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New iPhone 13 Pro Max in a case does not work with the 2021 Model 3 wireless charging pad

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holeydonut

holeydonut

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Jun 27, 2020
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#1
I know this is just a "first world problems" type of post, but I hope to help inform someone that may be considering getting a new iPhone 13 Pro Max alongside their new Tesla Model 3.

Last week, my wife got an iPhone 13 Pro, and I got a 13 Pro Max. Since we have a 2 year old that likes to mess with our phones (aka spike the phone on the ground), we each have a case made by Mous. This isn't an Otterbox case so it's not HUGE, but the Mous case is big enough to cause problems when used in the Model 3.

If we put her 13 Pro on the Model 3's wireless charging pad, it works great. If we put my 13 Pro Max on the same pad, nothing happens.

If I remove my 13 Pro Max from the Mous case, it begins to charge if I put it on the wireless pad.

I don't have any other brand of case so I'm not sure if this is because of Mous' specific case. The case has a clear back so there is no metal between the Phone and the Tesla's charging pad.

I did however test the Tesla Model 3 wireless charging with an iPhone 11 Pro Max and iPhone XS Max each with a Mous case. And they seem fine. So I don't know what's the deal with the new iPhone 13 Pro Max other than it's slightly too big.

Anyway, TLDR... if you use a case on your phone you may want to pass on the iPhone 13 Pro Max and stick with the regular 13 Pro.
 
#2
I’m having issues with the iPhone 13 pro without a case, the cameras stick out so far it causes a rattle and will shift off the charging area. 2020 M3P with the OEM charger.

With your wife’s phone does the phone stay on the charging pad? I may have to use a case for the first time since the original iPhone.
 
#3
Ucsbshawn said:
I’m having issues with the iPhone 13 pro without a case, the cameras stick out so far it causes a rattle and will shift off the charging area. 2020 M3P with the OEM charger.

With your wife’s phone does the phone stay on the charging pad? I may have to use a case for the first time since the original iPhone.
Click to expand...


Yeah, my wife drove 200 miles across the Bay Area and her iPhone 13 Pro in a Mous Case stayed on pretty well. Her phone never "binged" indicating a disconnection for the charging. My phone simply wouldn't charge lol.

She was listening to music through the Premium music service though, so I don't know what would have happened if she were streaming with her phone.

FYI, here's the case she has on her phone. Good (or bad) thing about Mous cases is that they kind of taper on the back to make sure the camera lenses don't contact a surface when the phone is set down. This means the actual phone body is elevated away from the surface by those few mm's of the lenses.

www.mous.co

Clear Phone Case - Clarity

The Only Case You'll Ever Need. Protective iPhone, Samsung, Google Pixel, AirPods Cases & Essential Device Accessories.
www.mous.co www.mous.co
 
#8
Reports on this thread indicate the iPhone 13 is a little spotty on the Model 3/Y, but works great on the new Model S Refesh:

teslamotorsclub.com

iPhone 13 Pro (and Pro Max) -- does wireless charging work in Plaid / Refresh S?

Hey folks, Seeing sporadic reports that the new iPhone 13 Pro models (regular and Pro Max) are not working in Tesla's newer car's wireless charging bays, due to the larger camera bump. There's also a report that it does work -- but only if you lay the phone screen-side-down. Can any of you...
teslamotorsclub.com teslamotorsclub.com
 
#10
On a tangent, I can say that the Apple leather case was great for my iPhone 6 Plus... but I'd strongly recommend the silicone one for the 12 Pro Max over the leather one.

And the 13 Pro Max isn't very different.

Probably because of the flat vs. rounded edges, my 12 PM's leather case got all messed up in a matter of days even though I was very careful. After dropping the phone months later - the only time I dropped it, and it wasn't not a serious drop - it got scratched up past my threshold and I replaced it with the silicone one.

The silicone case is great, to the point that I'm much happier with the phone in general!

I want to emphasize that I don't treat my phones roughly, in fact I used the 6 Plus for six years. It's the case/phone design, not me.

Okay, back to the Tesla-specific discussion...
 
