12 Tips for Fast Phone Charging

You’re ready to start your day, and oh no! Dead cell battery. Fortunately, there are easy ways to charge your phone fast.

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Top tips for how to make your phone charge faster

You’re just about to head out for the day and grab your phone—but you notice you forgot to charge it. Now your battery power is in the single digits! But don’t worry, we have the tech tips for how to make your phone charge faster, or at least make sure you don’t lose any more power. For the best results, make sure you know how to save the battery on your iPhone to make the most of your charge—and learn to avoid the ways you’re shortening the life of your phone, to stop the problem from getting worse.

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Switch into airplane mode

A good first step in how to make your phone charge faster is to switch it to airplane mode. This will keep the battery from draining so quickly, and focus the power on charging. You won’t be able to get texts or search online, but you’ll save power because your phone won’t be constantly searching for a cellular or WiFi connection.

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Turn it off (or on low power)

There’s no better tip for how to charge your phone faster than to make sure all the power goes directly to your battery by putting your phone in low-power mode (or, on Android phones, battery saver mode). You can find it in your phone settings, and it will reduce the amount of power your phone takes to run. Or, better yet, turn your phone all the way off. With your phone not drawing any power to run, it will charge faster.

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Plug it into a wall socket

The USB port of your computer may be convenient when you’re working remotely, but an outlet will charge your phone faster. “This is because USB ports usually only charge at 0. 5 amps, so it’s going to take twice the time to charge your phone than the 1 amp power adapter it came with,” according to the website Asurion. But beware: Slow charging speeds aren’t the only reason you shouldn’t charge your phone in your car.

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Use a powerful wall charger

It can also be helpful to have a charger that works faster than the one that comes with your phone. Just find an outlet, plug the charger in and connect it to your phone. This Sacrack fast charger is a popular choice that will work with any phone type. To be safe, just make sure you know these places where you should never charge your phone!

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Get your phone out of the sun

Avoid exposing your phone to temperatures 95 degrees and higher, Apple advises. The heat can damage your battery capacity. In fact, your phone’s software may limit charging to about 80% when the phone gets hotter than the recommended temperature. One tip for how to make your phone charge faster to its full 100% is to make sure you cool down an overheating phone by moving it out of the sun.

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Take your phone out of the case

If you notice that your phone gets hot when you charge it, Apple suggests taking it out of its case before charging. Charging your device when it’s inside certain styles of cases may generate excess heat, which can affect battery capacity. If you are constantly asking “Why is my phone so slow?” make sure it isn’t a heat-related problem from the case.

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Clean out your lightning port

The problem may not be with the power of your battery itself—learning how to clean your iPhone’s charging port could be essential to how to make your phone charge faster. Over time, lint and dust can accumulate in your lightning port and clog it. (That’s where you plug your charger into your phone. ) We recommend turning off your phone and using compressed air or a toothpick to gently remove any debris from the port. Then plug in your charger again and see if it works better.

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Use your Mac’s power adapter or iPad charger

If you have an iPhone, you can plug it directly into Apple 12W and 10W USB power adapters, according to Apple. Connect your device to the power adapter with the USB to Lightning cable or 30-pin to USB cable. This is just one of the many iPhone hacks you never knew about!

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Get a powerful wireless charger

For a quick juice boost, look for a charger with high wattage. “The higher the number of watts, the faster your device will charge,” Macworld reports. The typical chargers that come with iPhones and older Android phones carry one amp of current and produce five watts of power, according to the consumer blog Techlicious. But “new rapid chargers with technology such as Quick Charge support two amps and 12 watts or more, potentially charging your phone up to four times faster. ” After you look into this top-rated wireless charger, check out more cell phone accessories that will make your life easier.

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Use an Apple USB-C to Lightning Cable

Got a half-hour to spare? If you have an iPhone 8 or later and an adapter, Apple’s USB-C Lightning Cable will allow you to charge your battery up to 50% of capacity in only 30 minutes. It’s compatible with the Apple 18W, 29W, 30W, 61W or 87W USB-C Power Adapter. Don’t forget to learn these iPhone tricks for more great hacks!

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Get a wireless charging pad

Though wired charging is faster, wireless charging is also a good option because of its convenience. The Samsung Wireless Charging Pad can work with phones including the iPhone 8 and Samsung Galaxy S8, Techlicious notes. Don’t forget to use this strategy for the best way to charge your phone to make your battery last.

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Invest in a charging case

For an ongoing solution and to keep making sure you can charge your phone quickly, consider getting a charging case. Some models, such as the Apple Smart Battery Case, can extend your battery’s life up to 50%. They come in a range of prices and designs. Are you someone who likes to take your phone on adventures? Some of the cases are made with protective materials.

