If you have decided the factory wireless charger in your Silverado is not good enough, replacing the module is a straightforward job. Here is what it actually involves, what fits which years, and an honest look at whether it beats the cheaper options.
First: does your truck qualify?
This decides everything else, so check it before you read any further.
A replacement module goes into an existing factory wireless charging console. It is not an add-on for a truck that never had the feature.
Open your console and look at the flat surface at the front. A factory charging pad is a distinct textured or rubberised area, usually with a small phone symbol moulded in and often a status light beside it. A plain plastic tray is not a charging pad.
No pad means no upgrade path through this route. Your options are a vent mount or a cable.
What actually changes
Worth being clear about what you are buying, because a replacement module does not fix everything.
What it fixes:
- Charging speed. The factory pad was specified years before your current phone existed. A 25 W module puts power back in faster than a modern phone with navigation running can take it out
- The phone moving. The factory pad has no magnets and relies on the phone staying put. MagSafe-style magnetic alignment holds it on the coil over gravel, potholes and washboard
- Big phones and camera bumps. A raised surface clears the bump and takes phones up to 3.5 inches wide, where the original pad struggles
What it does not fix:
- A dead 12V circuit or a blown fuse. If the outlet inside your console is dead, sort that first or the new module will not work either
- Charging through a wallet case or a metal plate. Physics does not care which module is fitted
- The need for a MagSafe-compatible phone or case. The magnets are what hold the phone in place
Which years fit
The same module covers a wider range than most people expect:
- 2014-2018 Silverado and Sierra
- 2019 Silverado and Sierra 2500HD
- 2015-2020 Yukon, Tahoe and Suburban
Here is the part people get wrong. The variable is not the model year, it is the trim. Wireless charging was tied to trim level and options rather than fitted across the board, so a 2017 with the feature and a 2017 without it are both normal. Two identical looking trucks from the same year can differ.
Which is why the console check above matters more than the year on your registration. Do not assume, go and look.
What the install involves
The honest version:
- Time: under 30 minutes
- Tools: basic hand tools. Nothing specialised
- Power: the module runs off the 12V outlet already inside your console
- Wiring: none. No cutting, no splicing, no tapping into a loom
- Dash removal: none. The work is inside the console
- Included: the module, mounting hardware, printed instructions and access to an install video
If you have ever changed a stereo or pulled a trim panel, this is easier than that. If you have never done either, watch the video first and decide honestly whether you want to. The install video is here and you can watch it before you buy anything.
Is it worth it against the cheaper options?
Fair question, and the answer is not automatically yes.
A cable. Cheapest option, charges fastest, entirely reliable. The downsides are a cable across your console and a phone you have to plug in and unplug every trip. If that does not bother you, a cable is genuinely the sensible choice and you can stop reading.
A vent or cup holder mount. Cheap, works in any truck whether or not it has factory charging, and holds the phone where you can see it. The trade-offs: it blocks a vent or a cup holder, it is visibly an accessory rather than part of the truck, and cheaper ones rattle. If you want your phone visible for navigation, a mount does something a console charger never will.
Replacing the console module. Costs more than either. What you get is the phone out of sight in the factory location, nothing bolted to your dash, no cable, and charging that keeps up. It suits people who want the interior to look untouched and want the phone put away rather than on display.
Pick based on what actually annoys you. If it is the cable, a module or a mount solves it. If it is the phone sliding around and quitting, only magnets solve it. If it is charge speed alone, a cable is cheaper and faster than anything wireless.
Common questions
Do I need to cut or splice anything?
No. It uses the 12V plug already inside your console.
Will it work with my case?
You need MagSafe magnets in the phone or the case for the alignment to work. Wallet cases and any case with a metal plate in it will not charge on any wireless pad.
Does the console still close and work normally?
Yes. It fits the factory location.
My truck does not have a factory charging pad. Can I add one?
Not with a replacement module. That is a different job.
The module we build
We make the HyperVolt 2.0 in-house in Lethbridge, Alberta. It charges at 25 W with MagSafe-style magnetic alignment, clears large camera bumps, takes phones up to 3.5 inches wide, and runs off the console 12V outlet with no wiring work. It comes with a 2 year warranty and a 30 day exchange, and ships within 2 business days.
Not sure whether your console has the factory pad? Send us a photo and we will tell you straight, including if the answer is that it will not fit.
Related reading
- Silverado wireless charger not working? Here is what is going on
- GMC Sierra wireless charger not working? Match your symptom
- Yukon, Tahoe and Suburban wireless charger not working? Six checks