Using different wireless chargers confuses my phone?

[gomezz]

I use three different wireless chargers for my Lumia 820. One by my bed, one in my living room and a portable power pack for when I am out and about. All different makes and models.

What I find is that sometimes when I have been using on charger then it won't charge properly on another one. The only solution seems to be to power the phone off and on again which seems to suggest it is the internal phone circuitry and/or the battery monitoring task in the OS which is getting confused about the state of play.

Anyone else found this to be a problem? Any tips for avoiding it in the future?

 

[TechFreak1]

I use three different wireless chargers for my Lumia 820. One by my bed, one in my living room and a portable power pack for when I am out and about. All different makes and models.

What I find is that sometimes when I have been using on charger then it won't charge properly on another one. The only solution seems to be to power the phone off and on again which seems to suggest it is the internal phone circuitry and/or the battery monitoring task in the OS which is getting confused about the state of play.

Anyone else found this to be a problem? Any tips for avoiding it in the future?

Do you have the gadgets app on your phone?
Also what is it running Wp8.1 or WM10?

 

[Zachary Boddy]

Well, each wireless charger may be using a different wattage and thus charging at different speeds, which may be messing with your device. Does it only happen when you change chargers relatively rapidly, or if there's any duration of time between chargers?

 

[gomezz]

I usually use the bedroom one overnight when I have to get up early for work next morning. But if not out till later in the day I usually wait until the morning and use the living room charger. It is the living room charger which seems to be the one that is struggles after using the bedroom charger for a couple of days. The portable charger actually seems not have a problem or cause a problem.

One thing is that I recently changed the bedroom charger from an original Nokia which stopped working to another charger stand I had to hand which is one of those here today, gone tomorrow cheap far Eastern jobbies but which seems to work well once I had put black tape over the charging status light to stop it lighting up the bedroom like Times Square or Piccadilly Circus.

 

[Ryujingt3]

Well, each wireless charger may be using a different wattage and thus charging at different speeds, which may be messing with your device. Does it only happen when you change chargers relatively rapidly, or if there's any duration of time between chargers?

This. Wouldn't it be best if all the wireless chargers were the same brand/make/model etc.?

 

[gomezz]

It would be best if all wireless chargers stuck rigidly to the QI standard.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

This. Wouldn't it be best if all the wireless chargers were the same brand/make/model etc.?

Yes. While it's not strictly necessary, many companies approach the Qi standard a little differently to achieve their product. It's not guaranteed to charge at the same rate or even target the same part of your charging coil. My Tylt charger is great, but it achieved 10w charging earlier than most and probably isn't strictly part of the standard.

 

[Ryujingt3]

Yes. While it's not strictly necessary, many companies approach the Qi standard a little differently to achieve their product. It's not guaranteed to charge at the same rate or even target the same part of your charging coil. My Tylt charger is great, but it achieved 10w charging earlier than most and probably isn't strictly part of the standard.

Sadly the only phone I ever got wireless charging on was my Lumia 1520.

 

[gomezz]

Beginning to think it is just my living room charger that throws the odd wobbler from time to time. Not used any other charger for the last week and it has been fine for several days but this morning stopped charging at 30%. Lifted and replaced the phone and it started charging again ...

 

[Ryujingt3]

Does that mean everything will be better if you replace the charger in your living room essentially?

 

[gomezz]

Possibly. Would really like one that goes into quiescent charging mode when it approaches full charge as my bedroom charger seems to do (and my old Nokia charger used to do) rather than stop-starting all the time as seems common. But this is something you never see talked about in any product description or review.

 

[Ryujingt3]

I only had wireless charging once with my 1520. I can see the definite benefits though.

 

[gomezz]

Well, well, well! The last time the charging got confused I tried uninstalling the third-party battery monitor app I had been using since I first got the phone. And lo and behold all the confusion went away. I am not saying it was the app per se but I suspect that having that alongside the inbuilt Batter Saver app was causing conflicts.

 

[Ryujingt3]

Well, well, well! The last time the charging got confused I tried uninstalling the third-party battery monitor app I had been using since I first got the phone. And lo and behold all the confusion went away. I am not saying it was the app per se but I suspect that having that alongside the inbuilt Batter Saver app was causing conflicts.

Glad you managed to find the root cause of the issue!

 

[gongdog]

Yeah that can't be good for your phone, would be better if you'd use same brand and model chargers or if that's not possible, at least make sure they're all of the same voltage/amperage

 

[Ryujingt3]

Yeah that can't be good for your phone, would be better if you'd use same brand and model chargers or if that's not possible, at least make sure they're all of the same voltage/amperage

Completely agree with this. This is why companies like Apple for example have made it so that their phones alert you if you are using a charger cable that isn't good enough for the phone and could damage it.

 

[gomezz]

I disagree. I think it says more about the ability of a phone being able to properly monitor the state of charge than it does about the quality of the chargers. Amps is amps and volts is volts and as long as they stay withing the USB specs then they should not be the cause of any problem.

 

[gomezz]

Incidentally have recently had a couple of rapid discharge events which I am wondering is related to changing my go to podcatcher app and the new app leaving rogue orphan background processes running when the app is closed down. For now I am avoiding the quick close method and instead backing out step by step and see if it happens again (had similar with the BBC online radio web site in the past).

 

[Ryujingt3]

Incidentally have recently had a couple of rapid discharge events which I am wondering is related to changing my go to podcatcher app and the new app leaving rogue orphan background processes running when the app is closed down. For now I am avoiding the quick close method and instead backing out step by step and see if it happens again (had similar with the BBC online radio web site in the past).

How long have you had the phone? It could just be that the battery or hardware is on its way out.

 

[gomezz]

Had it since 2013 so yes battery itself misbehaving is certainly a possibility. But, touch wood, been fine since I last posted.