How Wireless Charging Works and Why It's Terrible

You’ve seen wireless chargers, the tech is now as common as the smartphones they power. But did you know that they come with a big catch? Today we go over the tech behind wireless charging and just how much it actually takes to get your battery full again.
Check out our blog on Wireless Charging!
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Big thanks to Creative Electron for the x-rays they sent us!
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Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:18 What to know about wireless chargers
00:36 How does wired charging work
01:11 How does wireless charging work
01:47 Wireless charging issues and some solutions
02:49 Worst Case Scenario of Wireless Charging
03:13 A look at the Tesla wireless charging platform
03:55 Final thoughts
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[@davidgoncalvesalvarez]

It’s terrible until the charging port doesn’t charge and the phone is able to stay alive for another year thanks to it.

[@RainbowGin]

This is why we need repairable phones.

[@dilutedoxygen]

This wouldn't be a problem if phones were repairable enough

[@FarmYardGaming]

Real

[@almfreak]

I agree with your sentiment, but it’s a bandaid to the real problem of un-repairable phones. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to pop down to a repair shop and have your charging port fixed for the same price as a certified wireless charger, but tech companies want you to buy more stuff, not fix the stuff you own.

[@RandomUser2401]

@@dilutedoxygen they are. changing the charging port is nothing you can't do on current phones.

[@YEdwardP]

What I find most frustrating is that if you're going to go as far as using magnets to ensure "perfect" alignment for the coils, you might as well use them to align metal contacts. Same convenience as "wireless" charging, but with the efficiency of wired charging.

[@MaxPower-11]

Most folks have cases on their devices and as such metal contacts probably won’t work particularly well.

[@iyad8644]

That wouldn't work well due to cases and camera bumps. Do keep in mind that many wireless chargers are integrated into flat surfaces like you'd find in cars, they don't all just flop around with a wire.

[@Alexzw92]

Not a bad thought. Could work with a special case

[@huncorn6938]

@@iyad8644 no problem. apple could make special magsafeish cases and sell for 100$

[@supercellex4D]

invented the iPad smart connector award

[@Poorgeniu5]

My dad always complains about his phone getting hot when wireless charging in his car and no matter how centered I align his phone, it'll always gets hot and his phone will stop charging to control the thermals. But this video and illustration of Tesla solution of slapping so many coils might be the problem but my dad resorted to wired charging in his car anyway.

[@RootBert397]

Does your dad drive a VW by any chance?

[@Poorgeniu5]

@@RootBert397 Nah, he drives a 23' Acura

[@bjorncallewaert5841]

I have the same issue with my 13 pro in my 2024 Polestar 2

[@RootBert397]

@@bjorncallewaert5841 i tried so many cars, even expensive ones (i use a lot of car sharing so i drive a lot of different cars over a week) the only car charger that doesnt cook my 12 pro is the cheap 10€ one off ebay i put in my 30 year old shitbox miata. Hilarious.

[@vasiovasio]

Jokes aside - Next time when you complain about this, just tell him the truth that Every One of us Without Exception will Die! Thats it. And see his reaction! 😉

[@MichaelLargent]

I didn't realize the power loss or temps were so high. I'm going back to the ol' wire. Much appreciate the video.

[@monad_tcp]

I'm surprised its between 50% and 100%, I excepted wireless charging to be 300% extra energy wasted

[@faranocks]

@@monad_tcp In ideal scenarios transferring energy through magnets is close to 100%. Many/most transformers use some variation of this, and reach efficiencies exceeding 95%, and many over 99%. This includes the power from the grid to 120/240/110v or from 120v to 12v in your desktop computer. The issue is that the formulas are extremely well known, documented, and explored. Power is directly proportional to the distance squared. You can't really get closer than what we are doing now. If the coils were essentially touching we would see even higher efficiencies, but that's unreasonable for a multitude of reasons.

[@arcmchair_roboticist]

Another important note is how much of our power really is lost this way? Charging a phone, even at 25% efficiency takes 50 wh. Assuming you charge your phone about 1 time per day, this amounts to a very small overall amount of energy still. This energy is comparable to using a kettle, running a dishwasher for 2 minutes, or watching 30 minutes of TV. Personally I'm not convinced that the difference in energy from wireless to wired charging is really worth the inconvenience given that the difference in energy is pretty insignificant compared to so many other daily human activities.

[@MichaelLargent]

@@arcmchair_roboticist if you look at it yearly it becomes more obvious how much power it is. Suddenly you're looking at enough power to run a kettle for over 7 hours. Multiply that by millions of users and suddenly we're looking at enough power waste to run cities and a major carbon impact too.

[@arcmchair_roboticist]

@@MichaelLargent yeah and the electricity consumption of producing a single hamburger is in the tens of kwh, will this change the consumption habits of people? Saving a couple of kwh a year per person is not worth much.

[@NotCaptainToad]

Glad to see this video. I worked in a phone store, where I would continuously correct everyone I worked with including my manager, that no, wireless chargers were not in fact better for your battery longevity and to stop telling that to the customers that weren't knowledgeable enough to know otherwise, so they had to trust our experience and advice. I quickly realized that they either didn't choose to believe me or do any research themselves before making recommendations, or didn't care because selling an additional $40-$70 charger as essential for phone health was part of their commissions. I remember them saying they "trickle charge" like it was some feature of the wireless chargers when it's just something most modern phones do. Mind you I still sold a decent amount of them being completely honest with people, as there are still use cases even without a claim of better battery longevity. Convenience, an alternative if your port fails, to name a few. This is one of the many reasons I chose to move into the electronic repair business instead, a lot more honesty there compared to retail phone sales.