Now that you’re all charged up and know how to charge your phone faster, find out some places you should never leave your phone.

Sources:

• Macworld: “How to fast-charge an iPhone”
• Techlicious: “How to Charge Your Phone Faster”
• Apple: “Maximizing Battery Life and Lifespan”
• Asurion: “5 Simple Ways to Make Your Phone Charge Faster”
• Apple: “Fast Charge Your iPhone”
• Apple: “Charge Your iPhone With the USB Power Adapter of an iPad or Mac Laptop”

Originally Published: May 29, 2020

Jen McCaffery

Jen McCaffery covers money, tech, products, health and safety for Reader’s Digest and other publications and websites. When she’s not writing or editing, she’s growing veggies or trying to figure out the way home from assorted trails.

How to Charge Your Android Phone Faster: 10 Tips and Tricks

Having to charge your phone constantly is frustrating. Although battery life is improving, it’s still likely that you’ll need to give your phone a top-up in the early evening if you’re heading out for the night. And while the move to USB-C cables has cut the time it takes to give your device some extra juice, hanging around while your battery re-energizes itself can be tortuous.

But don’t worry, there are some tips, tricks, and gadgets that can make the charging experience less painful. Here are the smartest Android charging tricks you’re not using.

1. Enable Airplane Mode

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One of the biggest draws on your battery is the network signal. As a general rule, the worse your signal, the faster your battery will drain. Consequently, if you live in an area with a poor signal, charging your phone takes longer than if you reside in a place with a strong signal—the signal is eating through your power as you charge.

So, how can you make your phone charge faster? One quick solution is to put your phone in Airplane Mode before you plug it in. Testing suggests it could reduce the amount of time needed for a full charge by as much as 25%.

To put your phone into Airplane Mode, simply swipe down on the notification bar and tap the Airplane mode icon. Alternatively, you can go to Settings > Network and Internet > Airplane mode. Just make sure you turn it off again once your battery is full!

2. Turn Your Phone Off

Simple, obvious, but often overlooked. If your phone is turned off while it’s re-powering, it’s going to charge a lot faster. Nothing will be drawing on the battery while you fill it up.

Of course, turning your phone off while it is charging has its downsides—you will not be able to receive urgent calls or messages. But if you’re looking to give your phone a quick 15-minute boost before you leave the house, powering it down is definitely the way to go.

3. Limit Your Phone Usage While It’s Charging

If you can’t turn your phone off to charge it faster because you wish to stay on top of notifications, try not to use it too much while it’s plugged in. Using your phone while it’s charging slows down the process. In particular, using intensive apps such as games will heat up your phone, slowing the charging process and damaging your battery in the long term.

Prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures is one of the common mistakes that could damage your smartphone. So, in other words, resist the urge to play games, watch videos, or scroll through social media while your handset is tethered to the charger—it will charge faster if you leave it alone.

4. Ensure Charge Mode Is Enabled

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Your Android device lets you specify what type of connection it makes when you plug in a USB cable. If you’re charging via your laptop or other device you need to make sure the charging feature is turned on and has not been accidentally disabled.

Head to Settings > Connected devices > USB preferences. On the list of options, make sure the Charge connected device toggle is enabled.

You will not be able to change options in this menu unless your device is connected to a USB cable at the time.

5. Use a Wall Socket

Using a USB port on your computer or in your car leads to a much more inefficient charging experience.

Typically, non-wall socket USB ports only offer a power output of 0.5A. Wall socket charging will usually give you 1A (depending on your device). There’s nothing wrong with receiving a lower amperage—it won’t harm your device—but you’ll definitely be twiddling your thumbs for a lot longer.

As a rule of thumb, only use your car or laptop for a top-up, not for a full charge.

6. Buy a Power Bank

If you need to recharge your phone while you’re on the go—for example, if you’re often out traveling all day—a power bank can be a lifesaver.

Many power banks offer the same amperage output as a wall socket, and in some cases, even more. But a word of warning, while your phone might charge faster with a two-amp output, you need to make sure your USB cable can handle the extra power.

7. Avoid Wireless Charging

Wireless charging can be great; it’s very convenient, and it entails fewer cables, which is something I’m sure we can all get on board with.

However, if charging speed is your number one priority, you should avoid it. It usually offers a considerably slower charging experience than its wired counterpart. In fact, testing suggests it could be as much as 50% slower.

