frigidazzi:
In that video review it says you can use it in your car. I would really like to see someone use this in their car and see how well it really works when driving around.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] tamshiwen:
Not getting any slippage with diztronic case. Without case the orb has a solid hold on the phone.

Checked with a separate magnet, and the magnetic force is not strong enough to hold it to or push it away from the orb, so I will have to agree that there are no magnets for holding the phone in place. Very tacky rubber ring. Here's a picture of the orb holding onto a cd case.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] wild homes:
Mine is doing this, too. It's so weak I have to check it every few minutes, can't reasonably leave it overnight or I'll wake up with a half-dead, uncharged Nexus. Both the Orb and the N4 are cleaned before I pair them, out of habit. I guess I'll be calling Play Device CS in the morning for an RMA. Is there any official statement anyone can link to regarding the inclusion of magnets in the Orb (beyond the understood magnetic draw between the coils)?

Maybe this explains why the Orb took so long to be released.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DandroidT:
My orb will hold the phone with the Rearth Fusion case on. With bare back it will slip right off. It appeared mine have no magnetic or very weak and only the sticky ring hold the phone.

I have a request for someone that orb hold the phone with bare back (no back skin or protector), can you see if your orb can hold a paper clip up side down? mine will not do it.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Solutions Etcetera:
Again... There are no magnets in the orb. You can easily verify this with the phone's magnetometer.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] facetubespam:
I placed my phone as high up as possible without it tipping over on the Orb and after 12 hours, nothing happened. No slip, nothing. yay me :)
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] reddv1:
My orb has the same issue. My phone slips down on one side only and stops once it touches the table. Didn't notice it at first when putting the phone vertically on the orb, but when I put it on horizontally, I noticed it right away after a few minutes.

I wouldn't mind the slipping as it doesn't fall off, but the phone would stop daydreaming after a while because it wasn't charging anymore.

I have a question for people that don't have the slipping problem. Does your phone stop daydreaming after the phone is fully charged for a while, like overnight? Really like the feature as a clock on my night stand.

Sent from my Nexus 4[/QUOTE]
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] avrillapete:
My phone hasn't slipped on the charger yet. I did notice it randomly stop charging a couple times when it was sitting on my desk, because the screen would randomly turn on, but after I had used it for a while and put it back, it didn't do that again. I don't even know what was causing it.

Also, side question, how normal is it for your phone to be noticeable warmer charging wirelessly opposed to plugged in? I'm not talking hot, but the back glass was pretty warm to the touch. The battery was only showing 104 f, which is what I've normally seen while charging almost any phone. I'm guessing the induction from the charger is just warming the body of the phone more? This is my first electronic device (besides my toothbrush lol) that charged wirelessly.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] myv6mustang:
Im getting one of these...tell me more about these magnets...

If you hd it to do over would you pay 60 bucks for this again?
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] facetubespam:
Induction charging is basically transferring electricity from one place to another, and just like a light bulb, it will be warm to the touch. Now, if it was giving you second degree burns, then you should be worried. But being warm is just a natural byproduct of this technology.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kioshi:
Day 3. Phone still stays on orb. No slipping of any sorts. I wipe the back of my phone and the center since i see dust accumulating on it by the end of the day in my room.

If i had the extra cash to spend on another Qi charger, I'd do it all over again with this one ;)
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] americasteam:
I have a Lumia 920 and the charging plate. There is no magnetic pull when charging either my Lumia or nexus 4 on the plate. In fact, the nexus 4 is rather slippery when it's on the plate. If put on off center it would slip off.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] quentin0:
What are you even talking about? What did that have to do my comment at all? How does your Nexus 4 sliding off of your charging plate mean that the orb has magnets?
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] americasteam:
I guess I quoted the wrong post. We actually agree on the subject. ;O)
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] oldsk00lz:
Okay, here's my experience.

Day 1 was like the posts where it works great. Super sticky, would pull the base when lifting the phone.

