Galaxy S8 users having issues with some older wireless charging pads

It’s not yet clear whether it’s a simple glitch or whether Samsung has implemented a way to detect non-OEM fast wireless chargers and disable them.

Samsung’s latest flagship duo may have broken all sorts of pre-order records around the world, but not everything has been smooth sailing for the Korean electronics giant. Shortly after the official launch of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus in Korea, a large of number of users took to online blogs to complain about bizarre red discoloration problems on their devices’ displays. Samsung has since said that there will be a software update to address the issue.

Not only that, we’re seeing more reports of Galaxy S8’s Wi-Fi connectivity issues, particularly when connecting to a 5GHz Wi-Fi network. Again, it’s not hard to find US users complaining about this issue on online forums, but Samsung has reportedly concluded that it’s a Korea-specific problem and will be releasing a patch only in Korea.

Now, it appears that some Galaxy S8 owners are having trouble charging their phones on their older fast wireless charging pads. Though it’s not clear why this is the case, the general consensus is that there are two possibilities. One is that this is a glitch that can be fixed in a future update. After all, the person who uploaded the video above explains that his Galaxy S7 device works perfectly fine, but his new Galaxy S8 does not. However, it’s more likely to be an intentional move on Samsung’s part.

As explained in a thread on XDA Developers, the problem seems to be about using the right power adapter and a genuine Samsung fast wireless charging pad. A user named ObsidianGT did some testing of his own, using his older fast wireless charging pads. Essentially, his Galaxy S8 Plus worked just fine with Samsung’s very first fast wireless charger that launched with the Galaxy Note 5 (EP-PN920) as well as the stand-up style one that launched with the Galaxy S7 (EP-PN930). Mind you, these are all genuine Samsung products with genuine OEM Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging Adapters.

He further explains that third-party and knockoff Samsung fast wireless chargers will result in what we see in the video above: the Galaxy S8 will simply refuse to charge. And this is something that’s unique to the Galaxy S8 – previous Galaxy devices did not have this limitation when fast wireless charging according to this user (hence, the YouTube user’s Galaxy S7 works just fine with those pads). So it is possible that while the user who uploaded the YouTube video used genuine Samsung power adapters, his wireless charging pads are not. There are indeed many knockoff fast wireless charging pads being sold online, bearing the exact same model numbers. However, if those are indeed genuine Samsung products, then the mystery deepens.

It’s worth noting that ObsidianGT’s Galaxy S8 Plus did successfully fast charge his phone using Samsung’s older wireless charging pads and an AUKEY Quick Charge 2.0 Wall Charger, so perhaps Samsung has incorporated specific standards into this year’s flagships’ wireless charging capabilities, especially after the battery debacle with the Galaxy Note 7 last year.

Have you tried charging your Galaxy S8 device on an older Samsung fast wireless charger? Or on a third-party or non-OEM fast wireless charger?