Adding Wireless Charging to the Lumia 640

[her3814]

Yes, as you can see, the Module connects to the phone over the MicroUSB port, so, if you want to use a USB Cable to connect your phone to a PC, or want to charge it with a Wired Charger you just disconnect the module from your MicroUSB and keep using your phone as you would normally

 

[willgill]

Here is the link to the product on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/DigiYes®-Wide...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU3311067

I am converting from Android to Windows Mobile with my 640 in the mail on its way to my house. My cars and house are full of Qi chargers so I'd like to get this by the time the phone arrives.

Do I get the type A or type B?

 

[All5horizons]

Is anyone else getting a slow charge warning using this hack on the 640 with the windows 1
0 insider release? I'm trying to figure out if I bought a bad Qi receiver or if this is 'normal' since the 640 wasn't designed for slower nature of Qi charging. I'm using the Nokia wireless charge that came w/the 920.

 

[Jmp485]

I am converting from Android to Windows Mobile with my 640 in the mail on its way to my house. My cars and house are full of Qi chargers so I'd like to get this by the time the phone arrives.

Do I get the type A or type B?

Whichever one has the narrow side up

 

[Jmp485]

Is anyone else getting a slow charge warning using this hack on the 640 with the windows 1
0 insider release? I'm trying to figure out if I bought a bad Qi receiver or if this is 'normal' since the 640 wasn't designed for slower nature of Qi charging. I'm using the Nokia wireless charge that came w/the 920.

Normal. Either that or we both have bum units

 

[boltman2013]

Don't do it will kill the battery

 

[Derausgewanderte]

Normal. Either that or we both have bum units

normal, just did this on my 640XL and get the message as well. Too bad it's difficult to unplug it temporarily for PC connection. Otherwise it works great so far. PS: Here is the one with the right configuration on Amazon.

edit: actually, charging is very slow on mine and it gets pretty warm. I am not sure if I will continue this. Good to know it's an option. I may try this again later.

the output of the receiver is DC5V/1000mA Max. That should be fine and not give a slow charge warning if it was an actual 1A. I believe that the distance from the charging coil to the charger is too large and it's much less than 1A that the battery will get - hence the slow charge warning.

edit2: I am getting better behavior and less heating on the Nokia DT-900 charger compared to the Energizer charger I tried previously.

 

[Derausgewanderte]

Don't do it will kill the battery

can you elaborate? Your conclusion sounds important enough to get more details. Did you try this yourself or saw this posted somewhere?
thanks

 

[boltman2013]

can you elaborate? Your conclusion sounds important enough to get more details. Did you try this yourself or saw this posted somewhere?
thanks

How To Take Care of Your Smartphone Battery the Right Way
Avoid wireless charging

"Wireless charging can be incredibly convenient if your phone can do it, but it's not without its disadvantages. The inductive, wireless chargers out there today have this nasty habit of generating a fair bit of waste heat. And while wasted energy is just a bummer in general, that heat will also toast your battery in the process. That's no bueno. It's a little less convenient, but standard plug-in charging is going to keep your battery in better shape, especially if you're some place warm to begin with."

Other pointers charge before it drops below 20% and charge to about 80% (work the middle not the ends when possible)
Once a month do full discharge
Keep cool

 

[Derausgewanderte]

thanks, I do understand the science behind this. The heating problem is an annoyance. But convenience is great too. As the article reads, it's a trade off.
As for heat shorting the battery life, without any data on how much the life is reduced at temps of 40C at charging intervals it's very vague. The article also reads that faster charging is bad to battery life. We know that with wireless charging the process at least on the 640XL with the posted receiver is slower. In theory that should be better for the battery, maybe even cancelling out the negative effects of heat.

I'm just making simple assumptions just like the article does. Unless we do a test this is all speculation I believe. If it reduced the life of the battery by 10% that's fine with me...

thanks for the links
cheers

 

[willgill]

The small distance between the induction coils has a lot to do it efficiency and thus heat. I have several wireless charging pads, Energizer dual pad, two Nokias, two TYLT stands, four car holders with built in changing and several generic QI chargers.



Look for charging pads with three coils. It makes the sweet spot larger and charging more efficient.



Don't use a thick case. Every millimeter means more distance and more heat. My daughters Galaxy S5 has a thick case and gets crazy hot. My old Galaxy had no case and barely got warm.



And don't ever completely discharge any Lithium ion or lithium polymer battery. Run that mid band for ultimate life.

 

[zilchspam]

Anyone ever seen a microUSB pass through connector or is it something that is just not possible. This sort of add on project would be better if you could have the wireless charging unit hidden inside the battery area plugged into your microUSB but also still use the microUSB for connecting to your computer without having to unplug the wireless charging unit.

