appears it's something to do with the BMW's boosted LTE signal, but this doesn't really make sense to me.
(I've had BMW phone adapter trays - i.e. iPhone 4) and it literally cooked my phone to death.
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.
Warning: BMW Wireless Charging May Break iPhone 15's Apple Pay Chip
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
(I've had BMW phone adapter trays - i.e. iPhone 4) and it literally cooked my phone to death.
Popped in here to see if there was any report of a diagnosis/solution, or any new info.
My current phone is an 11 pro max (I refuse to upgrade every year or two) and I use wireless charging in my 2023 BMW regularly. The phone does get pretty warm but I’ve never had an issue.
I know many believe it is a heat problem. On occasions when I leave the phone in my pocket, it gets uncomfortably warm in a manner of minutes as well, presumably because it’s doing wireless CarPlay.
I can’t say whether the BMW charger has an issue or not. It certainly could, but I feel like the burden is on Apple to have its device protect itself. In earlier years I dealt with the annoyance of having to unlock the iPhone when plugging it into an old charging alarm clock because the device was “unsupported”. Same idea. With wireless charging the phone controls how much, if any, power is delivered by the charger and can stop it completely.
Everything we post here is obviously anecdotal, but it really looks like some iPhones have physical design-driven heat dissipation issues, combined with OS power management issues. I’ll keep looking to see what the fix is, but I don’t really see Apple ever admitting to a design problem if that were the case.
My current phone is an 11 pro max (I refuse to upgrade every year or two) and I use wireless charging in my 2023 BMW regularly. The phone does get pretty warm but I’ve never had an issue.
I know many believe it is a heat problem. On occasions when I leave the phone in my pocket, it gets uncomfortably warm in a manner of minutes as well, presumably because it’s doing wireless CarPlay.
I can’t say whether the BMW charger has an issue or not. It certainly could, but I feel like the burden is on Apple to have its device protect itself. In earlier years I dealt with the annoyance of having to unlock the iPhone when plugging it into an old charging alarm clock because the device was “unsupported”. Same idea. With wireless charging the phone controls how much, if any, power is delivered by the charger and can stop it completely.
Everything we post here is obviously anecdotal, but it really looks like some iPhones have physical design-driven heat dissipation issues, combined with OS power management issues. I’ll keep looking to see what the fix is, but I don’t really see Apple ever admitting to a design problem if that were the case.
Did you hear this from an Apple Genius? It would surprise me if they didn’t have iPhone 13 Pro units to replace your phone because they still keep stock of old devices for replacement. Just last year they replaced my wife’s old iPhone X with a brand new (white box) one because they broke hers during a battery replacement.
Agree with this. right before I bought my 11 Pro Max, they damaged my 8 Plus during battery swap (liquid/dust seal and volume buttons). They gave me a new white box 8+ after I made a stink.
Plus a case and glass screen protector.
A question about the problem. Has anyone (Apple or BMW) finally commented on this? What is the next step? Is someone from the two working on the problem or can at least give more information? Somehow this is not really great to charge with cable when you already finally have Wireless Carplay in the car.
Well, if they don’t have 13 Pro units the only correct thing to do would be to upgrade you to a device they currently have like 14/15 Pro. If I’m paying for Apple Care, I’m going to insist on walking out of there with a working and equivalent device.
I haven’t seen a comment from Apple or BMW, but I’m the one that had my 2024 I4 brick 2 iPhones (15 pro) from putting it on the wireless charger, and Apple has now called me twice asking questions to collect info. The guy I spoke with didn’t know much, other than Apple was looking into it and getting as much info as they could.
They have the two phones that were bricked. My 3rd phone is fine (… because I’ve kept it away from the wireless charging on my i4)
Yup. I think it's not *that* related to BMW. Surely it exacerbates the issue and finishes the NFC, but people's Apple Pay has been dying on the 15 series (and not just the Pros) for no reason and with no relation to BMWs, too. I wonder why the general issue is so underreported by the media and the BMW story is getting all the attention.
