Did you know that you can make your Apple iPhone 7, 6, 5, or older Samsung model wireless like the new iPhone 11 and 12’s? If you have an older iPhone model you already know the problems you have with going through planned obsolescence Lightning Cables and charging your phone or downloading pictures.
I don’t know how many lightning cables I have in practically every room in my house and at work on my computer but in a few years everything is going to be wireless and for good reason. It is better. You can also Download Pictures Wirelessly once the receiver is plugged into your phone and in place.
Using a Receiver
First, we need a receiver or a receiver case to receive a wireless charge signal. The AirPower technology seen in the iPhone 12 uses a specific chip that the iPhone 7 does not have. Even if it did have that chip, the older iPhone is not suitable for wireless charging as a standard.
You can either use a receiver to put behind your current phone case and wireless charger or you can use a wireless charging case and wireless charger. The case itself holds the receiver as opposed to putting the receiver between your case and the iPhone.
A Qi Wireless Charging Kit
As we discussed a couple of Blog articles back in “Why you need a Qi Wireless Charger for your Cell Phone?” There are many different Wireless Receivers and Chargers that you can use and some are better than others. We recommend using a Qi Wireless Charging Kit.
This gets you both components in one package and is a time saver.
The QI Wireless charging device is divided into two parts. One is the QI wireless charging transmitter, one is the QI wireless charging receiver. They can’t be separated from each other. If your phone has a built-in QI wireless charging receiver, you just need to buy a QI wireless charging transmitter. If your phone has no built-in QI wireless charging receiver, then you also need to buy an external QI wireless charging receiver, so that your mobile phone can achieve QI wireless charging.
Once you get both components, the QI wireless charging transmitter, and the QI wireless charging receiver. You are ready to set up.
Plug in the QI wireless charging receiver to your phone.
First you plug in the QI wireless charging receiver to your phone’s charging port from the back as pictured below. The receiver then lays on the back of your cell phone and goes under your protective case.
Look at other wireless charging phones and you’ll see they either have plastic or glass backs, like the Samsung Galaxy S8. Metal rears like the iPhone 7’s are not suitable for current popular forms of wireless charging.
This is why we need to put the wireless charging receiver between the iPhone’s back and the wireless charging plate/pad. It works right through the protective case and charges once you place it on the charging pad.
You can now put your phone case back on.
Once you have installed the QI wireless charging receiver on your phone you can use your Qi Wireless Kit Charging Pad or most any Qi Wireless Charging Pad with your phone now.
Plug your Qi Wireless Charging Pad’s USB cord into a USB charging device.
To initially test you’re your new QI wireless charging transmitter and QI wireless charging receiver you plug in the Qi Wireless Charging Pad’s USB cord into a USB charging device. The charging device can be anything from your computer to your wall socket USB Charger. You are now ready to charge.
Qi Wireless Charging Pad
Once you plug into the charging pad notice the charge indicator on your phone and look at the amount of charge you already have in the phone. Once you take note then place your phone on the Qi Wireless Charging Pad and check back in about 20 minutes to see how much the phone has charged.
Another way to wirelessly charge your iPhone 7
As discussed you can’t simply use Apple’s own wireless charge pad with older iPhones but you can with a wireless charging case.
One of the most popular is the Qi Wireless Charger Receiver Case For iPhone 7 6 6s Plus. This adds a transmitters for the Qi wireless charging standard.
This limits your selections of cases for your phone but gives you the ease of having the Qi wireless receiver in your case already.
How to install the Wireless Charging Phone Case
In the 4 part picture below you can see how to install the Wireless Charging Phone Case.
- Step 1 Lay the Wireless Charging Case flat and have the charger interface pin pulled out so he case slides over the iPhone.
- Step 2 Insert your iPhone into the case.
- Step 3 Push in the charger interface pin all of the way so it locks into place in the iPhone.
- Step 4 You are ready to place you iPhone on the Wireless Charging Pad and begin charging.
New Apple iPhone Investment
To show the difference between the cost of a Qi Wireless Kit or case and a a brand new Apple iPhone 7-32GB is $449.00 or $569.00 for an iPhone 7 Plus which is substantially cheaper than the base model iPhone Xs-64 GB at $999.00.
The Qi Wireless Kit above is $12.95 to $22.95 depending on which components you buy. The Qi Wireless case above is $24.95. So you can do the math on the difference.
Partly thanks to the iPhone’s success, Apple ranks amongst the most valuable brands in the world. Your old iPhone is worth something which you cannot say for all old cell phones. Global sales of the Apple iPhone fiscal year 2017 Apple sold 216.76 million iPhones. In the 2018 fiscal year, Apple sold around 218 million iPhones, a slight increase from the previous year.
Please see some our other interesting articles such as the “Choetech Dual Wireless Charger Recommendation.”
Downloading pictures.