[@larrylarrington9229]

It really irritates me when people blindly trust employees at a phone store

[@SonicXRage]

It's frustrating to me when I see anyone put their full trust in an "expert." It's so easy to be deceived either intentionally or by the negligence of said "expert." That's why I try to do my own research before buying anything.

[@alleeadl289]

people like you make the world a better place for everyone, thanks.

[@mattpolton3802]

@@larrylarrington9229 i agree i think it becaue they the type that trust local people over some one line

[@nemotamang58]

It really infuriates me when the seller tries to sell items beyond their expertise with half-assed sales pitch. Went to buy laptop, seller doesn't know what type of CPU it has. He just says intel i5 or i7 or Ryzen 5. [CPU have H,P,U,G,E etc lineups that indicates how intense it can perform & how power effecient it is. As well as the generation of the cpu.]

[@jarboer]

This is exactly why Apple never released AirPower, even Apple realized so many coils in a wireless charger is too much heat to manage properly. Honestly it’s good they pivoted to MagSafe and the Qi 2 standard adopted the same tech.

[@antman7673]

I don’t know if it is necessary heat from too many coils: -The biggest problem is many coils and even if intelligently managed, there is still a. high chance of bad alignment. That bad alignment is then creating more heat during charging, then it otherwise would.

[@asifabdullahzamee7476]

Bullshit. I'm pretty sure they knew that before showcasing it on stage

[@sippingthepeachsoda]

@@asifabdullahzamee7476Yeah they most likely assumed that another billion in r&d would fix it but it obviously didn’t, so it was cancelled.

[@asifabdullahzamee7476]

@@sippingthepeachsoda right. also we are sending rockets in to deep interstellar space, to Mars so wireless charging tech is actually piece of cake and it should be. But apple actually underestimated the tech. Or else airpower actually could have been a great product in my opinion.

[@achmadputra2]

@@asifabdullahzamee7476 the problem with airpower isn’t just the heat, but also the fact that it had different 2 coils stack top of each other. the ordinary Qi coil and the apple watch magnetic coil.

[@ashfakuddinahmed1807]

Living in a subtropical country, 30°C temperature feels almost like late fall or early spring. It's usually 40-42°C during summer and 35-38°C most of the year. So our phone batteries are constantly getting degraded even without charging.

[@hyakinthos_0902]

its the rapid charge and discharge that will definitely wear the battery faster as long as battery temp is within 45C you dont need to worry i have my iphone for 4 years with 83%capacity left and the climate is usually as tropical as yours is

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

I'm told in extreme cold conditions the battery will also have a lot less charge capacity. There's always a temperature rating with batteries, and at either extreme of the operating range they are much less efficient.

[@mynameissang]

​@@MMuraseofSandvichdownright nonfunctioning, in my experience. I used to work in a warehouse where we couldn't take our phones, so I would leave it in my car turned off. In the winter when temps got below freezing, when I got off work, I couldn't turn it back on until I warmed it up with the car heater.

[@monad_tcp]

unless you keep you A/C running forever to drop to 25c. >30c is unbearable

[@LorneChrones]

Lithium batteries have a narrower charging temperature range than operating (non-charging/discharging) range. For instance, a typical LiPo may only be recommended to charge between 5-45C (closer to room temp is still better because less heat related wear). Whereas typical LiPos are recommended to be discharged between -20C and +60C. So there's still some heat related wear on batteries discharging in a hotter climate but its not as bad as charging in a hotter climate.

[@coder543]

At 2:43, the wired connection is represented by a dashed line, the wireless connection is represented by a solid line... an interesting subversion of expectations.

[@DaMu24]

Not sure what you mean

[@coder543]

@@DaMu24 wired charging should be the solid lines, like a charging cable is a solid line, and wireless charging should be the broken lines. Reading the chart with them reversed made it more confusing to my tired brain at the time.

[@c4ldas]

@@coder543 I felt the same, and I needed to pause the video to invert the idea in my mind! :D

[@simplig1272]

​@@DaMu24 an universally accepted and logical thing, not only in technical drawings, but on maps, and in general illustration is that solid lines represent solid, visible objects or features. A dashed line represent invisible, imaginary or theoretical objects or features.

[@ColinTedford]

This bothered me so much! 😅

[@cookiesaregreat]

Appreciate you for sharing your conclusions at the *start* of the video, and making the video only as long as it needed to be to illustrate your conclusions (unlike most youtubers who intentionally breadcrumb the conclusions to force you to watch through their drawn out videos). Liked and subscribed!

[@almfreak]

Great video! Thank you for sharing good info with tests and data to back it up! I appreciate the effort that you guys put into teaching things that benefit us users! Keep up the good fight!

[@Chuzz1]

commenting to support these findings and data. love your work.

[@Maxime_K-G]

I agree, never understood the "inconvenience" of plugging in a wire or why phone stands stopped being a thing. The loss of energy and wearing out of materials are a shame. It is true though that the lack of securing mechanism on USB-C causes the wire to fall out more than it should.

