Is Fast Charging Harmful for Your Phone?

As much as we use our smartphones throughout the day, fast charging has quickly become the new norm. But is fast charging bad for your phone? Is a fast charger bad for your phone battery? 


We’ll give you the facts and give you suggestions from wireless charging to wall chargers, so you can pick the best kind of power supply for you!

Is Fast Charging Bad for Your Phone Battery?

Unless there’s some sort of one-in-a-million technical issue with your fast charger — no. But is super fast charging bad for your phone battery? 


One of the most common concerns is that the heat that fast charging generates will adversely impact the phone’s lithium-ion battery. While it’s true that heat can be damaging, super-fast charging is made to reduce this heat as much as possible without sacrificing power or charging speed! It all comes down to the two phases of fast charging. 


The first phase charges your phone super fast, delivering enough power to take your battery from zero to around 50% or more in just half an hour. During this phase, fast charging is not bad for your phone and no damage is done. 


But you’ll notice that, after your phone battery reaches a certain level, it takes a longer time to charge to full capacity. That’s for good reason! 


During this second phase, fast chargers slow down the flow of the charging current to avoid overheating and to help reduce any negative impact on your battery life. Fast chargers are made to be smarter, and they adjust power delivery to charge your phone quickly and safely. 


So, is a fast charger bad for your phone? No, because it’s been designed not to be!

Maximizing Your Battery Life

As long as you use a charger from your phone manufacturer or a reputable third-party, fast charging is not bad for your phone. But that doesn’t mean your battery will never experience strain or degradation over time. Here’s how you can maximize your battery lifespan:


Keep your phone out of direct sun exposure or extreme temperatures

High temps are known to reduce your charge quickly and can put more stress on your battery. Keep your phone out of strong sunlight and never leave your phone in a hot car — especially on the dashboard. 


Try not to let your battery drain to 0% before using a fast charger

Completely draining your phone’s battery to 0% can cause too much strain on your phone and may make your battery degrade much quicker. Instead, try not to let your phone’s battery get below 20% to 30% before charging.


Use your phone’s optimized charging

Also known as adaptive charging, optimized charging learns from your daily charging habits to improve battery lifespan. 


To turn on optimized charging on Apple devices, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging, then toggle on Optimized Battery Charging. 


On Android devices, go to Settings > Battery > Adaptive Charging.

 

Charging Options

Should you use fast charging for your phone? While fast charging is not bad for your phone, there are myriad ways to charge your phone at home and on the go. Take a look at your options to choose the one that works for your needs:


Wireless Charging:  Wireless charging is becoming increasingly popular and provides an easy way to charge your devices from anywhere, at any time. Even though it’s typically slower than wired charging, the convenience of not messing with a cable is ideal for many people. Simply setting your device down on a wireless charge pad or snapping it to a portable battery pack is a major plus.


Portable Battery: Portable batteries, like the mophie powerstation series, are convenient, easy to use, and offer both wired and wireless charging on the go. They can typically provide one additional charge or more for your phone. Just remember to recharge the powerstation (or portable battery–if you decide not to use powerstation) so you have enough juice the next time you need it.


Wall & Car Chargers:  Fast car and wall chargers are ideal if you need some battery power, pronto. Remember to have extra charging cables on hand to use with your charger.


Traditional Wired Charging: Wall and car chargers with cables are still the most common, tried-and-true method for mobile device users. Keep in mind that using your phone while charging will slow the charging speed. 

Maximize Your Battery with mophie

Take control of your phone’s battery life. Follow mophie’s expert tips to maximize battery performance and make informed choices about charging methods. Start preserving your battery health today!

FAQs

It’s a common misconception, but fast charging is not bad for your phone and its battery. It’s all thanks to the two phases of fast charging: the first phase directs more power to a low battery to deliver a fast charge, and the second slowly trickles power until your phone reaches 100%. That reduced charging speed in the second phase of fast charging is what helps prevent the stress and heat that can cause long-term battery damage.
Yes, it’s safe. A fast charger is not going to be bad for your phone — but that only applies if you’re using your phone manufacturer’s charger or one from a reputable third party like mophie. Low-quality fast chargers aren’t manufactured with the same safety and quality standards, which could lead to overheating during charging and even damage to your phone’s battery. In these cases, fast charging is bad for your phone.
Since phone batteries are finite, they all lose battery capacity over time regardless of the charger you use. Because of this, neither fast charging nor regular charging is necessarily bad for your phone's battery capacity. Batteries degrade naturally after each charging cycle. This may happen a little quicker with a fast charger, which can generate more heat from delivering more power to batteries. However, many current phones have technology to manage heat and power flow, along with optimized/adaptive charging to extend battery life based on your usage.
Just because fast charging is not inherently bad for your phone doesn’t mean it’s entirely free of risk. Using counterfeit or low-quality fast chargers can cause overheating and degrade battery health.
To get more daily battery life out of your phone, you can utilize common methods like dimming your phone’s brightness levels, turning off WiFi and Bluetooth when not in use, reducing push notifications, and limiting location services like your phone’s weather app. Long-term, you should keep your phone out of extreme heat, make sure to update your operating system — this can fix software bugs that affect battery life, and avoid draining your battery to 0% before charging.

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