Warning: Pixel 10 users should stay away from older Qi chargers

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Credit: Rita El Khoury / Android Authority


TL;DR

• Users have been reporting issues with wireless charging on the Pixel 10 series phones when using older Qi pads and power banks.
• We have verified these claims, with intermittent charging, random stops, and extremely slow speeds.
• I also tested a bunch of 7.5W, 10W, 15W, and newer Qi and Qi2 chargers with the Pixel 9 and 10 series to find out which ones are the most problematic.

With the Google Pixel 10 series, Google went all in on Qi2 wireless charging, embedding a MagSafe-like Pixelsnap magnetic connection. All Pixel 10 phones support Qi2 at 15W, but the Pixel 10 Pro XL takes it one step further with support for Qi2 25W wireless charging. This upgrade sounds great on paper, but it has left users of older Qi chargers scratching their heads in confusion and frustration, and I’m one of them.

As it turns out, Pixel 10 users have been complaining that their phones are not charging properly with chargers that aren’t Qi2 or Qi2 25W-certified. When used with a Pixel 10 series phone, existing Qi 1.x chargers appear to top out at 5W, often really pulling nothing more than 3W, which is significantly slower than those chargers’ advertised 10W-15W power output. For comparison, older Pixels, such as the Pixel 9 series, can charge up to 12W with Qi-certified EPP chargers. So, the same Qi charger can provide faster charging on the Pixel 9 but slower charging on the Pixel 10 series!




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