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Touchstone wireless charging mod?

Has anyone thought about stuffing the touchstone coil into the nexus4? It sounds stupid i know since the n4 already has wireless charging built in, but the chargers are expensive and hard to find while the touchstone chargers are cheap and plentiful.

peachpuff said:
Has anyone thought about stuffing the touchstone coil into the nexus4? It sounds stupid i know since the n4 already has wireless charging built in, but the chargers are expensive and hard to find while the touchstone chargers are cheap and plentiful.
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The Qi protocol requires that the receiver send a handshake to the transmitter to start charging. If a non-Qi device is on the plate, then it will do a start and stop every 20 sec to poll for the signal. I am working on changing the Touchstone coil to a Qi transmitter coil and see what happens. I received the Qi coil, Qi inductive charging sleeve (for testing) and waiting on a Palm touchstone sleeve. My concern is that the touchstone without the Qi communication on charging status may overheat the N4 if it doesn't stop the power transmission properly.

terracode said:
My concern is that the touchstone without the Qi communication on charging status may overheat the N4 if it doesn't stop the power transmission properly.
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People have put touchstone coil's in other phones and had no issues, i don't see how it would be any different here. There are 4 contact points that connect the qi coil and nfc on the rear cover, attach the touchstone coil to 2 of them and hope you can close the cover with everything inside.

peachpuff said:
People have put touchstone coil's in other phones and had no issues, i don't see how it would be any different here. There are 4 contact points that connect the qi coil and nfc on the rear cover, attach the touchstone coil to 2 of them and hope you can close the cover with everything inside.
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He's doing the opposite; he's replacing the coil in the touchstone charger with a QI charging coil.

I connected the Qi compliant coil to the Touchstone board and it didn't recognize the Qi receiver so it didn't start energy transfer. I then moved the thin wire coil that the Touchston uses to sense a Palm Receiver to above the Qi coil. The transmitter didn't start with a Qi receiver, but did recognize the Palm receiver and started energizing the coil. Issue was the voltage was very low due to the mismatched coils (Qi transmitter and TS receiver). I need to take apart the Touchstone receiver to see what it uses to activate the transmitter. More tinkering is needed.

I think QI controls the charging level from the phone, by communicating back to the charger. It may not be a good idea to disable this mechanism by swithing a charge coil on manually (though I'd think that the phone would not charge at all, then).
If you want to try, I think QI uses 141 KHz. Supply that to a coil at the correct power and see if it charges.

jutezak said:
I think QI controls the charging level from the phone, by communicating back to the charger. It may not be a good idea to disable this mechanism by swithing a charge coil on manually (though I'd think that the phone would not charge at all, then).
If you want to try, I think QI uses 141 KHz. Supply that to a coil at the correct power and see if it charges.
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I am actually doing the opposite. The Qi coil is on the transmit side attached to the touchstone charger power board. I need a way of sending a proper signal to the Palm Touchstone so that it energizes the coil. The Qi receiver doesn't have the proper interface to send a signal to the Touchstone to power up.

$50 is hardly expensive.... Wall Mart wanted $50 for a plug in travel charger for my galaxy tablet. Just find the lg one.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Qi coil
terracode said:
I am actually doing the opposite. The Qi coil is on the transmit side attached to the touchstone charger power board. I need a way of sending a proper signal to the Palm Touchstone so that it energizes the coil. The Qi receiver doesn't have the proper interface to send a signal to the Touchstone to power up.
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So are you able to replace the qi coil successfully to TS?

For someone who want's multiple docks around, $50 does add up. For someone like me who has 2 or more touchstone chargers laying around from previous mods/palm phones this would be useful.
I've tried to do the following to my Nexus 4, but couldn't get off the back cover without damaging the phone (I could get everything but one corner of the phone to pop open, I noticed I was beginning to damage the body a bit and stopped trying).
Mind you, the following needs to be used with a case; works best with rugged cases/hard cases.
If anyone is able to open their phone up you can try my following idea:
1. Remove the back of the phone
2..There should be 4 pins, 2 for NFC, and 2 for the QI coil.
3. Use a voltmeter to find out which pin is positive and which is negative.
-- I am not sure if the touchstone coil could fit INSIDE the phone, so I assumed it would not fit, and came up with this solution--
4. Using copper tape (if you've modded your GNEX before, you probably have some left over) stick it onto the pins, and lead them outside of the back cover, wrapping around so you see the copper tape on the OUTSIDE of the phone
5. Close the phone back up, the copper tape should now be hanging outside of the side of the phone.
6. Get your touchstone coil and tape/adhere it to the inside of your selected case.
7. Take your copper tape yet again and solder it to the leads of the touchstone coil, and position the copper tape so it touches the existing tape (from the nexus) when you put the case onto your phone.
That's it. The touchstone should be thin enough so that it doesn't interfere with the fitting of the case. This was the situation for my previous two mods with Galaxy Nexus's, the fit of the case was no problem. (Otterbox Commuter, and SGP Neo-Hybrid).