Why? There are two reasons. First, it’s more efficient to transfer energy through a cable than via simple contact. Second, the wasted energy manifests itself as excess heat. More on that in point eight.

Check out our article to learn more about wireless charging.

8. Remove Your Phone’s Case

All smartphones currently rely on lithium-ion batteries. The chemistry behind the way they work dictates that the charging process works much more efficiently when the battery is cool.

To charge your phone faster, the battery temperature (not the air temperature) should be between 41 and 113 F (5 and 45 C). Obviously, the battery temperature is in part controlled by the ambient surrounding temperature, and removing your case will help lower it.

And in case you’re thinking of putting your phone in the fridge to recharge it: don’t. The efficiency drop-off is even more severe at temperatures below the ideal range.

9. Use a High-Quality Cable

The difference in quality between two cables can be vast.

Inside your single charging cable are four individual cables—red, green, white, and black. The white and green cables are for data transfer; the red and black ones are for charging. The number of amps the two charging cables can carry is determined by their size. A standard 28-gauge cable can carry around 0.5 amps; a larger 24-gauge cable can carry two amps.

Generally, cheap cables use the 28-gauge setup, resulting in slower charging speeds. If you want to test your cable for charging efficiency, download Ampere. It lets you measure the charge and discharge rate of your device.

10. Buy a Fast Charger Adapter

One of the best ways to charge your phone faster is to invest in a faster power adapter to pair with your high-quality cable. Some charger adapters are designed to provide up to 45 watts of power or more, which is typically much faster than a standard charger. So, if your phone supports fast charging, it might be time to invest in a charger that can get the most out of it.

However, you might wonder if fast charging is bad for your phone’s battery life. The short answer is no—you shouldn’t worry much as long as you’re using a compatible and high-quality fast charger adapter.

Although this feature should be on by default, you may need to double-check on some phones by heading to Settings > Battery and device care > Battery > More battery settings and toggling the Fast charging option on if it’s off.

Increase Your Android Phone’s Charging Speed

We’ve introduced you to the various ways you can make your phone charge faster and make the experience less painful. If you work through the tips methodically, you can save time charging your phone.

There’s only so far you can take it, though. Ultimately, if you really want the shortest charging time, you’ll need to upgrade to a phone that supports Quick Charge functionality. These can get you back up and running in minutes rather than hours.

How to properly charge your phone

Charging your smartphone has never been considered a particularly difficult procedure. Despite the fact that at one time it was customary to calibrate the battery, this had only an indirect relation to the charging process itself. And even then it can be difficult? Connect the device to the power supply and wait until it is charged to the required limits. If you want it to be no more than 80% – unplug your smartphone from the outlet early, if you want it to be 100% – you can even leave it overnight. But what is strange is that almost no one knows how to properly connect the device to charging.

Charging a smartphone is a rather primitive process, but it also needs to be approached wisely

We need smartphones with removable batteries

First, answer yourself a simple question. In what sequence should I put the smartphone on charge: first plug the power supply into the socket, and then connect the cable to the device, or first connect the cable to the device, and then plug the power supply into the socket?

How to charge your smartphone

It is very important to properly charge your smartphone in order to save it.

I am more than sure that most of you have not even thought about it, doing it the way you have to. In the end, it is really difficult to believe that such a trifle can affect something. But, as it turned out, there are no trifles in matters of ensuring the security of electronic devices, and the first way is the right way, when the charger is first inserted into the outlet, and only then the smartphone is connected to it. Why? Let’s figure it out.

How to turn off applications in the background and save battery

Strange as it may seem, the reason for this ritual of connecting a smartphone to a power outlet is possible voltage drops. After all, even if you use a certified power supply and cable, this is not a guarantee of salvation from sudden current surges. I think you have witnessed them more than once. That same buzzing coming from an outlet or surge protector is a voltage drop.

Why voltage surges are dangerous

Power surges are very dangerous for smartphones and their batteries. There are only so-called deviations in the quality of the supplied electricity from the requirements of regulatory documentation. But be that as it may, the damage that power surges cause to electronic devices is not covered by the warranty and is generally not subject to free repairs. That is why it is extremely important to follow simple safety precautions.

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If you first insert the cable into the charging socket and plug it into a power outlet and the surge is strong, it may damage your smartphone. It is impossible to track jumps in advance, because they are impulsive in nature and appear simultaneously, which, however, does not prevent them from harming electronics. Moreover, the degree of damage can be very different – from a decrease in battery life, which you will not even notice, to physical damage to the microcircuits.

A quarter of smartphone owners miss removable batteries. Why?

