Can you 'supercharge' a Nokia Lumia 920 with wireless and wired charging?

By Daniel Rubino
last updated

As we’re the largest Windows Phone site around, you could imagine we get asked a lot of questions. Some are bizarre, some are just rants asking us to fix the OS (we wish we could!) and some seem silly at first but do make you go “hmmm...”

Such is the case with this scenario: You toss your beautiful Nokia Lumia 920 onto the Fatboy wireless charger to get some juice. But you also have a USB AC adapter standing by...what happens if you plug that in? Will it charge off of both, making it “go faster”? Or does one take priority over the other—and if so, which way?

Like we said at first it seems funny but in all seriousness, there has to be an answer. We reached out to Nokia for a comment on it and they got back to us on the matter…

So, will double charging your Nokia cause the earth to crack, the seas to boil? Or will your phone to get a rapid charge? Even Nokia’s PR via the ever witty Doug Dawson, was unsure of the answer to our request, noting that we have defeated him and he has to “check with some folks in Finland.” Huzzah!

In short, there is no advantage to having both wired and wireless charging at the same. Sorry folks. Here’s the deal:

“I’m afraid there is no ‘super charge’ capability. In the event the wired charger is connected to the device and you place the product on the wireless charging plate, wireless charging takes priority.”

There you go, right from Nokia. It is interesting that wireless charging, which admittedly has less output than wired, takes priority but that’s how it works. In short, if you want the fastest charging then a higher current AC adapter will be your best bet over a wireless charger. But if you want convenience, you should opt for the Fatboy , Plate or Stand.

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Executive Editor

Daniel Rubino is the Executive Editor of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft here since 2007, back when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, Microsoft Surface, laptops, next-gen computing, and arguing with people on the internet.

78 Comments
  • Dat Palm charging usb cord. I use it too :p
  • Yeah, these batteries are made to be trickle charged, and any rate higher than what they're engineered for would probably just damage the battery. Patients is a virtue!
  • patience, not patients!
  • I hoped I wasn't the only one to notice that
  • If only Nokia had made it Touchstone compatible, I'd have a new reason to keep them.
  • Aren't they compatible? I've placed my Lumia onto a touchstone, and it indicated that it started charging. The only problem was that it has to be upside down, because otherwise its too far from the coil
  • no it doesn't  work. You'll  hear the sound but it won't charge. When I first got my 920. I thought I saved myself $49 by keeping my touchstone,  but I was wrong. 
  • I'm using the same charger cables for all my Windows phones and my still in use FrankenPre2. I love the silver circle!
  • It is that silvre circle. I don't even know where my real charger is, but my bedside Pre and computer cable are always there lol. 
     
  • Me too... cuz i know which side is up. :)
  • Haha that's what I thought. But it is a neat idea though... Supercharge would be pretty darn awesome
  • Although If they could charge any faster they would already be doing so through the USB port.  It's not like wireless charging adds much in the way of power.
  • You can double your charging rate by getting a higher amp charger. Like a 1.8A charger such as this:
    http://store.wpcentral.com/blackberry-premium-micro-usb-18a-charger/5AA8...
    or a 2A charger:
    http://store.wpcentral.com/qmadix-usb-dual-mobile-charging-hub-21-and-21...
    Quick charging may affect the conditioning of your battery in the long run.
  • Good question. Thanks for the authoritative answer. (If it charged both ways at once, it'd probably overheat.)
  • IV thought this and tryd it
  • Not putting you down or anything, but on pretty much every post, your spelling and grammar are bad. It is hard to understand you. But you are still an awesome guy. :)
  • Its hard to type and eat pizza, especially with his hands. Have you seen hulk? Just sayin :)
  • Lol!
  • great insight!
  • Says the guy with at least 3 mistakes in his comment.... Check your own, especially if you're going to try and bash on his. GAME OVER MANNNNN
  • Maybe if u put it in the microwave, wrapped in aluminum, with the wireless charge and usb charger, maybe then we can super charge it. Can someone confirm this?? Lol
  • I can't wait for someone to fall for this... =P
  • Alt+F4 also speeds up IE. Since we're giving tips hehe
  • CTRL + ALT + DEL (TWICE) will speed up your computer ;)
  • Haha I was thinking this same question last night.
  • I'm waiting for a phone with a super solar charge feature. I can plug it in,sit it on a fat pillow AND let the pillow sit in the sun light.
  • "higher voltage AC adapter"?  Ok, let me plug in my 110v AC adapter to 220v and see how it goes.  Seriously, the wireless charger is at lower voltage?  Usually it's the current that determines the charge time.
  • Voltage, current, what am I, Edison? 
  • that's a north shore kinda response, eh?
  • Nah, North Shore response would cite Tesla as I'm only about 20 mins from Shoreham...aka Tesla's backyard ;)
  • hahahhah that got an actual chuckle out of me
  • Well, Daniel meant "relatively" higher anyways smart guy.. Jerk. Lol!
  • Really, most adapters will take either mains voltage these days, but that's beside the point... :)
  • AC is  converted to DC by the charger and regulated to output at a certain amount of amps. So a high voltage input won't matter, it's the output amps that matters to how fast it charges.
  • What about testing? :D
  • I plugged up my 920 to a Chevy volt home charger in my garage. It fully charged before the door closed all the way.
  • Lol! Funny :-):-)
  • Hahahaha awesome lol
  • Can someone compare charging times through USB on a PC, through wireless charges and through AC adaptor?
  • Higher amperage charger speeds up charging not voltage as the article states.
  • Or get a third party microusb charging cradle
  • Ahhh and i was ready too bust out the old magnusson super charger....
  • Unless Nokia was auditioning their battery charging expertise for Boeing this was never gonna work.
    FYI I think you meant to say a higher amperage charger, not higher voltage?
  • I would have tried it if Nokia had sent me my free charging pad! Edit: It just arrived today!
  • turn off the phone if you want to supercharge it.
  • Plugging it in turns it back on.tested/confirmed..
  • LOL you cant turn off and charge a windows phone.
  • You used to be able to do that to Windows Mobile devices...
  • Nice to see people fall for this one... ;)
  • There is a limit to the charging rate. You can get a 2 amp charger for a tablet and plug it in to that but the phone isn't going to charge any faster than with the 1 amp charger that comes with the phone.
  • Is my phone the only one that charges faster wirelessly rather than through USB?
  • You mean USB from the computer or from the charger. From the computer, definitely. From the charger, maybe a bit. It is pretty close but the chargng pad seems to cram more charge in when I drop it on there for a few minutes.
  • I have a wireless charging stand from Nokia and i am interested if it is bad for the phone that i have it the whole day long on the charger. I am currently doing this every day in the office because it is so a nice way to store the phone on the desk
  • I've asked myself the same thing. I guess, judging by the policy on the USB charger (even when connected, only charges when needed) it's not a problem. But I would also like an answer to that question.
    Because the stand is indeed quite practical, even to access the phone without the need to pick it up from the desk.
  • You are doing it right.
  • Everything that I have read, you should not recharge a battery until it hits around 10% charge left. While there is no battery memory as there was with past tech, you still only get a finite number of charge cycles. So if you toss your phone on a charger at 95%, you have wasted a charge cycle even though you only needed 5%. I too have the stands, one for my desk and another for my night stand. I unplug the one on my desk until I really need a charge. If this is true, it would be nice if Nokia gave us the ability to set recharge thresholds such as do not charge the device until the battery reaches X%.
  • Actually that's incorrect. Charge cycles depend on a lot of variables. you can actually get more live out of your battery (Li-Ion) if you recharge at 50% depth of discharge (DoD).
    For example an average Li-Ion battery gets approximately 300-500 cycles (before capacity drops to 70% rated charge)  at 100% DoD. At 50% DoD it gets 1200-1500 cycles.
    If your battery lasts 10 hours from a full charge (100% DoD) then you'll get ~5000 (10 hours * 500 cycles) hours out of it. But at 50% discharge you'll get ~7500 hours out of it. (5 hours * 1500 cycles). In fact, charging your battery at only a 25% DoD will give you more hours over the life of the battery than 100% DoD (though charging every 2.5 hours is unrealistic.
    This is one of the things that make wireless charging appealing to me and more than just a gimmick. The ability to easily top off your battery during idle time can greatly enhance your usefull battery life.
     