Last edited:
You’re holding Apple Pay all wrong.
Same here. The wireless charging pad of my new BMW X5 ruined the Apple Pay chip of my iPhone 15 Pro today. Apple Online Store told me that shipping a new iPhone as a replacement will take two weeks ... yay!
PS: I emailed Tim Cook, too. Doubt that he's going to reply
PS: I emailed Tim Cook, too. Doubt that he's going to reply
What about emailing Oliver Zipse? Or Sebastian Mackensen?Same here. The wireless charging pad of my new BMW X5 ruined the Apple Pay chip of my iPhone 15 Pro today. Apple Online Store told me that shipping a new iPhone as a replacement will take two weeks ... yay!
PS: I emailed Tim Cook, too. Doubt that he's going to reply
I did this exact thing and got multiple followup phone calls from Apple Corporate Executive Relations about my issue. Occasionally sending an email to an executive does prompt additional attention to your case.
I also received a phone call from BMW this week, who said that they are working with Apple on this issue. Both companies apparently have acknowledged that there is an issue between the wireless charger and the iPhone 15 line. No ETA for fix, but they recommend not using the wireless charing pad and digital key in the meantime.
Yes, I fully agree. Escalating to an executive can work wonders, in my experience.
I haven't heard back from Apple yet.
Interesting that you received even a call from BMW – based on this thread or further communication directly with BMW?
For sure, I will not use wireless charging again in the BMW. Are you sure, the digital key usage by itself may lead to problems with the Apple Pay chip?
I emailed BMW directly and received the follow up call.
Yes, I fully agree. Escalating to an executive can work wonders, in my experience.
I haven't heard back from Apple yet.
Interesting that you received even a call from BMW – based on this thread or further communication directly with BMW?
For sure, I will not use wireless charging again in the BMW. Are you sure, the digital key usage by itself may lead to problems with the Apple Pay chip?
@xrayboy Thanks for all the info. It's not totally clear that using the Digital Key alone will lead to problems. But better to be cautious with all iPhone <-> BMW interactions via near field.
In my view, the main culprit is the charging pad. And I fully agree with @Muzzakus that there might be many other cars and manufacturers with the same problem.
As a quantum physicist, I imagine it might be very hard for Apple to solve the problem via a mere software update. Once you build antennas that are capable of receiving electromagnetic waves for induction charging into a device, it is not possible to limit the amount of energy received, via software updates. So if a malfunctioning electromagnetic sender (like the BMW pad) emits too much energy, the iPhone's antennas (especially without a case as insulation) will receive the full amount of energy, no matter what.
There exist regulations (in the US for sure, and also in the EU) limiting the permissible amount of energy emitted for wireless induction chargers (such as Magsafe). It would be interesting to measure, whether the BMW charging pad stands in violation with these laws.
In my view, the main culprit is the charging pad. And I fully agree with @Muzzakus that there might be many other cars and manufacturers with the same problem.
As a quantum physicist, I imagine it might be very hard for Apple to solve the problem via a mere software update. Once you build antennas that are capable of receiving electromagnetic waves for induction charging into a device, it is not possible to limit the amount of energy received, via software updates. So if a malfunctioning electromagnetic sender (like the BMW pad) emits too much energy, the iPhone's antennas (especially without a case as insulation) will receive the full amount of energy, no matter what.
There exist regulations (in the US for sure, and also in the EU) limiting the permissible amount of energy emitted for wireless induction chargers (such as Magsafe). It would be interesting to measure, whether the BMW charging pad stands in violation with these laws.
Sincere question - any 15 Pro users try or use the Hyatt digital key? (The new one - same idea as BMW and transit which works phone off, NOT as a “pass”)
Wondering if many / multiple things are breaking the NFC system… or isolated to BMW’s supplier.
Wondering if many / multiple things are breaking the NFC system… or isolated to BMW’s supplier.