Why is the wireless charging so bad?

[Woeo]

I have had issues with my iPhone getting very hot but not in a long while. Was it the CSP update?

With my phone & case snugging it into the corner of the charging area against the raised ridge on the mat aligns it every time.

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[Ford Motor Company]

Mine is so bad it over heats my phone in 1 minute. I took it to the dealership and it did the same with their phone. They said i need to bring it in and leave it for them to investigate. They said it should not over heat your phone

Good morning! If you send over a DM with your VIN and Ford dealer info, I can look into your concerns on my end.

 

[Stang68]

If you have an iPhone with Magsafe, then this is awesome: https://twraps.com/products/magsafe-dual-wireless-charger-for-mustang-mach-e

I have had one for about a month now and it's worked very well and kept my phone charged even while using CarPlay on a roadtrip.

 

[mpshizzle]

I think this is largely an iPhone/magsafe problem. My Samsung will get warm on the wireless charger, but never has a problem charging. My partner's iphone on the other hand is very picky with the Mach e charger. Taking off the magsafe case does help significantly

 

[DaMeatMan]

that's interesting. i exclusively use wireless charging for my phone at home and it's never hot (barely even warm) and the speeds feel even faster...

It's likely that you notice your phone heat up on the wireless charge pad in the car because (a) you are likely also using Android Auto or Carplay, which is demanding on the phones CPU, and (b) are also charging wirelessly at a fairly high rate of charge, which may also heat the phone.

To confirm this theory you may want to try charging wirelessly while your not using the phone for Android Auto or Carplay.

 

[Arsenic17]

It is impossible to even get the Pixel Fold to wirelessly charge in the Mache. Very rarely with some specific placements I can get it to start, but it doesn't stay charging and trying to reproduce it in the exact same place doesn't work. Yeah, basically useless to me.

 

[Kevin P]

My BMW i4 M50 wireless charging sucks on my Android S10. My Mach E GT was about the same. Neither car will charge enough to keep up with the phone's usage while running Waze on Android Auto. I suppose it could be my phone or case, but I have a wireless charger at home that works just fine on the same phone. Of course I am not running wireless Android Auto on my nightstand, so maybe it wouldn't keep up either

 

[hartmms]

I have a pixel 6a pro with no case. I also have the pixel stand for wireless charging. That works just fine with no overheating. I also have my MME do wireless AndroidAuto when I get into the car. Like others, I find the MME wireless charger subpar. Leaving it on the charger for a drive and I have less SOC in the phone than before. My phone size is nearly identical to the size of the rubber mat, so it doesn't shift around during driving.

AccuBattery data when on the charger show the overall current is negative when on the wireless charger (granted that is rather skewed result since the screen is on). However, when I plug in manually with usb-c, I can get a net positive current most of the time. It's not great, but it's something. I have a special usb-c cable that tells me the charge type and power. With the usb-c connector, it reports 7-9W during charging. It's not USB-C PD, though.

I purchased a Spigen 15W wireless charger with the plan of removing the stock charger and putting this one in place. Since the USB-C port on the car can only do 9W, the losses from the wireless charging put me right back in the same boat as the stock wireless charger - too weak. For this to work, I'm gonna have to get a real USB-C PD 12v adapter to power the Spigen off of. I was really not wanting to hack up my car to make this work.

Maybe I'll just disconnect the wireless charger since I do like to place my stuff there when I get in and out of the car. When I go on road trips, I'll likely just plug it in like I do in my truck.

 

[Fremont Kid]

My wireless charger functions great. Charges up to 100%. Cell phone gets warm but not hot. I have a Samsung S22, no case.

 

[Mach-Lee]

I have had issues with my iPhone getting very hot but not in a long while. Was it the CSP update?

With my phone & case snugging it into the corner of the charging area against the raised ridge on the mat aligns it every time.

Yes, there is a SSM for an charger update that decreased the heat generation on iPhones:

https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...ative-slow-charging-iphone-12-13-users.20237/

 

[Chicago-E]

Your phone is likely using a lot of processing power to run apple carplay or android auto, playing music and running maps. So your phone is trying to charge wirelessly while under heavy load. Phone has no chance. My phone even gets warm and chargers slow when I use a cord in the car.

 

[hartmms]

Your phone is likely using a lot of processing power to run apple carplay or android auto, playing music and running maps. So your phone is trying to charge wirelessly while under heavy load. Phone has no chance.

It actually does have a chance, with the proper charging power. The pixel 6 pro has a 18.5WattHour battery. My phone can certainly last more than 1 hour when wirelessly connected to the car for android auto and not plugged into anything. Therefore, the actual watts used during these operations are way smaller than 18W. Looking deeper, I've never seen more than 3 amps consumed with the screen on by the CPU. 3 amps * 3.3 v (battery voltage) = 10watts (worst case). USB PD can deliver various wattages, so anything above 10W should be able to actually add charge to the battery, regardless of phone CPU load. Medium level PD chargers can deliver 18 - 36W for charging.

I can't measure the wattage of the wireless charger, but it's likely < 10watts. The wired connection is around 11W when I measure.

Edit: after researching more, it looks like Google only allows "fast (>10W)" wireless charging with their own pixel stand. Their stand actually requires a fan to keep the charger cool. Apple's wireless charger maxes out at 15W.

 

[Hammered]

It's a heat issue, if you want to charge, use USB. Wireless charging is good for convenience while the phone isn't in-use. If you're running carplay or AA, think of the wireless "charger" as a sustainer. Between the heat of the radios, processors, and induction charging, you're merely going to sustain the phone. By plugging in you remove the heat of induction (both the process and the charger itself warming up) and the wifi radio. (plug in, turn off wifi and let it default to wired connection and then turn wifi back on)

 

[RedStallion]

My Samsung has no issues with wireless charging, no overheating or anything. But my wife's iphone refused charging altogether. And it looks like Apple updates made charging more finicky with every non-apple tech.

 

[GW Shark]

My charging issue has to do with the positioning of the phone. I've gone with a silicon tray and have a case, but my Iphone 13 mini slides around during normal driving (it only takes a slight movement) and frequently loses contact with the charger. So I keep a USB cable in the car and use it if I really need a charge.

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