Is your phone charging slow and there doesn’t seem to be anything that can help you get it up to speed? Here’s our complete guide on what you need to do to get your phone all charged up faster and understand the reason behind the extended charging time.
Back in the day when mobile devices were used for nothing more than phone calls and the most basic texting, battery capacity was not a concern. Early-age mobile phones such as the Nokia 3310 were legendary for the screen-on time that they offered, allowing users to go days on a single charge. There was nothing revolutionary about the quality of the battery that was offered in the older mobile phones, but rather the limitations that these devices posed when compared to the modern smartphone. Comparing the mobile phones from the 90s to the modern iPhone and Android phones, the two are incomparable.
The latest and great smartphones are capable of handling communication through video calling, stream high-quality content through Wi-Fi, play hours of music, and do so much more with thousands of apps that are out there. But all of this firepower comes at the cost of screen-on time, where even the meatiest smartphones such as the Galaxy S10 offer nothing more than one day of screen-on time. While the technology behind batteries has somewhat remained the same, the one area where mobile phones in general have evolved is the charging time required to juice up. From taking overnight to charge all the way up to 100%, to requiring just a few hours, fast charging has been a game changer.
Phone Charging Slow Lately? Here’s How to Fix It
Qualcomm has developed fast charging technology such as Quick Charge and brands such as OnePlus offering Warp Charge that goes from 0 to 50 in less than 30 minutes. These high-speed charging standards may cause you to expect nothing less than a couple of hours of charging time. However, there are aspects that can slow down the charging speed of your mobile phone, which sometimes may be obviously noticeable, and other times, it may not seem too obvious. There can be multiple factors behind the reason why the phone charging slow problem, and here’s how you can resolve each of them:
Issue #1 – Damaged Charging Cable
If you’ve had your mobile phone for a couple of years now, chances are that you’ve been using it with the same USB cable that came in the box. While most cables these days are built with good quality materials, thousands of cycles of plugging in and out can cause wear and tear over time. Even when the charging cable may seem fully-functional from the outside, broken pins at the either ends of the cable can affect the flow of charge from the adapter to the device.
The very first course of action should be replacing the USB cable with a newer, preferably the one that supports high-speed charging. Additionally, it doesn’t hurt to choose a USB cable that comes with a braided or thickened inner and outer layer, which will prevent the integrity of the charging cable to be hindered even after years of use. You can also test the charging cable with another device to confirm whether the issue lies with the USB cable or not.
Issue #2 – Inefficient Power Source
Apart from the USB cable that brings the power supply to your phone, it is equally important to consider if enough juice is being supplied to your phone in the first place. You can expect optimal charging speeds with the charging adapter that is included with the device. For instance, if you choose to charge your OnePlus device with another charging adapter, the Warp Charge technology will not work, thus causing the phone charging slow down significantly.
Using the USB port on your computer is not the most efficient way of charging your device either, since it offers less than 1A of energy output. You can try replacing the power adapter with a newer one, especially with a Qualcomm Quick Charge adapter (if your phone supports the fast charging standard). You can then expect to reduce the time that is required by your smartphone to charge all the way up to 100%.
Issue #3 – Battery Problems
Several users across the board have reported that the phone charging time seems to increase as the device gets older. Although this specific issue should not occur on newer mobile devices, but it wouldn’t be unheard of, if your new phone also begins to experience battery problems. While new phones can be serviced (for free in most cases), older devices will either need a battery replacement to fix the problem for good.
For those who still seem to own mobile devices that come with a rear panel that can simply be popped out (like the Galaxy S5, LG G5, and others), replacing the battery is fairly simple. However, for the newer generation of mobile phones can come with batteries coffined inside a glass or metal back panel, visiting a professional to have the battery replaced with a new one is the only way out of the slow charging issue. Or you can replace your battery yourself. For iPhone battery replacement or Samsung Battery replacement, read these articles.
Issue #4 – Usage Pattern
Although this should be a no-brainer, but the amount of time to keep that phone turned on significantly affects the time period required to charge the phone. The biggest power-hungry element of your smartphone is the screen, and with the latest crop offering Full-HD and Quad-HD displays, you can expect the juice to drain out significantly faster when you keep using the phone while its charging.
The processing power, combined with the display and even the speakers, can all come together to cause your phone charging slow down. In addition, if you have a weak power source or a damaged power cable that is feeding a reduced power supply to your device, you might even end up losing a couple of percent of battery charge even while it is continuously being charged.
Issue #5 – Background Processes
While everything on the surface may seem fine, there could be a collection of apps and services that may be wreaking havoc on the battery life of your phone in the background. If you have a high-graphic game running in the background, it can take up enough processing power to slow down the charging speed of your mobile phone, even when the screen is turned off and you’ve exited the app. To get a better understanding of what’s eating away at the battery life, you can check it out in the Settings app here:
- From the home screen of your mobile phone, head over to the Settings
- Through the Settings menu, scroll down to find the Battery tab and open it.
- In the Battery menu, you will be able to see a list of apps, along with a percentage right next to them, which will highlight the amount of power it has consumed.
The list of apps can help you find the hidden culprit behind the battery draining and phone charging slow issue that the phone is experiencing. You can also ensure that all of the background apps and services have been closed while you leave the phone to charge.
Issue #6 – Faulty Charging Port
This may seem like a far-fetched possibility, but you’d be surprised how often the charging port of mobile phones can get damaged. The probability of you ending up with a wonky USB port increases significantly if your smartphone has a MicroUSB slot for charging. While the reversible USB Type-C makes the likelihood of USB port damage significantly less, there can still be issues regarding obstruction by debris and corrosion.
Carrying around the phone in your pocket can cause all sorts of dirt and grit to get lodged into the tiny USB port, which can, in some cases, affect the charging speed. Be it from the humid climate or moisture that may have made its way into the USB port, there’s always a chance of corrosion as well, which can also cause severe issues. Either way, we recommend that rather than taking up the job of fixing the problem yourself, you have the phone serviced by a professional.
Issue #7 – Software Problem
The way the mobile manufacturer designs the system software also generally affects the battery life of the smartphone. Although you usually expect a software update to improve the performance of your device, the manufacturer can “pull an oopsie” and roll out a software update that breaks more things than it fixes. There have been numerous where Apple and Android OEMs have released software updates that have caused charging issues with the devices.
If you recently updated your smartphone and have started to experience the phone charging slow lately, then the two could be connected. You can reach out to the software support team and expect the issue to be fixed by an upcoming update, or take matters in your own hand and perform a factory reset. Wiping clean the mobile phone would most likely do away with the broken elements of the system update that is messing with your phone’s charging capacity, so it’s a good idea to use the action as a last resort.
Final Words
Maybe the advent of fast charging technology has spoilt us a little, but not having your phone all juiced up within a few hours can be infuriating. As you can see from the list of possibilities above, the reason behind your phone charging slow is not tied down to a single factor. However, we’ve gathered the intel from users and community forums all over the internet to see what seemed to affect their phone’s charging time, and how they were able to fix it.
Are you among those who have been experiencing slow charging issues on their mobile phones lately? Have you uncovered a specific reason behind the problem that we might’ve overlooked? Be sure to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section right down below.