5 Reasons Why Your Smartphone Charges Slowly (and How To Fix it)

Using phone while charging

A phone that charges fast comes in handy almost all the time. When your smartphone takes longer (than usual), on the other hand, it becomes excruciatingly annoying. I mean, if you charge your phone for longer hours than you use it, then there’s a problem. If any of the scenarios reflect what’s happening to you and you have found yourself constantly asking why your smartphone charges slowly, then it could be as a result of one or more of the factors below.

As a bonus, we’ve also described some fixes to the possible causes of your smartphone’s slow charging.

Advertisement - Continue reading below

1. Faulty & Counterfeit Charging Accessories

Bad and faulty chargers and charging accessories are the most common causes of slow charging. Yes, nothing is wrong with your smartphone; it’s most likely the charger. More precisely, if you use a two-part charger (adapter + USB cable), the slow charge problem most likely stems from the (faulty) USB cable. This is because USB cables are generally twisted, dropped, stepped on, bent, coiled, and more exposed to activities that reduce effective power flow-through and ultimately damages them.

If your devices charges wirelessly, it’s possible your charging pad/ charging mat is either faulty or not compatible with your smartphone.

Troubleshooting and Fixes

  1. Use another USB cable: Before you buy a new cable, you can borrow a friend’s cable and charge for some minutes. If the slow charging persists, you should replace your wall adapter
  2. Use compatible and out-of-the-box accessories to charge your device
  3. Buy high-quality cables made out of copper wire.
Why Your Smartphone Charges Slowly

2. Charging Port Issues

Sometimes, your phone’s charging port is the culprit behind the slow charging problem. It’s possible that your phone’s charging port has been clogged with dust particles, debris or some materials that are preventing your charger from efficiently supplying the required power. Also, your phone’s charging port could be faulty, damaged or loose.

Troubleshooting and Fixes

  1. Gently blow air into your charging port to remove dirt.
  2. Examine your phone’s charging port for particles and remove them using a toothpick, soft fabric or brush. Be extra careful while doing this though; you don’t want to cause more damge to your port.
  3. Visit an authorized service center in your location to have your charging port examined.

3. Power Source

A weak, faulty, or malfunctioning power outlet can also cause your phone to charge very slowly. The wall socket could be old and faulty or perhaps the room’s wiring, sketchy. To add: charging your phone from a computer or laptop will not charge your phone as fast as using a wall adapter.

Advertisement - Continue reading below

Troubleshooting and Fixes

  1. Try charging from a different socket in the same room or in a different room/building.
  2. Avoid charging your phone from a computer’s port as they are weak power sources; use wall adapters instead.
  3. If your phone charges faster in a different wall socket, have an electrician fix the faulty socket.

4. Background Apps

Having too many applications running in the background not only drains your battery and eat up your phone’s RAM, they also slow down the rate at which your phone charges. Also, using your phone or having too many apps actively running in the foreground can also causes slow cahrging.

Trobleshooting and Fixes

  1. Avoid having too many apps running in the background. Learn how to find and close background apps on your phone.
  2. Avoid using your smartphone while it is charging.

5. Faulty/Old Battery

Sometimes, it’s not you, your charger, your cord, neither is the problem multiple background apps. Typically, the older a smartphone’s battery gets, the longer it takes to get charged. Aging is a common problem smartphone batteries face. Some OEMs have tried to combat the problem in the past by slowing down their phones but that turned out to be a bad idea. The same fates applies to a faulty battery; it’ll charge pretty slow too.

Troubleshooting and Fixes

  1. If your phone’s battery is removable, swap out and replace it.
  2. Otherwise, visit an authorized service center to repair your non-removable battery. You may get a free replacement if your phone is under warranty.
  3. When buying a replacement battery, ensure you purchase original batteries recommeneded and sold by the manufacturer.
  4. To avoid damaging your battery, abide by some industry-standard battery maintenance tips.
  5. Calibrate your battery i.e completely discharge your phone’s battery and charge from 0%.

Other troubleshooting options for a smartphone that charges slowly include restarting the device or soft resetting it.

LIKE WHAT YOU ARE READING?

Sign up to our Newsletter for expert advice and tips of how to get the most out of your Tech Gadgets

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.