yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Grievous Angel:
Registered to echo complaints

Have an S3 myself but just got the Nexus 4 and wireless charger for the wife. It slips off. What a piece of garbage.

Will be sending it back.

It relies on "sticky friction" to keep it in place. Even for those not having problems--how long will it be before we all are? Could be just a matter of time. These things are pretty new, after all. Maybe if I can jury rig it somehow I'll keep it--but really, I shouldn't have to for a 60 dollar charger.

And if the answer is to keep it completely clean and sterile every time I use it, doesn't that completely negate the convenience of using it? Screw that . . just plug it in.

I'm very disappointed.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] planoman:
Glad to hear this. Almost went for the orb but went with the LG charging mat instead. Just could not pull the trigger on $70 with tax and shipping for the orb

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] qnet:
I haven't been follwing this thread for a few pages/days so I may be behind. I'm not sure if the phone held on by mangetism but I know about induction. When you have induction there is a magnetic field but it may not nessasarily cause attraction, just induce electric current into the object or, battery in this case. I'm not a expert on magnetism, it's just something I had to learn about in my carreer field and, I think it's interesting.

I agree and think the tacky material on the orb is the primary holding force. My phone started slipping after not having problems before and I cleaned it and the charging orb with an alcohol-free LCD cleaner. It works fine now.

The tacky rubber of the orb collects dust very easily and seems to need cleaning once in awhile.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Grievous Angel:
Once in awhile? These things just came out. Mine is three days old. If this is the norm, then the charger--whose value proposition is convenience--really offers no value at all.

Might as well just plug it in.

Edit: I cleaned it and it is pretty sticky now. Hopefully it was just "dirty" out of the box and won't require cleaning every 3 days.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] whistler4ever:
I noticed the same thing happened to me the third time I used the charging dock, but then it held on just fine. Probably needs a cleaning as Angel just said!
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sigismond0:
Just got mine yesterday, and I have to throw my hat into the slipping side of the argument. And mine was doing this straight out of the box! After a brief call with Google, the representative said they have not heard anything like this and wants to do some checking around before exchanging. I have a feeling they're going to get a lot of exchanges/returns.

Solution? Put a docking magnet in there! It wouldn't take much to hold the phone in place.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] lionheart7282:
haha, same here i got it use two hands to separate it.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DaPhang:
My very first post on xda! Been a long time lurker, had to share my experience.

I got the orb and the offical bumper. I too have the slipping problem. Turns out, the glass is too smooth, doesn't matter how much friction the orb has. So I did an experiment, found some old screen protectors and place on the back of my Nexus. What do you know, it sticks on there, didn't move a bit while charging overnight. So, I just bought me a $3 clear protective back only made just for the Nexus 4 on Amazon.

So, if you have a case, you should be fine, if you have the bumper or going bare, you can put a protective screen, it is not as smooth as the glass.

:)
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Krunk83:
Mine sticks fine all night. I have the dbrand carbon fiber on the back. My friend who has nothing on the back needs two hands to remove his.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DinarQ8:
I have same problem :(

I don't no what I do :( ?
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] EvanJ18:
I had minor slippage when I first got it. Then I wiped it with a damp cloth and its been sticking perfectly for the past few nights. Even with my poetic bumper.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sigismond0:
I can get mine to stick to the orb too...if I make an effort to squeeze them together and plunger it on. Then it doesn't go anywhere. If I just set it on like a normal person, it slides off in five minutes.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] powerdoesntrun:
Where is everybody buying the WCP-700 from? I can't seem to find a reliable seller online. Are they being sold in stores?

I'm not sure I want to deal with this orb any more, so I'd like to compare.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] halluci293:
Haven't had a problem with slipping on my orb. in fact, it's a bit of an annoyance that I have to use two hands to pull my phone off the orb or else I lift the orb off my nightstand in the mornings... :p

However, for those of you who experience slipping, why not just set the phone on the orb so the lower edge of the phone is touching the desk surface? I find that the orb is fairly forgiving about phone placement and will pretty much charge regardless of how high or low on the orb I place my phone.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DaPhang:
On the first night I had it, it did slip down to where the bottom of the phone touched the table, but the table didn't have enough friction to prevent it from going further, so I found my phone stopped charging and off the charger. Luckily, it was already charged and only dropped like 5%.

Looks like we are getting varying results with this thing. I would say it is due to bad design. I would blame LG for designing it and Google for allowing them to push it to the Nexus brand. Just my opinion.

