10 Reasons Why Your iPhone is Not Charging Wirelessly (With Fixes!)

Most smartphone companies have implemented wireless charging over the last few years, and while Apple may be a late-starter in adopting wireless charging, it's now going all out to push for a cordless world. Despite various rumors circulating around the iPhone 12, it will almost certainly be capable of wireless charging.

Wireless charging appears so effortless that more and more consumers are eager to try it and use it in their daily life.

However, the reality is not always as smooth as expected, and after setting your iPhone down to wireless charge, you may return to find it isn't charging after all. So, why is it that your iPhone is not working on your wireless charger?

Is There Something Wrong with Your iPhone?

The rule of thumb is to check if your iPhone supports wireless charging, particularly if it's the first time you're charging it wirelessly. Only iPhone 8 and later models support wireless charging, so if you're using an iPhone 7 or a trusty iPhone SE, its a no-go. You should be able to charge your iPhone 8 or above on any Qi-enabled wireless chargers.

If your iPhone quits working on a wireless charger suddenly, here's what you can try:

1. Charge your iPhone with another charger

The best way to tell if your iPhone works fine is to put it on another wireless charger to see if it will charge. If you don't have another wireless charger, use the USB charger instead. Though wireless charging and wired charging don't work the same, at least you can find out if the display of charging is typical or not.

2. Restart your iPhone

Whether another wireless charger is working or not, restarting your phone wouldn't go amiss. If you can't restart the phone, such as it's frozen, try a force restart.

3. Update your iPhone

If restarting your iPhone doesn't work, check if there's a software update available. A software update can often be a quick fix for some problems.

4. Reset your iPhone

If your iPhone won't wireless charge and restarting or a software update hasn't helped, a reset is the final step before taking it to the Apple Store. Unfortunately, resetting also means erasing everything on your iPhone. Although you can back up your data beforehand, a factory reset is not just a simple restart, so you might want to consider this a last resort.

Before Resetting Check:

Is It Your Wireless Charger That Isn't Working?

1. Check if your wireless charger is plugged in properly

It happens! Cables can loosen, or the socket may lose power. If your wireless charger doesn't come with an LED indicator to show the charging status, you may not notice a problem straight away.

2. Make sure your wireless charger is of quality

Qi (pronounced “chee”) is the standard for charging mobile devices wirelessly, set up by the Wireless Power Consortium in 2008. It has gradually become the universal standard supported by most mobile phone makers, including Apple.

The iPhone 8 and newer models are Qi compatible. They should work with Qi-enabled wireless chargers. That said, they may work with non-Qi ones as well. Just make sure your wireless charger is from a reliable brand.

3. Try repositioning your iPhone

Charging coils inside the wireless charger transmit power across a few millimeters to the iPhone. So, when the coils and your iPhone don't line up, wireless charging doesn’t work. You can place your phone in the charger's center or move it around to find the sweet spot, but this is extremely annoying.

Fortunately, some wireless chargers are equipped with multiple coils that provide your smartphone with a position-free charging experience. Magnetic wireless chargers can also save you the same kind of hassle by auto-aligning your phone to the charger through magnets.

Is It Something Else?

1. Remove the phone case

Qi wireless chargers work with many cases, but some are too thick or made from metal. Metal segments placed inside the case for magnetic mounts should not affect wireless charging. Just make sure you're using a slim, wireless charging friendly phone case.

2. Wait for your iPhone to cool down

Your iPhone may get warm while it charges, wired or wirelessly. On the other hand, wireless charging generates more heat since it's not as efficient as wired charging through cables. When the iPhone battery gets too warm, the protection mechanism is triggered and limits charging above 80 percent.

Remove your iPhone from the charger, and try again when the temperature drops.

If you want to learn more about why your phone gets warm, read this article.

3. Don't connect your iPhone to a USB

Some people may connect their phone to a computer with a USB or a USB power adapter while the handset is on a wireless charging pad. The truth is, you can't have both wired and wireless charging at the same time, and wireless charging stops as soon as an iPhone is connected to a USB cable.

Wrapping It Up

Many factors can contribute to an iPhone not working with a wireless charger, but if you try all the steps above, your iPhone has a better chance of charging wirelessly again! If your iPhone still doesn't charge, it may be a hardware issue. Just do a comparison test, and you'll find the culprit.

You might want to read:

• Fast charging will damage your cell phone battery life? How to fix it?
• Does Wireless Charging Affect the Life of your Smart Phone Battery? The Answer is No!
• iPhone battery life too short? You’ve been charging it wrong the whole time
• Why Your iPhone Stops Charging At 80% (& How To Fix It)