Paul Jones / Android Authority
TL;DR
The Galaxy S26 Ultra supports faster 25W wireless charging, but users report difficulty reaching these speeds even with official accessories.
Case manufacturer dbrand claims a “proprietary handshake” related to Qi2.2 may be preventing third-party and even Samsung’s own magnet cases from hitting the 25W ceiling.
While 15W wireless charging remains reliable, the requirement for a specific wireless charger, 45W brick, and compatible Qi2 case is creating consumer confusion.
One of the bigger highlights on the Galaxy S26 Ultra is its faster 25W wireless charging speeds. To get these speeds on your Galaxy S26 Ultra, you’ll need the new $50 Samsung Magnet Wireless charger, a compatible 45W power brick, and a Qi2-compatible case for perfect alignment. However, there’s some peculiar behavior at play here: it seems the Galaxy S26 Ultra can’t reach its peak 25W wireless charging speeds with Samsung’s official first-party cases, and the oddity extends to third-party cases as well.
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Reddit user Time-Credit43 mentioned that they weren’t getting 25W wireless charging speeds on the Galaxy S26 Ultra when using with popular case maker dbrand’s Ghost case (h/t Piunikaweb).
In response, dbrand told the user that not only do they need the new Samsung Magnet Wireless charger, a 45W power brick, and a case with magnets, but also that the case should have “proprietary Qi2.2 magnets.”
Expanding on this, dbrand tested a bunch of first-party Samsung magnet cases with Samsung’s Magnet Wireless Charger and 45W Travel Adapter. The tested cases for the Galaxy S26 Ultra include the Silicone Magnet case ($55), Clear Magnet case ($50), Rugged Magnet case ($80), and Slim Magnet case ($70). Ironically, none of these cases can hit 25W in wireless charging speeds, though 15W was reliably achieved across them.
Even more ironically, Samsung already sells a $75 combo of the 25W Magnet Wireless charger with 45W Travel Adapter, so it’s fair to presume this combination is compatible with the Galaxy S26 Ultra for its fastest wireless charging speeds. You must use a magnet-equipped case since the S26 series lacks internal magnets, but so far, it’s looking like Samsung’s own cases are a no-go despite costing a pretty penny. Samsung’s Magnet Wireless charger isn’t getting rave reviews either.
Samsung also confusingly has an older “Super Fast Wireless Charger,” but it only charges up to 15W and isn’t magnetic. Clearly, the company can do a better job naming its products, perhaps by adding the maximum power the charger can deliver.
dbrand mentions that the magnets in their cases are “absolutely in the correct position” and have been so for all MagSafe and Qi2 products for years. However, the company cannot overcome the “proprietary handshake” needed to unlock 25W wireless charging. dbrand says that this was not a challenge with Qi2, but is seemingly elusive with Qi2.2 (Qi2 25W). dbrand also admits that some users are nevertheless reporting 25W speeds with their Tank and Grip cases, so there’s confusion all around.
We’ve reached out to Samsung and dbrand for more information and comments on the matter. We’ll update this article when we learn more.
We’ll also be conducting our own testing on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. So far, Battery stats on my Galaxy S26 Ultra show “Super Fast Wireless Charger connected” when paired with Spigen’s Nano Pop MagFit case and ESR’s 3-in-1 Cryoboost Qi2 25W charging station connected to a 65W USB PD charger. However, I am not fully sold on Samsung’s terminology (since the company uses the same term for its 15W wireless charger), and I’d like to reserve my opinion until we can further test with other chargers and cases.
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