DDRFAN said:
For someone who want's multiple docks around, $50 does add up. For someone like me who has 2 or more touchstone chargers laying around from previous mods/palm phones this would be useful.
I've tried to do the following to my Nexus 4, but couldn't get off the back cover without damaging the phone (I could get everything but one corner of the phone to pop open, I noticed I was beginning to damage the body a bit and stopped trying).
Mind you, the following needs to be used with a case; works best with rugged cases/hard cases.
If anyone is able to open their phone up you can try my following idea:
1. Remove the back of the phone
2..There should be 4 pins, 2 for NFC, and 2 for the QI coil.
3. Use a voltmeter to find out which pin is positive and which is negative.
-- I am not sure if the touchstone coil could fit INSIDE the phone, so I assumed it would not fit, and came up with this solution--
4. Using copper tape (if you've modded your GNEX before, you probably have some left over) stick it onto the pins, and lead them outside of the back cover, wrapping around so you see the copper tape on the OUTSIDE of the phone
5. Close the phone back up, the copper tape should now be hanging outside of the side of the phone.
6. Get your touchstone coil and tape/adhere it to the inside of your selected case.
7. Take your copper tape yet again and solder it to the leads of the touchstone coil, and position the copper tape so it touches the existing tape (from the nexus) when you put the case onto your phone.
That's it. The touchstone should be thin enough so that it doesn't interfere with the fitting of the case. This was the situation for my previous two mods with Galaxy Nexus's, the fit of the case was no problem. (Otterbox Commuter, and SGP Neo-Hybrid).
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Was this simply the metal coil or the entire assembly including board from a Pre charging cover? very Interested as I have a Nexus 4 I will be receiving Monday

singularityq said:
Was this simply the metal coil or the entire assembly including board from a Pre charging cover? very Interested as I have a Nexus 4 I will be receiving Monday
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You should only have to replace the metal coil.
OP, a simple google search would have sufficed http://www.webosnation.com/nexus-4-gains-touchstone-charging-thanks-clever-hacking

Case that covers ports that also works with QI charger?

Does one of these exist? I have a cheap TPU S-line case from ebay that I bought when the phone was first released. It works with the QI charger but it does not keep the dust out of the ports.
I bought two cheapies off ebay to test if something a little thicker would work with the QI charger and so far nothing does. Seems that any case that covers ports are thick and may not work with the QI charger.
BTW its the Energizer charger, not the official Google one.

Have you considered just getting a microusb port cover? http://www.moddiy.com/products/modDIY-Micro%2dUSB-Protective-Jack-Cover.html for example

ziddey said:
Have you considered just getting a microusb port cover? http://www.moddiy.com/products/modDIY-Micro%2dUSB-Protective-Jack-Cover.html for example
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I have but if a case exists that will work then I would like to give that a shot first. I notice the covers for the cases are snug fit so it wont allow dust in at all when a plug may leave room between it and the case. I work in a very dirty environment and would like to keep the phone itself as clean as possible.

custom turbo magnetic wireless charging car dock

so, Ive wanted a magnetic car dock for a while. Airdock makes a nice one. but the airdock 2 is not available. at least last time i checked. So i decided to make one. this has been an on going project for about a month. the first one i made was quite simple. very much like the one on youtube. just 4 magnets placed in a LG charging pad. problem was, the charging would start and stop randomly. I assumed it had to do with the magnet locations. some how it was effecting the charging (considering Qi charging is magnetic)
back to the drawing board! and then project after project lol. I think i must have made 8 docks. all had issues and I was not satisfied. I even made one out of carbon fiber, or an attempt to! didnt turn out well.. then I went a bit out side of the box. so heres what i did
First, i had an extra Turbo battery cover. i plastic dipped that. my theory was plastic dip would work as a release agent for my next step. then I took an old iphone bumper case my wife had and used that as my frame.. alined 4 magnets next to the moto symbol (i put 2 small peaces of metal in that area in side the phone) then i used tap to cover all the gaps the case would have on the phone, and poured in a full tube of plastic weld epoxy. I had no clue what would happen but i was willing to try!
after everything cured it worked really well.. I was able to take the epoxy off the phone cover fairly easly (you can see it pulled off some of the vz and droid writing.. as well as the moto symbol)
now, i have a form that matches the turbo exactly.
the next step was just a mater of sanding and cutting off any of the over pour and any imperfections in the epoxy.
then i put in the wireless charging pad
next, i plastic dipped the front (being rubber it works really well as a non slip surface)
then i warped the outside in some auto chrome trim
and that was that! new charging dock for my car that fits like a glove! because it matches the turbos curves, it auto centers it self. and holds super tight! phone wont move at all... very happy with the out come.. let me know what you guys think! thanks

thats really sweet ill buy one ?

