yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Thunderbolt Accessories] stedrocklp:
This is a little off track but I took the CarHomeGoogle.apk and the CarHomeLauncher.apk from my DX and put it on my T-Bolt so I could have the ability to customize the icons and enter and exit as I please. If anyone is interested I could post those apks. Back to the dock; I purchased the 29.99 dock from verizon and found it to be just as crappy as the DX dock I bought. But either way it will get my T-Bolt on the window and thats all I care about. I am debating building the T-bolt into my center console but that would take some effort.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] cashmore1985:
I used a universal Arkon Sm514. It works for me. The Tbolt doesn't know that it's in a mount but I never really used the car dashboard stuff anyway.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] StephenMilone:
can anyone share the magnet location(s) so we can attempt a DIY mount that also triggers car mode?

I dont want to drop $30 on the verizon one with the mixed reviews i've been reading plus if i eventually goto the extended battery, it's useless to me. thanks.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] moosez3:
Exactly the only Problem I have with it, other than that it is solid.

Yes

I use it for that as well thats why I love the surf (especially LTE) and talk, because maps is not interupted if a call comes in
[Thunderbolt Accessories] lgldrgdlr:
I have this mounted up in my car now. I have yet to get my Tbolt attached to it though. When I used it with my Inc, I got a care-mate barely there case and put the mounting disk on that since I didn't want to attach it to my phone. I would then simply leave the case attached to the mount. I'm still looking for a cheap case to use for the Tbolt.

One thing I had to do though, was super-glue the disk to the back of the case. The disk doesn't seem to want to stay on anything that has a bit of texture on it.

It is able to be folded flat when not in use, that's why I like it so much.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] beyondyourscope:
I kind of want to leave mine in it's case while being mounted, anyone ever try those Clingo mounts with the sticky surface?
[Thunderbolt Accessories] lynseyw:
I have one of these. I love it. Holds well, access to all ports, and works with all cases.

http://www.breffo.com/gallery.html
[Thunderbolt Accessories] SteveDusa:
Wow I think this is one of the best design I've seen! Now it'll be interesting to see how it fits with the extended battery.

Just ordered it from Amazon and should be here in 2 days (Thanks Prime), once mounted I will take some pictures.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] lynseyw:
Glad I could be of some help. I hope you like it as much as I do. Don't give up at first. It took me a while before I decided on the best set up ;) At least there are so many ways to set it up :) I am going to get the extended battery. I have no worries that it will fit just fine.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] Nobody's Hero:
Seriously, thanks for the recommendation. I just bought two: one to piggyback my wife's car dock (for OGD) and one as a dock on my nightstand.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] ilogik:
That is neat, I ordered one today to use as a desk stand at my work. My boss is an arachnophobe so hopefully this will keep him away :P
[Thunderbolt Accessories] kkozma:
There are no magnets. I took mine apart to attach a custom vent mount that's on a swivel ball and I specifically looked for them. There's nothing inside the dock at all except for the USB connector. The usb connector is on a circuit board and my best guess is there's something on that circuit board that tells the phone when it's attached to the dock.

A couple things I've read here that I can maybe help with, but you have to use bluetooth. There's an app in the market called bluetooth power and it's free. This will enable and disable your bluetooth connection based on whether the phone is plugged in and charging or not.

Second, if you use the google car dock (which you should, because the HTC one SUCKS), you can set it to automatically launch the car dock based on when it's connected to a bluetooth device it's paired with. This worked out pretty good when I was using a crappy universal gps/celphone mount that the phone didn't "recognize". The google dock also allows you to go back to the dock application if you exit car mode via the notifications bar.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] SteveDusa:
Okay I just got the Breffo Spiderpodium this morning. First impression is good, not great but decent for the price.

PROS:

- Flexible. It can easily be shaped into your desire to fit your device. Also the ports can be accessed easily if you position the legs right.

- Anti-slip. It's covered in very slip-resistant material that's soft to the touch yet holds to most of the surface very nicely.

- Light-weight. It's portable too. Despite the nice grip and anti-slip surface, it can be put on and take off with a little muscle. Not a lot, just a little.

