Five Ways to Speed up Your Phone’s Charging
A little extra charging before leaving the house in the morning can make a big difference in whether your phone stays charged by the end of the day. But charging speed is affected by many factors, and you may not be aware of them all.
However, by following the tips provided here, you can ensure that your phone always charges as quickly as possible.
Use a wired power source.
Firstly, your phone will charge much faster if you connect it directly to a power source rather than using a wireless charger. Wireless charging is very convenient and is gradually getting faster, but wired charging is still far from perfect.
Take the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra , for example: its maximum charging power is 45W wired and 15W wireless using the Qi2 standard. This means it will take approximately three times longer to charge the battery wirelessly. Similar results are observed for other models.
Wireless charging is not only slower but also generally less efficient, as much of the energy supplied to the phone is lost as heat (due to the way electricity is converted into a magnetic field and back again). Using a cable and plug charges faster and is better for the battery.
A wired connection is the best option if possible, and what you plug your phone into also matters. Wall outlets are great for fast charging, while anything else is less efficient—options like laptop USB ports, USB hubs, and outlets found on other gadgets like monitors won’t provide enough power.
Use the appropriate cable and charger.
These days, many phones don’t come with a charger and cable, but if you check the specifications, you’ll see information about the fast charging standard and maximum charging speed. Then you need to find a charger that matches that speed, as well as a cable that won’t slow down charging.
If you look at the iPhone chargers manufactured by Apple and sold in their stores, you’ll see options with outputs of 20W, 35W, and 60W—with the latter charging your phone the fastest. Also, look for mention of USB Power Delivery (PD), although it’s present on virtually every charger you can find these days.
We’ve written extensively about USB-C cables and chargers before, and like other similar devices, they will list the charging speed (or at least, they should). To charge your phone as quickly as possible, you need to ensure that each link in the chain delivers power at the maximum rate your phone can handle.
You can safely use your existing cables and chargers for laptops, tablets, and other gadgets with your phone—your phone will have built-in safety features to prevent excessive power consumption—but for best results, it’s generally best to use what came in the box or an officially approved option .
Do not use your phone while it is charging.
There are a few more tricks you can try to maximize charging speed. Consider how much power your smartphone uses while charging: if you’re constantly scrolling through social media feeds, watching videos, and playing games, you’re draining precious battery power while it’s charging.
If possible, put your phone down and leave it alone while it charges—you might want to disable the always-on display to speed things up a bit. For even better results, put your phone in airplane or power-saving mode, or turn it off completely while it charges (notifications can wait).
Monitor your phone’s temperature.
Due to battery chemistry and built-in protection mechanisms in modern phones, charging speed decreases if the phone gets too hot or cold. To maximize charging speed, keep your phone away from sunny windowsills or cold bathrooms while charging.
It’s recommended to remove your phone’s case while charging to reduce the risk of further increasing the battery’s temperature. It’s also worth checking your phone’s USB-C charging port to ensure it’s clean and free of dust and lint—even a minor loose connection can affect charging speed.
Monitor your charging speed
Regardless of how you charge your phone, both Android and iOS allow you to monitor your battery’s charging speed. If you have a Pixel or Galaxy phone, keep an eye on the charging status message at the bottom of your lock screen: it shows how fast your phone is charging and how much time remains until it’s fully charged.
On most Android devices, you can get more detailed information by opening the Battery page in Settings, though the data displayed here may vary depending on the device: you’ll see whether fast charging is enabled, and perhaps an estimate of the time it will take to fully charge, but the actual capacity won’t usually be shown.
On your iPhone, you can check the battery charging progress in Settings. While there’s not much information there, you can get a rough estimate of the charging time, and if your iPhone supports faster charging, a “slow charging” message will appear.
There are several Android apps that measure charging speed. Ampere is one of the best: it’s free, but additional features (such as widgets and notifications) are available for an additional fee. Note that to get the wattage, you need to multiply the current by the voltage and then divide by 1000. Unfortunately, there’s nothing similar on iOS—the few apps that do exist seem outdated and/or unreliable.