MagSafe iPhone Car Mounts?

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I got one from Amazon and it too is working very well in my car. Glad to have this decently working Magsafe charging car mount.
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It depends on the car.
I’ve been wanting to get one for my 2019 Mazda CX-5 and have heard nothing but headaches with that model.
 
stringerhye said:
It depends on the car.
I’ve been wanting to get one for my 2019 Mazda CX-5 and have heard nothing but headaches with that model.
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I've read on many forums that these wired to wireless Carplay adapters just don't play well with Mazda Connect. I almost got one for my brother who has a CX-30 and Miata, but even he had seen all issues people with Mazdas have reported with these.
 
I want to use the ProClip MagSafe mount that holds the official MagSafe puck but I don‘t need It for charging, just to hold my phone. Is there any way to get some kind of magnet I can stick in the mount that is the same dimensions as the real MagSage charger?
 
iAdamator said:
I want to use the ProClip MagSafe mount that holds the official MagSafe puck but I don‘t need It for charging, just to hold my phone. Is there any way to get some kind of magnet I can stick in the mount that is the same dimensions as the real MagSage charger?
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Just don't plug the magsafe charger into your car. Wrap it up nicely and zip tie it.
 
iAdamator said:
I want to use the ProClip MagSafe mount that holds the official MagSafe puck but I don‘t need It for charging, just to hold my phone. Is there any way to get some kind of magnet I can stick in the mount that is the same dimensions as the real MagSage charger?
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Or wait for Moment's solution, looks to be of similar size.
 
chrisdazzo said:
Or wait for Moment's solution, looks to be of similar size.
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Do you have a link to theirs.

I need a solution that will work - or that I can adapt to work with my existing ProClip Base in my car. I don't have a need (or want) for a vent style mount. Right now I am trying out a TIMESS mount (Mentioned in this thread) and a 17 MM ball AMPS adapter I bought on amazon that fit on my ProClip Mount. The problem I am having is the mount isn't rigid enough even with the nut on the 17mm ball tightened all the way down.
 
iAdamator said:
Do you have a link to theirs.

I need a solution that will work - or that I can adapt to work with my existing ProClip Base in my car. I don't have a need (or want) for a vent style mount. Right now I am trying out a TIMESS mount (Mentioned in this thread) and a 17 MM ball AMPS adapter I bought on amazon that fit on my ProClip Mount. The problem I am having is the mount isn't rigid enough even with the nut on the 17mm ball tightened all the way down.
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Turing has one as well that even has the orientation / positioning magnet.

AMPS Mount for MagSafe® Charger — Turing

turingergo.com turingergo.com
 
iAdamator said:
Do you have a link to theirs.

I need a solution that will work - or that I can adapt to work with my existing ProClip Base in my car. I don't have a need (or want) for a vent style mount. Right now I am trying out a TIMESS mount (Mentioned in this thread) and a 17 MM ball AMPS adapter I bought on amazon that fit on my ProClip Mount. The problem I am having is the mount isn't rigid enough even with the nut on the 17mm ball tightened all the way down.
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www.shopmoment.com

Moment Wall Mount - for MagSafe - Standard

<p><meta charset=utf-8;utf-8">Our Wall Mounts turn any flat surface into a secure, hands-free phone station — whether you’re following a recipe in the kitchen, on a video call in your home office, or referencing instructions at your workbench. Both versions use strong 3M adhesive to mount...
www.shopmoment.com www.shopmoment.com
 
Updated my Post regarding the knockoff MagSafe charger after testing it with a USB C charging brick. It does give the charging animation.
 
kingalien said:
So finally received my third-party knockoff of MagSafe Charger ordered from Aliexpress. My setup is a magnet mount which I had placed the Apple MagSafe charger on (see photo) and then mounted my 12 ProMax with leather case to it. This worked well and was very secure when driving.

Wanted to try a knockoff and if worked planned to snip the cord and just leave the charging puck on the magnet. The knockoff I received looked good initially including the packaging (see collage photo). The charger itself did not have the quality feel of the original Apple. The back housing on the Apple had a quality metallic feel while the knockoff was more of a plasticky feel. Putting it on the magnet mount the knockoff did not have the snap to the mount like the original Apple charger. Mounting the phone with leather case onto the charger did not have a solid lock like the Apple did. It did hold the phone but did not snap in place solidly. On the road it did hold up the phone through normal traffic and mild to moderate bumps. Pulling the phone off the charger however most of the time would pull the knockoff charger off the magnet mount as well. This was remedied by putting one of the steel plates on the back of the charger and it was not pulled off the magnet mount after that. Overall I probably won't be using this for what I intended to do with it.

