Is there a way to test wireless charging?
I have a Pixel 8a, which is certified qi1, and 2 devices that can wirelessly charge it, a baseus battery pack and an ESR phone holder, they're both certified qi2 (which is backwards compatible with qi1), yet when I charge with them I can at most reach ~2.2W charging instead of the 7.5W advertised maximum for my Pixel 8a.
I don't understand why that is and if I can even theoretically reach the maximum supported charging power.
If so, how would I test my devices to figure out what their real thresholds are or if there are incompatibilities somewhere?
10 replies
Are you asking about the charging rate, or the battery capacity?
The charging rate, yes
Iirc the pixel line doesn't charge at full speed unless it's on a Google Pixel branded wireless charger
Do you remember where you read that from? I thought having qi certified equipment sufficed
Reddit, and confirmed on Google's support site, when I was looking to buy one a year ago
The various charging rates that are stated are always maximums, not averages. The reality depends on a lot of factors. You have to make sure that your AC adapter not only has the capacity your charger needs, but uses the right protocols to communicate with it. The cord needs to be rated to handle the necessary power. Any case will reduce the charging rate, some far more than others. In some cases, the material of the phone back may prevent it from achieving the maximum charge rate.
You can probably improve on the rate you're getting, but you will probably not achieve the best case scenario either.
If we take only the battery pack into consideration, where it directly takes power from its own circuit and delivers it through the coil it has, I've tried with and without case on the phone and it didn't look like it made any difference, always around that wattage, is it not strange that it wouldn't even be able to reach half the maximum speed in pretty much optimal conditions?
That seems strange to me, but it wouldn't shock me to find that is normal. Tech tends to advertise based on extreme best-case scenarios.
Despite that, there may well be something wrong with either your charger or your phone. It would be interesting to try a different charger, if you have access to one.
Guess I'll try to see if anyone I know has it, otherwise I might buy another one and see
Best of luck!
Report back on your results, if you think of it. It would be nice to know.