Disabling or blocking wireless charger?

[EL616]

My Android phone, a Pixel 9 Pro, likes to light up constantly whenever it's on the wireless charger. Seems like it's constantly disconnecting from charging, then every time it reconnects it lights up the phone. Gets real annoying when the screen is flashing on and off every 20 seconds as I'm driving, especially at night. The obvious fix is "don't put your phone there," but wireless Android Auto seems to get a much stronger and faster connection when it's not in my pocket and that's the most convenient place to put it. I assume I could remove a fuse or otherwise disconnect the wiring to the charger but I'd rather avoid having to take the console apart to do it, especially since I'll eventually get a new phone that hopefully won't have the same issue. Is there an easy way to do this that wouldn't involve taking apart the console?

Alternately, has anyone tried mounting something over the charging pad that blocks the charging signal? Wondering if I could stick a thin metal plate there or something that would let me still keep my phone there without it attempting to charge.

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[MikeD]

Might you be able to flip the phone screen side down so you cannot see the flashing? This might also limit the connection to the charger a bit - which for you might be a good thing. (Not trying to be snarky - its just what I thought of when you describe your issue.)

 

[coloradomarmot]

You definitely don't want anything in between the charger and the phone - it uses induction charging and it could easily heat metal up if it still tries to connect. That may actually be what's happening - that something in your case (or one of those popup holders), is interfering with it.

 

[ggrant20]

You definitely don't want anything in between the charger and the phone - it uses induction charging and it could easily heat metal up if it still tries to connect. That may actually be what's happening - that something in your case (or one of those popup holders), is interfering with it.

^this - please do not put a piece of metal between the phone and the charger, I was digging through the manual to see if you can disable it and they have explicit warnings about covering with metal:

I couldn’t find anything about disabling it, even in the section about dealer customizable options.

Since thick phone cases are enough to keep it from connecting maybe you could do it with acrylic/plastic or a foam sheet? Less so to block the signal but more to get your phone far enough off the surface that it can’t connect?

 

[EL616]

You definitely don't want anything in between the charger and the phone - it uses induction charging and it could easily heat metal up if it still tries to connect. That may actually be what's happening - that something in your case (or one of those popup holders), is interfering with it.

Good point, definitely shouldn't put anything metal there that could potentially heat up. I do wonder though -- going off of the charging icon on the screen that turns on and off, is the induction charger always putting out a current, or does it only activate when it detects that there's a phone on it? If it's the latter, wouldn't putting something sufficiently thick there block it from detecting a phone and turning on in the first place? That's where my head was at with the metal plate idea, but agree the risk of superheating metal in my dashboard is not worth it.


For the record, I use a thin phone case with nothing inside, and I exclusively use wireless chargers around the house. Perfect charging every day and have never had any issues besides with the 4Runner.

 

[coloradomarmot]

Good point, definitely shouldn't put anything metal there that could potentially heat up. I do wonder though -- going off of the charging icon on the screen that turns on and off, is the induction charger always putting out a current, or does it only activate when it detects that there's a phone on it? If it's the latter, wouldn't putting something sufficiently thick there block it from detecting a phone and turning on in the first place? That's where my head was at with the metal plate idea, but agree the risk of superheating metal in my dashboard is not worth it.


For the record, I use a thin phone case with nothing inside, and I exclusively use wireless chargers around the house. Perfect charging every day and have never had any issues besides with the 4Runner.

It could detect the phone even through the metal, that's the risk.

What brand of phone? Is it compatible with the standard? If it's an off-brand, cheap ebay model it may not be fully compliant....

 

[thirstyross]

Can't you just drop it down the right side, where there's no charger? like to the right of the gearshift.

 

[fur_runner]

Yeah hopefully it's not a cheap ebay Pixel 9 Pro....

Because of the camera shelf, your phone barely makes a connection w the wireless charger (I have the same one.) Like the other person suggested, if you flip it screen side down not only will it not light up, it won't charge either

 

[Nodak]

toyota wireless charging has been notoriously horrible. they expect you to NOT have a case on your phone in order for it to work correctly.

i stopped using the toyota oem wireless charging pad. just easier to connect a cable

just better to use a fast charger or a wired cable to charge your phone. any little bump will unsettle the charging

 

[Tarekith]

Youn can pull up the plate over the charger and remove the plug connect to it to disable charging. My iPhone 16 Pro does the same thing constantly having the screen on and off each time i go around a corner, definitely gets annoying. I plan to do like another member here did and put an actual Apple Mag Safe charging puck there instead with doublesided tape.

 

[EL616]

Yeah hopefully it's not a cheap ebay Pixel 9 Pro....

Because of the camera shelf, your phone barely makes a connection w the wireless charger (I have the same one.) Like the other person suggested, if you flip it screen side down not only will it not light up, it won't charge either

It's definitely a legit Pixel 9 Pro, and I have like 5 other wireless chargers I use around the house and office, all of which are affected by the camera bump but still charge no problem. In the 4Runner I even put some foam padding in the bottom of the tray so the phone can't slide around on the pad, but still have the issue with constant disconnects and screen flashing. Oh well, turning it around backwards is a decent solution.

 

[coloradomarmot]

It's definitely a legit Pixel 9 Pro, and I have like 5 other wireless chargers I use around the house and office, all of which are affected by the camera bump but still charge no problem. In the 4Runner I even put some foam padding in the bottom of the tray so the phone can't slide around on the pad, but still have the issue with constant disconnects and screen flashing. Oh well, turning it around backwards is a decent solution.

yeah, i'm not a fan of wireless charging for a bunch of reasons, wish they'd let us just turn it off sometimes

 

[papadop88]

There's also this now that goes over the Qi charging block and uses a true magsafe charger if you have an Apple phone...May not help with your needs but it's an option...

Magsafe Charger

 

[Dead Horse]

There's also this now that goes over the Qi charging block and uses a true magsafe charger if you have an Apple phone...May not help with your needs but it's an option...

Magsafe Charger

That's linking to grill lights LOL

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