The next question you may have is; how do I download pictures to my computer or anything with the QI Wireless Charging Receiver or QI Wireless Charging Case on and no access to wires? Glad you asked!!
Whether you are running windows or a Mac there are built in photos managers to help you sync photos with your computer, when you connect your device to a computer, there is a pop-up window to ask if you’d like to import photos to your computer.
The list below are ways to help you transfer photos to computer.
- Option 1 – The Old Way – You can transfer iPhone photos to your computer by USB cable.
- Option 2 – The New Way – You can transfer all your iPhone photos to your computer with iCloud for Windows.
- Option 3 – You can also Transfer photos from iPhone to PC using iCloud
Option 1: Transfer your iPhone photos to your computer by a USB cable.
Apple programs prevent third-party applications from accessing its data. When you connect your iPhone to a computer, the only thing you can access is the photos.
Step 1: Connect your Apple iPhone to your computer with an USB cable, then tap the Trust Pop up on your iPhone screen to let the computer access your data.
Step 2: After connected successfully, open the pop up screen or your computer, find the Portable Devices > iPhone or Internal Storage. See Below.
Step 3: Open the Internal Storage option and the sub-folder, until you see a DCIM photo folder, which contains several folders that saved your photos. Simply open it and copy the photos and pictures to your computer. You can also drag and drop the photos and pictures to your computer.
Option 2: You can transfer all your iPhone photos to your computer with iCloud for Windows or Mac.
iCloud for Windows or Mac allows you to access your files, photos, contacts, calendars, and more from any of your devices. With the iCloud Photo Library, any new photos and videos that you take on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch automatically download to your PC. It lets you share your photos, calendars, locations, with friends and family. You can also use iCloud to help you find your device if you lose it.
Step 1: Download and install iCloud for Windows on your computer, and restart your computer/ After you set up iCloud on your iOS device or Mac, you sign in to iCloud on your other devices and computers using the same Apple ID (you only need to do this once). After that, changes you make on one device appear on all your other devices. For example, if you create a new album in Photos on your Mac, the album automatically appears in the Photos app on iCloud.com on Mac and Windows browsers, your iOS devices, your Apple Watch, and your Apple TV.
Step 2: Enable the iCloud Photo option and iCloud Photo Library on your iPhone. After that, you are allowed to choose the features and content that you want to keep up to date across your devices, simply make the change as you like and click on the Apply button, then click Close.
Step 3: On your Windows 10 computer click on the left corner Windows button and the program list will open 9See picture below. Scroll down until you find the iCloud program icon then click. The whole list of iCloud options will open.
The next screen will open (Below) then select Downloads. The download photos file will open and all of your iPhone photos will begin to appear. You are allowed to download all photos or download your entire collection by year, hit Download.
Step 4: After a while, all your photos would be downloaded to your computer. You can find them under My computer > iCloud Photos > Downloads folder or save them in whatever folder you want.
Option 3: Transfer photos from iPhone to PC using iCloud
You can sync photos from your iPhone to your computer with the Apple iCloud service. There are two slightly different ways by which you can get your iPhone pictures onto your computer via iCloud, depending on whether you have downloaded iCloud for Windows. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos and turn on iCloud Photo Library on your iPhone, then follow one of the tips below to copy photos from your iPhone to your PC.
Step 1: Run iCloud for Windows on your computer.
Step 2: Click Options next to Photos and enable iCloud Photo Library.
Step 3: Make sure your Download new photos and videos to my PC is turned on. If you need to, tap on Change under this option to set another storage path for your iPhone photos. (If you also need to transfer photos from your PC to your iPhone, click the checkbox next to the Upload new photos and videos from my PC option.
Step 4: Then your iPhone photos will be copied to your computer while connected to WiFi.
Download iPhone photos to computer via iCloud.com
Step 1. Go to visit iCloud.com from your PC.
Step 2. Enter your Apple ID to sign in to iCloud. (Make sure you have signed in to iCloud on your iDevice and computer with the same Apple ID.)
Step 3. Choose Photos among the options.
Step 4: Select the photos you’d like to download from iCloud to your PC and then click the Download Selected items icon at the top right corner of your screen. (Press Alt to select multiple items.)
All three of these methods are suitable methods and easy once you get the hang of it. But the one without a USB cable is the one to use when you have a QI wireless charging receiver or case on your iPhone. We have introduced you to the three above. You can choose your preferred one to help you transfer photos from iPhone to your computer.
References:
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/276306/global-apple-iphone-sales-since-fiscal-year-2007/
- https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS821US821&ei=CRgVXM3kHYfA0PEPmLe6gAQ&q=planned+obsolescence&oq=obsolescence&gs_l=psy-ab.1.5.0i71l8.0.0..7534…0.0..0.0.0…….0……gws-wiz.aNKv5dTiCWM
- https://support.apple.com/kb/PH2608?locale=en_US