Qi Wireless Charging | How to add Qi wireless charging capabilities to your smartphone

Qi wireless charging is becoming a popular buzzword in the smartphone industry - but what is it? We explain exactly what Qi wireless charging is, which phones are compatible and how to add the feature to an unsupported smartphone.

The term “wireless charging” is one that’s thrown around a lot by manufacturers and publications alike, but wireless charging can mean different things to different people. When many people refer to wireless charging, they’re actually referring to inductive charging – similar to the technology that the Apple Watch uses. Qi is a standard developed by the Wireless Power Consortium for inductive electrical power transfer over distances of up to 4cm.

The term “wireless charging” often gives people the misconception that your phone isn’t plugged in but will still charge. While that is technically true, the charging pad has to be plugged into a power supply, be it a wall plug, computer or power bank so you’re not completely free from wires.

Now that you know what Qi charging really is, how do you use it with your smartphone? Are all smartphones compatible? What alternatives are there?

Qi Charging: is my phone compatible?

There are a growing number of phones that come with the Qi charging feature, the issue is that many users aren’t aware of its presence. Phones that support Qi charging include:

HTC Droid DNA
HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE
HTC Droid Incredible 2
HTC Rezound
Nokia Lumia 920
Nokia Lumia 928
Nokia Lumia 929
Nokia Lumia 930
Nokia Lumia 1020
Nokia Lumia 1520
LG G3
LG G3 Prime
LG G3 Cat 6
LG G4
LG Optimus G Pro 2
LG Optimus G Pro
LG Spectrum
LG Optimus
LG Lucid 2
Google Nexus 4
Google Nexus 5
Google Nexus 6
Motorola Droid Maxx
Motorola Ultra M
Motorola Droid Bionic
Motorola Droid Turbo
Samsung Galaxy Note 2
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
Samsung Galaxy Note 4
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
Samsung Galaxy S3
Samsung Galaxy S4
Samsung Galaxy S5
Samsung Galaxy S6
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
Samsung Galaxy S6 active
Sony Xperia Z3
Sony Z3v
YotaPhone 2

If your phone is compatible with Qi charging, all you need to do is purchase a Qi charging pad. Recently, IKEA announced that it would be launching a new line of furniture with Qi charging pads built into them. Imagine sitting in your front room, putting your phone on the table for it to start charging while you’re not using it. Fantastic.

As mentioned earlier, those of you that don’t want to shell out for a new furniture suite can pick up Qi charging pads cheaply enough. Samsung users can purchase a branded Samsung Qi charging pad for around £30 that matches the design aesthetic of the Galaxy S5 that also automatically shuts itself off once your phone has reached full charge.