What’s the Fastest Way to Charge Your iPhone?.
Nobody wants to leave their smartphone plugged into a charging cable or wireless charger for hours. Fast charging is all the rage right now. This guide compares the various fast charging methods and accessories available to iPhone owners.
What’s the Fastest Way to Charge Your iPhone?.
The ultimate goal is to tell you about the fastest, safest and most efficient ways to charge your iPhone.
What iPhones Support Fast Charging?
The iPhone models listed below support fast charging. However, not all of these fast-charging iPhones come with fast-charging accessories.
iPhone 8 series – iPhone 8 and 8 PlusiPhone X Series – iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS MaxiPhone SE (2020)iPhone 11 Series – iPhone 11 , iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro MaxiPhone 12 Series – iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max)iPhone 13 Series – iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Mini, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max)
Only iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max come with a fast charging adapter and a USB-C to Lightning cable.
The new iPhone 12 and 13 come with a USB-C cable, so you only need to purchase a high power adapter for fast charging.
The 5W charger and USB-A to Lightning cable in the packaging of older iPhones (iPhone X series and earlier) cannot provide fast charging speeds. You will need to buy new adapters and fast charging cables.
USB-C Wall Chargers or Power Adapters
Although power adapters have different specifications (wattage, voltage, etc.), they currently provide the fastest charging for iPhone and iPad.
iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 series require a charger with a minimum output of 20W. We recommend using the Apple 20W USB Power Adapter and MagSafe charger (see image below). You will also need an original Lightning cable for fast charging.
To quickly charge iPhone 11 series and older, use an Apple USB-C to Lightning cable and charging adapters rated at 18W or higher.
If you are unsure of the power rating (or power) of your charging adapter, check the certification label on the bottom, top, or side of the adapter.
We should also mention that MacBook USB-C power adapters will charge your iPhone at top speed. These adapters typically have a minimum power rating of 60W or higher. Connect the original USB-C to Lightning cable to your MacBook power adapter, plug it into your iPhone and watch it charge at lightning speed.
MagSafe and Magsafe Duo Chargers
MagSafe charging (reintroduced in 2021) is a relatively new charging method for supported iPhone models.Its works like wireless charging technology, but requires the use of magnetic accessories.
Currently, only the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 series support MagSafe wireless charging. That’s because they’re the only iPhones with magnetic charging coils built into the back. MagSafe and MagSafe Duo chargers can deliver up to 15W and 14W peak power for compatible iPhones.
For optimal wireless charging speeds, connect your MagSafe or MagSafe Duo charger to a 20W (or higher) USB-C power adapter and place your iPhone on the charger. Do not place your iPhone on the MagSafe charger until you plug the power adapter into a wall outlet. This will prevent MagSafe from providing maximum power to your iPhone.
Plug the MagSafe Charger into a wall outlet, turn on the power source, and place your iPhone on the charger after about 3-5 seconds. Check out this Apple Support guide to learn more about using MagSafe chargers and how they provide fast wireless charging.
Note. The Apple 29W USB-C Power Adapter is not compatible with the MagSafe Duo.M charger
MagSafe does not provide as much power output as wired charging using USB adapters and fast charging cables. However, this technology provides better, faster and more efficient charging speeds (on iPhone) than conventional wireless chargers. Wired or wireless charging?
Wireless charging may be convenient and trendy, but it’s not the fastest way to charge your iPhone. It’s also not the most efficient way to charge. Wireless charging generates more heat, which can make your iPhone warm.
If you need fast charging, cables and power supplies are your best bet. In general, this is all you need:
High power USB-C charger (20W or higher) or third-party USB-C power adapter that supports USB Power Delivery (USB-PD).USB-C to Lightning cable.
With these accessories, you can charge compatible iPhones with fast charging from 0% to 50% in about 30 minutes. Several factors can prevent your iPhone from charging at high speed even if it supports fast charging. We will cover these factors and their respective solutions in the next section.
Tips for Charging an iPhone Even Faster
Sometimes your iPhone may charge slowly even if you use compatible or powerful chargers. Here are some of the best ways to charge your iPhone for faster charging and better battery health.
1. Use original charging accessories
Charge your iPhone with original accessories from the Power & Cables (online) section of the Apple Store, or visit your nearest Apple Store. Poor quality or counterfeit chargers will charge your iPhone slowly and reduce battery life.
2. Disable Optimized Battery Charging temporarily
Optimized Battery Charging is a feature that slows down battery aging by reducing the time it takes for the battery to fully charge. This feature is enabled by default on supported devices and therefore your iPhone sometimes gets stuck at 80% when charging.
Turn off Optimized Battery Charging (temporarily) if you need to charge your iPhone faster to its maximum capacity (100%).
Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health and turn on Optimized Battery Charging.
3. Update your iPhone
If your iPhone supports wireless charging but won’t charge when connected to a Qi-certified charger or MagSafe charger, installing an iOS update might fix the issue. iOS 14.2 fixes issues that prevented iPhone wireless charging in iOS 14.1. Apple has also released the iOS 14.3 update to address issues that prevented the MagSafe Duo Charger from wirelessly charging to its maximum capacity.
Thus, keeping your iPhone up to date can fix hidden bugs and issues preventing your iPhone from charging quickly.
Open the Settings app, select General, select Software Update, and install any update available for your iPhone.
4. Cool down your iPhone
Temperature is another factor that affects your iPhone’s ability to charge quickly. A hot iPhone will charge slightly slower than an iPhone at ambient temperature. Constantly charging your iPhone in very hot environments can permanently shorten your iPhone’s battery life.
Apple recommends using iPhone in an ambient temperature between 0 and 35 ºC. Using iPhone in direct sunlight or in a hot environment can cause it to overheat. Activities such as GPS tracking or navigation, games and augmented reality applications can also increase operating temperatures.
If your iPhone gets very hot, let it cool down before charging – removing the case from your phone may help. Better yet, turn it off for a few minutes or charge while it’s off.
5. Don’t use iPhone while charging
In addition to the power of your power adapter, system activity can affect your phone’s charging speed. Using iPhone while charging increases the total charging time.
Wi-Fi consumes less power than cellular/mobile data. Switch to Wi-Fi or put your iPhone in Airplane Mode to reduce battery drain caused by the network. Enabling power saving mode can also speed up charging by reducing power-hungry background activities.
USB-C Charging Is the Fastest Option
Power banks can also charge your iPhone at fast charging speeds. When shopping for a power bank, look for products with high output power (20W or more) and USB-C Power Delivery.
By the way, your iPhone cannot charge from 0 to 100% at a constant or linear rate, even with fast charging. It will charge quickly at first and then slow down as the battery approaches full charge. These two stages of charging are known as “Fast Charging” and “Continuous Charging”. Check out our Continuous Charging Explainer to better understand why your iPhone charges fast first and then slowly.
What’s the Fastest Way to Charge Your iPhone?
What’s the Fastest Way to Charge Your iPhone?