Galaxy S26 Ultra’s 25W wireless charging might not work as advertised

With the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Samsung introduced a bunch of updates to the battery and charging. We got a slight bump in battery size, wired, and wireless charging speeds.

After years of complaints from the fans, Samsung’s latest flagship finally upgrades the wireless charging to 25W. This was a notable jump from 15W, which was the standard across its premium lineup. But it seems like getting those speeds might be harder than expected.

So what went wrong?

According to a Redditor, the S26 Ultra’s wireless charging is highly dependent on specific chargers, cases, and alignment. Meaning, most users may never actually see that full 25W wireless charging performance if you don’t meet these requirements. So Samsung didn’t lie to you, and nor is it a hardware issue; it’s all about compatibility.

A feature that works… with conditions

While the Galaxy S26 Ultra supports 25W wireless charging, it lacks full native Qi2 magnetic alignment. Without these built-in magnets, S26 Ultra owners need to purchase a compatible charger and brick, along with a case with proper magnet alignment. In the post, the Redditor talks about how his S26 Ultra with a dbrand case never hit the advertised 25W wireless charging speeds, maxing out at 15W.

But switching to the official Samsung case restored the full speed. This suggested that the problem wasn’t with the phone or charger itself. And it appears that the issue may come down to magnetic alignment and positioning. An official response from dbrand further explained that even small variations can prevent the phone from achieving those 25W speeds.

In other words, your charging experience could vary wildly depending on the case you’re using, the charger, and how precisely the phone is positioned. None of this implies that the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s 25W wireless charging doesn’t work. But there’s a catch. The real-world experience might require a bit more trial and error than most users expect.