That looks sweet!!!
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Would love to see some links to the supplies you used. I've been wanting to make my own magnetic car dock.

Bad ass! I already tried to make a dock, but it doesn't charge, and the magnets don't hold that well. I don't have the patience (or cajones to open up my phone) to try this.

Im Saint said:
Would love to see some links to the supplies you used. I've been wanting to make my own magnetic car dock.
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Not really links I could use as everything i got was locally bought. Magnets from ace hardware. Cheap iPhone 4 case. Plastic dip and plastic weld epoxy made by jb weld. Got that stuff at pep boys. Just gotta get creative lol. Oh, and the small metal I put in the phone was from my Wifes ear rings =). Super thin metal. Earrings work great!

Wait... why does it look like it's Qi charging??? Did I miss that step?

boneriffic said:
Wait... why does it look like it's Qi charging??? Did I miss that step?
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Guess so lol. There's a pic and I said "then I put in the wireless charging pad".

zathus said:
Not really links I could use as everything i got was locally bought. Magnets from ace hardware. Cheap iPhone 4 case. Plastic dip and plastic weld epoxy made by jb weld. Got that stuff at pep boys. Just gotta get creative lol. Oh, and the small metal I put in the phone was from my Wifes ear rings =). Super thin metal. Earrings work great!
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Fair enough!
I guess what I really wanted to know was which wireless charging pad you had in there. Just a generic Qi charger?

Im Saint said:
Fair enough!
I guess what I really wanted to know was which wireless charging pad you had in there. Just a generic Qi charger?
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Oh of course.
http://www.shopandroid.com/lg-wcp-300-qi-wireless-charging-pad/5A233A18004.htm
That was just the first link I found. I got mine for like 20 bucks.
I guess I should add, I cut the back off a cheap car dock and glued it to the back of the wireless charging pad.

Just checking in - any issues with this long term? All sensors working? Does the compass work properly while on the stand?

How much would you say this cost in total? $50?

gqskrub said:
How much would you say this cost in total? $50?
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Yeah. About that I'd say

Necro-posting...
When the phone back cover was open, did it look like there was enough room to install a metal ring, for use with current magnetic phone holders (Qi chargers)? I have to open the case to replace the battery and figured I might try a magnetic Qi mount as well (easier to rotate from portrait to landscape without a large plastic exo-frame). It's that, or use a thin cover and put the ring between the phone and the accessory cover (I have the ballistic nylon back).

New way for magnetic charging port to break

Typically the issue on our phones is that the magnetic port pulls out after a lot of use. I had this and I superglued that sucker back in. Now, I have a whole new issue. One of the little nubs with the metal contact completely came off! I seriously have no idea how they could have happened. It's hard to describe but I'll take a picture when I can to show this. The annoying thing is that I superglued this one in very well. I would have to seriously risk breaking more things to pry this one off to replace it! Despite no update to marshmallow (D6616) and these crazy build issues I still don't see a compelling new phone to replace this one -_-.

Pics. Initially, the little metal circle was gone. I scraped away the rest of the little black circle to expose the little bit of metal that is still sticking out. I can still use the magnetic charging port as long as I carefully attach it in a way that the little metal piece makes contact with the charger.

Please make a photo of your magnetic cable connector too

When the microphone of my z3 broke, the service changed all the frame of my mobile.
i was so happy, my old magnetic charging port was very worn out (almost like your picture)

I blame users using cheap magnetic cables bought from ebay and amazon because of this. Magnets can be super strong, strong, medium, and weak. Mine has been fine since owning the phone Dec 2014. I use the Sony magnetic dock and always charge on it. The only problem I have is that it needs a backbone to charge because DUE TO MY FAULT, when the phone dropped, it bent the trim area of the magnetic port.
People always need to point fingers at everyone besides themselves.

lvlonkey said:
Pics. Initially, the little metal circle was gone. I scraped away the rest of the little black circle to expose the little bit of metal that is still sticking out. I can still use the magnetic charging port as long as I carefully attach it in a way that the little metal piece makes contact with the charger.
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By the condition of your phone from the pics you posted I'm not surprised. I have 2 magnetic chargers and non have this issue. The magnets are relatively weak - just strong enough to hold the cable to th phone while moving it around - and I've not experienced any issues although my charging port doesn't look near as haggard as the ops.
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

I use the magnector connector which is what initially caused my magnetic port to pull out. My magnetic port looks all jacked up because I superglued the port back in but got messy with the glue and had to scrape some off. Anyways despite how messed up my magnetic port looks, the rest of my phone is actually pretty much in new condition. I have had it in a case all its life and a glass screen protector.

