Charge your phone faster with these 7 simple hacks and latest tech. There are quite a few ways you can speed up charge time without buying a new phone.
Whether you own a brick or the latest (greatest?) handset from leading mobile brands, charging takes time. Or, it used to. But it doesn’t have to! There are quite a few ways you can speed up charge time without buying a new phone.
Easy hacks for a quicker phone charge
- Charge in aeroplane mode. This cuts out unnecessary energy without shutting your phone.
NOTE: it also cuts calls. - Kill all the apps you aren’t using. They may be set to run in the background, which chews power.
- Keep your phone cool/remove phone case. Lithium-ion batteries refill faster when they’re cool. The optimal temperature range is 5 to 45 C. “Obviously,” Make Use Of Advises, “the battery temperature is in part controlled by the ambient surrounding temperature and removing your case will help lower it.”
TIP: try a fan, not the fridge. - Switch your mobile off if you can. Without apps and software running, you’ll clock a much quicker refill time.
- Use a charger that plugs into the wall. It’s far faster than a laptop/USB charge.
- Use original chargers. If they break, buy original again. It’s worth it.
- Replace the battery if it’s old or you suspect it has a manufacturing fault (often covered by the warranty/guarantee). Again, original parts mean optimal performance.
New tech to charge mobiles faster
Smart chords FTW! A few simple tweaks to your hardware accessories could see exponential improvements in the time it takes to juice up your phone. USB-C (Android) and Apple’s Lightning cable give you hours of charge in minutes.
The Verge is confident that we can soon expect an estimated optimal charge speed of 0 – 50 % full charge in fifteen minutes thanks to improvements in electronics. At least, from the next, newest models from top-performing mobile brands.
So, the future of fast charge is exploding, but your batteries must not.
Watt do you mean, my battery exploded!?
Power surges, faulty chargers and sub-standard, non-approved substitutes can mean sudden flashes of power that fry your poor phone’s brain. So, don’t use your friend’s cheapo charger, or plug in during an electric storm, use that smart chord if you’ve got a newer phone.
Not sure what kind of chord you’ve got or if you should invest?
Get into the geekery by gauging your charge cables’ speeds…with this app for Android or iOS (iPhone)
DIY enthusiasts beware
If you’re going to tweak your technical kit, the magic formula is volts multiplied by amps gives you watts (volts x amps = watts). So, increase the volts and/or amps, and the phone charges faster. Increase them too much, and - ka-BAM! - the battery might melt.
Winging it? WARNING!
Smart chargers are designed to control volts and amps intelligently. If you haven’t done a crash course in electronics, don’t hack any hardware. It could also affect your warranty/guarantee, or worse. #justsaying
What next?
If none of these approaches make much difference to your phone’s charge speed, or the tech costs more than your older phone is now worth, or you did, in fact, fry your phone (because science), it might be time for that upgrade, after all …and household insurance? We got this.