Anyway, having a case or a protective screen works out for me, so I'll just leave it at that. Wonder if those who got a replacement is seeing better results.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] powerdoesntrun:
It's interesting that you say this, because I find that if my phone touches my desk, even with a case on it, it tends to stop charging. Must be another thing that varies from device to device.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] halluci293:
I guess I should probably mention that I have the official bumper on my phone, so touching the desk means that the phone is probably raised a few millimeters compared to no bumper.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ryan stewart:
Guess Ive been lucky, two orbs and two phones and they hold like glue.

---------- Post added at 05:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:30 PM ----------

The only thing I wonder is the fact that nobody has used a magnet in a Qi charger yet. I wonder if there is concern about it interfering with the charging interface. After all, its charging using an electromagnetic field.

Ive found the best technique is to pick it up by pinching the sides with the thumb and forefinger, not hard but kind of roll the finger/thumb forward and it has an effect of kind of levering the phone off of the charger.

Ive also considered getting something very dense, like lead and putting it in the little air space under the charger. I think if the charger had a little more heft to it that would resolve the issue as well. If that doesnt work maybe some of the 3m stuff for sticking it down, although Id prefer to keep it mobile.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] halo0:
I use the same technique for lifting it, although the orb still moves sometimes. It's quite annoying and it's even more amazing to me that none of the reviews of the orb have mentioned this fatal flaw. The Palm inductive chargers come with a nicely sticky (but not adhesive) material on the bottom that holds them down, but releases if you pull a bit. The orb should have this on the bottom. The design of this thing just appears to be poor from top to bottom. It's amazing that you can take this long to get a product to market and still have it suck so bad.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] SteveIndianer:
Combating slippage

Started to experience slipping right out of the box. Cleaned the orb and phone thoroughly with water, still slipped. Put back on the clear plastic back glass protector which came with the Nexus 4, seems to be working so far. Tacky solution, skeptical it will continue to work . . .
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sigismond0:
After a few days of use, the ring seems to have grown sticky, and the phone now sticks rather nicely--I finally get the "hold the orb upside down" level of stickiness. So to those of you with slipping problems, just stick it out (no pun intended) for a few days.

Back when it wasn't as sticky I was able to secure the phone by pressing it onto the orb to create a suction effect, rather than just setting it down.

*This is all with no case or protector, just a naked Nexus back. And we all know how damn slippery that is...
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ryan stewart:
Hmm, maybe something to do with curing the rubber?

Mine does the suction cup thing (you can kind of hear it) so maybe the rubber had to soften? Mine were already tacky/soft though.

---------- Post added at 06:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:23 PM ----------

Yeah I would like to do something that would keep this from being picked up. I like that its pretty secure (youd have to bump the phone to get it off) but I would like that the orb wasnt quite as easy to move. I think it would be just as simple as more mass. If could figure out how to open it without damaging it I would just open it and add a ton of weight to it, its probably mostly hollow.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Donatron:
My charging orb worked great for the first few days, and then started slipping. I cleaned it with water as suggested, and that "fixed" it for like a day or two. Now it doesn't seem to stick regardless of what I do. I even tried using scotch tape to clean, and that didn't work either.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Blazing angel:
I'm guessing a rear screen protector works well right?
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] myv6mustang:
I actually charge mine in a leather case

The leather sticks just fine and the orb charges through it. Without the case I don't have an issue I just apply a little pressure and it works just fine
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] agtitan:
Mine slipped right off the orb last night and fell onto the power strip on the floor and shattered the back screen. I am beyond pissed.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] myv6mustang:
Ouch sorry to hear that bro...
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] wilsonlam97:
I bet you that a case would've made a world of a difference.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] agtitan:
I had a case but the orb wouldn't work with it...so I went naked and of course just my luck!
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] italianstallion11:
Its kinda ghetto looking but I use a piece of folded saran wrap. I got rid of the protectors that came with the phone sadly. It doesn't look pretty, but it works.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] cchap07:
For those of you having stick problems try to clean the orb with clear packaging tape. The suction that the orb uses reminds me a lot of the milo stand that I have. Blue lounge recommends cleaning the microsuction with clear tape. Sure enough after a few days my orb did not stick as well as right out of the box but I tried cleaning it with tape and now it sticks amazingly again.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ilostmyandroid:
reign nfhspme

I posted this in the general orb thread: if you do a search on YouTube for "wireless orb slipping" then you can see four clips of the phone slipping off the orb.

I have cleaned the rubber on the orb with water (it had significant lint on it right out of the box) and have made sure the back of two Nexus 4 phones are clean. Both phones slip off.