 

[Will Gilliland]

Anyone ever seen a microUSB pass through connector or is it something that is just not possible. This sort of add on project would be better if you could have the wireless charging unit hidden inside the battery area plugged into your microUSB but also still use the microUSB for connecting to your computer without having to unplug the wireless charging unit.

I've never seen a pass-through, but I was concerned about the wireless-only charging. I wanted the option to charge it via USB cable. I just left a small loop outside the batter cover to allow me to pop the plug when needed.
The phone does get a bit warm on my 3-coil TYLT charger. My Samsung GS4 doesn't get nearly as warm. I'll see if I can get some temp readings with an IR thermometer.

 

[Papek_SVK]

I just added wireless charging to my 640 LTE. It requires torx screwdriver, soldering skills and little patience. See pictures below.


Universal wireless charger module, $3.30 on ebay.




Remove battery cover, battery, SIM card, microSD and screws as shown in the picture. There is one screw under the sticker and two screws on the side.




Carefully lift the back part from the right side. and disconnect two flex cables.




Disconnect camera and audio jack cable on the back part and remove PCB. PCB is held by plastic hooks, so be carefull and don't broke them.




There are four contacts, which are galvanically connected to the USB pins. I soldered very thin wires from old USB cable. Be quick and don't overheat the board. Carefully remove any excess flux.




Now you need to modify the module. Open the module and unsolder flex cable.




Assembly the phone. Guide the wires through the gap under removed sticker in the back cover and solder them to the charging module. I was little careless and touched the label with solder tip so I cut it away and covered it with black insulating tape.





It works! Keep in mind this mod ruins your warranty!

 

[Will Gilliland]

I just added wireless charging to my 640 LTE. It requires torx screwdriver, soldering skills and little patience. See pictures below.

That is some fantastic work! I may just do the same thing for my 640. I don't care about the warranty, but I do have a concern.
When I plugged this module into the bottom USB as it was intended, I thought the heat was excessive. I used an IR surface thermometer to test the surface temps of both my Galaxy S4 with wireless charging cover and my 640 with this adapter. I tested the top, middle and bottom sections of both front and back on both phones. Here are my readings, all in degrees F.

Galaxy S4
Front Top 87
Front Middle 86
Front Bottom 86
Back Top 86
Back Middle 86
Back Bottom 85

Lumia 640 with wireless adapter
Front Top 91
Front Middle 94.8
Front Bottom 94.3
Back Top 92
Back Middle 100.7
Back Bottom 97

Both phones were left on the charger fully charged. I don't think the difference is in the efficiency of the wireless charge. I just think the mod feeding into the USB can't regulate the input and must dissipate it within the addon module's circuitry.

I'm VERY curious if soldering onto the battery pins cures this issue. If it does, I have a new weekend project. Let me know how hot your 640XL is getting with this mod.

Also, is there any reason why you just didn't solder onto the battery lugs in battery compartment? Was there not enough room left after you inserted the battery to attach wires?

 

[Papek_SVK]

I'm glad you like my work. Neither I don't care about the warranty since I bought this phone in the US but I live in Europe. I'd buy new one than sending it to RMA. $60 is really nothing compared to €170 here in EU.

I didn't measured the temperature but it didn't seem to be much hotter than when charging via cable. My Lumia 950 gets really hot compared to this 640 during charging but I don't have IR thermometer. I can try measure it with a multimeter with a thermal probe.

I decided to solder it to USB pins and not any further in power circuit to eliminate potential problems and risks. I tested this charging module by connecting it to USB. It charged my 640 during a night and everything was ok.
I wouldn't solder it to battery pins since the battery is only 3.7 V and output from the module is 5V.

Edit: my friend likes this upgrade and wants it too I'll try to make it neater this time. I'll keep flat cable with wireless module and solder it to USB pins with rework station. If it won't work (since flat cables aren't friends with soldering irons), I'll drill small hole next to battery contacts and will guide the wires through it, so It will be covered with module and practically invisible.

 

[Will Gilliland]

Please take pictures of this new project. I'm hoping to attempt this mod before the end of the year.

 

[Papek_SVK]

I don't expect shipment with coil in this month. I have ordered multiple gadgets from China in November and many of them didn't arrived yet.

 

[lachutm]

Those four pins under SIM slot looks like those on 640XL. They are hidden under black sticker
http://forums.windowscentral.com/mi...360837-qi-wireless-charging-lumia-640-xl.html

 

[netmann]

I just added wireless charging to my 640 LTE. It requires torx screwdriver, soldering skills and little patience.

Thanks for this DIY...I was thinking of adding wireless charging to my 640 DS. Can you share what size Torx screwdriver you used? Also, did you get a chance to measure the charging time of a complete depleted battery to 100% charged status using only the wireless charging?

Thanks