As for the charging, will have to update this later as I just realized I don't have a USB C charger to connect it to lol.

Photos attached where both chargers are pictured has the Apple on the left and knockoff on the right.

***EDIT*** tried the knockoff connected to a USB C charger and indeed it gives the charging animation.

View attachment 1702778View attachment 1702780View attachment 1702781View attachment 1702782
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Thanks for doing this comparison. Is the knock off the same dimensions as the Apple one? I’m looking to use this on a ProClip holder and cut the cord. I’d rather do it with a knock off than the $40 Apple one and this could be a perfect solution.
 
iAdamator said:
Thanks for doing this comparison. Is the knock off the same dimensions as the Apple one? I’m looking to use this on a ProClip holder and cut the cord. I’d rather do it with a knock off than the $40 Apple one and this could be a perfect solution.
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Yes, same dimensions.
 
yanki01 said:
any photos of the one you use?
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raptor mag mount.jpg
 
InvisiBill said:
I bought one of the "rounded rectangle" charger mounts from an eBay seller in California to avoid the delay of shipping from China, though a bit of a shipping issue pretty much cancelled that out. https://www.ebay.com/itm/402570561910 is the exact auction, for reference.

The box is printed with the images that you see all over the product pages. It shows it in silver/white and black/black, just as the product pages do. The other images that you see on every product page are on the other sides of the box as well.

Once you open it, you can see that it's actually black/gray, as others have found. It also includes a USB-A to USB-C cable, telescoping suction mount, and vent clip mount. I've never used a vent clip, but this one seems decent. It has a hook on the back of the clip, and a pretty strong spring, so I would expect it to hold fairly well. It has rubber/silicone on the back side to provide some friction/protection against the dash surface too. I'm currently using the suction mount on my work desk. I'd probably sum it up as "works as described" but I'll admit that the cantilever-ish design works much better than the suction mount included with my iBolt ChargeDock. The pieces connect via a standard 17mm "Garmin" ball mount, so there are infinite ways you could mount this in your car.

As for the actual charger/mount... The magnets hold my 12 Pro in the Apple leather case quite well. It does have the orientation magnets below the ring also, though it's still fairly easy to rotate the phone. I popped it open and it uses fairly thick magnets (probably at least 5mm thick), not super-thin ones like the stickers used to MagSafe-ify existing cases. It gives a satisfying thunk when my phone snaps onto it. I held the charger by the ball mount and shook it around and my iPhone wouldn't fall off. If I swung my arm down into the palm of my other hand, the shock of the impact would cause the iPhone to come off. I wouldn't trust this as the only method of securing the phone on my motorcycle, but I'd expect it to stay put even over some pretty rough roads in my car.

I tested the charging with a RAVPower 45W USB-C PD charger, a couple different USB-A QC 3.0 chargers, and an old-fashioned 5V 2.4A USB power block. I bought one of those cross-shaped USB ammeters a couple years ago, rated up to 15V and 30W per the description. With that tester, I never saw it go above 9V or ~10W. Wireless chargers are usually around 75% efficient, which matches up with this only charging at the old 7.5W, not the new MagSafe 15W.

I noticed that the tester didn't specifically say it supported PD, so I bought a newer version. The hardware is printed with the same J7-c model number and specs, but it does have different programming. The description said it supports PD and handles up to 30V and 150W (which is actually what's printed on both of them). With this tester, the PD and QC chargers ran at 9V, but bounced between .15A and ~.33A (~1W - 3W). Even switching back to the old tester, I had trouble finding the right combination of charger and cable to give me the 10W power draw I originally saw. With the plain old USB block, I got 5W charging, as expected.

EDIT: The 1-3W fluctuation might be an issue with the charger trying to negotiate the higher charge rate with the iPhone (or something like that). I held my XS up to the charger and it went to 7.5W right away. I put it down and put the 12 on the charger, and it went back to the 1-3W bouncing. I could switch back and forth between the phones as much as I wanted and it would go to those charge rates like clockwork.