CONS:

- Needs a good place to securely mount it. The best place is if you have something to wrap the legs around, or a tight space like the air vent in your car so the legs actually is "stuck" in there. Needless to say, it will take you a bit to find a good place to mount it.

- The legs might block the bottom buttons, or make it hard to access.

- Not a complete snug fit. The phone might wiggle a bit but it's going to take a lot to drop out of the holder, or if you didn't hold it properly.

I don't have the extended battery or any cases for my TBolt yet, but I am sure it'll easily be fitted since the legs are so easily repositioned. In my case I use the last section of the legs to make two hooks to hold the bottom corners of the phone, it does block the phone buttons a bit but it's not inaccessible. As for the top I positioned them horizontally so it won't wiggle left and right while in motion.

It's not a complete snug fit as I mentioned but it does the job right and provides suitable protection with easy access to the phone.

I will take an additional picture with the phone in it later when I get home tonight.

Edit: The photos with phone in are up!
[Thunderbolt Accessories] StephenMilone:
Thanks for the info! I actually don't have bluetooth in my car, I may use my original plan and use Tasker w/ a profile that if headphones (aux) and charger is connected, load car app...that is if i don't get this official dock. thanks again
[Thunderbolt Accessories] smilepak:
While samsung phone sucks when it come to update, they have good accessories. Their car dock works well. HTC lacks accessories. No car dock.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] jinxerfelix:
I bought one of these today, it works great. Case fits, check! Room for charger to plug in, check! Aux port unobstructed, check! Extended battery fits, check! Inexpensive, check!

It doesn't put the phone into car mode but that doesn't bother me.

Edit: sorry, new user, can't post links. It is a Rocketfish Car and bike mount for MP3 players.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] usafle:
I just ordered this Car Mount. Should be here on Friday. Supposedly it charges the phone as well. So if it does, good deal!

Just wanted to throw this out there for all of you.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] mike.s:
That's the one you can get from Verizon for $5 less.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] usafle:
Err... from what I read on the Verizon one it wasn't able to charge the phone. Just "hold it"? I'll be pissed if I was mis-informed.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] ilogik:
The verizon dock has a micro usb port in the back so you can charge the phone while its in.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] mike.s:
It's the same. The Verizon box says "IGRIP TRAVELER" right on it.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] lanwarrior:
I got this car mount too, but when I placed my TB, the Car Panel app doesn't start automatically. Isn't it suppose to do that?
[Thunderbolt Accessories] mike.s:
Make sure your phone is seated all the way. It takes some force to get the USB connector on the mount to plug into the phone when the mount is new. You'll feel/hear a click when it goes in, and it loosens up over time. Make sure it's lined up properly first.

If you look at the connector, there are two little nubs sticking out - these are meant to hold the connection together, something which isn't needed with this car mount (the arm on top does that). I used a Dremel with one of the rubber polishing points to wear down the nubs, and now mine goes in very easily.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] yukonhijack:
Does the TB get really hot while in nav mode like the OG Droid did?
[Thunderbolt Accessories] usafle:
DAMN!!!! <insert more expletives here!!!>

Oh well, too late now, it's here....
[Thunderbolt Accessories] usafle:
AND... the phone has to be naked in order to fit in the car mount.

STRIKE TWO. <slams head on desk>

Otherwise though, besides I paid more $ for it and I have to remove my case, it's a good mount.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] lanwarrior:
I pushed my phone as hard as I can and I DID hear the click, but the phone doesn't change to Car Panel automatically.

I am sure my iGrip dock is working because it can charge my phone just fine.

I am wondering if this have something to do in the settings? I am using STOCK ROM and the phone is rooted. I already checked the "Development" section and made sure "USB Debugging" is not ON.

Any ideas?
[Thunderbolt Accessories] dirtyfingers:
Mine was the same way so I brought it in to verizon and the guy tried it with like 3 of the employees tbolts and none activated it. They were out of stock so he ordered me a new one and it should be here within the next day or two.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] lanwarrior:
Thanks for the info! Sounds like it IS the iGrip that is having problem.

I bought it form Android Central store, so I had to ship it back to them. :(
[Thunderbolt Accessories] Cg006:
Just to chime in....

