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Is the wireless charger working for anyone?

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Main Forum' started by mannymendez25, May 17, 2023.

  1. mannymendez25

    mannymendez25 Junior Member

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    My wife has a 2019 Prius Limited and the wireless charger is useless. I figured 4 years later, it would be improved, especially that the new Prius has a slot with tensioners that hold the phone in place but, all my phone does is heat up with zero increase in battery charge. I have a very thin case on my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra but took the case off just to test, but experiencing the same issue. I tried with my daughter's iPhone and it doesn't charger either. What are you all experiencing?
     
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  2. PhoS

    PhoS Active Member

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    Works for me. Did you enable wireless charging on your Samsung? Some of them have it turned off by default.
     
  3. flarecde

    flarecde Member

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    Stupid question, but did you push the button to turn it on? It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize there's a button on the forward side to turn it on and off.

    It does make my phone hot, I wouldn't recommend it for longer than an hour or so. I did leave it in for four hours on one drive and the phone got so hot it slowed and eventually stopped working. I wouldn't say it charged during that time, but the charge also didn't go down despite using navigation and music on it.
     
  4. HoustonEvolution

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    It works but not always and often takes fidgeting. I believe they might have been better off making it a flat pad that the phone lays on like most car manufactures do.
     
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  5. Preebee

    Preebee Senior Member

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    Yeah, I would seriously advise against using that charging system while using your phone to navigate or stream music. It's gonna be REALLY rough on the battery. Heat kills.
     
  6. mannymendez25

    mannymendez25 Junior Member

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    Yes, the power button is switched on and yes, wireless charging is enabled on my phone. I have been using wireless charging for 8 years since Samsung introduced it in the Galaxy S6. I use my wireless desk on a daily basis. In my other cars that do not have wireless charging, I typically listen to Spotify and use Google Maps via Android Auto all while charging. The phone gets warm and will either stay charged if the phone was charged during the start of my trip or will charge completely if the battery is low during the start of my trip. Samsung phones have three levels of charging (Charging, Fast Charging and Super Fast Charging). The wireless charger on my desk uses fast wireless charging. I just went to my car to see what speed I am getting with the wireless charger and it is showing fast wireless charging. I did notice that before inserting the phone, the pocket was hot. I got my laser temperature guage and the pocket is 126 degrees (see attachment). It might be possible that the Miami heat, plus the heat generating from the charging is overheating the phone and causing the charging to stop.
     

    Attached Files:

  7. aforkosh

    aforkosh Active Member

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    With me, it's hit and miss in getting the phone (an iPhone 14 Pro in a clear (Magsafe compatible) case) to work. I often need to try several times before the charging light becomes steady. I haven't had any super long charging sessions, but I did notice that the phone was not overly warm after about 20 minutes of charging.

    Fortunately, there are several alternatives to wireless charging:
    • If the trip is short, don't even bother. In fact, leave the phone in your pocket so you won't forget to take it with you.
    • Put the phone and run a cable to a charging port in console box. You'll still be using Bluetooth for the CarPlay or Android Auto connections.
    • Plug the phone into the media port under the instrument panel and either leave the phone in the tray or the slot. This gives you a wired connection for media while also charging the phone
    • If the phone is depleted, plug a 3rd party charger in with the phone in the slot or tray.
    Note that the compartment under the tray is a useful place to store cables. Unfortunately 3rd party chargers are a bit too tall to fit.
     
  8. mannymendez25

    mannymendez25 Junior Member

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    @aforkoch - I do have a 3rd party usbc super fast charger when I need to charge my phone quickly. I ordered a 1ft usbc to usbc cable with a 90 degree end. Hopefully I can insert the phone into the wireless charger slot while plugging it into the usbc port in the center armrest.
     
  9. Hammersmith

    Hammersmith Senior Member

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    It's just a personal choice, but I've set my Samsung to never super fast charge. I think I've got it set to regular wireless charge and fast plug-in charge(the majority of my charging is overnight wireless). It just puts less strain on the battery. Barring clumsiness(goodbye sweet Pixel 4a that I only owned for a few months), I try to get as many years out of my phones as possible. Gentle charging helps prolong the life of the battery as much as possible.

    It's really no different than our main hybrid batteries. Nothing kills the battery faster than overheating. The early gen3 got a reputation as a battery killer because of the placement of the battery cooling intake and the lack of a filter on it. Owners covered the vent up with a blanket, pet hair clogged the fan, or toddlers shoved objects down the vent that jammed the fan. In any case, the cooling system failed, the batteries overheated, and it caused those batteries to start failing way earlier than they should have.

    So I try to slow charge my phone's battery whenever possible, use fast charge only if I have to, and use super fast charge only if I'm desperate. Not trying to convince anyone to change their habits, just explaining mine.
     
  10. Ronnie5

    Ronnie5 Member

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    I have an iPhone XS with a silicone case. Wireless charger works for me.
     
  11. theRob

    theRob Member

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    Mine works perfectly fine. I just never use it anymore. I have the power switch off. After using it a few times. I realized it heats up the phone more than I’m comfortable with. I don’t want to kill my battery with that much heat. It’s okay for me though. I don’t go on very long trips that requires me to charge up and if I need to charge I will hook up the USB cable instead.
     
  12. JoeBlack

    JoeBlack Member

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    TBH, using Qi charging in a vehicle focused on efficiency would feel kinda odd
     
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  13. mannymendez25

    mannymendez25 Junior Member

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    I only use super-fast charging when in a bind. I have disabled fast wireless charging on my Galaxy S23 Ultra to see if that makes a difference in heat generation while inserted in the wireless pocket. I will test it for a few days and report back.
     
  14. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    It works on my 2021 Prius Prime Limited with my Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra.
     
  15. aforkosh

    aforkosh Active Member

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    This is a modification to my earlier post:

    I have gotten the phone my iPhone 14 Pro (in a clear Apple case) to consistently charge using the built-in QI charger. The trick is to feel for the charger in the slot and then drop the phone into the slot with the center of the phone's charging area over that area. Just dropping the phone in and then sliding it around to find the sweet spot almost never worked.
     
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  16. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    LOL It is never an issue with the lay-on-flat design in Gen 4. Moreover, I don't like it that you can't see your phone while you are charging it—really silly design in Gen 5.
     
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  17. aforkosh

    aforkosh Active Member

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    It was definitely an issue with Gen 4 and my iPhone 14 Pro. Apple enlarged the camera area on this phone and moved the sweet spot for charging a bit. Unfortunately, there was no way the phone could lay flat on the charging pad and hit the charger properly. There's enough slack in the slot that I can match sweet spots.
     
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  18. mannymendez25

    mannymendez25 Junior Member

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    After disabling fast wireless charging on my phone, the phone does not get as hot. Took a 45 minute drive while using Spotify and Google Maps via Android Auto, battery did not charge but did not drain. I guess I can live with that.
     
  19. nagrath

    nagrath Member

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    My s10e Samsung charges fine in my 2023 prime, but only in one orientation in the slot.
     
  20. jonnybonz

    jonnybonz Junior Member

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    I have a 13 Pro max w a mous case. Charging will NOT work unless I remove the case. Bad design IMO.