What is Qi certification and why is it important?
Qi certification is a standard rolled out by WPC to certify products for compliance with wireless charging standards abided by all Qi certified products. There are close to 9,000 in the market today, approximately 7,500 of which are smartphone chargers or transmitters.
In January 2023, a safer and more efficient wireless charging standard known as Qi2 was rolled out. Qi2 is powered by the Magnetic Power Profile (MPP) and provides portable mobile devices with built-in Qi capabilities with charging rates of up to 15W.
What is the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC)?
Established in 2008, the WPC consists of over 350 member companies across the globe united by a singular purpose — creating an ecosystem where wireless chargers and wireless power sources are compatible and interoperable with one another.
Today, WPC is responsible for maintaining and developing standards across a variety of wireless power applications, including the Qi standard.
How to tell if a product is Qi certified
Qi certified products can be identified by the Qi logo displayed on their packaging. The logo indicates that a product has passed all tests required for certification. All products that have been officially registered are listed in WPC’s Qi Certified Product Database.
Latest developments in Qi2
Difference between Qi and Qi2 wireless charging
Wireless charging runs on electromagnetic induction facilitated by electric current passing through coils of copper wires. The original Qi Wireless Power Transfer System ran on Base Power Profiles that supported charging rates of up to 5W.
Qi2 improves upon this by adding a ring of magnets around the wireless charging coil, optimizing the relative positions of transmitters and receivers to minimize energy loss. Notably, the magnetic locking mechanism also enhances user experience by taking the guesswork out of device-charger positioning.
Source: WPC
How Qi2 makes wireless charging safer and more efficient
Energy lost during the wireless charging process is typically converted to heat. By reducing the amount of energy loss, Qi2 can make wireless charging safer for users by reducing the likelihood of damage caused by overheating.
How Qi2 makes wireless charging more sustainable
The Qi2 wireless charging standard is expected to make wireless charging more accessible and feasible, thereby reducing the volume of electronic waste generated from discarded smartphone batteries and charging cords. This is because wireless charging smartphone batteries are expected to last much longer thanks to the significantly reduced likelihood of overheating. At the same time, reliance on physical cords, which tend to wear out from plugging and unplugging, can also be expected to decrease.
Read our blog for all the latest industry developments on Qi2.
How to obtain Qi certification
Qi wireless charging test certification process
- Become a WPC member by submitting the following required documents:
- Member agreement
- Logo license agreement
- A Power Receiver Manufacturing Code (PRMC) from WPC, applicable if your product is a power receiver.
- Conduct pre-compliance and compliance testing either in-house using an authorized test equipment such as GRL-C3 or at our ATLs worldwide.
- Download and fill in self declaration forms from WPC with the latest capabilities of your product.
- Ship a minimum of three Device Under Test (DUT) samples to your nearest GRL ATL.
- When a product is deemed to have successfully passed all Qi compliance testing requirements, GRL will send the samples to the Interoperability (IOC) testing center.
- Upon passing the interoperability test, GRL will send all the test reports to WPC. Your product will then be registered into the Qi certified product database. This means that an official Qi symbol and certification will be awarded to your product courtesy of the WPC.
*For full details on the Qi certification process, visit WPC's official website.