iOttie Easy Flex Wireless Qi Standard Charging Car Mount Review

Use
I installed the Easy Flex Qi in my 2006 Infiniti QX56 on its dash. The dash on this truck has two perfect surfaces for mounts, and I much prefer that to putting it on the windshield. I used the device for nearly a month daily with my Google Nexus 5, and am very pleased with its charging ability.

iOttie Easy Flex Wireless Qi Standard Charging Car Mount

The LED is yellow when the device is powered, but no device is detected. It flashes green when charging, and holds green when the device reports that it’s fully charged. In practice, my Nexus 5 doesn’t actually report a full charge, so indicators on all of my chargers always think that it’s always charging. This flashing gets a little annoying at night and makes me wish there was a switch to disable the LED.

It’s highly recommended to use the included car adapter to power the device. It is not a standard USB cable: the end that plugs into the car is molded, while the end that plugs into the device is a micro USB connector. If you lose this car adapter, you must replace it with a 2A or better adapter, or the Easy Flex Qi may have insufficient power to charge correctly.

The speed of the wireless recharge is on par with others I’ve used. I believe that the output is ~1.2A. The whole shebang does get hot, so it’s pretty important to keep that in mind. Hot, sunny days mean that a phone that gets too hot will disable wireless charging in order to cool down. This only happened to me once, but it was not at a good time.

iOttie Easy Flex Wireless Qi Standard Charging Car Mount

My primary frustration with the Easy Flex Qi is the abandonment of one-handed insertion and removal. My Easy Flex 2 makes it really easy to insert and remove: the arm springs are sufficiently weak that I can push the apart enough while removing the phone to snap them into place. That button in the middle pops up, and I can later insert the phone and know that it’s snugly in place when the arms snap shut. That same snapping is present with the Easy Flex Qi, but removal almost requires two hands. The resistance of the arm springs is greater than the resistance of the left/right tilt. I’ve gotten in to the habit of sliding the phone upward to remove it, then pushing the arms apart manually after removal or before I re-insert it.

Also, the unit bounces a lot when not on really smooth roads. I was quite concerned at first, but that bottom retention arm and the sticky glue are enough to keep the whole shebang in place. Pittsburgh is notorious for potholes, so the driver shouldn’t be reading while driving, anyway! It’s still a little frustrating at first, but I’ve come to accept it as a part of the added bulk of the unit compared to the svelteness of the Easy Flex 2.

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