Uploading your iPhone It's simple, right? While this is technically true, several different factors can affect how quickly and efficiently your iPhone charges.

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If you're in a rush and need your phone to charge as quickly as possible, take a few things into consideration, like where your phone is plugged in, what settings are on (or off), and what type of charger you use. you are wearing. Otherwise, you could end up with an iPhone that's barely charged, and before you know it, it'll die when you need it most.

This story is part 12 days of tipshelping you make the most of your technology, home, and health during the holiday season.

In the guide below, we'll show you nine tips and tricks that can help you charge your iPhone as quickly as possible when you're in a rush. Here's what you need to know.

If you're on the go and need to charge your iPhone, check out this list of best power banks in 2024.

Stop using that super old charger

The fastest way to charge your iPhone is with a fast charger: a 20 Watt Power Adapter common USB-C to Lightning cable. As long as you have a iPhone 8 or later, you can quickly charge your phone to about 50% battery in about 30 minutes. If you have an hour to spare, you can fully charge it. Even just 10 minutes of fast charging can boost your battery by double digits; So, if you are short on time, always opt for the fast charger option.

Apple no longer provides power adapters when you buy a new phone, just the cable, but you can buy Apple's 20-watt power adapter at Litter It is Amazon. According to Apple, you can also use other compatible fast charging power bricksbut you'll need at least a 20-watt brick to quickly charge an iPhone 12 and later.

Mkeke USB-C Charger Mkeke USB-C Charger

Mkeke makes a 20-watt charger .

Black

A wireless charger is good, but this model is the best

The second fastest way to charge your iPhone is with Apple MagSafe Charger and a 20-watt power adapter, but for this to work you must own an iPhone 12 or later to get the faster 15-watt wireless charging. If your iPhone is dead, you should reach about 30% battery in about 30 minutes of wireless charging.

This doesn't mean you can use any Qi wireless charger, which is the industry standard, for fast charging. While the MagSafe charger supports 15 watts, a Qi charger only offers up to 7.5 watts, which is much slower than a MagSafe and only slightly faster than the traditional one. 5 Watt Wall Charger. Be aware that magnetic wireless chargers that are not MagSafe certified will also charge at the slower speed of 7.5 watts.

A MagSafe charger on a phone in a person's hand A MagSafe charger on a phone in a person's hand

The MagSafe charger can be fast, but only in certain scenarios.

Patrick Holanda/CNET

Stop using your computer to charge your iPhone

Your laptop may seem like a convenient way to charge your iPhone, especially if you spend most of your day in front of a computer and want to keep an eye on incoming text messages and notifications. Unfortunately, your computer will always charge your phone slower than any wall charger or wireless charger.

Your computer's USB port, whether it's a larger, older USB-A or the newer, smaller USB-C, can't supply the same amount of power as any wall outlet can—even a 5-watt power adapter. This is especially true if you have an old computer with a faulty USB port or an incompatible charging cable, which can slow down the charging process even further.

MacBook Air M2 2022 Notebook MacBook Air M2 2022 Notebook

Using a MacBook may seem like an easy way to charge your iPhone, but it's slower than any wall charger.

Dan Ackerman/CNET

Also, keep your hands away from the iPhone while charging

If you want your iPhone to charge as quickly as possible, try to stay away from it as much as possible. If you're streaming videos or playing mobile games while charging your iPhone, the battery will charge much more slowly, so leave it untouched if you can.

Turn off your iPhone to speed up battery charging

Even though the screen is asleep, the phone is still running in the background, constantly updating apps, sending notifications, and turning on the screen, which wastes battery life. If you want your iPhone to charge faster, you'd better turn it off.

If you don't want to turn off your iPhone, switch to airplane mode

If you don't want to turn off your iPhone but still want to help it charge faster, you can turn on Airplane Mode, which turns off all wireless streaming functions like Cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth that consume power. If they are off, your iPhone may charge faster. This way, you can also quickly disable airplane mode to quickly check any texts or calls you might be waiting for.

Airplane Mode on iPhone Airplane Mode on iPhone

Airplane mode will stop notifications from arriving, but preserve battery life while you charge your iPhone.

Jason Cipriani/CNET

Adjust these iPhone settings to charge your battery faster

Do you know all those tips that help you preserve your battery? You can use these same features and settings to help your iPhone charge faster if you don't plan on turning it off.

  • Low Power Mode. Turn it on to reduce or affect battery-consuming features like 5G, screen brightness, auto-lock, background app refresh, automatic downloads, and more.
  • Dark Mode: The jury is out Knowing exactly how much dark mode actually saves battery life, but turning it on while you're charging your iPhone doesn't hurt, especially if every percentage matters.
  • Decrease screen brightness: The brighter the screen, the faster the battery will drain, so lower it all the way while it charges.

Low Battery Mode on iPhone Low Battery Mode on iPhone

Apple's Low Power Mode helps conserve iPhone battery life.

Sarah Tew/CNET

This iPhone Feature Could Be Slowing Down Charging

Apple has a built-in tool that helps prevent your iPhone battery from degrading so quickly, but this same feature also slows down your device's charging. While the feature typically only slows down your iPhone during long periods of charging, and usually overnight, it may still be worth disabling it when you're charging your phone. Go to settings > Battery > Battery health and turn off Optimized battery charging to disable this feature.

You May Just Need a New iPhone Battery

On the same settings page where you can disable optimized battery charging, you can also check your battery health. If you see a message like “Battery health is significantly degraded,” make an appointment with Apple to have your battery replaced. A degraded battery also doesn't hold a charge, so it discharges more quickly. A new battery will improve its overall lifespan.

You can check how much it will approximately cost to replace your battery at Apple iPhone Battery Service Website. Pricing depends on service coverage and brand and model: for the iPhone 15 series, the estimate is $99.

Setting Battery Health on iPhone Setting Battery Health on iPhone

Go to Settings > Battery to check your battery health.

Victor DiCarlo/CNET



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