yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] yaworski:
You are almost right :). The Orb itself (and every other inductive charger) is powered by DC. But to use electromagnetic induction as an energy transport you need AC, because to induce current continuously in the phone's coil you need changing magnetic field. You can compare inductive charging to a transformer inside the AC adapter. The difference is that the transformer usually has a ferromagnetic core which connects both coils, but the principle is the same. Transformers require AC to work.

Inductive chargers have a circuit which generates a high frequency oscillating current (like impulse chargers). It is this current that is fed to the coil. Of course this is a simple view of the technology as, for example, Qi chargers can also communicate with the devices being charged using the same coils as they use for charing (similar to NFC). It can be achieved for example by changing signal's amplitude or frequency. I don't know how the Qi does this, but it is described in the specs.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kojaraty:
I requested a refund. I have two issue with the orb:

1- the phone slips while charging especially when you charger it for a long time. It happened to me while I was asleep, the phone fell on the ground and scared the hell out of me but phone thank god was okay.

2- You need to align the phone in a certain way to make it work and start charging otherwise the phone will not charge.

I will be looking for a different wireless charger instead.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] bauchter:
A good Charge

Here's a good charge cycle (turned orb to be horizontally oriented and allowed a full inductive charge cycle):

Much Better! I like that the charger slowly ramps down to a maintenence charge level to be gentle to the battery.

Now if it would only stick...

I got my RMA today. Hoping only for good Qi! :) :good:
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Projectdwnshft:
so i saw this thread earlier during the week, and only read the first 2 pages and my thoughts were the same as everyone else. the orb is so sticky that my phone would be stuck to it when i picked it up off the orb. well ive only charged with the orb 4 times since i got it with no problems til now. placed my phone on the charger last night on a perfectly level desk, when i walked up to get it the phone was laying flat on the desk and only 35% charged over a 6 hour period. so the phone did slide off this thing and doesn't seem as sticky/tacky as it was when i first used the orb. now i realized the orb was just holding the glass by the rubber rings but i had never had any slipping problems the previous 4 charges. hell it would charge my giant note II fine the first week of owning it, now im scared to even attempt a heavier phone cause im sure the slipping will happen much faster.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ismethajametovic:
WOW, cry me a river. Find a workaround and stop acting like a damn baby. BOOOHOOOO. :crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying:
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] @_trife:
I'm in the exact same boat as you. When I first tried out the orb, it took 5 or 6 attempts before it was properly aligned--I didn't like that at all, coming from the Panasonic TM-101. And it wasn't even like I was throwing my phone on it at random angles. I was lining it up perfectly center and it still wouldn't consistently start charging.

And there hasn't been a morning yet that I've woken up and my phone wasn't propped up on the nightstand by the orb. I've tried with and without a case and it never makes it through the night.

I guess I'll request a replacement and see how that goes. I WANT to love this thing, but if this is what I'm going to have to deal with, I'll look elsewhere.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Ludacon:
really... it LITERALLY hydroplanes? like you covered it in water and tossing the phone at it fast enough to loose contact with the surface?
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] skoledin:
Re: **issue resolved**

Genius!

I just want to say that this 5sec simple mod has worked brilliantly for me so far. Thanks Ryan!

My situation wasn't terrible, but I would have some slip-sliding during the day, sometimes enough to disconnect my nexus4 (no screen/back protectors, just the stock bumper) from the charger. It was mostly an OCD-style annoyance, since mine had a tendancy to slip so that the phone would be sitting at skewed angle off-vertical). So far, the slight angle change on the base from the mod seems to have resulted in no slippage sideways or downward. Hope it stays solid now.

I think I actually even like the new angle a little better, at least for where I have it positioned next to my monitor at work. The slightly flatter position makes it easier to operate and also seems to reduce the glare a touch, but that could just be my specific positioning and lighting setup.

I was going to return my charger, but now glad I didn't. It took way longer to type this post than to make the mod. If you'd having troubles, just try it - minor change that makes a big difference.

Thanks again.

