Apple Admits to BMW Wireless Charging Issue With iPhone 15 Lineup, Promises Fix Later This Year

Apple today acknowledged a BMW wireless charging issue affecting the iPhone 15 series, and promised that it will make a fix available later this year.

BMW Logo iPhone 15 Pro
In an internal memo shared with Apple Authorized Service Providers, Apple said charging an iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max with a "small number" of wireless phone chargers built into certain recent BMW and Toyota Supra models may temporarily disable the NFC capabilities of the device. The memo does not provide a specific reason for the issue, which we first reported earlier this month.

In an iPhone, the NFC chip powers features like Apple Pay and digital car keys. Users affected by this issue may receive a "Could Not Set Up Apple Pay" error message in the Wallet app, even if they have already set up Apple Pay.

Apple Pay Error
Apple said the issue will be addressed in a software update coming later this year. Given the memo was put out hours after iOS 17.1 was released today, it appears the update will require a subsequent update, such as iOS 17.1.1 or iOS 17.2. In the meantime, Apple advises affected customers to stop using in-car wireless charging.

There are some complaints about this issue across the MacRumors Forums and X, formerly known as Twitter, but it is unclear how widespread the problem is. Affected customers said the iPhone goes into a data recovery mode with a white screen, and the NFC chip is no longer functional after the device reboots. There is no way for customers to fix the problem, so a trip to an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider is required.

Apple says technicians can attempt to restart the NFC chip in an affected iPhone by using a software tool part of Apple Service Toolkit 2. If this step does not resolve the issue, Apple advises technicians to initiate a hardware repair.

To book a service appointment, visit the Get Support page on Apple's website.

Related Roundup: iPhone 15
Tag: BMW
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...

Top Rated Comments

marzbarz Avatar
20 months ago

I love how the minimize a small number and we will fix it later. Apple should be ashamed and do better.

They refuse to take ownership sadly
what

lol. unless you have evidence to prove otherwise, it's literally a small number of chargers compared to the tens/hundreds of thousands of different chargers out there and they are literally taking ownership of the situation by replacing customer's phones out of their own pocket

too much complaining. ridiculous.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joe Rossignol Avatar
20 months ago

Wonder why it's limited to BMW and Supra models. What's with their chargers?

The annoying thing is that even if they are out-of-spec Apple has to fix it, because the problem is whacking Apple's phones.

Edit: looks like the trolls are up late.
The modern Toyota Supra is based on a BMW vehicle platform, so it's something to do with BMW.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
frenchcamp49er Avatar
20 months ago
Kinda weird this only affects BMW's, doesnt sound like an Apple issue at all.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JamieLannister Avatar
20 months ago
One overcharges you for a cellphone while the other overcharges the actual phone.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BarrettF77 Avatar
20 months ago
I love how the minimize a small number and we will fix it later. Apple should be ashamed and do better.

They refuse to take ownership sadly
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
prefuse07 Avatar
20 months ago
It's hilarious that when this was first posted there were scores of apologists defending apple, and blaming BMW.

Where are they now?! ?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)