[@TechInspected]

Appreciate the testing. I was hoping there was more tests about how much batteries degrade with higher temperatures, but that would take a huge amount of work and data.

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

Even then you would need a water sample size, probably for it to be meaningful data. If you're just testing one version of a few different brands over time, I don't know how much we would learn. Probably why there's not a lot of studies on Long-Term battery degradation and phone habits and charging habits etc...

[@mhilyard1]

@@michaelcorcoran8768 Yep there is a fair amount of variation between battery capacity from the factory and so many other factors. Wired is better but I will say over the past 28 months I've had my current phone, I've just thrown it on a 15W wireless charging stand 9/10 nights and according to accubattery, which I installed on day 1, it still has 91% capacity. I've charged it 912 battery cycle equivalents/ 88,032% so I feel like it's doing pretty well. Unless you are keeping a phone for like 5 years or something it's kind of a non issue in my experience but fun to learn about.

[@RainbowGin]

I work in a phone store and always recommend wires over wireless charging. It's so much better

[@1ssac1]

hidden cost of cable is the repair of broken charging port. How many users will buy a new phone i/o paying hefty repair ?

[@CommodoreFan64]

@@1ssac1 maybe I'm more careful with my stuff, but I've only had to replace a phone do to a bad charge port once, and that was Motorola Moto G3 that used crappy Micro B USB, and it really was not the port itself but a faulty charge controller chip that caused the port to get hot enough to start smoking.

[@SnowyRVulpix]

Its more efficient but its not better. Imo the convenience makes wireless so much better

[@ImMattFromAus]

Yeah but I bet your boss wants you to sell more wireless chargers.

[@AMabud-lv7hy]

​@@1ssac1Oh right, US peeps spend an arm and a leg for something as rudimentary as a port repair

[@minipli]

very nice video, quick and compact from the start on

[@shanebarnes4622]

Thank you for this info! Keep it up!

[@cywestbrook7448]

Most phones have a feature to disable fast wireless charging which significantly decreases heat and also slows down battery charging overnight to about 3 hours which can actually help reduce wear

[@viktorakhmedov3442]

or you can just... plug it in These aren't the directional MicroUSB days anymore

[@jakefromstatefarm1405]

That's what I do. I have my phone scheduled to disable fast charging everyday from 11pm - 6am. Working well so far

[@Frankfurtdabezzzt]

My pixel also does that when charging wired

[@HockeyPlayer323]

Happy to see more people talking about this!

[@nebulous962]

1:06 try it with budget phones. i have seen like 40-50c on cheaper phones.

[@kouhaiii3182]

of course. and they did say that they were going for a best case scenario, hence the more expensive phone

[@MinhThangDam]

Budget phone usually skips multiple PMCs to alternate the amount of power feeding to the battery base on its temp, that's why they tend to get significantly hotter esp at low battery

[@teardowndan5364]

Budget phones have wireless charging? None of mine do.

[@mirage809]

Great to see some solid numbers on charging efficiency and thermals. I’ve heard claims about wireless charging degrading battery life for as long as I’ve seen wireless chargers. But I’ve never seen people get into details and produce numbers. Are the temperature tolerances on lithium ion batteries that low? 35 degrees Celsius is stuff I see often on holidays and are quite common in some parts.

[@dvdragon]

I had a feeling that was the case. Thanks for the testing.

[@chriswilcox8977]

Having used a 5w Anker wireless charging pad for many years, it never manages to create enough power to make my iPhone get even barely warm 😂 Wired charging still seems to make the phone get noticeably warm, though I can’t decide if the slower wireless charging is overall better for the battery or not. Based on my son using my old 12 Pro Max which is still on mid 80’s for battery health, I’m inclined to think slow wireless charging is no concern beyond energy waste….possibly balanced by a phone which still has great battery health and life.

[@Pumpkinwaffle]

Brilliant! We definitely need more educating videos like those! People need to learn best practices to avoid environmental impact.

[@Akuu820]

I've been waiting for someone to make this video for years!

[@humanlike6658]

They called it wireless but i can still see the wires

[@anianii]

With that argument, WiFi isn't wireless either because there is an Ethernet cable going to the Access Point

[@inconsistencyon]

except that with wifi, you could go anywhere in your house...?

[@anianii]

@@inconsistencyon Sure, but the further you go, the more energy is wasted. You can also go sort of far with QI charging, it's just not enough energy to charge a phone anymore. WiFi needs a lot less energy to arrive than QI

[@ikjadoon]

@@anianii Wi-Fi is _practically_ wireless, though, as you can move 10+ meters and still get a reliable connection. "Wireless" charging is pure marketing; it should've been marketed as "tap charging" or "near field charging", e.g., you have a few millimeters before the connection is dead. See NFC / tap to pay /etc.

[@anianii]

@@ikjadoon The connection is not "dead" after a few millimeters. It just turns itself off because it gets too inefficient to make sense. Which, by the way, is also what cell towers do. Your phone might actually be able to connect to a cell tower, but if its configuration says not to connect if the signal strength is lower than some value, your phone would show no signal instead. With QI, that threshold is simply much lower due to the high efficiency being necessary for charging to happen at a reasonable rate. If you're 500 meters away from a cell tower, you won't get the best connection either, but in that context it's good enough to work. But I have to agree that calling it wireless is mostly marketing. Inductive charging would be more clear.

