I do not like wi-fi charging, however there's one motive all my telephones should have it

[ad_1] <img class="e_jg" decoding="async" loading="eager" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="Google Pixel 7a charging plug and wireless dock" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Google-Pixel-7a-charging-plug-and-wireless-dock.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Google-Pixel-7a-charging-plug-and-wireless-dock-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Google-Pixel-7a-charging-plug-and-wireless-dock-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Google-Pixel-7a-charging-plug-and-wireless-dock-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Google-Pixel-7a-charging-plug-and-wireless-dock-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Google-Pixel-7a-charging-plug-and-wireless-dock-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Google-Pixel-7a-charging-plug-and-wireless-dock-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Google-Pixel-7a-charging-plug-and-wireless-dock-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="Google Pixel 7a charging plug and wireless dock" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Google-Pixel-7a-charging-plug-and-wireless-dock.jpg"/> Robert Triggs / Android Authority

My place on USB-C is well-documented at this level; it’s a fancy and opaque set of specs and options which have change into more and more troublesome to decipher through the years, leading to a failure to reside as much as its promise. Nonetheless, relating to fast-charging my smartphones, there’s no denying that USB-C is the best choice by way of velocity and effectivity. As handy as wi-fi charging might be, it’s proving to be simply as a lot of a headache by way of compatibility, however with out the quick charging occasions to assist justify it.

Nevertheless, each time I decide a brand new cellphone to be my every day driver or suggest a brand new mannequin to family and friends, I’ve just lately began ensuring they arrive with sturdy wi-fi charging capabilities. Not as a result of I feel that is how everybody ought to quick cost their handset on a regular basis, however as a backup for the seemingly inevitable day when the cellphone’s USB-C port begins malfunctioning.

Does your cellphone's USB-C port act up whereas charging? 814 votes

Sure

15%

Typically

15%

No, it is high-quality

70%

USB-C ports continuously break on me

<img class="e_jg" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra S Pen and USB C port" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Samsung-Galaxy-S25-Ultra-S-Pen-and-USB-C-port.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Samsung-Galaxy-S25-Ultra-S-Pen-and-USB-C-port-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Samsung-Galaxy-S25-Ultra-S-Pen-and-USB-C-port-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Samsung-Galaxy-S25-Ultra-S-Pen-and-USB-C-port-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Samsung-Galaxy-S25-Ultra-S-Pen-and-USB-C-port-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Samsung-Galaxy-S25-Ultra-S-Pen-and-USB-C-port-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Samsung-Galaxy-S25-Ultra-S-Pen-and-USB-C-port-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Samsung-Galaxy-S25-Ultra-S-Pen-and-USB-C-port-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra S Pen and USB C port" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Samsung-Galaxy-S25-Ultra-S-Pen-and-USB-C-port.jpg"/> Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Maybe I’m simply having a string of dangerous luck, however all 4 of my earlier flagship every day drivers have suffered from USB-C connection points in a single kind or one other — it was only a matter of time. My Pixel 6 Professional developed a unfastened connection, with the cable wobbling and disconnecting simply when plugged in, which probably began round 18 months after I owned it. I needed to angle the cable aggressively whereas plugging it in to attain a connection. My Galaxy S22 Extremely suffered an analogous destiny, albeit in rather less time. Charging was much less of a difficulty, nevertheless it continuously disconnected when transferring massive recordsdata to my PC. Thank goodness for Fast Share as a wi-fi switch backup.

Then there was my Pixel 8 Professional (the final Pixel I used every day), which actually wasn’t as problem-prone. Nevertheless, I recollect it disconnecting from my pc not less than a few occasions. This problem would probably have worsened had the cellphone not utterly died on me after barely over a yr of use. Now, I’m on to the OPPO Discover X8 Professional, which I’ve owned for lower than a yr, and it already fails to cost until I angle the cable simply so contained in the USB-C port. Equally complicated is that some USB-C cables appear to work high-quality whereas others gained’t cost the handset in any respect, no matter how I wrestle and wrangle the cable. Infuriating doesn’t start to explain the expertise.

My final 4 telephones have all had USB-C problems with some variety.

