Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Pixel phones automatically turn wireless charging on when plugged in.
- The feature is said to work for the Pixel 5 and up.
- The battery has to be above 20% before it activates.
Google’s Pixel phones have had the ability to wirelessly charge other devices since 2020. However, you had to manually turn the reverse charging feature on. But you may not have known that some Pixels can turn wireless charging on automatically when plugged in.
Some Reddit users are discovering that their Pixel phones are doubling as wireless charging pads. It may not be common knowledge, but when a Pixel 5 or higher is plugged in, the handset automatically turns wireless charging on. That means you don’t have to toggle the reverse charging setting on, it just activates itself when plugged in.
The wireless charging will activate for a few minutes, and if nothing is detected, it will turn off by itself. So you don’t have to worry about wireless charging always being on.
But it’s important to note that the feature will only work if the battery is above 20%. Once it’s above 20%, both the phone and the device will charge at the same time.
So if you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to charge both your phone and earbuds, you can just sit them on top of the back of your Pixel phone.
Earlier this month, we reported on Google bringing a new feature through its Android 13 QPR1 beta that would give users full control over the wireless charging feature. The new feature creates an option that allows you to completely turn off wireless charging or continue to allow the phone to wirelessly charge independently of the main setting when plugged in.