[@ashrude1071]

I almost always use wired, however it is useful to have a MagSafe cable around for when water gets in the charging port

[@supervoveriukas]

I’m using baseus magsafe stand to charge my iPhone. Yes it gets longer to charge but it doesn’t get that hot as charging by wire. In my opinion mag safe magnets are the best way to perfectly align your phone to wireless charger.

[@thisaintart]

Side note: Thank you for all your videos, they’ve helped me pay the bills fixing people’s stuff for many many years now ❤

[@Diogoafsimoes]

Loved the video. Would like to see how it compares with wireless charging stations that have fans

[@mrmarr8308]

Lol

[@TReKiE]

I like to use USB-C magnetic adapters as an alternative. You get the benefits of not having to be accurate with plugging in (plus you don't wear out the USB port), but retain the benefits of wired charging. Such functionality should really be added to the USB spec.

[@kalafalas246]

MagSafe 3 on iPhones and iPads please! Such a better solution than the pad junk

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

Magnetic USB adapters are generally not recommended because they're not guaranteed to connect ground first, unlike every USB connector. And since they're not part of the spec, there's no way to verify that they're complying with USB-IF. Also, if there's a data connection in the adapter (required for PD), you could get some weird or damaging behavior if the connector is popped loose and reconnected. However, if it works for you for over a year, it's probably fine, most phones have pretty good protection circuitry. Maybe they'll come up with a type D (or M for magnetic?) connector that uses pogo pins and magnets? They'll cost more than type C, unfortunately...

[@rolf-smit]

​@@kalafalas246problem with MagSafe is that (again) it is proprietary. My MacBook came with one but I always take a USB-C cable with me instead, because I can use that cable for all my devices: Laptop, earbuds, phone, camera, power bank etc.

[@gfyGoogle]

@@rolf-smitthe MagSafe demonstrated in this video helped drive the Qi2 spec. So now Androids and all other Qi devices can have MagSafe alignment too!

[@NithinJune]

pogo pins just aren’t rated for that kind of current

[@JanixosX3]

Awesome video :D I am wondering and often thinking about if it is true that chargers communicate via the cable with the attached devices. Like "Hey device XY, I can charge you with 30 Watt, N Ampere and K Volt. What do you accept? Do you also happen to be an Apple-Device?" or that there are mechanisms that ensure a safe charging, like protection against overheating or pumping out a to high / low current. Do you maybe already have a video about this topic?

[@EpicATrain]

Question about your 65W USB-C GaN iFixit Fast Charger. Does it ONLY have one output? How can I charge multiple devices at once using this?

[@judgemint5374]

Finally someone competent pointing out this waste. Thank you!!

[@coldbrew6104]

No

[@Phlegethon]

I’ve gone back to wired

[@varunaX]

Why? Cause of this video? I've been wirelessly charging my lg for 5 years now and the battery is just fine

[@zUltraXO]

​@@varunaXit's still inefficient

[@dannyboots]

Good thinking buddy boy

[@RenatoLaporte]

I’ven been a big fan of magsafe charger. Been using almost exclusively on my 13 pro max since its launch and I do not see any extreme battery wear, even with the frequency I charge my phone due to how much i use it. Must add that i live in a pretty cold region, with summer with >25° temperatures only lasting for a couple of weeks. When its hot i definitely feel my phone getting toasty no matter how I charge it. One solution I used last year was to put the phone in a thin plastic container, add a thin layer of water and then connect the magsafe under the container.

[@notmyname42]

Is a lower Wattage wireless charger better for an overnight charge? I usually leave it there when sleeping. On my S23U, it takes around 3h30 to charge from 20% to 100%, but I never notice it getting hot. It's an IKEA charging pad, where the other end is a USB A connector.

[@mattbosley3531]

I just like wireless charging because it's easy. I just set my phone down on the pad and it recharges. And I have CPU-Z on my phone to check the health and temperature of the battery. It doesn't get above 26 or 27 C.

[@davidsanders890]

I have to say that I always thought that wireless charging was pretty worthless until I damaged my charging port out of warranty. I keep my phone for at least 3 years before upgrading and wireless charging has saved me from an early upgrade. With that being said I would still give it up in a heartbeat for a rear mounted fingerprint scanner.

[@Boz1211111]

Why is that such a problem, i replaced charging port myself on my phone. Its not diy for anyone but any phone service should be able to do it

[@winnieid2727]

same here.

[@SirKrumpleOWrapper]

​@@Boz1211111Yes I know but it's not cheap and for an old phone it probably isn't worth it

[@hongkyang7107]

​@@SirKrumpleOWrapperbruh, which service did you tap in? I replace my charging port for 20 dollar or less. At least way better with degraded battery, which I did that too and it is 200+. Aside what is with the notion of old phone repair isn't worth it? 5 years old or less phones is totally serviceable, while new phone cost upto 2k (5k if you count them shinny folded), nvm the environment, save your own wallet.

[@soacespacestation8556]

@@hongkyang7107 USD? Not really.

