Problem: IPhone 8 Plus with Qi Wireless Charging *Resolved*

*Resolution 1/19: Happy ending! The fix for this issue is to replace the iPhone. My device would cause the blinking issue in any truck I put it in. After replacing iPhone at the Apple store, i cannot recreate the issue no matter where the phone is placed on the Qi charger.

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So I bought an iPhone 8 plus yesterday and have been having some issues with the Qi charging. iPhone has an Otterbox Statement case that was bought at the Apple store, and they assured me it works well with wireless charging. **edit - truck/ phone exhibit the EXACT same behavior with or without the case**

iPhone usually charges very well if you place it precisely on the pad. iPhone must be as close to the passenger seat as the tray allows. I'm going to buy a couple of little rubber stickers (similar to what goes on the bottom of laptops to keep them from sliding around) and put one along each side of the phone to ensure that it stays in place and I should be good. Before doing this, I'd love to have someone with an iPhone 8 Plus try the following and see if your results are the same as mine.

1) Set phone down on Qi charger in the proper location (closest to passenger and direction doesn't seem to matter).

2) While phone is charging (amber light lit), slide phone toward the driver's seat.

When I do this on my phone, both lights (amber and green) begin to flash rapidly and will not stop flashing even when you take the phone off of the charger. You can turn off Qi charging and turn it back on and lights will continue to flash rapidly. If you turn off the truck and start it again, everything's fine.

My gut tells me this is an issue with my truck, but I want to see what another Tacoma does before dealing with the dealership. The manual indicates both lights flashing to mean charger overheating and says to take it to service if you have double flashing lights and phone is not hot.

https://youtu.be/x6Q-1rJFmpQ

 

Its flashing because it can't get a good induction to charge. It's likely 2 fold--the thick otterbox case( of course Apple will tell you it'll charge no problem to sell you a $50 case--and it may charge fine with a better wireless charger) and the weaker Toyota qi charger. I rarely use it for my Note 8 because it warms it up and it barely charges my phone so if i really need it charged i'll just plug it in. Also, its in a terrible location on the manual models. Impossible to get to when actively driving.

 

My guess it’s the Otterbox. That’s a thick case try taking it out and see how it works without it. Mine works great and have no complaints with a case on. I don’t know about being a weak QI charger. Charges just as fast as my home one.

 

My samsung fast charger at home can get my phone from 30% to 100 in about an hour to hour an a half. Plus it has a built in fan. I'm lucky if my phone goes from 50 to 65% in an hour drive.

 

I've been using the charger since the truck was new on an iPhone 6 with a Mofi charging case. Works great. It also works great on the new iPhone, so long as it's placed EXACTLY in the bottom right of the tray. I'll give it a shot without the case and report back.

**Just tried it without the case. Does the EXACT same thing. Green and Amber lights rapidly flashing as soon as the phone touched the charging pad.

 

My QI works well with my Galaxy S8 with a *Speck case. Put it all the way to the left and it charges well.

 

My iPhone 8 has a thinner "tech 21" case that I purchased at the Apple Store when I purchased my iPhone 8. The Apple Store Tech told me this brand would work. Came out to my Tacoma, placed it on the mat, started the truck, turned the charger on, and it worked fine. It was a 45 minute drive home, with the iPhone 8 starting with a 45% charge. When I got home....it was at 85% charged. Probably the Otterbox case is to thick. Your Apple receipt gives you 30 days to return it. I would, and get a thinner case.

 

The key word being fast charger!

 

I wish it were that simple. When mine's working, I get similar charging results to yours with the Otterbox case on. The problem is when it stops working. I've tried it with no case whatsoever and it does the same thing, both lights blinking rapidly and will not stop blinking or charge phone until ignition is cycled. Ugh.

I've set up an appointment with the dealer and Apple next week and I'll never get those few hours of my life back. Painful First World Problem.

 

Weird. My X works with a slim card case and 3 cards in it.

 

one of my cards has metal, and it won't charge via Qi if I leave it in. The whole thing just gets really hot

 

I’ve noticed the same thing with mine. iPhone X with slim tech 21 case. No problems charging on my mophie wireless charging pad though with same case.

 

Same here. No problems charging the iPhone 8 Plus on the Mophie pad. What makes it even weirder is that I also have no problems charging the old iPhone 6 with the Mophie case in the truck.

 

No problems with my iPhone 8 and tech21 case. Don’t even need to be that precise with where I place the phone.

Seems like it’s something with the truck because I can remove and re-place my phone on the pad as much as I want and I never get any blinking lights

Maybe the 8+ is just too large to fit correctly or something but that doesn’t explain the blinking lights

 

Depends what phone you have. I have a Samsung Note4 w/QI wireless adaptor. That thing charges Super Slow. My new Note8 has wireless fast charging and it charges hella fast. Depends on the phone I guess..

 

Quick update: Tried my phone in another TRD Offroad and it exhibited the same behavior (with and without case). Next step is to follow up with Apple to try another iPhone 8 Plus and see if that works. They cancelled my appointment today because of the ice.

 

I had a strikingly similar experience today while driving home from work with a passenger he told me his phone was dead and I replied that he should try out my wireless charging pad I have a old phone that is not compatible so I had yet to utilize it. He set his new iPhone X (10) down on the pad and it began to flash green and charge his phone.... Cool I thought.. then once it charged enough to turn on the power to the phone I got the dual flashing lights green/amber... I checked in the manual and it gives a few different things but at the end it says "consult your Toyota dealer" I will experiment and see what I can come up with and report back...

 

Yep I had the same problem...

 

If it's your buddy's phone, how is it YOUR problem?

The manual says that if it blinks both lights, it means it's too hot and charging has stopped. If you find that it's not hot and it blinks like the video in the original post, save yourself some time and go to the Apple store instead of the dealership. My iPhone 8 would cause this condition in any Tacoma when I put it in the charging area. Now that it's been replaced by a new device, it works well in all Tacomas. The issue is the phone and NOT the truck. See below for some of the threads regarding this issue on the Apple Support community. Others are reporting the same issue on Tacomaworld.

https://discussions.apple.com/message/32821880#32821880
https://discussions.apple.com/message/32516150#32516150
https://discussions.apple.com/message/32255754

 

Thanks