Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
Wireless charging on Pixels has been a complicated affair for years now. Oftentimes, the speeds that Google has claimed a phone can reach were only achievable through proprietary charging with the Pixel Stand 2nd Gen, leaving the phones struggling on other Qi chargers. Qi2 didn’t simplify matters either, with the Pixel 10 series adding Qi2 support but misbehaving on older Qi chargers, as reported by many users and shown in my own testing.
During my tests, I also noticed something else: My Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL were dropping down to 5W max when charging over my new Qi2 15W and 25W chargers, even though they’re able to charge much faster on older Qi chargers. Here’s what’s happening.
Have you bought a Qi2 charger or power bank for your Pixel phone? 65 votes Yes, I have a new Pixel 10 series phone. 51 % Yes, I have an older Pixel. 31 % No, I'm sticking with my older Qi charger. 6 % I don't use wireless chargers. 12 %
The Pixel 9 series (and older) defaults to 5W on Qi2 chargers
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
The Google Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL can charge at a rate of up to 12W on older Qi wireless chargers, when those are EPP (Extended Power Profile) certified. I’ve been able to verify this on both of my SwanScout 3-in-1 chargers (10W) and my Baseus MagSafe 15W Qi power bank: In my tests, the two phones appear to draw up to 8-9W of real power, as measured in the Inware app, while charging, which lines up with the theoretical 12W of power draw.
Even though the Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL should draw 12W on Qi2 chargers, they can't get more than 5W.
However, when placed on a newer Qi2 15W or 25W charger, both phones dropped significantly and only showed a real battery power draw of 3.5W or so, which indicates they were throttled down to a theoretical 5W charge. That’s the lowest a Qi charger can deliver, and is referred to as the Basic Power Profile (BPP).
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority Screenshot
... continue reading