I got the HTC (verizon) car mount ($29.99 at vz store online). So far it has been working really well. I installed "CCH" for the dock settings.

After a while the phone gets easier to dock it. Just wish now it had an aux port on it as well. Would have been awesome.

ALSO>

I also ordered this Motorola 950mah Charger ($6 bux) :

http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehi..._1_2?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1303302606&sr=1-2

^With this charger i had BT, Tethering (i brag to my friends of the "on board free wifi" lol) , GPS, Max Brightness, Pandora streaming, 4g on, TB overclocked to 1.3ghz --> all ON at the same time. The charger was able to keep my phone juiced up and still charge it. If you need a good charger, just get it. I already wasted so much time trying to get a usb only adapter to use my own cables. Dont do the same..lol

I had bought a (ipod/iphone) kensington adapter that had a 2.1a and 1a USB ports but with the micro usb cables, it was not providing the charge i needed to my phone. i read in another thread this had to do with not all cables handling the output, so i needed a specific micro usb charger). All is gravy now.

P.S. GOOGLE NAVIGATION IS F'ING AWEEEEEESSSSOOOOMMMMEEEEEE!!!!

now, if we could overlay redlight cameras over gmaps.........
[Thunderbolt Accessories] lanwarrior:
In my case, I am having trouble with the USB cable. I have a Griffin PowerJolt with 2.1 Amp output, so I know it's powerful enough to charge the TB. Problem is, all the USB cables I have does NOT charge the TB via the car dock. I HAVE to use TB's own cable that came with the phone, but that cable is too short to use in the car.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] Cg006:
Sucks to have that issue. i never had an issue like that stemmed from the cable itself with the mini and older usb. i just gave up trying to make it work with the micro usb cables and bought that moto charger. the cable is not too long though, but it works for me. i plug it in the slot i have by the console. its much neater now.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] cthuga:
DIY Car Mount from Office Supplies

I built my own for free using office supplies.

it works pretty well when paired with an elixir icon for dock mode.

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2011/02/how-to-build-a-car-mount-for-your-phone-from-office-supplies/
[Thunderbolt Accessories] stedrocklp:
I don't want to kick a dead horse here but for the sake of confirmation I thought I would take a pic. When I put my phone in the dock my phone does go into "car" mode although I am unsure how it knows to do so. My OG droid has magnets that tell it whether it needs to be in car or home dock mode.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] monkey1911:
I went and got my iGrip today, and so far it's working well with BAMF Remix 1.5, the only issue I have is that the sense music app refuses to run in landscape so I'm stuck picking songs sideways. Everything else seemed to work pretty well.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] kkozma:
There is a small circuit board inside the dock that transfers the USB from the back in to the phone. I don't know what's on it, but when you plug just that small circuit board into the dock it flips to car mode.

Also for those off you having difficulty getting it to launch car mode, see if you can find and install the google car application AND the google car mode launcher. If you can't find them here by searching, I can host them. Mine would not launch car mode in my dock either until I installed the google one. Besides, the Google version is about 8 gagillion times better than the piece of crap from HTC. I don't know what they were thinking, it's embarassingly bad.

Another thing to add. If you have a dremel at your disposal, grind the nubs off the connector that sticks up from the dock and goes in to the phone. After I did this I went from having to use two hands to seat and remove my phone to being able to slide it out with ease.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] lanwarrior:
I have the same exact Car mount (iGrip) as shown in the picture above and I am wondering what kind of CABLE and POWER PLUG do you guys use?

I am using the ORIGINAL TB cable with USB extended cable (the original cable is too short) and Griffin PowerJolt (pic below) that output 2.1A (10 Watt).

Problem I have is that when I put my TB in the dock and run navigation, it doesn't seem to charge the phone. If the phone is OFF or in SLEEP MODE (screen off), then it charges slowly.