[@crispyjokingtuna1495]

Could you test the MagSafe duo? Specifically I’m interested in knowing what battery temps and energy efficiency are like when a phone and watch are dropped on it

[@raphaelarctic]

I have few charging cables which have a separate tip connected by magnets. The tip stays in my device and when it needs charging, snapping it to the cable is easy and fast. I use them on devices that need charging daily and i dont want to wear out their port. Do these magnetic charging cables have any downside as opposed to normal cables?

[@quinton1661]

I use wireless charging out of convenience since I'll need to plug and unplug frequently. I always place it under a small desk fan pointed at the phone. It keeps it nice and cool even after charging for over an hour - I imagine the battery temperature is kept a bit cooler from this. For overnight charging it's a 5 W charger to minimize heat. No need to charge from 20% to 80% in 30 minutes when it's going to be plugged in for 7 more hours anyway.

[@Zatchillac]

They make wireless chargers with fans built in. I have 3 of them and my phones never even get remotely warm when using them. I also have some without built in fans and phones DO get fairly warm on them

[@buffuniballer]

@@Zatchillac I was going to say the same. The ESR Magsafe certified chargers I use in our cars include a fan. Even with my Belkin chargers at home, I don't perceive my phones getting to 30C

[@BlueBillionPoundBottleJobs]

Wow, you need to point a fan at your phone to charge it at a slower speed with less efficiency, sounds real awesome

[@quinton1661]

@@BlueBillionPoundBottleJobs The reason for this is I charge while I'm frequently using the phone. I simply disconnect from the charge, do what I'm going to do, then put it back on to charge. Otherwise I would just plug it in.

[@joshuauriarte452]

I have a Galaxy S22U and wireless charge with a 5W charger. The battery does not get anywhere near 30C. It's even recommended to use wireless charging at 5W at night when the phone is of. Your phone being off is what helps prevent it from getting hot, and battery degradation.

[@theagentsmith]

Makes sense. For overnight change 5W is adequate and the charging loss is a lot lower than at 15W fast wireless charge

[@unliving_ball_of_gas]

Why not use a 5W wired charger. Benefits of slow charging + wired.

[@NotCaptainToad]

It's the slow 5W charge that is helping the battery, not the wireless charger. You would see arguably better battery longevity and a dollar per month come back on your electric bill by using a 5W wired cable instead.

[@Kalvinjj]

@@NotCaptainToad Yes, but an USB port likely soldered to the motherboard (it's so on the S10, dunno the S22), that ain't getting any younger. In my case I went wireless slow charge as the lesser of the two evils. I would rather replace a battery sooner than a connector later, since I do intend to keep the phone for many years. Sure USB-C helps, but if there's also another option, may as well.

[@joshuauriarte452]

@unliving_ball_of_gas there's benefits of both wireless charging and 5W. The benefits of wireless is you are allowing less damage to the USBC port. This reduces the risk of needing to replace the port. T

[@LeMassiveNoob]

Thank you so much for making this video. I have been arguing for yeas about how bad wireless charging is from an efficiency and battery perspective. It's slower than wired when you need speed, it's less efficient when you wanna save energy, and it will degrade your battery faster. Yet people still see is as an essential feature, for some reason...

[@cuttingcoffee]

thanks for this video. I was looking for wireless one but after this I'll stick to wired ones.

[@-aexc-]

i only ever use wireless charging overnight with a 5w outlet so im sure it charges very slow and doesnt let it get that hot

[@FreddyHartanto]

Finally someone say something about this, been feeling disturbed for a long time with people glorifying wireless charging over fast charging. Thanks iFixit for mentioning this!

[@teh_hunterer]

You need to go outside

[@vladislavkaras491]

Huh... I did not know the overheating is such an issue! Thanks!

[@MODEST500]

wanted to know how it works and found a video explanation of just that an hour later. eggcellent

[@bjornroesbeke]

It's all about compromises. The ease of being able to pick up the device and put it back to charge in a second is handy for example when you're doing many short trips in a car, and would rather not break the charge port. There's no point in choosing wireless over wired when the device is charging overnight.

[@a1white]

How difficult is it to spend 10 secconds more plugging in a phone?

[@bjornroesbeke]

​@@a1white Nothing is difficult per sé, but forget disconnecting it once while exiting the car, and you can forget about using your usb port ever again. They break easily. A magnetic cable/connector combo is a good compromise, but in my experience, the two parts often stick to eachother a bit too well and i've lost many such connectors. Wireless charging was not the ideal, but still the better solution for me in that case.

[@EnterTheSoundscape]

@@a1whiteIt’s less wear and tear on the charging port. I’ve had 3 phones where the charging port broke, I don’t plan on that happening again.

[@jr.sw23]

​@@a1whitequite difficult actually when you deliver for Amazon and have to get into and out of the van approx 130 times a day.

[@batdroid2705]

After my daughter (11) damaged three phones by always forcing in charger, we promptly got her a wireless charger. No issues since

[@Donnner93]

I always use wireless charging when charging my phone during the night, it's waaay to convenient not to, and cable if I need to top it up during the day - Could be worth pointing out the wear and tear on the USB-port by constant having to plug it in, one of the reasons I prefer wireless charging for my phones, an S23 Ultra as of now.

[@TheVision2]

We really live in a world where spending 5 seconds to plug a cable in is not convenient. Good lord

[@BlownMacTruck]

@@TheVision2It’s fine. He pays for his complete laziness by shortening his battery life.

