Blue Hive wireless charger

[Number_35]

The port on my LG phone started getting flaky a few months ago, when the phone was c. five years old.

I was charging the phone wirelessly in a phone sterilizer (UVC light) but found the sterilizer/charger very finicky - the charging would stop if the phone was not placed precisely in the centre of the box. Plus, the box is bulky, and not suitable for travel.

So, a few days ago I bought a compact Blue Hive charging pad. It was very disappointing - the blue light on the pad would come on, indicating that the phone was charging, and then cut out after a couple of seconds.

I had been powering the charging pad off a 4-port USB outlet I had installed a year or so ago, to replace a conventional receptacle. Useful because besides the UV sterilizer we were often charging bike lights and phones.

Anyway, on a whim I tried plugging the charging pad's cord into a USB port on the desktop computer instead. It works perfectly now. No issues charging my phone quickly and reliably. This makes me wonder what's going on with the USB outlet. I wonder if the voltage out (nominally 5 Vdc) or O/P current is insufficient.

 

[CarLuver]

sounds like the amperage is not enough coming out of your power source. i had this issue with my wireless charging pad . some would work and some would not. i got this tester and found that many of my power adapters did not supply what they listed or the cable was bad or not the correct type .

https://www.amazon.com/Eversame-Multimeter-Voltmeter-Indicator-DC3-6-30V/dp/B07JYVPLLJ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3LXVLTYKSRFZT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-13Wxjp-XTSUMMBRVkg_fios1lynZqFsAupQWOY91N_Knx1x8YW5z_qIgOgVrci0pzn5cuW7szYEMCRn9W5UHsuazZW3lLF4AeXyDy9vLV2QFw-AeJuIP1AfmLM2pIThTm2_YbHDbfLEinksJ0YiUTPqRHAWKhR_Y62Gsvhn7S4cdnQWxYkfcQ428koxo3fhf1GqVCRMDWQFwRpnWdydz0m6JeZZQ58f-bc3HNQeTUtGnhrysrBLUMrhkqx0ZBgCP0yiqDltODuj6gxW93tdjP0q3NxuHXextkyTFGpsTMQ.zt3XzkR_ftGxA6BG3w5eo-kqs6DFVMMrs9Ambi5_MwQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=usb+charging+tester&qid=1714376624&sprefix=usb+charging+te%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

 

[fsdork]

The Canadian Tire listing for a Bluehive wireless charger claims 15W, so at 5V it would need a 3A power supply.

Just last night I was looking at a wireless charging pad we have in the house, and noticed the wall wart was rated at multiple voltages, despite being USB-A to USB-micro. USB-C PD is of course common now, but I had never noticed variable voltage on a USB-A supply before. Your post prompted a brief exploration of a Google rabbit hole, and I see there was an early version of USB PD which used the Vbus and Vgnd lines.

I can't imagine they would sell a wireless pad that required a variable voltage source to be purchased separately, but crazier things have happened. Or it just needs 5V/3.0A.