iOttie Celll Phone Wireless Charger Car Mount (they also make a non-wireless version)

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FlyingPenguin
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iOttie Celll Phone Wireless Charger Car Mount (they also make a non-wireless version)

Post by FlyingPenguin »

So our new Pixel 6 phones have wireless charging. Wife's car has a built-in wireless charger, but I wanted to get something for my car, and a better car mount than what I've been using up until now.

Did a lot of research Lifehacker and Android authority and found this one highly recommended:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X4YDKTF

Review on Amazon were good so I took a chance. I actually bought two versions: one with the suction cup mount for my car, and one with the CD slot/vent clamp for the 2012 Yukon work truck.

I've gotta say, they work well. The build quality is actually very good. Wireless works as expected.

The one handed feature is VERY nice. My old mount required me to use two hands. This one you can place and remove the phone with one hand and it's quite securely locked in. In the photo you can see a button in the center of the mount. When you put the phone in the mount, it presses against that button, and that triggers a spring mechanism that clamps the phone. To release the phone, you squeeze the buttons sticking out on either side. Very quick and simple.

The suction cup, which is usually flimsy on these things, feels very thick and robust. How well it holds up in hot Florida summers will take time to tell, but I bought another, non-wireless mount, as a spare for the RV and also to steal the suction cup arm off it if needed. If you notice in my photo below, I have the mount resting on the dash. People always complain about the suction cup giving out. Well if the phone is unsupported, and it just bounces around at every bump in the road, that arm is going to act like a lever and pry it off.

I opted to attach the mount to the window so I don't discolor the dash, but it can be used on the dash. There's also a disc included with that strong 3m double stick tape (the tape they use on Go Pro mounts) that you can use on dashes with rough textures: you stick the disc to the dash and then attach the suction cup to the disc.

The vent clip mount actually works well and is what I used on the Yukon. I generally don't like using a vent clip, but this one grabs really tight, and the Yukon has some beefy vent slats.

The CD mount, which at first I was skeptical about, actually works very well if you bother to read the instructions (which I didn't at first) and realize there's a lever on the bottom that you need to turn to lock it into the slot tightly. The CD slot mount wasn't really practical on any of my cars as it would block the entertainment center display, but a good idea for an older car with a more traditional radio.

The charge rate is not very fast - it's 10 watts, which is enough to keep the phone up. But if the phone was nearly dead and I needed a fast recharge, I have a high speed plug-in charger in the glove box. That charge rate is pretty standard for car chargers, and pixel only supports up to 15 watts wireless charging on 3rd party chargers. Only Google's proprietary wireless charger runs at the higher 23 watts.

As I said there IS a non wireless version of this mount, with the same mounting system, and the same one-handed feature:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0875RKTQF

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Losbot
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Re: iOttie Celll Phone Wireless Charger Car Mount (they also make a non-wireless version)

Post by Losbot »

One of my co-workers was showing me the mount he has, which has a motorized version of those side arms. When you place the phone to charge, they close in a grasp the phone. Have to say, it grabbed the Pixel 6 pretty firmly in there. The version he had was a gooseneck one that plugged into his lighter port. I believe they have other options as well.
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Re: iOttie Celll Phone Wireless Charger Car Mount (they also make a non-wireless version)

Post by FlyingPenguin »

Followup 8/3/22: I had to stop using the wireless charging feature because it interferes with the Bluetooth between my phone and the car entertainment system. I can't say this is a problem with the charger as I've Googled the issue and not found any known issues with wireless chargers and BT except for iPhones in a few rare cases (I'm using a Pixel 6), so it may be the entertainment system in my car (2012 Lincoln) that's sensitive to it. BT works but while playing a podcast or music, the pause button will come on and off on it's own, repeatedly. I can actually see the pause indicator on the entertainment system display coming on and off, so I know it's not an audio issue. Disconnecting power from the charger makes it go away. I tried raising the charger higher off the dash and it didn't help. Moving it to the left of the steering wheel seemed to help, but that's not a comfortable location for me.

I bought a backup non-charging version of the same mount so I'll probably swap it out and put the wireless charger in the RV.

I do love the design of the mount, and the one hand operation of placing the phone in it and removing it.
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Re: iOttie Celll Phone Wireless Charger Car Mount (they also make a non-wireless version)

Post by Losbot »

Seems like maybe something with the charger. My car wirelessly charges my Pixel6 and uses BT to connect to the vehicle just fine. No interference there. Android Auto works fine wirelessly while charging.
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