[@nikol596]

This may sound like something with hindsight. I felt increased battery degradation when using wireless charging pad after I got my iPhone 11 in 201. The battery degradation went crazy. I initially guessed Apple may somehow use batteries of lower quality for iPhone 11 series but I was not sure. Happy that IFixit has cleared it out.

[@chibinyra]

Nice, though more info in video on why the battery gets so hot would be nice. If I remember it is mostly because the battery is right on top of the receiver coil that is getting hot (inefficient) than the battery somehow heating itself by lower/inconsistent amperage, and -- at least the battery heating -- could be mitigated with in creased distance from battery to coil... of course, not much space in a phone, and long cables to heavy batteries segregated to one end of the car is a new set of challenges.

[@purpinkn]

1:19 the cable is right there! you just added an extra step!

[@CallMeRabbitzUSVI]

Not if you built it into the desk

[@viStringTheory]

I'm glad to see someone calling this out. I wish this were more widely known so people could make informed choices to not purchase or use wireless charging.

[@angryakita3870]

Doesn’t everyone know this? Magnetic charging is convenient, not good.

[@od1sseas663]

How it’s convenient? It’s really that hard to plug a cable?

[@Nopraz42]

What about dash charge and other "fast charge" technologies? Do they reduce the battery life of our phones?

[@HSNG10]

Sony Xperia 3 actually had a magnetic interface on its side that allowed for the convenience of "wireless" charging with the advantage of actual electric contact that avoided the loss of wireless charging. If only we can establish a standard interface using this concept for phones.

[@Rickyp0123]

I never understood the point of "wireless" charging. You still have a wire that goes all the way to the phone PLUS a big puck underneath it PLUS it's less efficient PLUS before mag-safe you couldn't use your phone while charging it wirelessly since it had to be on the pad. The only time I've ever used wireless charging was when I wrecked the ports on some older phones--it's great to have as a second option, but not as a first.

[@SignalStealer]

Finally someone speaks about this, thank you! I am not using wireless charging exactly for these reasons for a few years already. When I tried it, I did not find it any more convenient than plugging the phone in.

[@theagentsmith]

Yeah it shouldn't be your primary charging method, however keep in mind it allows you to keep using the phone when its wired port is worn out. Additionally in some parks and in restaurants there are some wireless chargers which are super convenient.

[@kingmatqc]

I use slow wireless charging, i disabled fast wireless charging in settings of my S24 Ultra, Phone never get's hot, is that more safe for the batttery ? The only time it gets hot is IN the car using Wireless Android Auto + Wireless Charging... i don't love that so when it needs charging in the car i use a cable.

[@madrigale6396]

My thoughts exactly

[@itskdog]

Interesting follow-up question from me - does the impact from this negate the benefits of the longer charge times? Especially with rapid chsrgin tech on most devices now that puts more pressure on the battery, the slower chsrgine speed is a positive in that front. I tend to use my wireless charger (a stand, not a pad, for more consistent results) when charging overnight or if I'm not leaving the house soon and the battery is low, and that plus the adaptive charging that holds the battery at 80% until my alarm is due to go off, all work to help extend the battery life, no?

[@The.Jimmyboy]

I've charged my Sony Xperia 1 IV wirelessly for almost two years now without issue BUT that being said I've only charged at 5w max to keep temperatures down. If i charge at 15w the phone becomes quite toasty (battery temps close to 40C). Wired 30w charging pretty much never exceed 30C but wireless charging at 5w is only a degree or two above room temperature. It's nice to just drop the phone on a pad after work and if I need faster charging wired is always an option.

[@3mekG]

I really love wireless charging for slow charge overnight - I even connected my charger to slow power adapter on purpose - to not allow it to fast charge. What i really like os that I don't have to plug in a cable, not only does it look nice, but also does not wear the USB-C port. So you just have to use it in a smart way.

[@zhongguotech]

Much appreciate the video.

[@anonimushbosh]

What about the magnetic usb connections where you leave a discreet plug in the phone socket and connect when necessary to a charging cable using its own magnetic connector? Obviously that’s not wireless in the same sense but as it’s accessing the battery via the phone’s usb socket is it more likely to help preserve the phone’s longevity?

[@Jallerblue]

I think this is an example where the inefficiencies and battery degradation are absolutely worth it. Especially if you use Magsafe or Qi2 chargers, and actively cooled ones when possible. The convenience of Magsafe/Qi2 especially is incredible for phone mounts on desks and in cars to keep you topped up throughout the day and keep your phone easily accessible. Also, every phone I've ever used has had charging issues eventually before wireless charging (even my first USB-C phone). With my last phone, I used wireless charging almost exclusively and saved my USB-C port from the same fate. Videos like this are great to inform consumers about these trade-offs and what to look for to avoid the worst cases, but I definitely think this video is a bit overly critical of the technology.

[@kylehazachode]

Apple Magsafe kinda nailed it. Get the right magsafe stand and you really don't worry about charging. Even when I'm drunk I can wave my phone over my charging stand and it'll grab my phone outta my hand.

[@CallMeRabbitzUSVI]

This right here is one of the maky reasons for wireless charging

[@deepconnectome]

Do we have to be careful about powerbanks too? I havw temp issue with them. Had no idea before this video.