It seems that the dock is not supplying power sufficiently to both POWER and CHARGE at the same time while the phone is running with GPS navigation.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] stedrocklp:
I would have to agree. I took a 6 hour trip last night for Easter and had my T-bolt running in map mode the whole time. For whatever reason it seemed to charge but very very slowly. I did notice that when I stopped at a rest-area the phone never charged back to 100%. I have a Griffin usb charger that has two charging ports. Just as a note, I did have my Droid X charging at the same time so that could have effected its ability to charge the T-bolt fully. Maybe we should do a test and find out the output of our chargers and weigh that against its ability to run nav and charge at the same time. I will say that the charger atleast kept the battery level at what it started at but it definitely charges very slow.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] lanwarrior:
I believe it has to do with the dock itself. I haven't had a chance to do a long trip, but I noticed that when I drive for 20 minutes with GPS navigation and, say..my battery level is at 98%, by the time the trip is over, it still at 98%.

I am sure it's not the USB charger, because mine output large amount of power (2.1 amp, 10W). I'll see what happen if I plug the phone directly to the USB charger, bypassing the car mount.

For your Griffin USB, does it have a TOTAL of 1 amp (meaning 500mA per port) or 1 amp per port? Looking at the TB original power charger, it said 1A so I assume the TB need that much power to charge.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] mike.s:
While it's plugged in and charging, check what kind of charger it thinks is present (exit car panel, home/settings/phone/battery). If it says "Charging (USB)," your charger doesn't follow the USB specs, and the phone won't draw full power from it. It should say "Charging (AC)".

If you can open your charger, and can solder, you may be able to fix it.

Mine charges just fine in the dock. Note that the last maybe 5% always can take a long time - this is when the charging mode changes to "constant voltage."
[Thunderbolt Accessories] xgonzox:
Do any of these docks work with the extended battery?
[Thunderbolt Accessories] lanwarrior:
Mine show "Charging USB" when connected to the iGrip (Verizon car mount). I am using Griffin PowerJolt, which output 2.1 amp.

I am sure its not the charger, because I used to own the iPad and the charger were able to charge the iPad when its running intensively (games) at full brightness. The iPad need far more power (10w) than the Thunderbolt.

So not sure why my Thunderbolt is showing "Charging (USB)". Gotta be the car mount.

I am going to try changing the extended USB cable.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] mike.s:
It is the charger that is the problem. It doesn't matter how many amps it is able to deliver, if it does not follow the USB charging spec (and it doesn't, or your TB would show "Charging (AC)"), then the TB can't use more than 100 mA from it (per the USB spec), and that is not enough to keep a TB powered up, with screen and GPS, etc., without draining the battery.

The iPad apparently isn't compliant with USB specifications.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] je2345:
Androidcentral.com has a really nice car dock on their store for like $34.99. Called Igrip perfekt mount I believe and it even rotates to portrait

http://store.androidcentral.com/igrip-perfektfit-charging-dock/3A78A8282.htm
[Thunderbolt Accessories] mike.s:
You haven't read through this thread, have you? That's the same mount you can buy at a Verizon store for $29.95.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] lanwarrior:
Interesting. The thing, is, I have used this same car USB charger for various devices as follow:

- iPad: 100% brightness with activities such as games or browsing (I have Clear HotSpot)

- iPhone 4 (with Navigon GPS running at 100% brightness) - now sold and replaced by TB

- Nook Color (100% brightness)

These devices charges just fine compared to my TB connected to the iGrip dock, because the battery percentage is increasing at a much faster rate than the TB.

The TB, when connected to the iGrip car dock and runnign GPS with 100% brightness, just doesn't charge enough to increase the battery percentage.

So how come the TB is the only one having problem? Are all the above devices non-USB compliant and ONLY HTC Thunderbolt is?

That's why I am wondering if it's the CAR DOCK itself.

In term of the AMP, it DOES matter. That's why people were having problem charging the iPad with their laptop because apparently the USB port in most laptop only output low power (less than 10W or 500mA - 1A).
[Thunderbolt Accessories] Cg006:
dudes.....just get yourself that moto charger from amazon page 8 of this thread has a post by me with a link on there.... you guys are all complaining about what also happened to me. i also bought a kensington car charger (2 slots) 2.1a and 1a slot, didnt work either with my own micro usb cables. also if you plug it into the phone directly, it still didnt supply enough charge, i had that current widget to verify.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] monkey1911:
It's your charger, I'm using a cheap-ish walmart charger and I show "charging (AC)"

Sent from Thor's hammer on a bolt of lightning.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] mike.s:
Yes. Per the spec, a device can't draw more than 100 mA without either enumerating (which implies a charger with "smarts"), or determining that it's getting power from a Dedicated Charging Port (DCP). A DCP is supposed to provide at least 1.5 A. I haven't seen my phone feed more than 800 mA to the battery. A DCP is identified by sensing that the D (Data - the 2 inner contacts on the USB port usually found on chargers) lines are connected together, with 200 Ohms or less. All of this is in the USB specs, which were cited in the post I earlier linked.

