How to fix Galaxy Note8 when wireless charging stopped working [troubleshooting guide]

We’ve been getting some reports that some #GalaxyNote8 users are wondering what to do about their device no longer supporting wireless charging. Frankly, there’s a whole lot of possible reasons why wireless charging stopped working on a device like the Note8. In this troubleshooting episode, we’ll discuss each of the things that you can try to fix wireless charging issue.

Solution #1: Verify wireless charging is on

One of the simplest solutions for this case that many users often forget to check first is to see if wireless charging is enabled. By default, Samsung set wireless charging to on so it can be charged wirelessly by the user without needing to go under Settings. If you can’t remember whether or not your Note8’s wireless charging function is on, you can check it by doing these steps:

Open Settings app.
Tap Device maintenance.
Tap Battery.
Tap More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
Tap Advanced settings.
Enable Fast wireless charging by moving the slider to the right.
Restart your Note8 and check if wireless charging now works.

Solution #2: Soft reset

If wireless charging has been set to on all along, the next troubleshooting step that you should do is to force the device to reboot. Normally, you can restart your Note8 by simply pressing the Power button and selecting Restart option from the menu. For troubleshooting purposes you want to do a simulation of pulling out the battery. This procedure is called soft restart since you’ll only be doing a software restart in place of actually disconnecting the physical battery. A restart of this type often fixes common bugs that usually develops as the operating system runs on stretch. Restarting your Note8 this way will clear its RAM and refresh the system in general.

To soft restart your Note8:

Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles. Note: Allow several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. You can use the volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the lower left button (below the volume buttons) to select. Also, allow up to 90 seconds for the reset to complete.

Solution #3: Remove external case

Sometimes, aesthetic or protective cases can interfere with wireless capability of a device so try to see if this what’s happening. If wireless charging did work on this phone before but then it suddenly stopped doing so, the reason for it may be something outside the system. Some cases with magnetic or metallic components can deflect some energy being transmitted by the wireless charger so just let your device charge using its bare cover.

Solution #4: Try using other wireless chargers

Your Note8 should charge wirelessly using any Qi wireless pad but if that does not occur, there’s a chance the issue may be pad-related. Wireless chargers can sometimes go bad after a power surge or if it’s been subjected to too much heat. Use another known working wireless charger, preferably an original Samsung charger for the Note8 itself and see what happens. If your Note8 will charge on another pad, that means that the current one you’re using is damaged or bad. If your Note8 only charges wirelessly on a Samsung wireless pad, there’s probably a compatibility issue with the one you’re using. When it comes to charging your Samsung devices, we highly recommend that you stick to original charging accessories. Keep in mind that the battery and the system in general of your Note8 was only tested and validated on Samsung provided accessories. Any incorrect parameters of aftermarket devices may affect the power management IC during charging causing temporary or permanent damage.

Solution #5: Move your Note8 around when charging

Due to design limitations of the battery and motherboard in general, there are cases, especially when using third party wireless chargers, that the Note8 has been noted to not charge at all if positioned differently. Some users discovered that moving their Note8 around sometimes hit the right spot so try to do the same. Try to position your Note8 on different angles and see if it will fix the problem.

Solution #6: Use original Samsung charging cable and adapter

As mentioned briefly above, using the Samsung-provided charging cable and wireless charging pad is highly recommended, especially when troubleshooting this issue. Although a lot of Qi wireless chargers work flawlessly with Samsung Galaxy S and Note models, there’s also a significant number of them being incompatible. Because the Galaxy Note8 is the most recent in its class, older wireless chargers like those designed for the S6 or the S7 may not work properly. To ensure that your phone receives the right amount of energy when charging, stick to the original Samsung wireless charger for the Note8. If you can’t get hold of one, try to bring your device to a Samsung store and see if it charges wirelessly using the specified charger for this model.

Solution #7: Address overheating issue

The wireless charger and your phone are expected to generate heat when in operation. However, your Note8 is also designed to shut itself off or refuse to recharge the battery when its heat sensor detects too much heat. When charging, try to check if your Note8 is overheating by touching it. Normally, your Note8 should be warm to the touch but not warm or hot enough to make it uncomfortable. If it’s hot and no longer warm, that’s a sure sign that your device is overheating. This can be the reason why charging won’t work at all. Let your device cool off for a few hours before charging it again. Some foolish users try to hasten the cooling off process by putting the device in a freezer or fridge. DO NOT DO that! A heated battery placed in an extremely cold place can degrade faster or become damaged for good. Just let your phone vent out heat by placing it on top of a table for an hour or two.

If your Note8 still refuses to charge due to overheating, you should address the overheating issue first. Based on our years of experience fixing smartphones, overheating is usually just a symptom of an underlying software or hardware problem. Try to factory reset your Note8 and see if overheating will go away after that. If it does, then the cause must be an app or a software bug. If the device still continues to overheat even after a factory reset, that’s a certain sign of a hardware problem. In this case, you should contact Samsung so they can repair or replace the phone.

Solution #8: Check for rogue apps

Third party apps may interfere with Android operating system so one good way to troubleshoot this issue is by restarting your device to safe mode. In this mode, all third party apps will be blocked so if your Note8 can charge wirelessly, that’s a clear sign of a bad app problem.

To restart your phone to safe mode:

With your Note8 off press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

To know which app is causing a problem, follow these steps:

Boot to safe mode.
Check for the problem.
Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
If your Note8 still refuses to power back on, repeat steps 1-4.

Solution #9: Reset all settings

Should your Note8 continue to fail to charge wirelessly at this point, the next good thing to do is to reset all its settings back to defaults. In a way, this solution option is similar to factory reset although it doesn’t entirely revert everything to the way they originally were. Still, resetting your Note8 settings may address the unknown bug causing the problem so it’s worth trying.

To reset all settings on your Note8:

Open Settings app.
Tap General Management.
Tap Reset.
Tap Reset settings.
Tap RESET SETTINGS button to confirm.

Solution #10: Factory reset

The final software solution option that you can do is factory reset. Unlike reset settings option, this one will erase all user data, customizations, and apps. The software environment on your Note8 will be returned to its most basic setup. Without the apps and the data that you added before, the software will be like brand new. We know for a fact that wireless charging function works when the software is on its factory state. Ideally, your Note8 should again be charging wirelessly after a factory reset. If it doesn’t, that means there’s a hardware malfunction somewhere, or there’s a deeper coding-related glitch that factory reset can’t change. Either of this situations can be addressed on your end so you’ll need Samsung’s help.

Solution #11: Contact Samsung support

Before you decide to get Samsung’s professional help in the matter, be sure to try to check for new Android updates. Some users were able to fix charging issues on the Note8 before by installing updates. If there’s no available update at all, then that’s the time that you want to send the phone in and let Samsung handle the situation from here on.