-Stephan
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] lostinbeta:
Toss me in for the "it slips off" crowd. I got the charging orb on Feb 14th. Have not had any problems with it until the past week. I wake up and my phone is half charged, laying on my the table next to the bed. I thought the first few days that I might have been knocking it off in my sleep, but I put it on the charger mid-day the other day and when I went in the room it was lower on the charger than it was when I put it on. Not thinking anything of it I left it, went back in and it was half leaning on the table and half on the charger... screen on, but no longer charging. I've tried cleaning both the back of the phone and the charger and it still does it. Also, If I put it in landscape mode, often one side will slide down while the other remains. It seems to start to do it the longer the phone is charging and begins to heat up. Unless that's just coincidence. It doesn't matter how high or low I put it on the charger, it happens from any point. I definitely did not have this problem for the first two weeks, it actually stuck pretty strongly and I was more than satisfied with the devices performance. Now, not so much. Going to contact Google about it now that I'm fairly confident it's not something on my end (based on cleaning both device surfaces and trying all positions landscape and portrait, and making sure it was on a level surface).
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] tnygigles66:
Mine is working well with the Ballistic case. No slipping at all, in fact I have the hold the orb to get my phone off it!
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] danfalcas:
So after a few nights TRYING to use the orb, i finally got it to stick without any back protector or case.

What I did was that I wet the inner ring of the orb, just a little, and the N4 stayed there all the night!

Seems to be a solution until my back screen protector arrive.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] halo0:
Sometimes my phone will oscillate from charging to not charging over and over again while it's sitting on the orb. It seems to be about a 2 second cycle time. It becomes very warm to the touch when this happens. Has anyone else seen this? No slipping though...
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] PTM101:
At the LG stand at MWC last week, they were demonstrating the wireless Orb. Interestingly the phones on the Orbs were the only ones on the exhibit with the shipping backing film still on. My naked Nexus 4 slipped right off, to a raised eyebrow from the LG rep. I think LG are clearly aware that there is a problem with this charger.

The latest Nokia ones seemed to work perfectly with Nexus 4, but as my phone was only on them for a few minutes its by no means conclusive.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] tmac01:
Somebody build a statue in this man's honour

This gentleman is a genius. I was having issues with slipping from day one. No amount of cleaning was helping. What made it worse was having the phone vibrate while on the charger. If I got a call while it was charging, it would slide off. I am now using tasker to turn off ringer vibration while on the charger, but was still have major slipping issues so I was putting the phone upside down on the orb so that when it slid down and hit the table, it wouldnt stop charging.

This fix was just what I needed. First time since I got the charger it has stayed put for the entire night. And his instructions are so precise, it really makes the entire process a 5 second ordeal. I initially spent 5 minutes trying to carefully remove the rubber ring with a knife until I re-read step 3.

So yea, Ryan, you are a gentleman and a scholar. May you forever bask in the glow of a thousand suns.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] reddv1:
Anyone receive their replacement order yet? Anyone's ship yet?

Sent from my Nexus 4
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ebagdirtbike:
That's exactly what I did. I clean mine with a damp towel and when putting the N7 on the orb it almost suction cupped on there.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] supercluver:
I'm STILL waiting for shipping confirmation on my replacement which was ordered February 19th. I've called several times and they are "investigating" why it is taking so long to ship. I've already shipped back my first one so now I've paid for one and have none and am getting pretty pissed.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] reddv1:
I ordered my replacement on February 19th also and never got a shipping confirmation, so I called Google around 10 days ago to ask why it never shipped. During the call the support guy assured me it will ship between 24 to 48 hours. The next day I get a cancellation email for my replacement order. I email Google back and ask why they cancelled my replacement order when I just called to check on the status it, so they reply back claiming I'm not eligible for a replacement because I broke the charge and to call LG for further assistance. So email them back telling them that this isn't true and that they don't know how to take basic notes, and I threaten them with legal action if this is not sorted out. So then I get an email from a new polite support person telling me he went through my whole case and provides me with a new replacement order link. So I order my new replacement charger last week but as of today it hasn't shipped.

Thankfully I never shipped back my original charger, so I'm thinking of just modifying the base as mentioned above so it is not at as a steep an incline as it is now and canceling my replacement order. I just don't think they're going to ship any replacement soon. I wonder if there is a reason for that though.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] casbar12:
I have also been waiting for my replacement since the 19th. I called them over a week ago and got the "run around" again so I asked to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor told me they would escalate the issue to tier 2 support to find out why I hadn't received the replacement yet. I was really upset. This is some seriously poor customer support. I told her I was very upset and she absolutely promised me that I would receive a call back within 24 to 48 hours. I never heard a thing back. Maybe I will call again today.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Shano56:
My phone holds onto a refrigerator magnetic pretty good, even pulls the magnet up if I put the magnet low enough. Makes sense if it sticks to the orb magnetically too
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] casbar12:
Google must be listening and taunting us. Last night I received a gmail ad for "Nexus 4 wireless charger is here". What a bunch of dicks. Status on replacement order has not changed.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rabidrotty:
How about wiping the back of your phone with a soft eye glass cloth, all about $1at your local optical store, and give the orbs rubber a quick wipe to. taks all about 30 seconds to do so.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] formicae:
If you're going to do that every time you use the Orb, you may as well just take the three seconds it takes to plug in a wired charger.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] egnor:
One Weird Old Tip for Preventing Orb Slippage

