iPhone 15s are breaking after wireless charging in BMWs — what we know

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Avoid BMW wireless chargers if you have Apple's latest smartphone

iPhone 15 Pro shown in hand
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

If you’re the owner of an iPhone 15 and some kind of BMW, then you may want to avoid the car’s wireless charging pad for the time being. A number of owners have reported that the in-car wireless charger is breaking the NFC chip inside the iPhone 15.

Users have been reporting their problems over on Twitter/X and the MacRumors forum. Apparently using the BMW’s wireless charging pad causes the iPhone 15 to display a white screen and enter data recovery mode — after which the NFC chip is apparently non-functional. 

The NFC chip is a pretty important part of any smartphone, especially an iPhone. It’s responsible for Apple Pay payments and digital car keys among things. Affected users are being met with an error message declaring that they “could not set up Apple Pay” with no apparent way to fix the problem.

Some users claim that they’ve been able to swap their iPhones for a replacement at the Apple Store — and for at least one affected customer Apple claimed that the NFC unit must have been bad. Unfortunately, the exact same thing appears to be happening to the replacements. 

It’s also unclear which BMW models are at fault, only that the common element is the wireless charging pad. That means BMW owners who have an iPhone 15, or those who intend to buy one soon, should avoid using the wireless charging pad at all costs for now. Not until the root issue can be identified, and either Apple or BMW issues thorough guidance on how they can wirelessly charge without breaking the phone.

In the meantime, if your phone does need to charge while you’re in the car, plug it into a USB port or an external battery pack

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Tom Pritchard
Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.