From a computer, the TB can negotiate up to 500 mA, which is why it charges faster on a dedicated charger.

You can go on believing it's the phone, or the dock, or the cable if you like. I really don't care. I thought I'd help, but you seem more interested in arguing about it than fixing it.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] lanwarrior:
Originally Posted by lanwarrior	So how come the TB is the only one having problem? Are all the above devices non-USB compliant and ONLY HTC Thunderbolt is

Hmm.. must be pretty crappy standard if most of these LARGE companies don't follow the standard. I am sure the USB committe or whoever it was you cited their holy standard will rectify that standard, seeing how more devices are getting far more powerful and 100mA won't be enough.

Nope, just want to find the truth. If you really want to help me, then tell me WHICH USB Charger you use that work. Are you expecting me to try each USB charger out there until I find one?

EDIT: Never mind, found the answer from someone else in this thread.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] Raf.Lee:
Honestly this is the truth. That motorola rapid charger kicks serious ass and charges my TB so fast its awesome.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] lanwarrior:
Anyone have recommendation where to buy a micro-USB EXTENSION cable? The cable from Motorola Rapid Charger is too short because the cigarette lighter is too far away from the dashboard (stupid Volvo...)

I haven't found a Micro-USB male-to-female adapter. It's mostly Micro-USB to USB, Micro-USB to Mini-USB, etc.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] fronc:
Not to fan the flames here, but what was stopping you from seeing for yourself whether the charger was the problem or not? All you had to do was check the readings when the phone was in the dock and the dock was plugged in to the charger, and then just check the readings again when the phone is plugged in to the charger directly.

If both say USB, you will know immediately that the dock is not making a difference. If the dock says USB and the direct connection to the charger reads AC, then you'll have proven wrong all 12 of the people trying to help you.

In any case, I think you got your answer. We can all sleep soundly now, knowing your charging woes are soon-to-be no more. ;)
[Thunderbolt Accessories] fronc:
I recommend just buying a new cable from Monoprice. Its one less variable to worry about when troubleshooting.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10303

Also, have a look at this related thread for a new charger: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1024983

EDIT: For the cables, more specifically I recommend these:

3ft: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10303&cs_id=1030307&p_id=5457&seq=1&format=2

6ft: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10303&cs_id=1030307&p_id=5458&seq=1&format=2

They won't handle data, only the charging functionality, so don't try to transfer files from computer to phone with them.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] lanwarrior:
Thanks for the link on Monoprice.

The Moto Rapid Charger cable, unfortunately, is built-in to the adapter itself, so I can't change the change. The best I can do is to either:

a). Get an adapter (Female-to-Female type)

b). Get an extension cable with Female-to-Male).

I am looking at Monoprice website, but so far haven't seen one.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] Cg006:
You can get that moto charger for now, while you seek other solutions. At least you can use the phone in your car in the meantime. Amazon has like a 30day return policy :) (the cable is only like 7 bux anyways, pretty cheap)
[Thunderbolt Accessories] ikon8:
Just got an email from ProClips, their thunderbolt holders are on sale now. I've used these previously and they work great, a little pricy but great quality and they have vehicle specific mounts to go along with them.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] eikoo:
I ordered mine hope its better then the one I got from the VZ store.
[Thunderbolt Accessories] AstarteSV:
how well does VZW one stay on the windshield?
[Thunderbolt Accessories] digitalscars:
Here is how I have mine setup

It is nice quality and solid, allows you to adjust it to almost any angle.

Sounds good going threw my Alpine stereo system, when using Pandora it stops the music automatically when I get a call or use the mic to respond to a text msg.