Solving Chevy Suburban Wireless Charging Issues
Having trouble getting the wireless charging feature to work in your Chevy truck? Our members have the solution!
The wonderful world of wireless charging is still relatively new in the world of smartphones. But oh, what a great thing it is. No longer must you tote around messy cords. When your phone needs a boost, simply set it in your truck’s console. You know, like you normally would anyway. Before you know it, she’s all charged up and ready to go. This is a reality for owners of newer trucks like the Chevy Suburban, thanks to the brand’s desire to become an early adopter of the technology.
There’s just one problem with being an early adopter, of course. And that is the fact that you’re bound to encounter some bugs along the way. This is especially true in the world of smartphones, where every brand and model sports different technology. Which, coincidentally, is exactly the problem that faced Chevrolet Forum member blueinterceptor recently. So, he wisely headed to the forums seeking some answers.
“I just picked up a 2015 Chevy Suburban. I am trying to charge my iPhone on it. It won’t charge. I have a Qi compatible backing on it. The case is a dog and bone. It works with its own power plate but not the Chevy plate. I’ve tried my wife’s Samsung and it works intermittently. Say 3 times out of 20. The Apple charged once out of a hundred attempts. Anybody have any success? Explanations? The dealership’s first examination says maybe it’s a bad module, but Chevrolet tech services wants another crack at the diagnostic.”
Part of the problem, as Whitts1 points out, is that prior iPhone models aren’t wireless charging compatible out of the box.
“Same for us on our ’15 Chevy Suburban. For what it’s worth, our dealer was up front with us at purchase that the iPhone would not be compatible. We have friends with a ’15 Denali and theirs does not work either with Apple. Seems like GM is trying to make it seem advanced, but in the end just not quite fully baked. Too bad, it was a feature that we were pretty excited about before we shopped.”
Indeed, you can’t really fault GM for trying to be ahead of the curve here. And Apple has lagged behind the competition for a few years now in regards to wireless charging technology.
“It’s not a feature I’d seek out,” says SabrToothSqrl. “But if the next iPhone has it, that would be cool. In GM’s defense, it’s a bit of a chicken and egg thing. You can’t build charging pads without compatible phones.”
But as it turns out, there are a couple of solutions to the problem: remove or replace the rubber mat from the charger, and/or install a plug-in antenna in the phone case.
“The [rubber mat] is held in place by the sides, tucked in with two nipples if you will,” says blueinterceptor. “It will pry off. My dog and bones charging system did not work with removal of the mat either. A simple antenna plugged into the bottom of the iPhone and I was good to go. My wife’s Galaxy 6 Edge works without any problems.”
“The GM pad is almost 2mm thick, which makes wireless charging difficult and less effective,” adds SSpinball. “I replaced the rubber pad with a leather like material, which minimized the thickness. Charger installed too far forward for larger phones to charge. If you remove the outer bezel, you can see how to remove and modify the charger pad to accept larger phones. You can maximize phone width 3.1 inches by moving the charger position all the way to the back of the bezel.”
Once again, it seems like our astute members have figured out a way to make things work as they should. So if you’re having trouble getting your smartphone to charge wirelessly in your Chevy Suburban, give these tips a shot! And if you’ve got any additional tips to share, head over here to chime in!
