Magnetic accessories could disrupt your S Pen

Update: February 12, 2025 (2:40 AM ET): There were several reports of magnetic accessories interfering with the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s S Pen. We tested this and can confirm interference on our own device.

Android Authority colleague Ryan Haines slapped a magnetic Peak Design wallet case on the back of his S25 Ultra. He found that the S Pen worked fine when it wasn’t overlapping with the wallet, but that drawing abruptly stopped when the S Pen overlapped the magnetic accessory.

Needless to say, you should definitely think twice about using magnetic accessories if you’re a frequent S Pen user.

In addition to these changes, it looks like magnetic accessories, such as cases and adapters, might be messing with the S Pen’s performance on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Reports about this issue also surfaced with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and it looks like the problem has continued into the S25 Ultra. In fact, Samsung also acknowledged the interference between magnets and the S Pen, going as far back as the Galaxy Note 8! Obviously, the S Pen has evolved a lot since then but it looks like the latest one still doesn’t play well with magnets.

Android Central’s Andrew Myrick shared his personal experience with the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the interference issue while using a Fiberborne case. According to his report, the phone issued a pop-up warning stating: “Magnetic accessories can interfere with your S Pen: The magnets in accessories can interfere with the signals your S Pen sends to your phone. They may cause your S Pen to not write correctly or cause Air commands to occur unintentionally.”

The publication notes that the warning is a bit misleading because the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s S Pen does not support Air Commands. This isn’t true, though. The S Pen on the S25 Ultra does not support “Air Actions,” a feature that allows you to control your Galaxy device like a remote by simply waving your S Pen. However, it does support “Air Commands,” a menu with quick access to various S Pen features that appears when you remove the pen from its slot.

So, the pop-up is actually correct about Air Commands interference caused by magnetic accessories.

Nevertheless, Myrick also pointed out that when he used a MagSafe adapter with Samsung’s silicone case, the warning about S Pen interference didn’t appear. Perhaps the thickness of Samsung’s case and the distance between the magnets and the S Pen play a role in whether or not interference occurs.

What can you expect?

For now, if you’re planning to use magnetic accessories with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, you might want to monitor how they affect your S Pen experience. Last year, when people reported similar issues on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, case maker dbrand also acknowledged it and noted that its users “may observe a negligible reduction in S Pen accuracy when drawing directly over the magnetic array within a MagSafe-enabled case.”

“The amount of interference comes down to a number of factors that relate to both the magnets (strength, coating, thickness, diameter, etc.), as well as the case itself (how deeply the magnets are recessed, what materials are used in the case, etc.),” the company explained.

However, at the time, dbrand warned that magnetic interference with the S Pen can dramatically increase as soon as you add a MagSafe accessory into the mix. “For instance, when using the S Pen with a MagSafe charger attached, users can expect to encounter a large dead zone in the shape of the magnetic ring,” the company said. We’ll definitely have to test and see if this is still the case when you attach a MagSafe accessory to the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Let us know in the comments section if you notice any odd behavior while writing or performing actions.