This is very disappointing.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] incantevole:
have had mine for a few days and works like a champ. phone sticks right to it with the authentic bumper and i feel resistance when taking it off the orb. i put a sticky note on the charger and the phone slides right off so definitely not any significant magnetic hold to it. going to test out landscape mode in the morning.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Greefus:
Mine started slipping all of the sudden after a week but I did the damp paper towel thing and it works great again. I also press it hard against it for a bit just in case. My little apt is very dusty.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] tundaman:
I've had my orb for about 1-1/2 weeks now. No slippage issues at all. I do have a Zagg Invisible Shield on the back and using the official bumper. I haven't cleaned the silicone ring with water or a towel at all, there is some dust build up but the phone still sticks to the orb like its glued on.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dispatch:
I've been vocal on not having any slippage issues or any other issues with my orb. Until now. Started slipping this morning. Cleaned the orb and it's fine again.

Annoying, but I'll probably end up keeping the orb since I'm google's *****.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] eternityends:
I've had this orb for a few weeks now. So far I have had no slipping problems. The first few days it only charged to 97%. For the past 5 days I've waken up to a 100% charged, cool temperature phone. I am using Best Skins Ever rear protector for the rear which I believe is helping grab the phone. The orb is starting to look a little dusty. I may clean it this weekend.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] casbar12:
Exchange

I was able to get Google to process an exchange for the orb on the 18th. I still have not received the new one. Has anyone else received theirs?
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] supercluver:
I had them do the same, an RMA, on the 19th. I STILL have not received the email that it has shipped yet. And they only give you 2 weeks to send back the original one without getting charged for the new one. I'm getting a little pissed off at this. I'm going to call them today I think and see what the heck is up.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] casbar12:
Exact same boat. Please let me know if anything turns around on your order and I will do the same.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dispatch:
What do you hope to gain from RMA? I cannot fathom the replacement will act any different. Serious question.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] n1ggyn1ce:
I've always charged the phone case-less and it stuck to the orb like a glove. Today I tried charging it w/the Ringke Slim case and it was holding fine. It was only after removing the case and placing the phone naked again that it started slipping for the first time. The orb seems to have lost its grip..If I put the case back on it holds it, if I don't it slips. Not too happy...might ask for a refund.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ImEmailingRyan:
**issue resolved**

Hi Everyone, I'm new here but have been pulling my hair out on this issue. I have 2 nexus 4's and 2 orbs and both HAD this problem. Here is how I resolved it and maintained the factory look and function.

1) Turn orb over so the charging face is down toward the surface.

2) there is a rubber ring on the bottom (Now Facing up if you followed the last step) designed to keep the orb from slipping. It is held on with sticky tape.

3) Remove ring - (Pull on the thickest side straight up - be sure to limit finger contact as much as possible with the sticky as you will be reusing this.

4) Use a blade to remove the 2 tiny tabs which previously lined up into the holes in the orb

5) Turn ring (rotate clockwise) 180 degrees so the thick part is where the thin part use to be -you will see the two holes are now visible

6) Press the ring back into place.

DONE!

This mod reduces the RAKE (Drop over distance) just slightly. Your drag coefficient increases slightly, therefor no slippy.

If I was smarter I'd post a video, but i don't know how....... Remember, this was my idea though....... :)

Ryan
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] badboy47:
nope mine isnt slipping at all; it grips my Nexus 4 very tight.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] supercluver:
I agree with what you are saying, but I figured I would try at least one replacement as others don't seem to have the slipping problem. And with the RMA, the replacement is free. If the replacement also slips, I will be returning for a refund. That is what I'm hoping to gain, I guess.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] casbar12:
As am I. There are claims on this thread of people not having this issue. Even images of others holding their charging orb upside down with the phone attached. I couldn't do that without glue. Maybe there really are some defectives out there and I got one. I don't know. Either way I am not giving up yet.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] wx27:
For the first five days, the charger grip was solid, and then I started having the issue of waking up and not having a full charge. Several times this has happened and it seemed to happen at 87-88% charge level, reviewing data from Battery Monitor Widget. Also, on these occasions, the recorded temp was close to 109 F, while it was ~3 degrees cooler when the dock successfully charged to 100% and didn't have phone sliding issues. I wonder if the higher temp causes the static coefficient of friction between the phone's back and the orb's surface to dip below the threshold necessary to keep the phone in place.

Anyways, I called google play CS today and have a replacement on the way. I did try cleaning the orb surface with clear sticky packing tape, but it didn't fix the problem with last night's charge cycle.

Oh, and for those wondering if there is a magnet assisting in keeping the phone in place, I don't think there is a permanent magnet inside the orb, but what people claim as a magnetic attraction can be attributed to the way induction charging works. Current passes through a wire coil in the charging orb, which produces a magnetic field. The phone has a similar coil, which when in the presence of a magnetic field, will have an induced current, which is then used to recharge the battery. So it's really an electromagnetic field/attraction that people are feeling.

