REVIEW – Wireless charging in the car is no longer a novelty if you are carrying a recent phone, and after trying the more expensive Naztech MagBuddy Wireless Charger, I wanted to see how a lower priced vent mounted option would hold up. The Tech Armor Wireless Charging Car Vent Mount costs $29.99 and combines Qi charging with a gravity style clamp. It is clever and generally useful, but the lightweight plastic build and vent dependent stability keep it from feeling as solid as I wanted.
What it is
The Tech Armor Wireless Charging Car Vent Mount is a phone holder for the car with Qi wireless charging built into the face of the cradle. Set a compatible phone into the mount and the coils inside the charger begin sending power without plugging a cable into the phone. Tech Armor rates it for up to 10W charging with certain iPhones and Samsung phones, while other phones, including my Google Pixel 3, charge at the standard 5W rate.
The packaging is a slim cardboard box with a product photo up front and the basic feature information printed on it. Inside, the charger and accessories are held in a molded plastic tray, so everything arrived protected and easy to identify.
In the box
- 1 Tech Armor Wireless Car Charger
- 1 Micro USB Cable
- 1 Base Stand Attachment
- 1 User Manual
Cradle design
At first glance I thought the silver side brackets were aluminum, which had me excited for a more premium build. They are not. The brackets are lightweight plastic with a finish that only looks like aluminum. That disappointment colors the whole product a little, because the charger works but feels flimsier than it appears in photos.
The more interesting part of the design is the way the cradle grips a phone. The side arms are spring loaded, and the lower support acts like a trigger. When the phone’s weight pushes down on that bottom bracket, the side arms close in around the phone.
In normal portrait use, that mechanism worked well. Dropping the phone onto the lower bracket pulled the arms inward and held my phone securely enough that I was not worried about it falling out during routine driving.
Mounting options
The back of the charger uses a small four slotted vent mount. You press those slots onto the fins of a car vent, and friction keeps the charger in place. A nut around the ball and socket joint lets you loosen the mount, choose the viewing angle, and then tighten it again.
If the vents in your car are not a good match for the clip, Tech Armor includes a Base Stand Attachment as a backup mounting method.
The Base Stand Attachment slides snugly over the vent mount area on the back of the charger.
Once attached, the 3M adhesive on the bottom of the base can be used to stick the charger to a dashboard instead of a vent.
I am not completely convinced the adhesive base would be as stable as I would like, but I am glad it is included for cars where the vent clip is not practical.
Power comes into the Tech Armor Charger through a Micro USB port on the back of the unit.
The included Micro USB to USB A cable connects the mount to any USB power source. I was disappointed that Tech Armor did not include a USB car lighter power adapter, since this is a car accessory and many buyers will need one.
Setup and daily use
Setup is simple: clip the charger onto a vent, connect power, put the phone in the cradle, and charging starts. The process is easy, but getting the viewing angle exactly where I wanted it took some adjustment.
A few times I thought I had the angle set, only to have the unit move because it was not firmly attached to my car vent. That ended up being more about my vent design than the charger itself, and I was able to sort it out, but vent compatibility matters.
Once mounted properly, the Tech Armor Charger did its main job well. Each time I placed my phone in the cradle, it held the phone firmly and wireless charging started right away. The connection and power delivery were consistent during my testing.
The biggest functional limitation is rotation. Tech Armor’s website says the unit’s angle is adjustable, but this design does not really let you turn the phone for landscape use. Rotate too far and the phone’s weight comes off the lower bracket, which allows the arms to release and the phone to fall out.
The other claim that did not match my experience is one handed use. Despite what Tech Armor’s website says, I needed two hands. One hand had to hold or steady the mount while the other placed the phone in or removed it. Pulling the phone out without bracing the charger first was not practical.
What I liked
- Stable connection and power
- Easy setup
- An innovative way of securing the phone
What needs work
- Can’t rotate the phone
- Stability dependent on car vent
- No car charger included
- Plastic, flimsy construction
Final thoughts
The Tech Armor Wireless Charging Car Vent Mount is a budget friendly way to add wireless charging to the car, and at $29.99 it does the core job: it holds a compatible phone securely and starts charging without fuss. I still wish the package included a car lighter power adapter, and the all plastic construction feels less sturdy than the design first suggests. The lack of practical landscape support is also a real limitation. Even so, if your vents work well with this style of mount and you are comfortable using the phone in portrait orientation, the Tech Armor Wireless Car Charger is a serviceable option.
Curious how this compares to the competition? I break it down in The Best Portable Chargers and Power Banks I’ve Tested.
Price: $29.99
Product Link: Tech Armor.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Tech Armor.
