[SKBSY8]

I was driving today while the phone is on the wireless charging tray and using Google maps..........oh boy 20 mins later I got this message “Temperature, iPhone needs to cool down before you can use it” I’m like I heard about overheat issue when I first received the car (2019) and thought the update would’ve fix the issue..... guess not. man I shouldn’t run Google map while the phone is on charging tray, I should know better but but..... . Folks out there just a heads up.

I have iPhone 12 Pro running on latest firmware 14.4.2 and G05 is on 11/2020.50

[Rixbimmer]

My iPhone 12 also overheated twice - the second time the phone locked up and I couldn’t get it to work. After it cooled down, I had to hard reset the phone. I thought it was done!

I don’t use the charging tray anymore.

[SKBSY8]

Originally Posted by Rixbimmer

My iPhone 12 also overheated twice - the second time the phone locked up and I couldn’t get it to work. After it cooled down, I had to hard reset the phone. I thought it was done!

I don’t use the charging tray anymore.

Yeah same here........Im ditching the charging tray as well (maybe I can turn off the charging tray, have to check the setting).

Or just not run Google map at the same time

[nZtiZia]

it is well known that wireless charging in the front console tray or third party mount while using the Waze app causes the iPhone to overheat, but this is the first reported while using Google Maps.

I wirelessly charge all the time on a 15W MagSafe mount (not the front console tray) and use Google Maps, but my iPhone 12 Pro on iOS 14.4.2 has never overheated.

disclaimer: I stopped using the front console tray a few days after I got my car simply because I needed ready access to my iPhone for work, not because of overheating.

[raddoc]

I got the same warning as the OP using Waze and charging tray. I was able to avoid a second event by removing the iPhone 12 Pro case. Still not a real fan of the tray for trips longer than 1 hour.

[thereef510]

I dont get why you guys charge with the tray. it's slow. it ruins the battery quicker. And the phone charges much, much faster with the center console USB C port.

[MOTOP]

These poor “engineering” bastards at BMW had removed cooling cupholders from G05 models.
They know that most of GPS programs query/call iOS mapping location functions as often as they can.
Phone GPS modules are notorious for power consumption. This is just chips’ physics.
Nav programs cannot increase location query intervals because the map will be “shaky” to say the least.

All this crap is perfectly known to those “gurus”.
Yet they cool the freakin tee/coffee and not the charging tray.

Shame.

[jad03060]

Being inside, shielded by the vehicle's structure, any gps processing will be working overtime since it's trying to find and track the required satellites. FWIW, the original GPS satellites had a 50W transmitter that was about 14K miles out in space...it was a feat of engineering that they could pick a useable signal out of the air with a receiver in the first place. Newer satellites have more power, but since the signal decays at the inverse square of the distance...it's still pretty small by the time it gets to your phone and the frequencies used only penetrate so far.

There's quite a bit of processing power being used to update the position and maybe sharing the display information so that it can scroll smoothly...IOW, it's a pretty significant power drain.

The tray's maybe bigger feature is that it couples the phone's cellular antenna with the one on the roof of the vehicle, increasing the range and reliability of your cellular signal while trying to charge the phone, or at least maintain its level. To work right, it needs to be in the sweet spot of the tray, both for charging efficiency and the cellular connectivity.

Also, while it's hard to see, depending on how tall you are and where your seat is, you should check out what the color of the LED indicator is per the manual:
Blue The mobile phone is charging.
The blue LED stays illuminated once
the inserted mobile phone with Qi ca‐
pability is fully charged.
Orange The mobile phone is not charging.
Temperature on the mobile phone
possibly too high or foreign object in
charging tray.
Red The mobile phone is not charging.
Contact a dealer’s service center or
another qualified service center or re‐
pair shop.
If it's not blue, the case may be too thick, the phone too big, or it's not centered well enough. Some of today's larger phones just are too big for the charging tray/LTE compensator to function properly.

FWIW, all of the iPhone 12 versions except for the mini, seem to be larger than the specs listed in the manual about what will work:
The mobile phone must not exceed the maxi‐
mum size of approximately 6.0 x 3.1 x
0.7 in/154.5 x 80 x 18 mm
with a case thickness 2mm or less.

While providing a charging/LTE compensator that will work with more phones would seem prudent, phones have consistently gotten bigger, and the X5's design is over 3-years old...probably in the order of 5-6 years, so making the tray larger probably isn't feasible until the next redesign. IOW, when designed, it likely would have worked fine with most phones on the market then, with a little margin for growth.

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by jad03060

... the color of the LED indicator is per the manual:
Blue The mobile phone is charging.
Orange The mobile phone is not charging.
Red The mobile phone is not charging.

when the phone is seated properly and charging (blue LED on the charging tray), a lightning icon shows on the control display phone widget (if enabled). does anyone know if the widget displays an icon that correlates with the charging tray's orange or red LEDs?

[-Vanguard-]

wireless charging + using GPS isn't very smart lol

GPS alone heats up the battery, now imagine the induction heat from wireless charging and the heat from wireless carplay.

[rmorin1249]

Interesting. I plug my Android phone into the USB port when using AA with Google maps. Never tried the wireless charging after reading about the overheating problem. I guess the wireless feature continues charging even when fully charged?

[jad03060]

The wireless charging pad isn't smart enough to know that the phone is fully charged. Many of the smartphones do, and will either slow or stop the actual charging electronically, internally.