What happens if the surge occurs after connecting the smartphone to the outlet? Not really good either. But since the power supply is already connected to the mains, the load will not be so strong. Why is this happening?

Imagine that you are touching an electrified sweater. The moment you touch it, you get an electric shock. However, if you leave your hand on it without taking it off, you will no longer be shocked. The same happens with the connected power supply.

How to charge your smartphone

Use only certified chargers, otherwise expect trouble

However, it is a mistake to hope that already connected devices are not subject to voltage drops. But, fortunately, you can protect yourself from them:

• Use only original chargers and cables – they have built-in power controllers;
• Connect smartphones to charging only through surge protectors – they level out voltage drops;
• First connect the power supply to the socket, and then the cable to the charging port.
• Use wireless charging if your smartphone supports it – they are the least afraid of power surges.

Why does my smartphone charge quickly?

In fact, nothing complicated. The main thing is to follow these simple rules and the battery and other hardware components of your smartphone will remain intact.

How to charge your phone without a charger, 8 different ways

There comes a time in every person’s life when the battery of their phone runs out and there is no charger at hand. We will describe some useful and non-traditional ways to charge your phone without a charger.

December 01, 2021
Gadgets

5 minutes, 34 seconds to read

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Gadgets

Reliable charging methods

We divided the methods of charging a phone without a charger into safe and unsafe.

Let’s start with the first ways and means. Reliable methods are safe for you and your device because they are tried, tested and recommended by mobile device owners around the world.

1. Portable chargers

These chargers, they are also Power Banks, have different voltages, so choose carefully for your battery.

How to use: Connect one end of the USB cable to the accessory and the other end to the phone. Now turn on your portable device and make sure your device is charging steadily.

Also on the market today are phone cases with a built-in battery pack that can be mounted on the back of the device. With its battery case, you can avoid draining the battery of your mobile phone.

2. Solar chargers

These are chargers that draw energy from direct sunlight. Such accessories are very useful, environmentally friendly and efficient.

To use them, you need:

· During the daytime, place the solar charger outside where the accessory will absorb the sun’s rays, convert them into energy and store them for later use.

· After completing the previous step, connect the solar charger to the phone

· It will now start charging.

Please note that solar panels have a minimum return, and they reach their maximum efficiency only in bright sunlight. Therefore, it is not worth overpaying for them.

3. Charging with computer

The computer / laptop can also be used to charge the gadget without a charger. This is a useful method when you are on the road and suddenly realize you forgot to bring your adapter. With a spare USB cable, there is nothing to worry about.

To charge your phone from a computer, do the following:

• Connect your mobile phone to your PC or laptop via USB cable
• Turn on your computer/laptop and make sure that it is charging and that the phone’s battery is charging.

4. Car charger

What to do when you are traveling by car and your smartphone battery runs out? There is no need to panic and consider stopping at a hotel/restaurant/shop along the way to charge your phone. Use a car charger.

This method is simple and effective in critical situations, but the charging process itself is quite slow: carefully connect the phone to the car charger via USB cable and check the connection is successful, because if the connection is bad, the smartphone will not charge.

5. Devices with USB ports

Recently, devices with USB ports have become common and in demand. Almost all electronic devices come with a USB port, be it speakers, laptops, night watches, TVs, and more.

They can be used to charge your phone without a charger. Simply connect your device to the USB port of one of these devices using a USB cable. Turn on the device and make sure the charging process is activated.

6. In the communication salon

Some mobile phone stores offer a paid service for charging your phone. Take a look at the nearest salon, pay for the charge and hand over the phone to the sales assistant, and then go about your business. Please note that it will take at least half an hour to charge up to 30% with a regular cable. This method takes a lot of time and money.

Unsafe ways to charge your phone

It is better to resort to them in an emergency and be extremely careful.

1. Through the frog charger

This is a universal device designed to restore the charge of lithium batteries of mobile devices and other small devices. Please note that the method is only suitable for phones with removable batteries.

How to use it:

Remove the battery

Clamp it in the “frog” so that the extreme contacts of the battery are in contact with the contacts of the charger

Connect the charger to the mains

The danger is that the battery may explode, so even the manufacturer will not give a guarantee on the integrity of the battery after the procedure.

The disadvantage of this method is that modern smartphones are produced with non-removable batteries.

2. Direct connection to battery

You must connect two batteries to each other, but this can lead to their mutual overheating, so it is better not to experiment with this circuit.

Some owners remove the batteries from their phones and charge directly from the power supply of various devices, such as game consoles or portable radios.

But this option without charge control is fraught with overheating of the battery, followed by fire or explosion.