1. Is it necessary to buy a wireless charger from the same brand as that of the phone?

No, it is not necessary. Phone/gadget manufacturers have started adopting existing charging standards rather than making their own. This gives you a lot of options to choose from. The most common wireless charging standard used in the market is QI (you can pronounce it as CHEE). Some other ways to charge your phones wirelessly are PMA (also called as Airfuel) and Samsung’s Fast Wireless Charging. You can buy a charger that matches the standard that your smartphone uses, and you are good to go. If your phone uses the Qi standard, you can buy any Qi-certified charger.

2. What will happen if my wireless charger gets wet?

Even though some smartphones are water-resistant or waterproof, most of the wireless chargers are neither water-resistant nor waterproof. Let it be any electrical device, connecting it to a power outlet in wet conditions can be dangerous. Hence, make sure that your wireless charger does not get wet. Along with this, also ensure that your phone is completely dry before you put it for charging on the wireless charger.

3. What if a random object is kept over the wireless charger?

A cheap quality wireless charger might not be able to identify other objects like a coin or keys if you leave them accidentally below the phone on the pad. In such scenarios, the charging pad will continue emitting the power to charge the phone. But this can hurt your device and there are chances that the foreign object can start melting on the pad. Thus, you should buy a wireless charger that features a foreign object detector. It will shut down the charging process and alert you via an LED light so that you can check and remove if there is a foreign object over the pad. This prevents the chances of unsafe charging.

4. Is it safe to keep the phone for charging on a wireless charger overnight?

Most of the charging pads trickle charge your phone to keep it fully charged all the time. Hence, it is totally safe to keep your phone on the charging pad overnight or for extended periods. Trickle charging means whenever the phone’s battery falls below 100% while it is still on the charging pad, a very small amount of current is passed to the phone’s battery to keep it fully charged all the time. As the charging pad or mat is always connected to a wall outlet, there are chances that it can get affected by lightning strikes or other forms of power surges. But the best part here is the wireless charger cannot pass increased voltage to your smartphone. This makes it even safer for your smartphones than charging it directly from a power outlet.

5. Can the wireless charger get hot after it is used for some time?

All the chargers turn a bit hot while charging. Let it be power banks, wall chargers, or even docks, they lose some amount of energy in the form of heat. And wireless chargers are no different from them. Chargers that are passed through multiple extensive testing minimize the amount of energy wasted through heat. Thus, it is suggested to buy it from a reputed brand. Belkin chargers offer additional safety protocols that are built in the circuitry. There are advanced chipsets that automatically shut down as soon as they detect excessive heat. This is helpful in protecting you as well as your devices.

6. Are wireless chargers safe to use?

Wireless chargers are completely safe to use and you can be in its close proximity when your phone is getting charged in the nightstand or your office desk. When you haven’t keep your smartphone or tablet for charging on the wireless charger, it emits a harmless signal that is in constant search for a wireless charging receiver coil (the one that is present in the smartphone). As the receiver coil (in your smartwatch or your smartphone) needs to be in contact with the coil present in the charging pad, the signal does not extend into the air surrounding it. This entire wireless charging process emits lesser radiation when compared to the process where the phone is connected to a mobile network.

Qi is an established and evolving wireless charging standard that is owned by The Wireless Power Consortium. It is backed by more than 200 leading companies such as Belkin, Apple, and Philips. The company’s goal is to deliver a wireless charging facility to its users safely as well as easily. It does all of this by ensuring compatibility across all the devices bearing the Qi logo. Some of the common Qi-standard products are as follows: *iPhone X *iPhone 8 *iPhone 8 Plus *Samsung Galaxy S8 *Samsung Galaxy Note8 Before buying a wireless charger, it is very important to check whether your smartphone or tablet is compatible with the charger’s standards. If you are using a Qi phone, check for a Qi logo on the packaging of the charger.

8. Can a wireless charger charge my phone through a case?

A wireless charger can charge your phone even if it is in a case, given that the case is not made up of metal or any other thicker material. A Qi charger can easily work with leather, silicon, or any similar non-metallic material that is either 3mm thick or less.