     
  • I've seen dozens of complaint threads about the battery seizure as a result of overcharging. It is definitely not recommended as you only need to charge the phone for less than two hours. Anything more will just risk a problem... (mind you this is worse for the unibody handsets)
  • Actually it's a curious thing but I got the charging stand (DT-910) for the Lumia 920 and it gives me MORE battery life than it used to with the USB cable. So I would guess the phone charges better wirelessly than through cable. Which can account for the priority that wireless gets.
  • I have heard that long ago in communist Russia, the OS would fix you...oh, wait. Is this not that site? Lol =P
  • hey Daniel! What would happen then if you lay it crossing two wireless chargers? Or one on top one below? Hahaha
  • It would charge three times faster! :P
  • You'd get cancer from all the crosstalk... :P
  • Can anyone confirm the kite+thunderstorm method of wireless charging??
  • My Nokia Lumia 920 goes 88 miles per hour and can charge up to 1.21 gigawatts.
  • Teinx
  • I'd actually wondered about this myself... oh well, I have it lying on my Fatboy most of the day anyway, so it isn't really a problem for me... would've been nice though!
  • I found a Flux Capacitor in the shed the other day and didn't know what I was going to do with it until now...
  • You probably wouldn't want to charge the battery faster as it might damage it?
  • Anybody know stats for the difference in charge rates between wireless and USB
  • The battery is the ONLY thing that truly lets the 920 down. It's so fragile, having come over from phones that you can charge when you like how often you like etc this thing is so sensative and unpredictable, I can get anything form 8 hours to a day and a half from the same charge and very similar usage. The reccomened charging patterns are totally impractical, "It's best to charge it at no lower than 20% and up to no higher then 90%". Pathetic really. 
    Please don't argue about that charging advice it's from the battery maker themselves.  
  • You're lucky you get 8 hours, it seems mine can drain in 5 hours sometimes.
    I think it's a bug in Windows Phone 8. Whatever it is, it's crap. Some days my phone will last like normal, and other days it's saying that the battery is at critical level around lunch time!!
  • Just an FYI here for everyone:
    1. The phone could not charge both ways at the same time because it gets 2 different voltages from each. If they were the same voltage, it could run in parrallel.
    2. The wireless charging takes priority because the usb port can be turned off. If the phone is on a wireless charger, it has to use the power coming in or else the coil inside the phone would over heat (eventually, not quickly). Whether or not your phone needs the charge, if it is on the wireless plate, it is using the energy coming in. AKA, the phone will not completely sleep while on the charger, it will just turn the screen off.
  • Hey, does anyone know if the fatboy can charge 2 cellphones at the same time? my wife has a samsung s3 with the duracell powermat kit on it. we are thinking on buying this one to charge out cellphones, can someone confirm this?
  • I know its late, but I just noticed the pic at the top is using the black Palm Pre charging cable.
  • Lulz good fun
  • Good to know! Thanks WPC! Can't wait to get the next Lumia flagship phone.
  • I've been wondering the same on N8.