theotherlinh

I bought the ESR Qi2 3-in1 charging stand when it was first released. I have an iPhone 12 mini and it wasn’t originally supported, but I was future proofing.

Sadly, these do not work well. It charges quickly but then suddenly just drops off like a rock around 80%. It was odd since it pretty consistent in slowing down around 80-90% regardless of when I started (be it from 40% or from 70%). And most times, I would reach ~95% after a couple of hours of stalling at 80-90%. This was charging the phone alone.

I also noticed the watch would not negotiate charging maybe 30-40% of the time (I’d have to re-seat). I know you should always wait for the charging chime, but I’ve never had to question other Apple Watch chargers. Big upside is the magnet is absolutely solid. I also really like the more compact form factor they went with.

I never had issues like this with my old Anker Qi charger. Nor, my future Anker’s Qi2 charging stand. So I don’t think it is my phone.

To ESR’s credit, they actually reached out when I wrote my Amazon review and offered a second unit. I accepted because hey, maybe it’s a fluke. The new unit was different in that they changed the text on the bottom plate. But otherwise seemed identical. And indeed, it performed identically bad. And ESR did refund me even though it had been a couple of months. Props to them on that.

This reddit post points to the unit being very finicky with power sources because of the chipset they use. And poor thermal controls on a similar car one. This makes me think the chipset is just not good.

I also picked up the companion car charger, too. And I can’t honestly tell if I have the same problem or not because the heat from GPS/sun come into play before anything else. And I have not been inclined to bring it inside to test. But this, also, has an excellent magnet.