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Wireless charging while iPhone X is powered off?

I have been charging my iPhone while powered off for many years. Simply plug in the AC adapter to your iPhone, power down the phone and you'll get a crisp 100% charge by the time you turn the phone back on.


However, with the wireless chargers out there, I can't seem to replicate the same experience. Place your iPhone X on top of the charger, power down the phone and wait. Three seconds later, the phone will turn back on.


Is this normal behaviour? I would really like to be able to charge my iPhone X wirelessly while it's powered down.

iPhone X, iOS 11.2.1

Posted on Jan 5, 2018 11:12 AM

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Posted on Jan 6, 2018 11:45 AM

Yes. If powered off the phone will power on to recharge. Here is the wireless charging page -How to wirelessly charge your iPhone X, iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus - Apple Support

27 replies

Jan 7, 2018 1:41 PM in response to mikenitso

mikenitso wrote:


It's more about the quality of charge. A powered down iPhone is better charged when you turn it back on.

You're making this up. There is no such thing as "quality of charge;" charge is charge, and it makes no difference whether it is charged powered on or off from the battery's perspective. There is no such thing as "better charged" either; the battery is charged to 100% or it isn't. How it got there doesn't matter, and regardless of how you charge it the charge process stops at exactly the same point with exactly the same battery capacity. You can test this for yourself with a battery monitoring app such as Battery Life.


There's actually an advantage to the battery charging it powered on; the power source runs apps rather than the battery. As some apps (mail, for example) use power most of the time, if the phone is off they must wait until you turn it on to do their job. By then you have unplugged the power source, and the background apps must use battery power when running to catch up with what they missed when the phone was off, rather than "wall" power. This means that the battery will have to be charged sooner than if you left the phone on. And it will increase the number of charge cycles over time, wearing out the battery faster.


Regarding wireless charging, it is an active process from the phone's perspective, and I (speaking as an electronics engineer) don't see how it is possible to have an active process with no power going into it. So I suspect the the Apple support rep is wrong with respect to wireless charging, or the rep misunderstood your question.

Jan 7, 2018 1:53 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Try something with your phone.

1.) Charge it to 100% while it's powered on

2.) Charge it to 100% while it's powered off


In case 1, the phone won't stay at 100% for very long as you use your phone. In case 2, the phone stays at 100% for a considerable time. All of this is based on my usage habits. It's been documented in these forums that the charging circuitry of the phone will stop charging the battery when it reaches 100%. If the phone is on once it reaches 100% the battery will begin to discharge as it runs its background apps and tasks. All of this happens while the phone is connected to the charging cable. If you then disconnect the cable and begin to use your phone as you normally do, the battery is somewhere less than 100% charged, but will still show 100% on the battery meter.


Anyway, I'm not trying to debate here....I would just like the phone to charge while turned off --- wirelessly.


Even if apple support didn't understand my question, all you have to do is follow the instructions in their tweet and the phone turns back on.

Feb 19, 2018 9:37 PM in response to mikenitso

Hi, I'm having the same problem and it begun after the iOS update from 10 to 11 version. I have a Belkin wireless charger and I could charge my iPhone 8 turned off before the update.

After the update the problem begun!!! All the two iPhones 8 that had the iOS updated, changed the behavior and the last one that I didn't updated stayed charging wirelessly and turned off! After that, I've updated the last one and it begun to turn on again as you described: put it over the charger then turns it off, after some few seconds it turns on by itself.

I had the same problem with an old iPhone 5S and a wired charger but the problem was fixed later.

And I agree with you: I'd like to have the option to charge it turned on or off!!!!!

I, particularly, prefer to charge it turned off!!!!!!!

I hope this problem be fixed with the new iOS update!!!!

Feb 20, 2018 6:17 AM in response to Ricardooes

Wireless charging requires an active circuit in the phone to work. Wired charging does not. So it is not possible to have wireless charging when the phone is powered off. It cannot be fixed. And I do not believe your iPhone 8 would charge when powered off. Even if it appeared to be off there had to be power on inside for the wireless charging circuit to work.


But what's the point? There is no benefit to charging with it powered off. None. At best it may complete a charge 5 minutes faster. But most likely it won't even do that.

Feb 20, 2018 6:37 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

Hi, Lawrence.

I don't know what happens inside the phone, but externally the iPhones 8, all three with iOS 10, were charged wirelessly powered OFF before the iOS upgrade to 11 version!!!!!! They don't accept any touch at home button!!! This behavior has changed AFTER update to iOS 11!!!!

And, sorry, I'm not here to lie about these symptoms, they really happened even if an electronic or electric engineer said they didn't!

Feb 20, 2018 8:03 AM in response to mikenitso

Perhaps it is part of making sure that your iphone or battery is not damaged while charging wireless - without the iphone on and no direct connection through a wire, how does it monitor the power through a magnetic field?


The coil in the pad is a transmitter, the coil in the phone is a receiver, if the iphone is off how is anything monitored from something that does not transmit

Feb 20, 2018 8:09 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

Lawrence Finch wrote:


mikenitso wrote:


It's more about the quality of charge. A powered down iPhone is better charged when you turn it back on.

You're making this up. There is no such thing as "quality of charge;" charge is charge, and it makes no difference whether it is charged powered on or off from the battery's perspective. There is no such thing as "better charged" either; the battery is charged to 100% or it isn't. How it got there doesn't matter, and regardless of how you charge it the charge process stops at exactly the same point with exactly the same battery capacity.

I've never heard this one before. However, I did have a housemate who insisted that if you boiled water for tea in a kettle, the tea stayed hotter longer than if you boiled the water in a microwave.

Feb 20, 2018 8:36 AM in response to boofitz

Hi, Boofitz.

I think the only way to solve our discussion is to downgrade to iOS 10 and test it with wireless charger!!!!

I had three iPhones 8 with this behavior! I bought them on November and bought 3 Belkin wireless chargers! All of them were charged turned off, I mean, the display and 3D Touch home button didn't accept any command! If it was charged turned on, the home button would accept the touch and would turn the display on! And, believe or not, the battery was charged regularly!!!!!!!!

Feb 20, 2018 8:40 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

IdrisSeabright wrote:

I've never heard this one before. However, I did have a housemate who insisted that if you boiled water for tea in a kettle, the tea stayed hotter longer than if you boiled the water in a microwave.

Or the one about putting boiling water in an ice cube tray because it will freeze faster? Or adding cream to your coffee will keep it hot longer?


As a very young kid (around 6 or so) I firmly believed that adding a little salt to soup cooled it off.


All of these are equivalent to the idea that electricity from different sources differs in quality.

Feb 20, 2018 8:43 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

Lawrence Finch wrote:


IdrisSeabright wrote:

I've never heard this one before. However, I did have a housemate who insisted that if you boiled water for tea in a kettle, the tea stayed hotter longer than if you boiled the water in a microwave.

Or the one about putting boiling water in an ice cube tray because it will freeze faster?

My mother told me that was so that the ice cubes would freeze clear instead of cloudy.

Feb 20, 2018 9:05 AM in response to y_p_w

Yes, but that that's a different issue, and it's why you should only use Apple or Apple-certified power sources. The claim under discussion is that a phone that is charged to 100% when powered down has a better quality of charge when turned back on that one that was charged to 100% while powered on.


100% is 100%. And if you use a battery analyzer it will not see any difference.

Wireless charging while iPhone X is powered off?

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