Has anyone tried either 1. removing the rubber bit by the indicator light or 2. entirely removing the slider?
I have a large Samsung phone. I removed the slider from my Clubman yesterday. If you just do that, your phone will fit, but the charger will not work, as it does not activate until the slider moves back slightly.
So, I separated the charger from the armrest using the instructions above. Then, I wedged a small size loyalty card between the slider and its stopping point. That way, the charger thinks there's a phone in place. The charger now works when you first turn on the car. If you put your phone on the charger, it will charge.
However, if you do not use the charger shortly after starting, at some point (I haven't figured out exactly when), the charger times out and turns off. This is great for protecting the car battery, but limits when you can use the charger.
Still, it's at least somewhat useful now vs. totally useless before removing the slider!