Can you charge it in advance by leaving it in the sun, and then connect it to your phone overnight? Or do you need to charge your phone in the sun??
965110
No battery, only charge. But toy can charge an external battery with it. I leave it in camp hooked to my external and charge my devices at night.
1220611
So long as you had bright sun -- you might get it if it was strapped onto a rack bag. You can also charge it with a micro usb to usb charging cable. If you have a small usb charger for your phone, for example, you could plug it in occasionally to top it off.
828819
It charged my HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE, but it's not an easy task such as plug it in and wait. You have to crank the hand generator to provide the charge. Not that big of a deal; hand cranking trumps having a dead phone, but it's going to take a while.As far as color, I have the black unit, and yes, it does get hot in the sun. But so does anything sitting in the sun. I don't know if silver would make that much of a difference.
632204
8-12 hrs depending on amount of direct sunlight, but u need to position it correctly ( not a big deal ) as sun moves. USB charging works very well to re-charge ...... its handy given you have off grid capability if required and it does't rain all week LOL
1734528
You'll have to bring your charger cord. There is a USB port and it charges your phone when you plug that in.
946166
With good sun about 8 hrs for a full charge. I pre-charge mine w/my phone charger before I head out though.
204269
I go ahead and charge it. I think you have to charge it now and then even if you don't use it.
1897623
Charge it until the lights go up all the way but be careful. You'll burn it out if you charge it too long. Also, don't charge the case and the phone together or you'll break it
1563374
If you charge it fully you should be able to get 1-1 1/2 charges out of it before needing to be recharged. If in the sun it will charge the phone battery till full then itself.
2127119
Yes you can pre-charge it with the sun or with your computer. I pre-charged mine and left it in the closet for two months, and it was fine.
1844826
BabsStarbuck: I charge my phone at night while I sleep. . . the battery usually will last all day and most of the time through THAT night, so i don't have to charge it every single day.
1588261
I bought it to be able to charge at night or whenever I needed to do so. It may be you can use a usb, I am not very technical.
1296505
Mine works great. My instructions said it arrives partially charged and to let it set in the sun for a full daybefore using. I had a couple of partly cloudy days so I left in on a window ledge where it would get full sun from noon to sunset. After the 3rd day I assumed it had plenty of sun and it works great. Just keep itin the sun during the day if you use it and try to avoid letting it run to empty. Recommendation: Leave it in the full sun for 3 days and then use it again, that should do the trick. If you plan to use it everyday and let it run, I would suggest purchasing at least one more to alternate use. I live in Key West where we also get more than our share of great sun. Good luck. Mine works great. My instructions said it arrives partially charged and to let it set in the sun for a full daybefore using. I had a couple of partly cloudy days so I left in on a window ledge where it would get full sun from noon to sunset. After the 3rd day I assumed it had plenty of sun and it works great. Just keep itin the sun during the day if you use it and try to avoid letting it run to empty. Recommendation: Leave it in the full sun for 3 days and then use it again, that should do the trick. If you plan to use it everyday and let it run, I would suggest purchasing at... » Read More Mine works great. My instructions said it arrives partially charged and to let it set in the sun for a full daybefore using. I had a couple of partly cloudy days so I left in on a window ledge where it would get full sun from noon to sunset. After the 3rd day I assumed it had plenty of sun and it works great. Just keep itin the sun during the day if you use it and try to avoid letting it run to empty. Recommendation: Leave it in the full sun for 3 days and then use it again, that should do the trick. If you plan to use it everyday and let it run, I would suggest purchasing at least one more to alternate use. I live in Key West where we also get more than our share of great sun. Good luck. « Show Less
1311798
(Addendum to previous answer). Of course, you need to leave it in sunlight to recharge the batteries...forgot to mention that in my previous response.
1738236
You can't charge both at the same time so the best way is to have your phone inside the case and charge it while it is there. Then, once it's fully charged then the case will be charged automatically.
303066
Yes. Never take it out and your phone will be charged for almost 24 hours. Always put the phone back on the charger, but if you forget you can call your phone base (see the call the receiver button) and press it and you will find your phone, if it's someplace in the house. But never take the battery out and your phone will always be charged. Hope I answered your question. If not, give more detail and I will help some more.
946163
I used it while backpacking, and hung the solar charger from my backpack to let it charge during the day while hiking. At the end of the day, I connected my phone, and it took about an hour to charge it up. Battery life lasted me more than a day, for photos and onboard apps, using the phone in airplane mode to conserve power.