How to charge your Pixel Buds using your Pixel 5, Pixel 6, or Pixel 6 Pro

Did you know that you can wirelessly charge Qi-compliant accessories, like your Pixel Buds, by sitting them on the back of your compatible Pixel phone? Google introduced Battery Share with the Pixel 5 and subsequently added it to the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro line as well. The feature is extremely handy for charging smaller devices, or even another phone, in a pinch. However, a few steps are needed to ensure that the feature works well and right out of the gate. Here’s how you do it:

Enable Battery Share Automatically

If you plug in your Pixel phone to charge it, Battery Share will turn on automatically for about 30 seconds. However, if no other device is placed on its back to charge, the feature will turn itself off automatically until you manually turn it on or repeat the process of plugging in to charge.

Enable Battery Share Manually

To turn Battery Share on manually, open your Pixel’s Settings app, tap on Battery > Battery Share and toggle on “Allow Battery Share.” Here you can also set how low your phone’s battery can get before it stops powering other devices, ranging between 10% and 50%. Once you’ve turned the setting on, you can proceed with placing the device you want to charge on the back of your Pixel, although note that you will need to put it in the right spot, which is roughly around the middle.

I just want the steps!

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1. Open your Pixel’s Settings
2. Tap on Battery > Battery Share
3. Toggle on “Allow Battery Share”
4. Place the device you want to charge in the correct spot on the back of your Pixel

Keep in mind that you cannot Battery Share if your Pixel itself is charging wirelessly. Also, Battery Share will turn itself off if your phone senses that the device it is charging is already fully charged, when your phone gets too hot, when the device you are charging is not properly placed, when it hasn’t been charging another device for more than 30 seconds, or when Battery Saver is turned on. Otherwise, it is an amazing feature that I hope Google keeps on Pixel phones for years to come.