Day 2 still worked like a charm. No idea of any issues.

Day 3 charged phone, and then grabbed phone much later, and surprised I was 1/2 full. Didn't think much of it.

Day 4 morning, phone had stopped charging Reset device, and was charging. 30 min later it stopped.

After which, I saw this thread, and the sliding issue. I grabbed orb, and lo and behold. My phone was slipping. I did not have the awesome suction of the 1st day. If my phone slips to the 1/2 way point, it stops charging (before hitting desk). It now slips faster, and has less grip. Also slips when horizontal.

I may try a full battery drain, and full proper USB charge. See if it changes anything.

I was happy the first 2 days. :/

Hmmmmmm....

-oldsk00lz
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] reddv1:
Here's the ridiculous reply from Google for a warranty exchange I requested and here's a video I made that I also provided to them https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxcH73OlH_g&feature=youtube_gdata_player
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] nba1341:
lol.... how could "Cole" possibly get the idea the orb was accidentally damaged from a time lapse video?

google customer service -_-

Why would they make the orb such a steep incline then expect sticky material not to naturally get dust on it. Seems like they don't even bother testing these things.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] USSENTERNCC1701E:
What the hell, that almost sounds like he doesn't even realize the charger is covered under it's own warranty.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] JustMatt:
My Nexus 4 slips off the Orb also.

I'm not using any case, and I'll just set it there at night, but by the time I wake up it's been discharging almost the entire night.

The first time I unpackaged it, there did seem to be a magnetic "stick" to it. I was able to put the phone on it, and practically hold it sideways without it moving at all. Now if I tilt it, the phone falls off. I'd like to see if anyone else here successfully gets a replacement from Google, or is all hope lost on this thing?

I'm still within 15 days, so I might just refund it, if it appears to be a problem for everyone else.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] idividebyzero:
I knew this would happen, the glass is too slick for this stupid implementation. Yours is probably a little dirty, if its not medically sterile then it probably wont stick for long periods. I got an RMA phone recently and didnt take the plastic cover off the back this time, so it sticks like glue for now, if I use the front of the phone its not nearly as sticky.

and no it doesnt have magnets....

The sites that say it does are referencing a prototype version long before the Nexus 4 even came out.

Put a piece of paper/plastic over the charger and see if theres any hold. There isnt. Take it a step further and get a MAGNET and try, nothing, not even any metal for the magnet to hold on to.

RMA's arent going to do anything, the design is flawed. Although it wont hurt to RMA since it means more wasted money for Google, the only thing that will get them to change the stupid design is wasted money. So RMA away.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] feedhead:
Ok kids, lets do a little test.

Grab Android Sensor Box from the Play store.

Fire up the Magnetic Senors.

You will see the world around you registers around 50ish μT (microTesla)

Grab a magnet and put it on/near the back of the phone and see how the levels climb.

Now for the fun sciencey part.

Put the phone on the Orb and make sure it is charging.

Now tell me again about magnetic fields created by inductive charging.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dispatch:
No. Yes. Sometimes. Really... I use mine on my nightstand and use the 'clock' daydream. Sometimes when I wake up it's daydreaming, sometimes it's not, and sometimes I wake up to my alarm (obviously foils the 'test'). I also believe the orb to behave in a similar manner to the LG charger -- charge to 100%, then let go down to ~95%, then charge again. So between my half-awakened state, the alarm foiling the tests, and unknown charging parameters and if daydream will kick off then back on based on QI charging, I can't say for sure.

Now I feel like I shouldn't have replied. ;) Anyone else have a similar/different experience?
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] supercluver:
Mine is slipping too

I received my wireless charger on Friday, the 15th, as I ordered the day it became available. I noticed almost immediately that the phone was slipping off. I've tried everything I can think of since then to get it to not slip. Clean the back of the phone, clean the orb, apply pressure, etc, etc.... No matter what it slips off after just a few minutes and stops charging.