This charger does show the "ring" charging animation. It seems to show at any charger voltage above the standard 5V, regardless of the actual wattage. It showed even with the bouncing 1-3W output, but not with the 5V/5W charging. None of my old Qi chargers, even the one that I added a magnet ring to, show the animation, so I'm not entirely sure what triggers the display. I don't yet have an official Apple MagSafe charger for comparison.

In posting these pics here, I noticed that the mount's spec sheet only lists 12V input/output as hitting 15W output. All of the chargers I tested are rated for 12V and high enough amperage, but it doesn't seem to actually work at 15W (at least not through my USB meters).

Summary: This is a decent magnetic mount with wireless charging built in. I wouldn't expect it to actually do 15W charging, and you may even have trouble getting 7.5W out of it.
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After some more testing, I believe the 1-3W power fluctuation is due to the charger trying to negotiate the higher charge rate with the iPhone 12.

There are two LEDs on the charger board, though the housing doesn't really expose them. You can see the light leaking out from around the USB-C port though. The red LED is on in standby mode, and the blue LED comes on when it's in (fast?) charge mode. When I put my 12 on the charger, the blue LED comes on and the power seems to go up from ~1W to ~3W. 5 seconds after it starts, the blue LED turns off and the power drops. It immediately turns back on and repeats, indefinitely. It seems like something is resetting after a few seconds, every time.

When I put my XS on the charger, it builds up to 7.5W and stays there, as expected. It doesn't seem to be a general failure with the charger, just between the charger and the 12.

If the charging worked properly on this, I would be very happy with it. The gloss plastic seems a little cheap, but it's acceptable. I'm rather happy with the suction-arm mount, and the physical aspect of the magnetic mount. I noticed that the bottom of the ball socket is rubberized, to help hold it in place, which might be the missing link from other mounts that people have found to droop over time.


I've got the similar TIMESS unit being delivered tomorrow. I'm hoping that will end up being a more functional, but otherwise "identical", charging mount.


I also got the RAVPower "black MagSafe" charger for Christmas. It doesn't trigger the charging animation and I haven't been able to get more than 7.5W out of it. It seems to be a plain old Qi charger with magnets. The included power brick also doesn't seem to power my Apple MagSafe puck to the full 15W either. I tried the RAVPower puck with my 45W PD charger (which properly powers my official MagSafe to 15W) as well and still got the low output. The brick and the puck both seem to be lacking. I prefer its looks over the Apple one, but it simply doesn't work like the Apple one, so I'm returning it.
 
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jamezr said:
How strong are the magnets in the Wall Mount with MagSafe?
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No one knows - the product isn’t projected to be available until March, but I’d assume with Moment, they’d do it right since the mounts would be used for photography, and the magnets would be 1. actual MagSafe, and 2. very strong.
 
Is there a bottom magnet that prevent the phone from rotating? Or is it there to make it seem there is one?
 
theman510 said:
Sorry if you already posted and I missed it, but can you share the link to this one?
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That's a generic Chinese one. They're all over eBay. My post about it has a link to the one I bought. The auction uses stock images which are printed on its box, so any listing using those same images is likely going to be the same item.

I like the magnets, but the charger in it is junk. It seems to act like any other 7.5W Qi charger with my XS, but constantly resets and wobbles between 1-3W with my 12 Pro.
 
For Australians, Hold My Phone now has the full range of ProClip/Brodit mounts listed. Just ordered the adjustable MagSafe one with the foot rest, minus the power adapter which I already have, for $59AUD.

www.holdmyphone.com.au

Holders Car Phone Holders Apple iPhone 12

iPhone 12 - Holders Car Phone Holders Apple iPhone 12
www.holdmyphone.com.au www.holdmyphone.com.au
 
theman510 said:
Sorry if you already posted and I missed it, but can you share the link to this one?
Click to expand...

www.ebay.com

Car Mount Wireless Charger with MagSafe for iPhone 12/12 Pro/12 mini/12 Pro Max | eBay

Car Vent Mount PRO with MagSafe Wireless charging support. A high-quality ball joint makes it easy to flip from portrait to orientation with one hand. Magnetic Car Vent Mount is designed to provide a seamless set-and-drive experience while keeping your device safely mounted and conveniently...
www.ebay.com
 
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