Wireless charging issues with iPhone SE

[andrew_j_w]

Hi,

I have a mid-2020 M3 (so with the built-in wireless charging pad, but before the refresh). My iPhone XR works perfectly with the wireless charging pad, but my wife's iPhone SE (2020 model) doesn't. It will start charging, then a few minutes later stop. A few minutes after that it'll start again, and the cycle continues. It'll charge ok at home, so I think the QI charging is fine, but perhaps because of the position of the coils in the pad it doesn't work with small phones.

Does anyone else have any experience with this phone and charging pade, or have any suggestions on how to improve the charging reliability?

I'm in the UK if that's relevant.

Many thanks,
Andrew

 

[jmaddr]

I had a SE before the mini. Since the SE is a smaller phone, you need to brace it somehow so it aligns the coils on the back of the phone with the coil in the charger. For the SE, I added ~3/8" at the bottom and braced it on the side. With the mini, I had to add ~5/8 to the bottom and both sides to keep it centered and still. I did this on my home charger too. The downside of wireless is sub-optimal alignment of the coils will cause inefficient charging, increasing heat so it's best to get it as aligned as possible.

 

[andrew_j_w]

Thanks for the reply. 3/8" is almost a centimeter, which is more than I would have guessed. I will have to experiment with some cardboard to see if I can find the sweet spot.

Andrew

 

[jmaddr]

It's what I used but I have an aftermarket wireless charger. Not sure if the coils on the factory one are lower or higher (or more left or right). Look at this for indications where the coil is (almost dead center) on the SE. I actually found it was more helpful to do something to help the side to side shift. Guess I need to slow my corner speed, eh?
Full iPhone SE teardown confirms it can be easily repaired | AppleInsider.

 

[Zevs]

Any updates on this? Just brought home my new model 3 and both mine and my wife’s iPhone SE‘s cannot stay connected to wireless charging.

Tried it with and without a case, and with both phones on either side.

It never stays connected for more than three minutes, and is quite distracting when driving at night because the phones keep lighting up as they connect and then lighting up again as they disconnect over and over again. In fact, it ends up draining more battery than it charges because of the screen lighting up so frequently.

any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

[andrew_j_w]

I got some cardboard and put that at the bottom of the charger to shift the phone up the pad a bit. It's maybe half a centimeter thick. After that it stays connected much more reliably. I think the issue is that due to the small size of the SE the charging coils in it and the pad don't line up closely enough.

Abdrew

 

[Theadonnan]

I have the same issue with a caseless iPhone mini. Wish you could buy a decent drop in insert to best position these small devices.