I am considering getting a fairphone3+ but lack of wireless charging is a deal breaker for me. I wanted to check if it is possible to add wireless charging and what would be involved?
Welcome to the Forum!
Perhaps you can check this thread:
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Cheers. In essence should work then. Only downside is that usb port would be blocked so you would only be able to use the wireless pad going forward. I’ll need to have a think about it as I have situations where I want to use a cable but most of the time so easy to just use a wireless pad. Thank you again for pointing me at the correct thread
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As far as I know wireless charging uses more energy compared to ‘normal’ charging.
For me that’s a deal breaker.
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I wonder if it is possible to mod a wireless charger into the phone. Since everything is very accessible and there are some test contacts on the mother board one should be able to find the right two pads and solder the coil directly to it. Might try to find the corresponding pads in the coming days for research purposes.
Fair enough. Hopefully we can agree the best thing would be to have the option to use either so we would both be happy.
Hi Hank,
just wondering: Why is the lack of wireless charging a deal breaker for you?
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I thought about it as well and looking at pictures of what is needed, I’m not comfortable in my soldering skills on a tiny scale that would be needed. Perfect solution for me would have been just swapping the usb port for one that also includes a wireless charging coil.
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Convenience to be honest. For the last few years on my galaxy 8 I can just drop it on the pad to charge it. For my work phone that doesn’t have that ability, I need to still plug it in.
I want to upgrade to a new phone, but for me it is hard to give up a convenience for something that I feel is of lower quality.
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Quite frankly: with the Fairphone 3 you will find many more aspects to be of lower quality compared to a newer Galaxy S-class phone than the charging comfort. The entire UI/UX is really slow, due to the midrange SoC.
And for the die hard fans here: Just find an iPhone SE (2020) and compare its scrolling through, say, a Twitter or Facebook timeline with your Fairphone’s. Pretty disenchanting.
I still got myself an FP3. But not for performance or convenience.
Best wishes
Thomas
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I’ve been struggling with the charging options myself, partly for convenience, partly for less clutter (same charger for all devices), and partly for less wear-and-tear of the hardware.
With wear-and-tear I mean the USB socket: After many times un-/plugging it will eventually become loose and unreliable, which is a bad thing for the only charging connection the phone has. A related issue is the risk of damaging the socket while a cable is plugged, by accidentally hitting the plug, pulling the cable sideways, phone falling to the ground etc., especially when on the go or in the car. Any of these issues will require repair of the socket, meaning replacement of the module which it belongs to - even though that’s not difficult with a FP, I’d rather avoid it.
That’s why I got myself a magnetic USB cable, you know those with a small plug which remains in the phone’s socket and protrudes a few Millimetres, and a magnetic cable which snaps to this plug. In principle a great idea: No constant un-/plugging in the socket, and in case the cable is pulled or pushed by accident, the magnet un-snaps without damage. And: The small plug is available as USB-C, Micro-USB, Lightning etc., so you would only need 1 charger and cable for multiple devices. Also, you can leave multiple magnetic cables where you need them, at home, in the car, in the office etc.
I checked many offerings on the web, and chose one with the smallest magnet-protrusion on the plug I could find, it even fits into the FP3 bumper opening. All worked as expected, quick charging is possible (although that might not be the best choice for long battery life?). But the following experiences made me think twice:
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The protrusion, though rather small, is still a bit thicker than the FP3 bumper. This means it still can be hit in daily use, and especially when falling down and hitting the ground with the plug protrusion, there is a real risk of damage to the phone socket. My wife managed to break the magnetic plug when dropping her LG.
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When in a metal workshop, put your phone away, since the magnetic plug obviously attracts iron filings and dust, difficult to clean.
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The phone socket should stay clean because it’s constantly covered. However, dust will still accumulate between the plug and the phone.
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The idea “one charger+cable for all devices” is not very practical, often several devices need charging at the same time.
With these experiences, I’m starting to lean towards Qi wireless charging. Even though it consumes more power than wired charging (shouldn’t matter much with green energy…?), the avoidance of damage to the socket and replacement of that module should balance that out. Of course, that’s only true for a fully integrated Qi coil - if it’s a retrofitted one which connects to the USB socket, the latter can still be damaged, as with my magnetic plug.
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Why? Because you like wasting energy?
“shouldn’t matter much with green energy…?”
That would be great if you lived in a place with “green energy”.
Since you probably don’t…
I use a magnetic USB-C cable. That’s convenience for me. It is not slower than your method, and it is as safe as MagSafe.
Regarding wear and tear on USB cables. Usually dust ends up there. Use a toothpick (wooden, plastic; not metal) to carefully get rid of it.
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