How To turn on reverse wireless charging iPhone 12 mini

Apple’s iPhone 12 lineup has the ability to wirelessly charge an external accessory, according to a series of newly unveiled FCC filings that just went public yesterday. The documents first spotted by VentureBeat’s Jeremy Horwitz say the phone “supports a built-in inductive charging transmitter and receiver.” Apple has not officially announced any such functionality that could be used to charge future AirPods or Apple’s long rumored Tile-competitor dubbed “AirTags.”

“In addition to being able to be charged by a desktop WPT [wireless power transfer] charger (puck), 2020 iPhone models … also support WPT charging function at 360 kHz to charge accessories,” one of the documents reads. It lists a series of FCC IDs of iPhones with the new feature, which include the the iPhone 12 mini (BCG-E3539A), iPhone 12 (BCG-E3542A), iPhone 12 Pro (BCG-E3545A), and iPhone 12 Pro Max (BCG-E3548A). The maximum reverse wireless charging speed is listed as 5W, if we’re reading the documents correctly.

The iPhones 12 series supports Apple’s new MagSafe standard, which uses magnets inside the phones to help properly align compatible accessories, including a new Qi-compatible wireless charging puck. However, Apple has not announced any form of reverse wireless charging for the phones, and they don’t appear capable of charging any devices currently on the market.

It sounds like the iPhone 12’s reverse wireless charging may be limited, at least at first. The documents say that “currently the only accessory that can be charged by iPhones is an external potential apple accessory in future” and that reverse charging currently “only occurs when the phone is connected to an AC power outlet.” The FCC’s testing appears to have been conducted using only a wall charger and USB-C cable, presumably the same USB-C to Lighting cable bundled with each iPhone 12.

It sounds like the technology is meant to allow you to reduce the amount of charging clutter on a night stand by, for example, wirelessly charging a pair of AirPods magnetically attached to an iPhone that’s plugged into the wall. However, this may change in the future, as the document goes on to suggest. “Future designs and accessories may support true portable use condition, with the host-client pair able to be placed in a pocket or backpack.”

It’s unclear why Apple did not officially reveal the functionality when it announced the phones themselves, though it could be because the accessory which works with the functionality isn’t yet ready to be released. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman speculates that it might work with the company’s upcoming AirPods revamp, whose existence was reported earlier this week.

The reverse wireless charging functionality doesn’t appear to require much in the way of new hardware, at least nothing that iFixit spotted during its teardown of the new phones.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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iPhone users can now download iOS 14.7. The update, released Monday, adds reverse wireless charging to the iPhone 12 series, albeit in a limited way. It also includes some promised improvements to the Apple Card, and allows users to manage timers on a HomePod.

In addition, Apple released watchOS 7.6.

Reverse wireless charging for Apple MagSafe Battery Pack

A highlight of iOS 14.7 is support for Apple’s new MagSafe Battery Pack. This only applies to the iPhone 12 series, of course, as these are the only MagSafe-compatible handsets. The update allows the handsets to wirelessly charge the accessory — the first time an iPhone has been able to do reverse wireless charging. But there’s no word yet of the handset being able to charge any other device in the same way.

In addition, Monday’s software update adds new features for Apple Card‌ Family, which allows a family to share the credit card. The new iOS version enables two cardholders to combine their credit limits and share one co-owned account.

And watchOS 7.6, too

Apple Watch owners got an update as well. watchOS 7.6 doesn’t include new features for most users. But it does add support for the ECG built into recent Apple Watch models to 30 more countries.

Get iOS 14.7 or watchOS 7.6 now

Install iOS 14.7 by connecting to a Mac, or to a PC running iTunes. Alternatively, an over-the-air update is also possible. That’s accomplished by opening the Settings app and going to General > Software Update.

This is possibly the last update before Apple introduces iOS 15 this autumn.

It’s possible to install Monday’s update directly onto the Apple Watch, as long as the wearable is connected to Wi-Fi. From the Settings app, navigate to General > Software Update. Then tap Download and Install. Alternatively, this update can be installed from an iPhone by opening the Apple Watch app and going to My Watch > General > Software Update.

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