[@uweschmidt8772]

With the iPhone SE 2020 came wireless charging to me. Unfortunately it doesn't support MagSafe and I bought some third-party stuff. I realized, that the battery lost capacity quicker than usual on former models and I suspected there was something wrong with wireless charging. Most articles on the net told, that wireless charging is as good as cable and there is no significant difference to battery life. Despite that I switched back to wired charging on my new iPhone SE 2022 and experienced better capacity.

[@NathanTheZealot]

Something that should be mentioned in defense of wireless charging is that wireless charging prevents wear and tear on the charging port; which (unfortunately) for many phone models is not as easily replaced as the battery, if it's even replaceable at all. I've had to replace several otherwise working phones in my life due to the charging port being worn out to the point it would not consistently charge.

[@woodalexander]

Exactly. This is why I use a slow wireless charger, limit my battery charge to 85% with the Samsung setting, and use a Wi-Fi Android Auto dongle. I've reduced by total plug/unplug cycles by around 95%.

[@dontquestionjustbelieve5757]

69% battery on the first phone shown, nice

[@ChetHanks-eh1md]

.....nice.

[@danielbinoy]

Nice

[@marcel2258]

Nice

[@seandonovan9000]

Nice

[@ericlotze7724]

Granted it would probably kill the specs and be bad for advertising, but if they did a slower charge would the wireless charging heating issue be less? Either way I’m usually hooked up with a cord when not out and about lol.

[@MinhThangDam]

No, contact with the pad is far more important than the charging speed. A bad contact wireless charging phone at 5W will be more inefficient wtih a good contact wireless charging phone at 10W

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

I remember a precursor of the now-ubiquitous Qi charger, the Palm Pre "keystone" (?). My very first foray into modern electronics hacking was modding a Galaxy Nexus to connect the 5 volts from the charging coil removed from a spare Palm Pre back cover to the back of the pogo pins intended for docks. It worked, but boy was that thing toasty, and it probably wasn't good for the battery module to be squished a little bit more with a coil right next to it. Thankfully it never blew up like the old Galaxy Note did. Every time I've tried a "new innovation" for wireless charging, it always heated up the phone and its battery. It was especially bad when you tried using a wireless pad in a car during navigation, most of the time it would stop charging because of overheating, especially with newer Android releases that monitor temperature. So I stick to BigClive's recommendation: USB, 5 volts, low current. Use PD only if you have to get your phone charged NOW. Oh, and NEVER wireless charge overnight. You'd think a trickle charge overnight would be OK, but not when the battery is heated up.

[@radikk7874]

I use a wireless charging stand for iPhone and apple watch. They are always on it. I never have to bother about checking battery and charging before going out. When I take my phone, it’s always full. The same goes for the watch. I will change my phone faster than the battery dying.

[@thefilmdirector1]

same, and mines vertical, and my phone never gets hot or even warm when on it. Been using it for well over a year and no battery degradation issues, though to be fair i barely use my phone so it just sits there on the pad 24/7 in "idle" mode (charger light turns red showing its fully charged but keeps it trickle topped up while the phone sleeps)

[@oneunderall]

@2:45 use large bold font for your labels and axis numbering, even at 2160p we have to squint to see this.

[@eugeneputin1858]

I've exclusively been using magsafe since inception. One mounted permanently in my office and one mounted in the car. Both have cheap copper ssd heatsinks adhered to the back to reduce throttling of any kind(probably not even necessary tbh). It quiet is the perfect charging solution. Haven't used a wire in almost two years.

[@delwoodbarker]

Is the battery heating more or are the coils heating the battery?

[@BigGroupHug]

Dang that's HOT

[@ronlevin2339]

this is why I do not care if phone have a wireless coil, I never used it anyway

[@TheVision2]

Yet for some reason, it was a deal breaker for people trying to buy phones like the OnePlus open from last year. I argued for days and they didn't see reason

[@a1white]

I’m not using the wireless coil in mine again now!

[@MLCHRL]

It's all about heat management. I've switched back to a low-wattage charger for overnight use and I'm utilizing the 80% charge option, since I can essentially charge my phone throughout the day at work. Occasionally, I switch to auto mode if I'm on a hiking trip or engaged in similar activities. My 14 Pro Max still retains 100% battery health. I'm somehow addicted to hold my batterylife at a constant level. It feels like an achivement :D

[@EJP286CRSKW]

1:56 Correction please. The efficiency problem is not in generating the electrical field. The underlying principle here is the transformer, and transformers can be extremely efficient. The problem is the poor magnetic coupling between the primary winding in the charger and the secondary winding in the phone. This could be _improved_ by ensuring correct mechanical alignment, and _not_ as per the Tesla solution of more coils. You could even let the magnetism do the alignment for you. Still won't be as good as a wire though.

[@MinhThangDam]

To be fair, the wireless charging pads on this video is on the budget side. More expensive and even prorpietary solution like Oppo's Airvooc wireless charging pad has dual coil for maximum efficiency and an active cooling fan working in tandem with the phone's pmcs to control the temps. Even then it's still much more inefficient compare to just plug a cable in. Which is why super fast charging through cable is superior, and a modular charge port design should be made a requirement by law

[@kalafalas246]

MagSafe is not a budget charger

[@KofieBluejay]

Thank you iFixit! Just a small geeky fix: it’s degree Celsius, not centigrade. This is not the same scale and I think you are using Celsius thermometers.