I just did a test you can replicate:

Took a fridge magnet and an empty small altoids tin. The tin sticks to the magnet, direct and also with a 1-ply napkin between the two. The tin does not stick to the orb with the napkin in between (the napkin is used just to make sure I'm not observing any stickiness or suction from the orb's surface in this magnetism test).
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ryan stewart:
Don't give up hope. All 3 of mine hold quite well. You should get a good one next time.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] bauchter:
Slippage

Purchased mine this week. Slippage observed immediately.

Since this posting has gotten long, here's something more interesting than observed slippage of the physical Nexus 4 off the Orb:

This is a charging profile of multiple Nexus 4 charge attempts.

You'll see the charge ramp up for a nice Li-Ion battery charge profile (inductively charging), then the slip off of the phone.

Then you can see it flat line for the charge cycle, with the phone again dropping off.

Charge pulse ramp-up, drop, pulse, drop; repeat.

Rather than prematurely fry my battery, I'm returning the orb... Hopefully something that (consistently) has great form and function (for a case-free Nexus 4) will be offered directly from Google Play.

Great technology; poor design choice.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dispatch:
Thanks for the response. I have to agree with you and am doing the same thing. The rep I just spoke with was quite unhelpful and I guess I'll be waiting for a 'specialist' to issue my RMA.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] danfalcas:
I am Way too disappointed,

Do you know what is causing the slipping, its cause:

A fail in design #BlameLG?

A damaged or not ok charging orb?

Cause glass too smooth?

I don't have the rear plastic, but I had the front oem one, so i cutted off and put it in the back of my phone, and now it holds steady on the orb, but.... should i ask for a replacement orb.

Is this tha normal functionallity of the orb.

-_- I want a new Nexus that is NOT from LG.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dispatch:
To me it seems like once you get the combination of: residue on the orb friction surface and/or residue on the back of the N4 + the angle of the orb + smoothness of the glass = slippage

Cleaning it certainly helps but I shouldn't have to clean my $60+ charger every two weeks just to make it work.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] danfalcas:
I cant find nothing to clean it Im about to use Mr. Clean!!!! My solution was putting a piece of the plastic cover in the back, meanwhile I buy the complete cover
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DarkShot666:
Going by what I've read here and there, the fact that the device is smooth on the back somewhat counts against it for sticking?

If that's the case, would anyone say that a flat TPU case like the matte black Diztronic case would actually work better?

Has anyone actually found a general improvement with using the case vs bare phone?
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] danfalcas:
It WILL be better!!! Actually I putted a piece of iPhone screen protector and voila!! It sticks as glue. :( but i don't think thats the way it should be!
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ryan stewart:
I've got 3 of the orbs and we have used two phones without issue. Also using the fusion case with the plexi back and it grabs well. I think smooth would be the advantage on my orbs because the rubber is really soft/tacky and seems to create a slight "suction cup" effect.

I've actually been considering using some mounting tape to strap a stainless steel coaster to the bottom to weight the pod down because it picks up a little when trying to pick up the phone.

The fact that its working with a cover but not the phone makes me wonder if the back glass on your phone has some sort of imperfection warping it. Try flipping it over and using the bare front, it wont charge but it might be evidence to something. Mine sticks like glue that way as well (actually almost a bit harder to remove than the back).
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] danfalcas:
Actually, what you are saying makes me think that the rubber needs time to soften up, you are using the n4s with no cover or back protector right?

Maybe the ones that are not having the issue got a tried orb by LG so i already got softened!!!

With the back plastic cover it works better, I think it need to sotften.... Hummmmm..... Might be!! IDK!
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] yaworski:
Sorry to disappoint you, but your understanding of electromagnetism is flawed (at least in this case). You are right that the magnetic force between both coils is non-zero, but your statement that they attract each other is totally off.

Charger coil is being powered by alternating current, which creates changing magnetic field. Changes in the magnetic field induce alternating current in phone's coil. But the problem is that the direction of the current induced in phone's coil is always opposite to the direction of the current in the charger. The alternating current that is induced in the phone's coil produces its own changing magnetic field which opposes the field direction of the charger. So what you get is not an attractive force, but the repulsive one. So be grateful that the currents in the charger are low because magnetic field current induction can make things levitate when enough juice is pumped through the primary coil.

Here you have some reading on this matter if you are interested:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenz's_law

Here you have a video of an experiment with electromagnetic levitation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txmKr69jGBk

Of course in the movie the receiving object isn't a coil but a plate, but the physics behind it are the same.

And sorry for the off topic but I think that this matter must be made clear :).
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] shultz11588:
I don't have one, but I was under the impression that it uses an AC adapter -- so wouldn't it actualllllyyy be DC current to the orb? AC from wall >> adapter >> DC to orb?