Run your phone with the GPS on, or take a long movie in highest resolution, and it will get hot, as it will if you're signal strength is low and it needs to use full transmit power to keep the connection (transmit power varies based on the situation, automatically on most phones). Without using the LTE coupler (i.e., the phone in the charging tray), the metal around the phone from the vehicle will also block some of the signal, requiring the phone to use higher transmit power which will make it run hotter than needed. It's not all the vehicle's fault. Now, I suppose that they could have put a fan in there to help with cooling, but many of today's phones are bigger than the original designed capacity, and many use a case that does two bad things...insulates it so it can't dissipate the heat as well, and moves the charging coil outside of the sweet spot required for optimal efficiency (meaning more heat gets generated during the charging).

I've not driven mine long enough to actually notice if the display changes when the status LED color changes, nor, have I noticed it other than blue. Hopefully later this year, I'll get to take some longer trips and visit family, but for now, am mostly just doing essential trips near home.

[Spencer518]

Is this issue unique to BMW or the X5? Anyone have experience with built in charging trays from other brands?

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by Spencer518

Is this issue unique to BMW or the X5? Anyone have experience with built in charging trays from other brands?

on another similar thread, someone's iPhone overheated in their MB's wireless charging tray while using Waze

[cwiginton]

I didn't have any real issues wireless charging before I "upgraded" to the iPhone 12. The MagSafe wireless charging doesn't seem to play well with induction charging mats of any kind. I no longer even attempt to use induction charging with my iPhone 12.

My only experience trying it in another car was in a Volvo. When placed on the induction charger, there is a message on the screen that states that there is an object on the charging mat between the mat and the phone. No doubt this is caused by the magnets in the back of the iPhone 12.

[nZtiZia]

I noticed my iPhone 12 Pro get warmer on the charging tray compared to my other induction chargers at home. I tend to use the iDrive navigation system. it's never overheated on me when I switched to using a 15W MagSafe charger even when I use Apple Maps or Google Maps.

[Stoshu]

I have an iPhone 11 Pro Max (large phone) in an Apple silicon case. I use the charging tray all the time and generally use the BMW built in maps for directions because of the HUD integration. I haven’t had any heat build up issues but I haven’t taken a trip that was more then an hour long yet. In a few weeks I’m traveling up to Chicago for a wedding, I’ll see if a more extended period makes any difference.

[NorcalMike]

I’ve had phones plugged into car chargers overheat in the past while using Google Maps. It’s running the app and using cellular and charging all at the same time so not really surprising.

[smomin23]

Originally Posted by Stoshu

I have an iPhone 11 Pro Max (large phone) in an Apple silicon case. I use the charging tray all the time and generally use the BMW built in maps for directions because of the HUD integration. I haven't had any heat build up issues but I haven't taken a trip that was more then an hour long yet. In a few weeks I'm traveling up to Chicago for a wedding, I'll see if a more extended period makes any difference.

Same experience except I don't keep my phone in a case. Never heats up excessively.

That said, no matter what wireless charger I've ever experienced, my phone always feels slightly warmer than standard. If I understand correctly though, this is the nature of the technology and to be expected

[phillydilles]

My 12Mini (no case) ends up unbearably hot if trying to use CarPlay and in the tray. On the other hand, my Note20U (no case either) doesn't heat up at all even in AA, but barely charges at any noticeable rate either. Consequently I too much prefer cable charging, though I've heard there are reception benefits to using the cradle, hence the one reason I use it from time to time when on work calls, etc.

[smomin23]

Originally Posted by phillydilles

My 12Mini (no case) ends up unbearably hot if trying to use CarPlay and in the tray. On the other hand, my Note20U (no case either) doesn't heat up at all even in AA, but barely charges at any noticeable rate either. Consequently I too much prefer cable charging, though I've heard there are reception benefits to using the cradle, hence the one reason I use it from time to time when on work calls, etc.

I wonder if the charging protocol is the main factor that cause iPhone 12's to be hotter.

Seems that other iPhones perform fine as do android based devices. The only time I hear folks saying their phone is unreasonably hot is with the iPhone 12. Might be the MagSafe tech causing problems.

Also another point to note, my iPhone 11 Pro Max BARELY charges similar to your Note20U. I get like 2% in an hour of tray time. This might be contributing to it staying at normal temps.

[SKBSY8]

Originally Posted by smomin23

I wonder if the charging protocol is the main factor that cause iPhone 12's to be hotter.

Seems that other iPhones perform fine as do android based devices. The only time I hear folks saying their phone is unreasonably hot is with the iPhone 12. Might be the MagSafe tech causing problems.

Also another point to note, my iPhone 11 Pro Max BARELY charges similar to your Note20U. I get like 2% in an hour of tray time. This might be contributing to it staying at normal temps.

It could be but this had happened to my iPhone X as well. I don’t get this kind of message back then because my phone just shut off by itself and the phone itself is hot, like cooking hot . Just like other mention above not to use the charging tray while using the Google map might be the wise move or just simply using the usb C cable to charge the phone.

Not sure about what you guys think but this is what I am going thru right now..........if my car has certain function/feature where I put money in it, I want to use it. What’s the point of buying it if I can’t use it

*With the exception of gesture control........I turn it off completely because is most useless function to me but that’s whole other topic