6 reasons why phones charge slowly

Does your phone take a long time to charge? You plug the phone in and hours pass before it reaches 50%. This is really annoying - you just want to get on with your day, but you have to wait for that little battery icon to fill up.

Let's find out the top reasons why your phone is charging annoyingly slow.

Charging accessories are damaged or of poor quality

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The quality and condition of charging accessories play an important role in determining the speed and efficiency of charging your phone. It's best to use chargers from reputable companies. The charger that comes with the phone is best. If you buy a charger from an unknown brand, you may find that it doesn't charge your phone quickly.

The charging cable is equally important. Over the years, cables wear out, especially around the plug tip. Frayed or exposed wires are not only dangerous but also seriously slow down charging speeds. Even if you don't see external damage, a broken wire inside can cause interrupted or slow charging. Plus, cheap charging cables often have poor material thickness, so they have more resistance, limiting the current to the device.

Finally, environmental factors can also damage your charger over time. Extreme temperatures, humidity, and physical stress damage cables and chargers, even from reputable brands. So, be aware of how and where you store your charging accessories when not in use.

The charging port on the phone has a problem

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The charging port plays an important role in charging your phone, so any problems can slow things down. A common problem is lint and dirt. As your phone moves around in pockets and backpacks, small particles of dirt, sand, and other small particles enter the port. That prevents the charger from being inserted correctly, resulting in poor contact and slower charging speeds.

Dropping and inserting forcefully may also cause problems. Rough handling, accidental dropping, or forcefully inserting the charging cable can bend or break the delicate pins inside the port. This limits the amount of electricity that can flow and lengthens charging time.

Moisture damage is another potential culprit. If the phone is frequently exposed to moisture, it can rust the metal contacts in the port. Rust acts as an insulator, hindering the flow of electricity and slowing down the charging process. In bad cases, it can completely burn out the port. Wear and tear from frequent plugging and unplugging can also take its toll. Over time, constant friction can cause the port to become loose or misaligned, resulting in slow charging speeds or the need to properly position the cable to maintain voltage.

To see if the port itself is the problem, try a different charging cable or charger first to rule those out. However, if you are unsure how to do this, consult a professional technician who can perform any necessary repairs or replacements.

Apps running in the background can drain the battery faster than it can charge

Modern smartphones are designed for multitasking, allowing multiple applications to run at the same time. However, this convenience comes at a price. Apps continue to work in the background, refreshing content, tracking location, or performing other tasks even when you're not using them.

The problem is exacerbated by some apps that are poorly optimized or have bugs that cause them to use more power than necessary. In extreme cases, a single application that is not working properly can consume as much power as many well-behaved applications combined.

Furthermore, processes running in the background are not limited to third-party apps. System-level services, such as automatic updates and cloud sync, can also contribute to battery drain. While these procedures are essential for the normal operation of your device, they can significantly affect charging speeds.

The problem is exacerbated by using lower-power chargers or USB ports on computers, TVs, or car stereos, which may not provide enough power for charging and all other activities. The background motion consumes a lot of that energy. You may see the battery percentage increase painfully slowly or even continue to decrease when plugged in!

To fix this, check your phone settings to see which apps use the most battery. Most phones make it easy to spot battery-draining apps. You can then restrict certain apps from running in the background or uninstall them if possible. Consider turning on power saving mode while charging to limit background activity and speed up charging.

Phone batteries are old

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The older smartphones get, the weaker their batteries become. Most phone batteries can retain about 80% of their original capacity after 500 full charge cycles. But this depends on how you use your phone, how it charges the battery, and factors like temperature. If you are a heavy user, the battery may start to degrade after a year or two. Adopting good charging habits helps prolong smartphone battery life and significantly slows down this aging process.

It's important to note that the battery degradation process doesn't always go smoothly. Extreme temperatures, using an incompatible charger, or allowing the battery to completely drain frequently can accelerate the aging process. Software updates can also suddenly make the battery seem worse because new operating system versions put more demands on older hardware.

Use your phone while charging

If you use your phone while it's charging, you're essentially asking it to do two big jobs at once - power whatever you're doing and recharge the battery. That creates a bit of a tug-of-war as power has to go to both things. As a result, the battery will charge less, meaning it takes longer to fully charge. You'll especially notice this if you're doing power-intensive tasks like playing games, streaming videos, or opening multiple apps at once.

To optimize charging speeds and keep the battery healthy for longer, it's best to leave your phone alone when plugged in. If you must use your phone, try doing tasks that require less energy. Better yet, make charging your phone part of your routine when you're not using it much, such as while working or napping.

The phone case is hindering heat dissipation

The phone gets quite hot when charging due to all the chemical reactions inside the battery. Normally, heat is released through the back of the phone, which acts as a small heatsink. But when you install a case, it prevents heat from escaping.

The material the case is made of makes a big difference here. Materials like silicone, rubber, and thick plastic offer great protection from drops, but they also retain heat very well. While it's important to keep your phone safe, all that insulation can cause problems when charging. Heat builds up with no escape, so the phone gets hotter and hotter on the inside.

You don't just have to worry about slower charging. Continuously higher temperatures can wear down the battery over time, shortening its overall lifespan. So, a protective case that's supposed to keep your phone safe could unintentionally contribute to the premature failure of one of the device's core components.

Luckily, there are some easy fixes. Remove the case when charging quickly, especially to help heat escape much better. You can also look for covers made with heat-conducting materials or special vents/channels to vent heat. Some nice cases even have things like graphene inside to regulate temperature.

Your phone charging slowly could be due to many reasons. The only way to know is to look through the list of things the article mentioned. And if all else fails, it might be time to buy a new phone.

Have fun!

Samuel Daniel

Update 23 August 2024