[Feature Request] Tesla Should Add the Ability to Turn Wireless Charging Off in Settings

[Ostrichsak]

I love the idea of wireless charging for when I need it. This will likely make up about 2% or so of our use though. What I don't need is my phone to go through a dozen charge cycles on a quick 15min drive in to work, more on longer trips. For us, we normally have plenty of charge left at the end of a typical day w/o charging at all so there would be no benefit from this "feature" most days. The downside is that dozen(s) of unnecessary charge cycles every day will shorten the lifespan of the phone battery.

I do love the designated storage spot for the phones though so I'd love to use them regularly. A simple way to disable wireless charging in the menu would be ideal. For those who utilize their wireless charging every day there would be no change to functionality. For those (like us) who prefer to disable it and then enable it when we're on longer road trips it would be easy.

Not sure how Tesla has tied that wiring into the harness/MCU. If it's tied into the power wires for anything else that may make a software change difficult. If it's connected to USB ports or something to get power (likely) then that makes this much more challenging from a purely software standpoint. If it's physically wired separately this should be able to be a simple software update to add functionality.

I realize I can disable this on the phone but we use wireless charging at night on our bedside stands so it would be annoying to have to disable and enable it every time we got in the car. I could also envision a time where we forgot to enable it again and then it wouldn't charge on the stand which may result in a nearly dead phone the next morning or having it die in the middle of the night so the alarm doesn't go off the next morning in a worst case scenario.

Does anyone use some sort of a physical plate to block the wireless charge? This would be the simplest of band-aid fixes and something with a black alcantara layer on it to match what's already there would be ideal.

Admin note: Image added for Blog Feed thumbnail

 

[arbitrage000]

I'd like that feature also.

If you have an iPhone ProMax 13 or 14 with the huge camera bump then most of the cases prevent it from charging anyways as it sits too far off the pad. Even with the one case I have that does charge it is more acting like a phone heater than charger and it barely gains anything. Only with no case at all does it actually charge the phone at a decent rate. Therefore I use my case that doesn't allow it to charge at all and that has solved this issue for me.

Depending on what phone you have and what case you have this may be a solution.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I'd like that feature also.

If you have an iPhone ProMax 13 or 14 with the huge camera bump then most of the cases prevent it from charging anyways as it sits too far off the pad. Even with the one case I have that does charge it is more acting like a phone heater than charger and it barely gains anything. Only with no case at all does it actually charge the phone at a decent rate. Therefore I use my case that doesn't allow it to charge at all and that has solved this issue for me.

Depending on what phone you have and what case you have this may be a solution.

I specifically source thin cases made to allow wireless charging because I hated having to take the phones out of the case each night to wirelessly charge it and then putting it back in the next morning. The whole point of wireless charging is to make things easier, after all.

 

[zoomer0056]

Have you tried a metal plate? Go to the hardware store to get a piece. Cut it to size, round off edges and corners. Get some spray on adhesive and cover it with felt from the craft store.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Have you tried a metal plate? Go to the hardware store to get a piece. Cut it to size, round off edges and corners. Get some spray on adhesive and cover it with felt from the craft store.

That's what I was describing in my original post. I haven't yet taken delivery of my new Y but, once I do, I'll make my own plate(s) most likely. I was just wondering if 1) something already existing to save the effort that would look cleaner or 2) if we could get a software update to allow this to be disabled from the menu which would be the best solution.

 

[Bp25]

Is it possible to disconnect one charging pad? That way, we will have one charging and one non-charging pad available.

 

[arbitrage000]

Is it possible to disconnect one charging pad? That way, we will have one charging and one non-charging pad available.

In my MY the right pad works and the left one only sometimes works so Tesla has that sorted for me anyways

 

[Ostrichsak]

Is it possible to disconnect one charging pad? That way, we will have one charging and one non-charging pad available.

I'd rather not take things apart or modify anything that isn't easy to switch on and off in a moment. After all, I can do this from the phone(s) which is far easier. I can also just make some sort of a blocking plate which can be put in place or removed in a second or two.

I appreciate the ideas but this thread is more about bringing attention to the fact that this would make a great addition at the menu-level via software. Hardware hurdles (combined wiring as I mentioned previously is on such example) would be the only reason not to add it as an option to turn on/off.

I could have swore that when I saw a video after wireless charging first starting coming from the factory that there was an option in the menu to turn it off but I must be thinking of another car.

 

[Yelobird]

That's what I was describing in my original post. I haven't yet taken delivery of my new Y but, once I do, I'll make my own plate(s) most likely. I was just wondering if 1) something already existing to save the effort that would look cleaner or 2) if we could get a software update to allow this to be disabled from the menu which would be the best solution.

