Apple use the Qi wireless charging standard, pronounced “CHEE” like cheese.

This upgrade allows it to charge using 7.5W. As Qi is a standard it instantly works with any Qi based wireless charging accessory. Allowing faster charging as soon as the update is complete.

iPhones prior to the X and 8 charge via the standard wire and only at 5W. This means it takes longe to charge the battery.

However the Qi standard 1.2 supports up to 15W so even faster charging is possible. We suspect Apple are keeping this back for their Air Power releasing in Q1 2018.

iOS 11.2 is available via an over air update immediately.

If you would like to know more about wireless charging read our article: What is Qi wireless charging.

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Yesterday Apple announced the new iPhone 8 and iPhone X. Both these new handsets will support Wireless Charging.

You can find Qi Wireless Charging devices on Amazon, starting usually from £16.

Wireless charging in itself is not new technology and a few other manufacturers have been trying to get it into the mainstream for years.

In an unlikely move for Apple their new phones support an open interface standard called Qi charging.

Before you ask it’s pronounced ‘CHEE’ and comes from the Chinese word for Energy Flow.

Qi charging is a standard set by the WPC, the wireless power consortium.

They have been established since 2008 and is now on version 1.2.2 of the standard.

It works in a similar principle to ZigBee – meaning all tech that uses it will in theory work with each other. This means you will be able to use any Qi device or pad to charge your new iPhone 8 or iPhone X. However Apple do plan to also have their own version of Qi with ‘expanded specification’ they they call ‘AirPower’.

One company that must have seen this coming is IKEA.

In 2015 they released a range of Qi Wireless charging furniture and lamps. Allowing you to buy cheap, integrated wireless charging solutions.

This is the second time they have been spot on with their tech integrations, they also released a range of Smart Bulbs that work on ZigBee. The same standard as Philips Hue.

Other mainstream adopters of Qi are McDonalds, they also started rolling out Qi charging points in their restaurants in 2015.

Apple fans everywhere will rejoice that no longer are they forced to buy expensive certified cables, that often break.

We are pretty excited by this move by Apple as it’s yet another move by a big player into a shared smart ecosystem. Moving away from walled gardens and closed tech!

What do you think of Qi Wireless Charging? Let us know in the comments.

The post Apple announced Qi Wireless charging – IKEA right again! appeared first on Smart Home Geeks.

In this how to we are looking at Wi Fi channels and how to find the best one using your iPhone. Doing this can speed up your Wi Fi as well as improve the stability.

Stability and speed are important, especially if you want the best out of your Smart Home gadgets.

What are Wi Fi channels?

‘Traditional’ Wi-Fi  on the 2.4GHz spectrum operates 1 – 13 channels, within the 100 MHz total width of the 2.4 GHz spectrum.

Each channel is 20 MHz wide and there is 5 MHz gap between them, if you do the maths you can see they do not all fit without some overlap!

However channels 1,6,11 do not overlap by design so if possible use one of these channels.

Too many devices on the same channel or on over lapping channels can result in poor performance and speed.

How do I know what channel other networks are on using my iPhone – is there a iPhone Wifi Scanner?

1. Yes there is a free iPhone Wi fi analyser – created by Apple!

Open the App Store and search for ‘AirPort Utility’
2. Install it

3. Go into Settings > AirPort Utility

4. Enable Wi-Fi Scanner – this turns your iPhone into a wi fi scanner.

5. Open AirPort Scanner and select ‘Wi-Fi Scan’

6. Press Scan

7. Now look at the list, seeing what Channel each network is on, you are looking for numbers
1 – 13.

If the number is in the hundreds it runs on the 5GHz spectrum so ignore it.

Ideally you want to use 1,6 or 11 so see if these are free or less busy.

I know which channel I want to be on now what?

You need to go to the admin page of your router or hub and change the settings to choose that channel.

The post How to choose the best Wi-Fi channel for your home appeared first on Smart Home Geeks.