Wireless charger not working? Try this

Wireless charging looks so simple. You just set your phone on the charger and walk away.

But in practice, it can be a little tricky.

If you’re having trouble getting your phone to wirelessly charge, there are a few fixes to try.

The most common issue is that the charging components in the phone and the charger don’t line up.  The coil inside of the charger – which transmits the magnetic field used to generate electricity – can’t be more than a few millimeters away from the receiver in the phone. If your phone is just a little off center, it won’t charge.

We’ve seen this issue in some cars that feature built-in wireless charging because some phones are too big to align the charging components.  

When setting your phone on a wireless charger, keep your eye on the phone and wait for a message on the screen that tells you it’s charging. If you don’t see the message, try repositioning your phone.

If you’re using a wireless charger that holds a phone upright, the charging puck might be set too high or too low. In this case the charging coil isn’t aligned properly. Sometimes the phone might be off to the side a little bit, also causing misalignment. Try repositioning the height of the charging puck, or centering your phone on the stand to better align the charging coil.

If you’re still experiencing issues, try removing your phone case. While Ventev wireless chargers are designed to work with most cases, some cases contain metal to make them more durable or compatible with a magnetized phone car dock, which may interfere with wireless charging.

Also, double check to make sure the wireless charger is plugged in. (It happens!)

Though wireless charging for phones has been around since 2008, and in Samsung phones since 2013, a large chunk of smartphone users didn’t have access to it until recently. iPhones, which make up about 42 percent of the phones sold in the U.S., just adopted wireless charging in the new iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X.

The novelty of wireless charging is what makes all the confusion so understandable. So, if you are having trouble, don’t worry.