As an iPhone owner, I was frustrated to find out my phone was not fast charging despite having the right charger and cable. After doing some research and testing, I am here to share how I solved this issue, as well as other solutions I discovered. In this blog post, I will explain how to tell if an iPhone is fast charging and the steps to take if it’s not.
| Step | Description | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Know your iPhone model | Check if your iPhone model is capable of fast charging (iPhone 8 and newer) |
| 2 | Use the right charging equipment | Ensure you have a USB-C to Lightning cable and a power adapter with at least 18W (20W for iPhone 12, 13, and SE) |
| 3 | Monitor charging time | Observe if your iPhone charges up to 50% in around 30 minutes |
| 4 | Install a third-party application | Use apps like Ampere or Ampere Lite Battery Charging to get notifications about fast charging |
Table of Contents
Apple and Fast Charging
Apple first introduced the fast-charge function in their smartphones way back in 2017 with certain iPhones. Later on, newer iPhone models almost always have this feature included.
However, there’s no sure way to tell if your device is fast charging. This is because most iPhones capable of this feat don’t have any internal indication of whether or not your iPhone is fast charging.
This makes it harder for users to determine whether this feature is functioning on their apple devices or not.
With that in mind, here are the ways to know if your iPhone is fast-charging:
Know Your iPhone Model
As mentioned above, only certain iPhone models are officially known to be capable of fast-charge functionality. So, if your iPhone is a model that came before the iPhone 8, chances are your device doesn’t have this feature.
Here’s a list of iPhone models that are able to fast-charge, starting from the latest models:
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 (mini)
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 (mini)
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone XR
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone X
- iPhone SE (third generation)
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone 8
Using The Right Charging Equipment
Of course, having the iPhones listed above doesn’t mean you can fast-charge right away. You also need to have the right charging equipment to use the feature.
Having the right equipment allows for seamless, fast charging. At the same time, it reduces the chances of any charging issues with your iPhones.
There are two things that you need to fast-charge your iPhone. A USB-C to Lightning cable and a power adapter with enough power output required for your iPhone model.
At a minimum, iPhone models listed above need an 18W charger to use the fast-charge attribute. The exceptions are iPhone 12, 13, and SE models, which require at least a 20W output charger to fast-charge.
You can use power adapters stronger than 18W to fast-charge. They won’t harm your iPhone, but they’re likely to have the same amount of charge time because the device will be the one controlling the power input.
Charging Time
Apple boasts that their iPhones are capable of charging up to 50% of battery juice in only around 30 minutes. This can be one of the things to watch out for if you want to determine if your phone is fast-charging.
Although, keep in mind that fast charging doesn’t happen for the whole duration of your charging time. Rather, it kicks in anywhere from 0% to 79% and stops at 80%, where the iPhone returns to charging at normal input capacity.
This protects the battery of your iPhone from overheating while it approaches being fully charged. However, as fast charging generates more heat, it can burden your battery unless it’s regulated.
Installing Third-party Application
While Apple publicly markets its newer iPhones as supporting the fast-charge function, they don’t have a system notification that indicates when the fast-charge feature is on.
This issue makes it difficult for users to tell at what speeds their iPhones are charging. This is where third-party applications come in.
Applications like Ampere and Ampere Lite Battery Charging allow users to tell when their phones are fast-charging via a notification at the top of their screens.
The functions of these applications include measuring the charging time of your iPhones. On top of that, there are features within the app that gauge the quality of your charging equipment.
So, if you’re having a problem fast charging your iPhone, these third-party apps may just pinpoint the problems hindering your device.
Wrapping Things Up
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To make sure that you remember the steps discussed above, let’s make a quick recap.
The first step is to know your iPhone model and determine if it’s capable of fast-charge in the first place or not. Second, have the appropriate equipment to utilize this feature.
Third, monitor the charging time of your device. Finally, you can resort to third-party applications that notify you when your phone is in fast-charging mode.
There you go! Those are the things that you need to do to tell if your iPhone is fast charging and if it’s capable of doing so.
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