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Wireless charger

I just received a Iniu Portable Charger with a high rating on Consumer Reports. However, there is a warning label on the box “lithium ion batteries forbidden for transport on passenger aircraft”!
This would defeat the purpose of using it when traveling to Paris! Advice please!

Posted by
128 posts

If it's a portable charger for your phone, it's extremely likely to be perfectly fine to carry. Obviously, don't put lithium ion batteries in your checked luggage, but normal sized "power banks" meant for cell phones will be allowed in your carry-on or personal item bag.

To be certain, look in your documentation for a listing of the battery size/capacity. It will list a number with "mAh," probably 8,000-15,000 mAh. The limit is generally around 27,000 mAh.

Posted by
12435 posts

What did you buy?

A 'charger' or a 'power bank'?

Posted by
308 posts

A "wireless charger" is just a coil inside a plastic phone holder. There is no batttery or electronics in it. It is powered by a USB connection. No problem with putting it in a checked bag. If your device combines the battery with the wireless charger coil, it then has a lithium battery, and as was said, can't go in checked luggage. Personally, I would just use the normal USB cable to charge my phone and save the space and weight of the coil thing. I normally have a larger USB battery pack, a smaller one, and two cell phones in my carryon. I have to pull all that stuff out at TSA, but it's no big deal.

Posted by
20 posts

Airlines also have their own rules, so you may want to check that. We're flying Singapore Airlines in June, and they require power banks to be in a plastic bag and can't be charged during the flight, or used to charge devices during the flight. But I don't think these more stringent rules are in place for American airlines.

All airlines ban lithium battery bank and device containing lithium battery in the check-in bags; most airlines require special permission to bring high watt-hour lithium battery on board. Because of increasing number of fire incidents involving lithium battery bank and device contains lithium battery in the cabin (the latest serious incident involving a South Korean budget airlines; a lithium power bank inside the overhead storage bin was suspected of causing a fire); more airlines are now banning the storage of these items in the overhead storage cabin; as well as banning charging of lithium battery bank or using it to charge other electronic device during the flight. For this reason experts advise against fully charging lithium power banks for flights. For my next trip I plan to bring along a small compact charger and a USB charging cable.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/26/travel/airline-power-bank-rules-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html

Posted by
22167 posts

CL was good enough to post the link. Thank you CL.

"Spare (uninstalled) lithium ion and lithium metal batteries, including power banks and cell phone battery charging cases, must be carried in carry-on baggage only. Lithium metal (non-rechargeable) batteries are limited to 2 grams of lithium per battery. Lithium ion (rechargeable) batteries are limited to a rating of 100 watt hours (Wh) per battery. These limits allow for nearly all types of lithium batteries used by the average person in their electronic devices.
This instruction covers spare lithium metal and spare rechargeable lithium ion batteries for personal electronics such as cameras, cell phones, laptop computers, tablets, watches, calculators, etc. This instruction also includes external battery chargers (portable rechargers and power banks) containing a lithium ion battery. For more information, see the FAA regulations on batteries."

Power packs are generally sold by mAh ratings. A little math reveals that 100 watt hours is equivalent to 27,027.03mAh at 3.7v. So look for a power pack that is rated below that and you should be good to go (in your carry on).