Those of you with slipping problems (who haven't already surgically altered the base, or added a screen protector, or for whom that didn't work)... try this experiment (it's just an experiment): Get the back of your device super greasy. (gasp)

I don't mean dip it in a deep fat fryer or spray it with WD-40 (omg bad idea), I just mean smudge it up real good with finger oil. Rub your hands all over it and ** don't wipe it off **. (Those of you who are OCD like me are _screaming_ around now.) Now see how well it sticks.

I'm curious how well this works. I think finger oil might actually *help* the orb stick. (Counterintuitive, I know; if anything, it makes the glass feel more slippery. But silicone rubber is weird stuff.) Which means lots of careful cleaning and polishing might be making the problem worse.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] soulicro:
You magnificent bastard.

If your phone slips, give this a try. Takes literally 20 seconds, and my naked phone now stays put like a champ.

On a different note, the QA process at LG is seriously flawed. We shouldn't have to muck around with a $60 charger!
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mshroyer:
I've been having trouble with this as well (even after cleaning both the back of the phone and the charger itself). But I'm a lucky bastard who has a 3D printer available to me at my workplace, so I designed a cradle for the charger to stop this from happening.

You can have one too if you have access to a 3D printer. Looks like I don't have enough reputation/karma/whatever yet to post the URL here, but go to Thingiverse and search for "nexus 4 charging orb cradle", it'll be thing #59441, posted by markshroyer. You can get the STL file there, or click on the GitHub link to download the OpenSCAD code.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gnik luap:
Now THAT'S what 3d printers are for!

Now that you've done the design, how long can it be until someone starts making these for sale. That might even make me get the Orb instead of one of the cheaper Qi chargers.

I'm waiting for someone to design a charging cradle for the Nexus 10. If I had access to a printer I'd make a stab at it myself.

It should be possible to print either a cradle that has place to mount the pogo plug, or one that incorporates an audio jack plus micro-usb on the left side.

Maybe after we figure out what-all the pogo connector does someone can make a proper dock.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] nba1341:
winner
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] google0306:
My orb does too.

I think there are some dusts in the face of the orb. After washing it, it doesn't slip.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Steve113:
what are the dimensions for the orb box please?
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] burnski:
Never mind. Just realized I posted a link to the charging cradle posted at the top of this page. Thanks man, I'm gonna see about getting one printed up.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Shieze:
It is sad that you need to have that ugly thing added to your $60 charging orb for it to work. I really wanted to get one of these myself but I won't risk it. I want to see how the LG WCP-300 reviews whenever it is actually released.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mshroyer:
"Ugly thing"? Are you questioning my aesthetics? ;)

But yeah, this charger has a major design flaw in my opinion. I know it works fine for some people as-is, but I'm also not the only one having this problem. Variation in materials maybe, but I think the bottom line is that it's a bad idea to rely entirely on friction to hold a glass surface to a 35 degree incline.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] nba1341:
Or just reverse the rubber on the bottom of the orb and problem solved without adding anything...
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] reddv1:
Now you post this after selling my charger on Craig's list? I tried all the other tricks like reversing the bottom rubber and damning the silicone ring but nothing worked so I just sold it.

I have replacement order open with Google since a month ago which I can't cancel, so if they ever ship it I'll go the cradle route.

Thanks for posting that.

Sent from my Nexus 4
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] casbar12:
Replacement has the same issue

I finally received a replacement after over a month from Google. I haven't had it 24 hours and I can already see that it has the exact same problem. Very sad LG and Google. This never should have left your QA department.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] wx27:
Do you live somewhere with fairly dry air this time of year?

I just got my replacement yesterday and the phone stuck fine (naked glass back + official bumper) overnight, though it looked like maybe a mm or two lower than when I placed it on the charger. Before using the replacement, I did the paper + altoid tin test to verify that indeed there isn't a magnet in the orb (aside from the electromagnetic coil for charging).

I think low winter humidity in my location is decreasing the coefficient of friction between my glass back and the orb ring sufficiently that it can start sliding down. If I had to guess, all product testing was done in a temperature and humidity controlled lab, so this orb may work as advertised for me in the warmer more humid months.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] supercluver:
Finally got the replacement

Well I finally received my RMA replacement yesterday afternoon. The one I ordered February 19th, so it only took Google 1 full month to get it to me. At least that is the only bad part, because this new one seems to work great. My phone stays put, charges, etc... So hopefully the rest of you have good luck with getting a replacement and having it work properly.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] casbar12:
If the product testing only accounted for perfect climate conditions than it cannot be considered quality testing. I am going to hang on to the orb and see if it gets any better through out the year.

