Fiora sent us their UV-C Sterilizer with built-in wireless charging for review. Currently, due to COVID-19 there is heightened sensitivity around cleanliness and sanitization. Phone hygiene is something everyone has started to pay more attention to than ever before.
Let’s find out if the Fiora UV-C Sterilizer & Wireless Charging Station seems like a practical solution or not in the COVID-19 times.
Unboxing
Our test unit arrived in a box slightly smaller than a ream of Letter or A4 size paper. Box contains the UV-C Sterilizer and Wireless charging box, manual, Qualcomm 3.0 quick charge support brick, and a USB-C cable.
Now that the unboxing is out of the way let’s dive into the review.
Design and Hardware Impressions
I like the size of the device. It has nice rounded curves with no sharp edges or corners. The surface finish has a nice matte texture on it. Device top lid acts as the wireless charging portion and is black in color. It has the Fiora logo and an embossed + sign in the middle. The + sign indicates the location of the wireless charging coil, I guess.
We should note here quickly that Fiora Wireless Qi Chargers support all models that have Qi technology-enabled. So make sure that your device has Qi wireless charging capabilities. Our test unit is capable of 5W/7.5W/10W and 15W charging outputs. Your charging speed will be dependent on the output supported by your smartphone or another device.
The rest of the box is white in color. There is a circular LED button in the front and has two – sign LEDs, one on each side of the circular LED. There is an inch long lip to allow lifting the lid and placing the phone or any item that will fit inside the box for sanitization.
Inside the box, there is a slightly raised middle portion. There are bumps on the entire bottom surface the prop the phone or any item being sterilized raised up slightly so that the UV-C light can impact the surface as completely as possible. The section on which presumably the phone rests has bumps that are higher than those at the ends of the box. There are 4 UV-C lamps, one on each of the 4 sides.
The two sets of pogo pins allow the power to get to the top lid on which you can wirelessly charge your device. The lid attaches to the box via a series of magnets so that the UV-C light does not escape out during operation.
Finally, the underside of the box has 4 rubber bumps and some labeling information.
Operating the Fiora UV-C Sterilizer
As soon as the QC 3.0 charging brick is plugged into the power outlet, the front circular LED cycles through blue and pink colors before settling on the blue color. The – sign LEDs cycle through pink, green, blue before settling on pink.
Once you lift the top, place the phone inside and close the lid. You can start the sterilization cycle by pressing the circular LED button. It beeps once and starts a 5-minute cycle. You can initiate a 10-minute disinfection cycle by pressing the button again. While the disinfection cycle is running the circular LED flashes intermittently. Once the cycle is complete it stops flashing and emits three audible beeps.
If you place a smartphone on the top surface the – sign LEDs turn green indicating your device is being charged wirelessly. My S20 FE indicated that it was “Fast Charging”. You can sanitize and wirelessly charge at the same time.
At any time during the cycle if you lift the lid the UV-C lamps stop working within 3 seconds. To start the cycle again, simply put the lid back on and press the center button.
Observations based on use
The overall operation seemed to be pretty easy and intuitive. Instructions in the manual are also quite clear. Instead of the entire lid coming off, I would have liked a hinge to open and close the lid. Other than that there weren’t any operational issues that I could think of in my review period.
Despite what the product website says, I wasn’t able to find a link to any laboratory testing or certification so take the effectiveness of the unit at face value.
As far as wireless charging goes, the Fiora UV-C sterilizer and charger combo works just fine with various smartphones and wireless earbuds that are Qi-enabled.
Fiora UV-C Sterilizer Final Verdict
I like the shape, size, and weight of the device. I also like the fact that it has the ability to support many wireless charging outputs. You can put the charging brick inside and take this device on the go! I was able to run it on a power bank as well so that is a bonus.
Having said that, the engineer in me is just a bit bummed that there isn’t an easy way to verify how good the disinfection really is. I really don’t how effective 3 Watts power is in the form of UV-C light. But I do believe it is probably more effective than just leaving your phone as-is and you get a pretty good fast wireless charging station as a bonus!