#11
nickbatz said:
On a tangent, I can say that the Apple leather case was great for my iPhone 6 Plus... but I'd strongly recommend the silicone one for the 12 Pro Max over the leather one. And the 13 Pro Max isn't very different.
Click to expand...

The last couple silicone cases I tried have way too much grippy friction, and are not pocketable. The exercise of glancing at a phone ended up being: (1) extract the phone with hand A, (2) which pulls out the tongue of the pocket, (3) transfer phone to Hand B, (4) use Hand A to reinsert the pocket's tongue, (5) do whatever you want with the phone, (6) return phone to Hand A, (7) use Hand A to widen the pocket as you shimmy it back in, since the silicone won't slip without friction.

Compare this to a phone in a non-silicone case: (1) Pull phone from pocket with Hand A, (2) use phone, (3) use Hand A to slip phone back into pocket in one gesture.

No. Silicone cases are just the worst. :)
 
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#12
planetary said:
The last couple silicone cases I tried have way too much grippy friction, and are not pocketable. The exercise of glancing at a phone ended up being: (1) extract the phone with hand A, (2) which pulls out the tongue of the pocket, (3) transfer phone to Hand B, (4) use Hand A to reinsert the pocket's tongue, (5) do whatever you want with the phone, (6) return phone to Hand A, (7) use Hand A to widen the pocket as you shimmy it back in, since the silicone won't slip without friction.

Compare this to a phone in a non-silicone case: (1) Pull phone from pocket with Hand A, (2) use phone, (3) use Hand A to slip phone back into pocket in one gesture.

No. Silicone cases are just the worst. :)
Click to expand...


Lol you gotta start wearing blazers. Having that chest pocket is clutch for taking a peek at a phone.
 
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#13
holeydonut said:
I know this is just a "first world problems" type of post, but I hope to help inform someone that may be considering getting a new iPhone 13 Pro Max alongside their new Tesla Model 3.

Last week, my wife got an iPhone 13 Pro, and I got a 13 Pro Max. Since we have a 2 year old that likes to mess with our phones (aka spike the phone on the ground), we each have a case made by Mous. This isn't an Otterbox case so it's not HUGE, but the Mous case is big enough to cause problems when used in the Model 3.

If we put her 13 Pro on the Model 3's wireless charging pad, it works great. If we put my 13 Pro Max on the same pad, nothing happens.

If I remove my 13 Pro Max from the Mous case, it begins to charge if I put it on the wireless pad.

I don't have any other brand of case so I'm not sure if this is because of Mous' specific case. The case has a clear back so there is no metal between the Phone and the Tesla's charging pad.

I did however test the Tesla Model 3 wireless charging with an iPhone 11 Pro Max and iPhone XS Max each with a Mous case. And they seem fine. So I don't know what's the deal with the new iPhone 13 Pro Max other than it's slightly too big.

Anyway, TLDR... if you use a case on your phone you may want to pass on the iPhone 13 Pro Max and stick with the regular 13 Pro.
Click to expand...
Last week my wife got her iPhone 13 Pro Max and an Apple silicone case for it. It will not charge with the case, although it charges fine with the case off. I wonder whether there is anything that will beef up the Model Y built-in charger.
 
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#14
I have the same issue with my 13 Pro Max. Had a spigen case and it didn’t work. Apple OE silicone case doesn’t work (haven’t tried upside down with the silicone case). No case and it charges fine.

The camera bump is most likely the issue. Both the Spigen and the Apple case have a ridge around the camera bump. It does have movement when your driving.

Kind of disappointing. I’m going to try turning it upside down. Leaving the case off is not a compromise I'm willing to make…. Unless I need an emergency charge.
 
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#16
Nothing works with my 13 Pro Max other than totally removing the case. I have tried the following:

1) spigen clear case - doesn’t work
2) apple OE MagSafe silicone case - doesn’t work
3) either case upside down - doesn’t work
4) no case at all - works fine

So what I plan to do is just deal with it. I have the apple case and it can be removed easily enough. If I’m running low and need to charge wireless I will just temporarily remove the case.

It’s due to the large camera bump and adding a case puts just enough extra space to prevent a charge.
 
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