Why Your iPhone Is Charging So Slowly (And All the Quick Fixes)
If you’re in a hurry, the last thing you have time for is to wait for your iPhone to charge. Whether you just updated to iOS 26 and notice a battery discharge or you’re just trying to keep your old phone alive for a long day, slow charging is a major problem.
Let’s be real: sprinting on a 5% battery is a choice you don’t have to make. If you’re tired of being chained to an outlet, you need to know a few simple tricks that can dramatically speed up your charging time, without the need for new cables or accessories.
Instead of just accepting your phone’s slow-charging fate, these quick tips will have you powered up and going in record time. It’s the easiest way to make sure your iPhone keeps up with your busy schedule all season long while still retaining all the new features you want that came with your phone’s latest update.
Looking for more charging power? Check out the best power banks for iPhone, and if you’re still using an iPhone with a Lightning port, here are some of the cheapest fast chargers you can find.
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Steps you can take right now to prevent phone overheating
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1. Stock up on juice with a new charger
The fastest way to charge your iPhone is with a fast charger: at least 20 watt power adapter with a USB-C to Lightning or USB-C to USB-C cable for iPhone 15 models or later. As long as you have an iPhone 8 or later, you can quickly charge your phone to around 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 increase your battery by double digits, so if you’re short on time, always go for the fast charger option.
Apple no longer provides power adapters when you buy a new phone, only the cable, but you can purchase Apple’s 20 watt power adapter from Apple And Amazon. According to Apple, you can also use other compatible fast-charging power bricks, but you’ll need at least a 20-watt brick to quickly charge an iPhone 12 and later.
Additionally, if you’re using iOS 26, Apple will now tell you if you’re using an underpowered power brick or older cable with a notification that says “Slow Charger” at the top of your lock screen when you’re charging your phone.
Mkeke makes a 20 watt charger
2. Charge wirelessly at lightning speed
The second fastest way to charge your iPhone is to Apple’s MagSafe charger or a Qi2 certified wireless charger and a 20-watt power adapter, but for this to work you need to own an iPhone 12 or later to benefit from the faster 15-watt wireless charging. If your iPhone is dead, you should get to about 30% battery in about 30 minutes of wireless charging.
This doesn’t mean you can use any Qi wireless charger (the industry standard) for fast charging. While MagSafe and Qi2 chargers support 15 watts, a Qi1-era charger only gives you up to 7.5 watts, which is much slower and only slightly faster than the traditional 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.
The MagSafe charger can be fast, but only in certain scenarios.
3. Stop relying on your computer to charge your phone
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 a close eye on incoming text messages and notifications. However, your computer will still charge your phone slower than any wall charger or wireless charger.
Your computer’s USB port, whether it’s a larger, older USB-A port or a newer, smaller USB-C port, can’t provide the same amount of power as any wall outlet, even a 5-watt power adapter. This is especially true if you have an older computer with a faulty USB port or incompatible charging cable, which can further slow down the charging process.
Using a MacBook may seem like a simple way to charge your iPhone, but it’s slower than any wall charger.
4. Stop Using Your iPhone While It’s Charging
If you want your iPhone to charge as quickly as possible, try to get as far away from it as possible. If you stream videos or play mobile games while charging your iPhone, the battery will charge much more slowly, so leave it untouched if you can.
5. Speed up battery charging with this simple trick
Even if your screen is asleep, your phone is still running in the background. If you want your iPhone to charge quickly, the best thing to do is to turn it off.
Note that plugging in a turned off iPhone will sometimes turn it back on, so plug it in or place it on a wireless charger first, SO turn it off.
6. Switch to airplane mode if you don’t want to turn off your phone
If you don’t want to turn off your iPhone but still want to charge it faster, you can enable Airplane Mode, which turns off all wireless transmission features such as cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, all of which consume power. If they are turned off, your iPhone may charge faster. This way, you can also quickly turn off Airplane Mode to quickly check any text messages or phone calls you might be expecting.
7. Charge your iPhone in a cooler place
It’s normal for your iPhone to be a little warm while charging, but in extreme temperatures, iOS may temporarily stop charging your phone to prevent battery damage. Once the phone has cooled to a safe temperature, charging will continue on its own. Moving your iPhone and charger to a cooler location can help prevent shutdowns. Go to Settings > Battery to see if your battery has been put on hold at any point due to overheating.
8. Adjust These iPhone Settings to Charge Your Battery Faster
Do you know all these tips that help you preserve your battery in the first place? You can use these same features and settings to help your iPhone charge faster if you don’t plan to turn it off.
- Low power mode: Enable it to reduce or affect battery-consuming features like 5G, screen brightness, auto-lock, background app refresh, and auto downloads.
- Dark mode: The jury’s still out on how much dark mode actually saves battery life, but turning it on while you’re charging your iPhone doesn’t hurt, especially if every percent counts.
- Reduce the brightness of your screen: One of the most power-hungry parts of any gadget that has one is its screen. The brighter your screen, the faster your battery drains, so turn it all the way down while it’s charging.
Apple’s Low Power Mode helps preserve iPhone battery life.
9. Optimized battery charging can slow down the charging rate
Apple has a built-in tool that helps prevent your iPhone’s battery from dying as quickly, but that same feature also slows down your device’s charging. Although this feature generally only slows down your iPhone during long periods of charging, and usually overnight, it can be helpful to turn it off when you’re charging your phone. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery health and deactivate Optimized battery charging to disable this feature.
10. You May Just Need a New iPhone Battery
In the same settings page where you can turn off optimized battery charging, you can also check your battery health. If you see a message like “Your battery health is significantly degraded,” you should consider scheduling an appointment with Apple to replace your battery. A degraded battery doesn’t hold a charge as well, so it will drain more quickly. A new battery will improve the overall life of your battery.
Go to Settings > Battery to check your battery health.
You can check approximately how much it will cost to replace your battery on Apple’s iPhone Battery Service website. The price depends on your service coverage, as well as the brand and model: for the iPhone 15 series, the estimate is $99.
For more tips, check out 23 Other iPhone Tips and Tricks You Should Know and How to Get More Space When Your iPhone Storage is Low.