9. Is wireless charging as fast as wired charging?

In most of the cases, wired charging is faster than the wireless charging. However, it is said that it will definitely change in the future.

10. How does the wireless charger get the power to operate?

The power in the wireless chargers come from a cable that plugs into a USB port. One point that you must note here is, in some charging pads (especially the cheaper models), there is no wall plug. This means that you will have to plug the charging pad to your laptop or other powered port.

11. Can wireless charging ruin or damage the phone’s battery?

No. Till now, there is no proof that a good wireless charger can damage the battery of your phone. However, if you are keeping the battery of your phone fully charged all the time, it can lead to shortening the life of any lithium-ion battery. Even letting the battery to zero or almost zero before plugging it back can shorten its life. Ideally, you can let the battery drain till around 50% charging and then charge it till 90% or 95%. You can charge it to 100% occasionally.

12. Can I use a wireless charger in the car?

Yes, you can use a wireless charger in the car. However, it might not be that convenient. Most of the Qi stations in the car are located below eye level, somewhere between the console and the car seats. It becomes difficult to monitor or answer calls while driving. If you are ok if your phone is out of your sight or if you don’t have to respond to calls or texts, there are many wireless charging stations available for cars where you can mount your phone either on the front or on the top of the dashboard. You can buy one accordingly.

It is simple to use. You have to switch on the wireless charger, then put your phone on the pad, and then LED light will glow and indicates that the charging has started.

14. Does it support fast charging?

It depends on the model of your phone and the charger type if the compatibility match, it charges your device quickly.

15. Can I keep it on charge overnight?

Yes, you can keep it on charge overnight, and on the next day, you can use your phone for all-day work.

16. Can it be used for smartwatches?

Yes, but only if it has Qi charging compatibility.

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Wireless Charger Guide

Updated by

Vineetha K

on Dec 19, 2020

What to Look for in a Wireless Charger?

As most of the smartphone manufacturers are incorporating wireless charging technology in their smartphones and other devices, you might be inclined towards buying a wireless charger that can be used for years. Hence, you must ensure that the wireless charger that you are going to buy is future-proofed.

Here are some key factors that you must look for while buying a new wireless charger for your gadgets.

1. Wireless Charging Standards:

The wireless charging works on a couple of standards and the most commonly used standard is Qi (pronounced as “Chee”). Before buying a charging pad, you should make sure that your smartphone or tablet and the charger both follow the same standard. If they don’t match, the charger might not work.

The Qi standard is also adopted by most phone manufacturers including Samsung and Apple. A good quality Qi charger offers overcharge and over-voltage protection that makes it completely safe to use.

When you are charging your phone wirelessly, you might notice that the phone is getting a bit warm. There is no need to worry about it as most of these wireless chargers offer temperature control protection to prevent issues that occurred due to overheating.

2. Power:

You should first decide what amount of power do you need to charge your phone. If you want to charge the devices as quickly as possible, you must buy a wireless charger that can provide enough power accordingly.

Base wireless charging starts from 5 watts. The latest Qi 1.2 standard can support charging speeds of up to 15 watts.

iPhones are designed to charge at a maximum speed of 7.5 W. Samsung phones can charge at 9W and few other Android phones can support charging up to 10W.

Even though wireless chargers with lesser output can be used to charge your phone, the speed might not be as fast as others. Hence, it is better to buy a 10W charger so that you can use it to charge any phone.

You can check the speed on the packaging of most of the wireless chargers. You should look for the wattage speed either on the box or in the product specification list of the charger. You can then compare it with the speed at which your phone can charge.

3. Design:

Wireless chargers are available in many shapes and sizes. Each design has its own set of pros and cons. However, everything boils down to how you prefer charging your phone.

4. Pads:

The wireless chargers often look similar to tiny oval or circular pads. Not only they are convenient but stylish too. You can simply put your phone over it, and it will start charging the battery of your phone automatically.

These