So I just called Google Play store support for Devices. Just got off the phone with them, and in fact just received my RMA email and Return Label Email. They didn't even question it, I described the problem and was immediately transferred to the RMA department. From there they verified my info and sent the emails. It was simple and fast, and honestly a near perfect experience. I was on hold maybe 2 minutes.

If you are having trouble, get it RMA'ed. And if you have trouble with that keep calling? But for ~$70 after shipping the phone should at least stay on the damn charger.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] USSENTERNCC1701E:
Okay then, a little more about the magnetic fields created by inductive charging. The field strength approaches zero outside the system: the field created by the charger and the field created induced current in the phone are nearly identically inverse, resulting in an attraction between the coils and a negation everywhere else. This is why your phone can charge so fast with QI. Further, the phone's coil is nearer the orb's coil than the sensor that app utilizes, unless the sensor is in between the two coils, it won't detect much of anything. So again I'll say
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] minnemike:
Inductive charging is by nature electromagnetism... but I would say by far, the gooey sticky ring is the real phone mounting element here.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] feedhead:
Ok, let do another fun test.

Place a tissue over charger. Put your phone on and make sure you have activated the inductive charging. How much magnetic pull do you feel?
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Psyclism:
I purchased three orbs the first day they were available, and started using all of them after they were delivered this past Friday. I purchased one for my office, one for my home office and one for my bedside table. All three have, for the most part, worked flawlessly. No slippage from any of them, and none of the environments they're being used in could be considered "dust free". In fact, this morning, I looked at the face of the Orb in the bedroom and it was covered in lint. However, the phone continues to stick to the charger just fine. No issues at all.

I'm NOT using the phone bare. It's always in a Ringke Slim case. I'm also running an AOKP 4.2.2 rom.

As far as using the phone as a desktop clock, the Orb is working better than any other inductive charger I've tried. And I've tried many of them including the flat LG, the Panasonic, and a couple of cheapies off of eBay. They would always shut off charging, which made the phone think it'd been unplugged and turn off the clock/daydream mode. Some (like the LG) would restart charging once the battery hit a certain point, most of the others wouldn't. The Orb, however, will shut off charging but the phone will continue to think it's being charged so that Daydream doesn't turn off. The charge level, according to Battery Monitor Widget, will get to about 96% before charging fires up again. Battery Monitor Widget also confirms that the screen stays on the entire time. Basically behaving exactly like it would if it were charged directly into a USB cable.

Now, everything hasn't been entirely trouble free. Yesterday after I woke up, I browsed the web for about an hour before putting the phone back on the charger once I started to get ready for work. No matter what I tried, the phone would register as charging but wouldn't actually accept a current. The percentage kept dropping. So I went to work and plopped the phone on my work Orb. Same thing. It'd occasionally charge for a few minutes then go right back into draining the battery. Phone sat on the Orb all day, and went from ~90% when I got to work to about 20% around 4pm (the screen stayed on virtually the entire time because the phone THOUGHT it was charging). So, in a panic, I plugged the phone into USB to make sure it had enough juice to get me through the night. Once it got to about 70%, I unplugged it and put it back on the Orb. And to my astonishment, the phone started charging and kept charging, just like it's supposed to. I haven't had that issue since, but it's almost like the charging mechanism needed to be "primed" to allow inductive charging to function.

I'd noticed similar behavior before using the LG pad as my bedside charger (which is why I stopped using it and instead used a USB powered dock). Haven't had that issue with the Orb since, and the fact that the Orb is usb powered means you always have a backup charging mechanism in a pinch.. which can't be said for most of the other chargers that rely on a proprietary plug.

Overall I'm quite happy with the Orb, and I'll continue to use it in all three locations exclusively.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] nba1341:
Why are you guys debating the fact if there is magnetic field or not (Or I guess its just that guy who is trying to prove to xda he is a magnet expert?)

the point is the phone slips off the charger and is not held on with force by a magnet and the stock sticky pad is not that great.