Having had Many phones in my life in my view your greatly over thinking the charge cycle on the phone. Most phones will long be obsolete before the battery does. The batteries in current phones are not the same as those back in the Nokia era. Try not to over think it too much. As for a plate, Any thick case or spacer of thickness would work, (rubber pad, cardboard, carpet) just don’t use a metal plate in a power transfer.

 

[rwiegand]

If you just leave your phone in your pocket this is not a problem.

I only put the phone there when it needs charging, then most of the time when I leave the car I leave my phone behind so that anyone could drive off with it. It would be nice if it beeped at you when you leave your "key" in the car.

 

[Arthur31]

I use the raised area that runs vertically and let the edge of the phone rest on it which does the trick. Also you can put the phone face down.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Having had Many phones in my life in my view your greatly over thinking the charge cycle on the phone. Most phones will long be obsolete before the battery does. The batteries in current phones are not the same as those back in the Nokia era. Try not to over think it too much. As for a plate, Any thick case or spacer of thickness would work, (rubber pad, cardboard, carpet) just don’t use a metal plate in a power transfer.

Funny you should mention Nokia, in a previous life I was a certified Nokia repair technician so much of my applied knowledge of smart phones comes from those days. That said, charge cycle are charge cycles. Even though new chemistry is better at that, needless charge cycles still don't help with the overall lifespan on a rechargeable battery. This goes the same across all rechargeable battery types, styles and manufacturers.

We also tend to keep our phones for several years which makes this shortened battery capacity more noticeable than if you throw your phone away annually the way many users do.

This is a whole other conversation we're getting into though so it's better to not debate the nuance.

If you just leave your phone in your pocket this is not a problem.

I only put the phone there when it needs charging, then most of the time when I leave the car I leave my phone behind so that anyone could drive off with it. It would be nice if it beeped at you when you leave your "key" in the car.

Leaving my phone in my pocket isn't a solution to this issue.

I use the raised area that runs vertically and let the edge of the phone rest on it which does the trick. Also you can put the phone face down.

Actually, turning the phone face-down may be the simplest solution yet. I'll give that a try as I don't need to see the ambient display while driving anyway. The case we use has just enough of a ridge to protect the display and the soft material should prevent any issues with the screen so I'll just give this a try as a more permanent solution once we take delivery of our new Model Y. The only potential negative is that, the closer your get the induction coils w/o actually connecting the phone tries to poll this connection which can slightly impact the battery negatively so I'll have to do some testing to see if it's noticeable. My guess is it won't be noticeable, if it all.

 

[fiehlsport]

In my ID.4, people would pop up the pad, unplug it, and re-install. It's such a bad charger that the phone would still drain while using wireless carplay, and get very hot. There was *no* benefit to it, other than a handy place to put your phone while driving.

 

[STS-134]

I'm always putting my phone in the cup holder area (or moving it to the cup holder area after it reaches 50% SoC) to avoid stressing its battery.

 

[804son]

I've never had a cell phone battery deteriorate before the phone itself was no longer of any use and trust me I abuse the living daylights out of the cell phone batteries without a thought. I just don't think this is a "thing" to be concerned about.

 

[fiehlsport]

I'm always putting my phone in the cup holder area (or moving it to the cup holder area after it reaches 50% SoC) to avoid stressing its battery.

I've never had a cell phone battery deteriorate before the phone itself was no longer of any use and trust me I abuse the living daylights out of the cell phone batteries without a thought. I'm just don't think this is a "thing" to be concerned about.

Yeah, it's not worth the mental cycles to have to do this. iPhones, for one, will stop charging if the phone is warm, and they slow down considerably near 90%+ SoC. They're smart enough now so we don't have to think about it, just like Teslas.

 

[sidewinder]

a charge "cycle" is when a phone goes from 0-100. so if you charge the phone 10 times each time charging 10% it would still be considered 1 charge cycle. only issue would be keeping the phone at 100% during long road trips which will be few and far between anyway.

 

[whisperingshad]

I wish it was there was a setting too, save Tesla battery power and save phone battery life.

 

[fiehlsport]

Charging 12V devices doesn't affect the main battery in any meaningful way, hardly even a quarter of a percent.

 

[STS-134]

a charge "cycle" is when a phone goes from 0-100. so if you charge the phone 10 times each time charging 10% it would still be considered 1 charge cycle. only issue would be keeping the phone at 100% during long road trips which will be few and far between anyway.

But the number of cycles you get out of the battery doubles when you lower the charge limit by 10%. Number of cycles also increases with decreased average depth of discharge. Phone batteries often die quickly because people don't know better and keep charging them to 100% even when they don't need to.