I don’t suppose I’m doing something notably fallacious right here — there’s just one solution to plug in a USB-C cable, in any case. I wouldn’t say I’m notably vigorous; if something, my expertise has inspired me to attempt to be light. Maybe a few of my cables are inflicting the difficulty, perhaps they’re too tight, or their pins are too abrasive, however I've completely no method of realizing which of them might be the culprits. My spouse makes use of most of the identical chargers and hasn’t encountered the identical points, so I feel I’ve simply been unfortunate.

The one conclusion I’ve been in a position to attract is that USB-C ports are sometimes too delicate, or that manufacturers are scrimping on this core element. With 24 teeny tiny connectors inside, the probabilities of any of those turning into bent, worn, or broken over time are in all probability a lot larger than we would suppose, resulting in potential points with knowledge or energy switch, or each. Particularly in case you plug your cellphone in not less than as soon as a day, and presumably extra usually in case you recurrently join energy packs or different equipment. I've laptops that I’ve owned for for much longer, and their USB-C ports are working simply high-quality, in all probability as a result of I’m not plugging them out and in each single day.

Wi-fi charging as a backup

<img class="e_jg" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="ugreen qi2 25w charger 3 in 1 stand 5" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ugreen-qi2-25w-charger-3-in-1-stand-5.jpg 2000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ugreen-qi2-25w-charger-3-in-1-stand-5-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ugreen-qi2-25w-charger-3-in-1-stand-5-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ugreen-qi2-25w-charger-3-in-1-stand-5-1920w-1080h.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ugreen-qi2-25w-charger-3-in-1-stand-5-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ugreen-qi2-25w-charger-3-in-1-stand-5-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ugreen-qi2-25w-charger-3-in-1-stand-5-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ugreen-qi2-25w-charger-3-in-1-stand-5-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ugreen-qi2-25w-charger-3-in-1-stand-5-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="ugreen qi2 25w charger 3 in 1 stand 5" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ugreen-qi2-25w-charger-3-in-1-stand-5.jpg"/> Rita El Khoury / Android Authority

If there’s a silver lining, my issues haven’t been confined to at least one explicit model, and I distinctly recall having comparable points with the odd cellphone again within the micro-USB days as properly. Cable connectivity issues are nothing new, however in my expertise, the difficulty seems to be worsening, not enhancing. I’ve had extra issues with telephones previously 5 years than I had within the earlier 15. Sure, USB-C port points are repairable, however that’s hardly an affordable choice, even at your native store (which could cost anyplace from $50-$100), as a result of difficulties and time required for disassembly.

Formally sanctioned repairs might be even pricier, although neither Apple, Google, nor Samsung lists their prices instantly. For instance, even with AppleCare+ at $13.99 per 30 days, you’ll nonetheless need to pay the $99 unintended harm deductible. Broadly talking, official USB-C repairs can value between $100 and $250 — a value I’m not prepared to pay given the seemingly excessive failure charge of a element that prices pennies to fabricate.

Wi-fi charging ensures you possibly can energy your cellphone if the USB-C port provides out.

As such, I’ve come to treat wi-fi charging not as the way forward for smartphone charging nor as an elective luxurious. As an alternative, it’s change into an primarily vital hedge in opposition to the seemingly inevitable decline in USB-C reliability. When my USB-C port provides out, I can proceed to energy my cellphone by way of a wi-fi charging stand. The downside is that charging takes so much longer and produces extra warmth and stress on the battery, which is clearly detrimental to long-term battery well being. Nonetheless, it’s higher than not with the ability to cost the cellphone in any respect.

Fortunately, wi-fi charging is ubiquitous throughout the flagship smartphone area, and a few fashions provide marginally extra acceptable charging energy ranges, too, such because the Pixel 10 Professional XL’s 25W Qi2 capabilities or the OnePlus 15’s surprisingly speedy 50W assist. Should you’re on a tighter price range, there are many reasonably priced telephones that supply respectable 15W wi-fi charging capabilities too — starting from the 15W Nothing Cellphone 3a at simply $379 to the 15W Galaxy S25 FE for a nonetheless affordable $650.

Till producers could make USB-C ports much more sturdy, I strongly suggest making certain that your subsequent smartphone helps wi-fi charging — ideally at an influence degree properly above the naked minimal 5W. Belief me, it would simply save your cellphone from turning into an costly paperweight the second its solely bodily lifeline fails.

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