I got a Series 3 on Thursday and tried charging it with my generic Qi charging pad that I use for my phone. It worked on Thursday and again on Friday. An update came through on Saturday and it no longer works. Did Apple shut down generic Qi charging? Anybody else notice this?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Series 3 Wireless Charging
- Thread starter hackme
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
That's interesting. I didn't know the Series 3 would charge with a third party QI charging pad. But I didn't read anybody that had tried a third party charging pad either. Apple's WatchOS update must have somehow interfered with the charging capabilities. Which means, if it doesn't work for other third party QI charging mats, Apple's Airpower would be the only option when it releases in 2018.
Last edited:
My near-launch purchased AW3 has never worked with any of my Qi pads. I've used a Qi charging case on my iphone7 for a year or so now and have a handful of random generic pads in different places at home and work. While there have been sporadic reports of some people having success with some pads sometimes, I've seen no apparent pattern.
So you may have been lucky for a bit, but I wouldn't have expected it to continue whether with or without an update.
(and what update came out on Saturday? Thought 4.1 was the latest? .. ah new watch, must not have been at 4.1)
So you may have been lucky for a bit, but I wouldn't have expected it to continue whether with or without an update.
(and what update came out on Saturday? Thought 4.1 was the latest? .. ah new watch, must not have been at 4.1)
I tried Watch 3 on one Qi charger (1-coil) and got an error on the charge pad as it flashed rapidly, and got no response on another Qi charger (3-coil). I think that the charge coil in Watch is not big enough or something to form a circuit on phone charger, though I can be wrong.
Wow, I just popped mine on the cheapo choetech charging pad, and it worked... for about a millisecond. And now I can't replicate it.
The Apple watch will only charge on the charger it comes with until Apple releases their charge pad next year.
I have a super cheap Yootech charger. It worked for just a day. Something changed with this weekend's update. I hope generic Qi charging comes back. The upside is the battery life of my new Series 3 watch is vastly better than my OG apple watch so it's less of a concern.