[@sdjhgfkshfswdfhskljh3360]

It looks like "centigrade" is just outdated name for "Celsius".

[@KofieBluejay]

@@sdjhgfkshfswdfhskljh3360 We could think so but this is not the same scale. It’s close, but not the same.

[@feynstein1004]

@@KofieBluejay I've never heard that before. How exactly are they different?

[@bradhaines3142]

@@KofieBluejay there are only 3 measures of temperature, farenheit, celsius, and kelvin. anything else is a word for one of those

[@KofieBluejay]

@@feynstein1004 They are different by around 0.025 degrees at 100 centigrade. In celsius, that would be 99,985 celsius (rounded). Sure it's very much minimal, but it is, by definition, not the same scale and the ISO norm is the celsius scale, not the centigrade.

[@Dracalis]

I'm curious about the energy drain of a wireless charging pad without a phone on it. My layperson understanding is a wire does nothing until you plug a phone into it, but doesn't the wireless pad have to be continuously running in case something is placed on it? There's no sensor to tell when to turn it on, right?

[@ericdavidson9974]

I really only use wireless charging for two things. I have a MagSafe charging phone mount in my car with a built in cooling fan for driving. I also have a wireless charging pad beside my bed so I can charge my phone at night, but that’s connected to a 5 watt power supply for low-speed charging.

[@PS1212]

Prevents loss of cables from damage, screw the energy losses.

[@aeelinnannelie5651]

And still Apple is heavily pushing for wireless charging while saying they removed the changer brick because they are a 'green' company

[@chethanforyou]

Yea always bugged me and they made this announcement at the same time

[@billkormas3460]

To be fair, at this point almost everyone has at least one phone charger lying around in the house. So you can just reuse that with your new phone . It is in fact better for the environment to not have to produce new chargers for every new phone

[@jaspercas]

My first wireless charging phone was a galaxy s7, I only used it 3 times as it was slow and gets very hot (ambient temp in our country is around 25-30°c), I used it even less with my iPhone Xr,13 Pro Max, and airpods pro as it also gets very hot and stops charging. I have also tried multiple wireless chargers from different brands, even the belkin one gets hot.

[@electrified0]

Regarding power loss, whether you use a case, the material, and how thick it is will all further contribute to slower charging and a hotter phone. Most tests remove the case to eliminate it as a variable so your results will likely be a lot worse.

[@loucam08]

Never had a phone with wireless charging and never needed it. Seeing people mark down phones for not having it, especially budget phones, makes my eyes roll.

[@the.bog.]

Just use a “slow” 5W wireless charger for overnight charging. It’s much better for your battery to slowly charge (after a deep cycle preferably) than a super fast charge on a wire or a powerful wireless charger

[@slavb0i646]

Its alot nicer to go eat breakfast and come back to your phone already charged to 85% in the morning than it is to have it on over night, when it will charge in the first 3 hours anyway.

[@berengerchristy6256]

If your phone is built to fast charge, fast charging does not wear out the battery. If it lacks sufficient battery management software or you are charging out of spec, then you will wear out your battery

[@MooTaters]

30C(86F)...that could be every time you charge a phone these days, I've definitely seen over 90F on a third party app(GSam) on the battery sensor several times.

[@krawieck]

i wish u have tested xiaomi smart tracking charging pad which automatically aligns the coil with the device. i wonder if it increases the efficiency to the level of Qi2

[@collectorguy3919]

A wireless charger needs a small fan to keep the phone from overheating.

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

Good luck convincing a product designer to add a noisy fan to his sleek flat wireless charger...

[@AlexTheStampede]

Honestly I’m confused by the lack of phone coolers with wireless charging. Seems a good combo, lowering temperatures while charging…

[@JustARegularNerd]

Having a fan would use even more power though, further decreasing the efficiency

[@h4tch3tt74]

​​@@AlexTheStampede Newer wired charging adapters are using better materials to mitigate heat generation. Also having a dual cell battery helps as it allows for parallel charging which reduces battery wear and increases charging speed slightly

[@collectorguy3919]

@@JustARegularNerd Yes, but at least the battery's life will not be shortened.

[@asamson23]

Ever since I switched to using iPhones, I really enjoy the convenience of plopping down my phone on my magsafe compatible wireless chargers. I don't mind the slower charging time as I put it there for the night. However, if I need the charge to be done faster, I will most certainly plug my phone into a faster wired charger.

[@davejoseph5615]

One of the main attractions of wireless is avoiding the connector damage that always seemed to eventually occur. I don't understand why the battery gets hotter with wireless? Also in an array of coils such as the Tesla platform -- why doesn't it detect and use only the one coil that is best aligned?

[@gurshaantiwana]

What do you think about the ultra-fast wireless charging by brands like xiaomi which goes as high as 80 Watts and above? Doi those devices heat excessively or use some sort of design to manage temprature?

[@zadyeDK]

i know Wireless is worse than wired, but it is so much more convenient to park the phone without thinking about cables (beside the one in the charger)

[@alcion8423]

You mean the best way to improve efficiency is by not being lazy?

[@SonnyDarvishzadeh]

This explains why my magnetic Anker warmed up my iPhone that I didn't like, but it still was better than the 5 euro Hama without magnet that actually makes the phone hot to touch.

[@Fulgrim2]

I like wires myself but the option is interesting to me.