---------- Post added at 08:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:49 AM ----------

For me this new one worked great for about 24 hours. After that I found the same old slippage.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] astrall:
Got my orb today. The surface is not as sticky as I expected it would be. But I dont have any slipping issue. Tested it while someone is calling me with vibration on. Loving it now. :D

Sent from my Nexus 4
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] travwill:
Slipping off orb... fixed!

Well, I too was disappointed that my Nexus 4 started slipping off the orb always after a minute or two, sucks, even cleaned it, etc.

But, whoever suggested the below - tried it and it has now worked for days, probably because it is a few less degrees steep.

1. Peel off the little rubber bottom on the orb, it is a rubber circle, try not to handle it too much as it needs to stay stickey.

2. Use fingernail clippers and clip off the two little rubber pieces that stick out that used to align into the orb.

3. Turn the sticky rubber 180 degrees around and re-stick to the bottom of the orb, it still fits well once you adjust it right and should stick fine.

4. This now makes the orb a little less steep but it looks the same I'd say and isn't even noticeable - but your phone should slide off of it now. Tested it a few days and its all good.

-T
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] webmaster:
I have had my Orb since the first day it was available and have generally been pleased with it. The magnets were strong enough to hold it in landscape mode even with incoming (vibrating) alerts. However, over the past few days I have noticed a very big decrease in the strength of the magnets. Previously, when I placed the phone near the orb I could feel the magnetic force before I actually touched the device. Now it seems as if the magnets have lost their charge and they barely hold. The phone actually slips off now as some others have pointed out. Is there any fix other than sending it back? Also, I was thinking that the heat generated by the induction could be responsible for weakening the magnets, is this possible?
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] El Daddy:
There are no magnets in the orb...
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] drunknbass:
Pixil3d ( https://twitter.com/Pixil3D ) sent me an orb caddy. Works perfectly.

They can do more.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] nooomoto:
This is making me nuts. I've been using the orb with my n4 and official bumper flawlessly for about a month now...doesn't slip at all in any orientation. My girlfriend also has an n4 with the official bumper and hers slides right off! This can only lead me to believe that the issue is with the phones and not the orb
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] tmdo:
i have a feeling that the glass back on some of the nexuses are warped or not fixed on properly so the orb doesnt get a good suction. you know how some nexuses have a creaking back or its easy to bend in some areas.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] digitallysick:
They should just make a QI Dock, like a regular dock with the QI tech built in. Seems simple enough , If the magnet thing isn't going to work (like it did with the palm pre) which is a shame, but its better than nothing
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] supercluver:
My N4 didn't stick to my first orb at all, like never ever, from the first time I tried to use the charger. I received my RMA and it has been perfect. Phone sticks, did the first time and has every time since. So I don't think it's the phone.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Locklear308:
RMA'd mine and I haven't gotten the new one yet.

Actually, the first one worked on the first day and then after that, bumper or none it slips right off and doesn't charge.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] tvictor47:
piece of crap

What a piece of garbage that charger.. Wasted 60 bucks decided to return it to play store and grab a anker qi white charger :)

google, is it all about screwing out your customers now huh ? guess the money gets to all of us in the end..:cyclops:
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] WallaceLau:
Orb Stand!

There is a CNC shop right across where I work, and one of the guys there (and myself) both owns a N4, both owns an Orb, and both are slipping off like there is no tomorrow. Yesterday we both got fed up and made this.

It's still half-finished, but as a proof of concept it worked. I am actually thinking of increasing the rake angle because my bedside table is rather tall, and I can't really read the clock off the daydream mode in the middle of the night (without sitting up).

Machined out of a solid block of 7075-T6 aluminum. Yeah the same stuff they used to build jet liners... Overkill? Yes. Worth it? Totally!!

W.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] thepawn:
Mine was working great in the beginning but recently had started to slip...then I read about it not being magnets but just stickiness.

So far what I have found is that if I "press" the phone against the orb a little when I put it on there rather then just lay it against it, it seems to not slip off.
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dark_sat:
Is it so hard just to clean the rubber on the orb?
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] shenmecar:
You should totally market this. A dock for your orb!
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] reddv1:
-1, I've tried that and it doesn't help on my orb. It might on yours, but don't assume it will on others.

Sent from my Nexus 4
[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sstrech:
So far so good, I'm really hoping this is a permanent fix!