Looking for an embedded magnetic wireless charging case+mount

Never got into wireless charging on my S7. Always had a magnetic mount on the vent with a metal plate between the phone and the case. Now that I'm hooked on wireless charging, I'm on a similar setup but with a wide ring magnet between phone and case so it doesn't interfere with wireless charging. My one issue is that when the phone is flat on a desk, it rocks just a little (and I like a thin case). So what I'm looking for is a thin case, with an embedded magnet (so it's a flat bottom surface) and where the magnet is in a configuration where it doesn't interfere with wireless charging (whether it's a wide ring, or a few magnet points spaced out, etc.) I've thought about digging into my case as a DIY but not there yet Pitaka MagCase looks like it would so the trick but it hasn't been released yet. Any out there that I'm just not finding?
Thanks!
And, this is on an S9 plus.

Can you post pics of your setup? I'm looking for a magnetic wireless car charger that holds up via the vent.
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thx for the tip.... now i want one too
https://www.ipitaka.com/collections/magcase-for-samsung-galaxy-s9

Search on Amazon for "Magnetic Wireless Car Charger, ELEGIANT Fast Wireless Charging Car Mount Phone Holder". Looks like it's now out of stock but there's dozens just like them. I went with something inexpensive to make sure it worked. And it did- fast charged on the mount as well as the Samsung official desktop wireless charger. Although the swivel ball joint on the vent mount was a little flimsy. I placed the magnetic ring such that the top of it was about 1/4" below the bottom of the fingerprint sensor (I spent a lot of time trying to figure out exactly where the coils in the phone were; you can take a good guess by knowing that the desktop Sammy wireless charger woks with both the phone standing upright as well as on it's side and that it's got two coils).
Even though the ring is very thin, it still adds a slight bulge in the middle and makes it "wobble" a bit. I don't have the right shop equipment to shave a circular channel on the inside of the case to place the magnetic ring

Found one made by Nillkin. Have to use their own charging mount (which makes perfect sense as it uses four small magnets at four corners of the mount). Reviews aren't great, it's standard (not fast) charging, and the I like my side buttons uncovered.

Xvida makes one as well (a little bulkier than the Pitaka) but S8 is the most recent they support as of now.

hey guys,
you might wanna hold off getting the pitaka magmount, I received info from pitaka that the s9+ position of the wireless charging coil of S9 therefore the position of the built-in metal plate is different from other cases, they are still testing there new wireless charging mount, it will come out later.
I will be getting a review unit of the case later and I will let you know how I feel about the case. cheers guys.

xzr3b0rnzx said:
hey guys,
you might wanna hold off getting the pitaka magmount, I received info from pitaka that the s9+ position of the wireless charging coil of S9 therefore the position of the built-in metal plate is different from other cases, they are still testing there new wireless charging mount, it will come out later.
I will be getting a review unit of the case later and I will let you know how I feel about the case. cheers guys.
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I have the iOttie magnetic mount/quick charger in my car.
It worked really well with my S8 and note 8.
I put the small metal ring inside the case on my S9+ and it was very finicky.
Sometimes it would only charge (not fast charge) and other times it wouldn't charge at all.
I found that by placing the ring up higher near the camera, it maintained position to quick charge the phone and hold it securely.
The qi coil in the S9+ seems to be a bit closer to the camera than the other devices I've used.
I hope this helps.
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Great- thanks- similar to my current setup- I'm just looking for a case where the ring is actually embedded in the case, so the back of the case is perfectly flat.
Looks like from another thread the S9+ MagCase has launched- not on Amazon yet but on the Pitaka site- would love to see a review to make sure it quick charges wirelessly (as opposed to not quick). Sounds like they had issues with magnet placement originally and that might affect it.

Nillkin makes one. It's on Amazon as well.

y2k1ltd said:
Nillkin makes one. It's on Amazon as well.
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Yes- thank you- the Nillkin looks great- and a lot less expensive than the Pitaka- but the case has full edges that cover the buttons which I'm not a fan of.

texasmax said:
Yes- thank you- the Nillkin looks great- and a lot less expensive than the Pitaka- but the case has full edges that cover the buttons which I'm not a fan of.
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Gotcha, it's not bad.