How To Make Your Phone Charge Faster

Most of us have had to endure the inconvenience of realizing that our phone needs more juice just as we’re about to rush out the door. And then there is the constant concern about your smartphone battery hitting empty during a day of above-average usage. 

Having to constantly charge your phone can cause frustration, especially if it takes a long time. But there is a solution. With the steady rollout of USB-C cables, phone charging is becoming more convenient. In the following guide, we’ll tell you how to make your phone charge faster. 

Plug the Charger Into a Wall Socket

Charging your phone through the USB port of your computer can be a pretty slow and painstaking process. Computer USB ports or those that aren’t on a wall charger typically supply 5 V of electricity with a maximum current of 0.5 A and an overall power output of 2.5 W. The USB 3.0 version has a higher current of 0.9 A at the same voltage, which is still not enough to have more efficient charging times. 

If you’re trying to figure out how to charge your phone faster while using a USB cable, the important thing to remember is that everything comes down to the USB port power output. USB Type-C (or USB 3.1) still has 5 V at 3 A, allowing for a higher power output of 15 W. Furthermore, USB Type-C with Power Delivery (PD) wall charger can handle up to 100 W output, making it much more efficient at charging your smartphone. 

Most mobile phones have much more efficient wall chargers, and as such, these are the best tools for faster charge times. However, there are a few tricks to help your phone charge faster, and we’ve outlined them in our guide. 

Don’t Use the Phone While Charging

This may sound like an obvious tip, but people often forget that using your phone while charging increases the time needed to get it up to 100%. The phone’s screen consumes more power than any other component on your device. And the best way to cut battery drain and speed up the charging process is to keep the screen off. 

That said, smartphones with smaller screens drain less battery power when active and are worth considering if you’re looking for a compact solution. 

Charge the Phone Without the Phone Case

Temperature influences battery life, and it’s one of the more significant factors to consider when charging the device. Lithium-Ion batteries are quick to overheat, and any significant rise in temperature can damage your device. If you’re wondering how to make your phone charge faster and safer, remove the protective case. The effects may vary depending on the type of phone case you’re using, but the excess heat generated by certain kinds of phone holsters directly affects battery capacity. 

This doesn’t mean that having a phone charging station in a cold room will reduce the time you have to wait, nor improve battery performance. Excessive cold temperatures can cause the battery to drain faster and even damage it if you persistently expose it to such weather. The optimal temperature for a lithium-ion battery is between 59°F and 95°F (15°C and 35°C).

Use Airplane Mode

Another trick to charge the phone faster is to switch to airplane mode. This effectively switches off your phone’s connection to the cellular and WiFi networks. With less of your phone’s resources being taken up, the charging process will be faster. 

Maintaining the network signal and WiFi can quickly drain your battery. This is especially notable when your phone is trying to connect in an area with poor cellular coverage. It will drain the battery significantly faster than in an area with a strong network signal. 

If you want to know how to charge the phone faster with airplane mode, simply enable the function by swiping down on the notification bar and hitting the Airplane Mode icon. The extent to which it speeds up the charging process will mostly depend on your phone, but we noticed an almost 20% increase in charging speed when we tried out this method. 

Turn the Phone Off

Of course, turning the phone off eliminates battery usage and therefore is the most effective way for fast charging an Android or iPhone. Power is going directly to your battery and not to run applications or background processes that are present when your phone is active. 

Of course, this has its downsides, as you won’t be able to receive urgent calls or messages, but if you are looking to give your phone a quick boost, it's worth the compromise. 

Use a Compatible Fast Charger

If your phone supports fast charging and the standard charger you got with your device isn’t sufficient, investing in a new one is an excellent idea. You can check on the manufacturer’s website if your smartphone supports it, and it will save you plenty of time. 

Use a Power Bank

If you need to figure out how to make your phone charge faster when you’re on the move and don’t have time to wait next to a wall socket, remember that a power bank is the next best thing. If you get a model with a high wattage, you’ll get better performance. Many models also have the same amperage output as a power outlet. Just double-check if your phone and cable are compatible with the portable charger. 

Enable Charge Mode

If you resort to powering your phone with a USB cable through your computer, you can make the phone charge faster by enabling charge mode on Android phones. You can change the type of USB connection your phone has with the laptop, whether you are using it for data transferring or charging. 

If the setting doesn’t appear when you swipe down your notification bar, you can find the option in settings under the connected devices submenu and USB preferences. Enable the “charge connected devices” option, and you should get better performance for charging your phone. 

Avoid Charging Your Phone Wirelessly

If you ever thought, “charging my phone without cables sounds great,” you didn’t account for the time it takes to get your battery up to 100%. Wireless charging is great, and having fewer cables lying around is something that most of us don’t mind. However, performance isn’t a strong suit when it comes to wireless chargers. Unlike their wired counterparts, charging time can take almost twice as long. 

Final Thoughts

It’s getting harder to find smartphones with removable batteries. These phones come with longer battery life, and their lithium-ion batteries are generally quick to charge. But if you’re using other devices, you need to know what makes your phone charge faster. This is especially useful if you tend to have a hectic daily schedule or if you often listen to music on your smartphone. Most consumers rely on a power bank or a fast charger they can plug into a wall outlet.