Will It Work? · Guide

Qi and Qi2 wireless charging: the power levels explained

By Bulan Sarkar, founder of ElectronicsInfoline (since 2000)

A wireless charger box can say 5, 15 or 25 W, and the phone may still charge at a fraction of that. The power you get is set by the profile both sides support. These are the profiles the Wireless Power Consortium defines, in its own words.

Qi Baseline: up to 5 W. Qi Extended: up to 15 W. Qi2: 15 W with magnets that line the phone up. Qi2 25W: 25 W. The phone sets the limit: it tells the charger how much to send.

The power profiles

The Qi specification covers a Baseline Power Profile up to 5 W and an Extended Power Profile up to 15 W (Wireless Power Consortium). Qi 2.0 added the Magnetic Power Profile (Wireless Power Consortium), with 15 W charging (Wireless Power Consortium), and a later version added up to 25 W (Wireless Power Consortium).

Figure 1. Wireless Power Consortium figures. The phone sets the limit: a 5 W receiver on a 15 W pad still asks for no more than 5 W.

The receiver decides: a 5 W phone on a 15 W charger asks for no more than 5 W (Wireless Power Consortium).

Why Qi2 has magnets

The Magnetic Power Profile defines the magnet ring's size, the layout of the magnets and the holding force (Wireless Power Consortium), so the phone's coil sits in line with the charger's.

Figure 2. Qi2's Magnetic Power Profile defines the ring's size, the magnet layout and the holding force, so the phone's coil lines up with the charger's (WPC).

Tips and tricks

Check what your phone’s maker lists for wireless charging. A charger above that figure gives no extra speed.
Look for the Qi or Qi2 certification on the charger, not just the word “wireless”.
A wireless charger still needs a wall adapter. Its manual says which adapter it needs for its top power.

What we would do

Find your phone's wireless figure and whether it supports Qi2. If it does, a certified Qi2 charger gives the aligned charging at the power the phone supports. If it lists only Qi up to 15 W, a certified Qi charger rated 15 W covers it, and anything bigger adds nothing.

Questions people ask

How fast is Qi2 wireless charging? The Wireless Power Consortium says Qi2 brought 15 W charging with magnetic alignment, and Qi2 25W launched in July 2025.

Will a Qi2 charger work with my older Qi phone? The WPC says every Qi Certified device and charger work together, including products on earlier versions of Qi. It also says Qi v2.0 products are not required to be 100 % backwards compatible with Qi 1.x, so check the charger’s listing for your phone.

Does a 15 W pad charge a 5 W phone faster? No. The WPC’s own example: a 5 W receiver on a 15 W transmitter tells it to send no more than 5 W.

Sources

Each figure on this page is quoted from the source below or worked out from them. Sources checked 20 October 2026, each quote read again against the source in a second pass.

Wireless Power Consortium, Qi Specification Introduction Version 1.3 (January 2021): This communication assures interoperability between Qi wireless products in the Baseline Power Profile (≤ 5 W) and in the Extended Power Profile (up to 15 W). wirelesspowerconsortium.com/media/cd4ljryt/qi-v13-introducti…
Wireless Power Consortium, Qi Specification Introduction Version 1.3 (January 2021): Conversely, if a 5 W Power Receiver is placed on a 15 W Power Transmitter, the Power Receiver will instruct the Power Transmitter to send no more than 5 W of power. wirelesspowerconsortium.com/media/cd4ljryt/qi-v13-introducti…
Wireless Power Consortium, History of the Qi Specifications | Wireless Power Consortium: Introduction of the Magnetic Power Profile ( MPP ) · Magnetic attachment and alignment of a power transmitter and power receiver wirelesspowerconsortium.com/knowledge-base/qi-specification/…
Wireless Power Consortium, History of the Qi Specifications | Wireless Power Consortium: Support for up to 25 watt power transfer wirelesspowerconsortium.com/knowledge-base/qi-specification/…
Wireless Power Consortium, Qi Wireless charging | Wireless Power Consortium: Qi2 brought faster 15W charging to mobile devices certified for interoperability and safety. Qi2 devices feature magnetic attachment technology which aligns devices and chargers perfectly for improved energy efficiency, faster charging, and easier usability. wirelesspowerconsortium.com/standards/qi-wireless-charging/
Wireless Power Consortium, Knowledge base | Wireless Power Consortium: Qi2 25W, with nearly 70% more charging power than Qi2, launched in July 2025. wirelesspowerconsortium.com/knowledge-base/
Wireless Power Consortium, How Magnetic Phone Chargers Work: The Snap, the Magnets, the Alignment | Wireless Power Consortium: The Magnetic Power Profile (MPP) defines the ring's dimensions, the layout and orientation of the magnets, and the holding force, and certification testing checks the magnetic pull and shear force along with everything electrical. wirelesspowerconsortium.com/blog-pages/how-do-magnetic-charg…
Wireless Power Consortium, Qi Certified Products | Wireless Power Consortium: Every Qi Certified device and charger works together, including products from multiple manufacturers – even products using earlier versions of the Qi standard. wirelesspowerconsortium.com/knowledge-base/testing-and-certi…
Wireless Power Consortium, History of the Qi Specifications | Wireless Power Consortium: Qi v2.0 are not required to be 100% backwards compatible with Qi 1.x Certified Products. wirelesspowerconsortium.com/knowledge-base/qi-specification/…