# Smartphone Charges Faster If I Use It While It's Charging **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 18, 2022, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014 "2022-04-18T22:25:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/1 "2022-04-18T22:25:18Z")
At first I thought I was imagining things. But now I know that I am definitely not. My smartphone charges faster if I use it (specifically the Wifi, if you’re wondering) while it’s charging. In fact I can almost get it to charge in moments, if I do a bunch of stuff on it while it is charging. There’s a lot of skeptics on these boards. And that is okay 🙂 . So I am already anticipating a chorus of naysayers, which is okay too 🙂 . But I tell you, I know what I know. And I am certain about this now 🙂 . Anyone else have similar experiences? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/2 "2022-04-18T22:27:17Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > In fact I can almost get it to charge in moments, if I do a bunch of stuff on it while it is charging. ![](https://media.giphy.com/media/6JB4v4xPTAQFi/giphy.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/3 "2022-04-18T22:32:01Z")
So, how about a cite? Some type of proof? Can I safely assume that you’re using the _exact_ same set up when it charges slow vs charging faster? Or, is it possible that when you’re not using it’s charging from one source, but when you are using it it’s using a different power source? IOW, are you charging it from a laptop or QI charger or low current (ie less than 1a) charger when you’re not using it, but if you are using it, it’s plugged into a fast charger? > [@Jim\_B](#): > > There’s a lot of skeptics on these boards [snip] But I tell you, I know what I know We’re not skeptics just because we refuse to believe something, presented as fact, when you flat out refuse to provide _any_ evidence or proof at all. And just to be clear, your memory of an event does not constitute proof of anything. It’s just an unsubstantiated anecdote. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/4 "2022-04-18T22:38:57Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > specifically the Wifi It’s probably just downloading the power. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/5 "2022-04-18T22:42:59Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > Anyone else have similar experiences? Nope. Mine charges fastest, as would be expected, in airplane mode or powered off. My only explanation for why yours might be charging faster when you’re doing stuff on it is that you’re using a different charger (a fast one vs a normal one, or a plug-in one vs a wireless one.) If the set-up is exactly the same, I cannot see how it would be possible unless your phone has some weird defect. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/6 "2022-04-18T22:43:15Z")
@Joey_P I don’t mean to nitpick myself either 🙂 . But this is MPSIMS. I really don’t need a cite. I’m just reporting something odd that I noticed. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/7 "2022-04-18T22:45:09Z")
@pulykamell FWIW, to-date, I’ve never had my phone in airplane mode 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/9 "2022-04-18T22:48:37Z")
Closing this thread for a quick cooling off. I’ll reopen in 30 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/11 "2022-04-18T23:28:52Z")
It’s vaguely plausible that a phone does some background tasks when you’re not using it, only to postpone them when you’re interacting with the phone. I’m skeptical that the background tasks are more power-intensive then a user, but open to evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/12 "2022-04-18T23:41:11Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > In fact I can almost get it to charge in moments, if I do a bunch of stuff on it while it is charging. > > There’s a lot of skeptics on these boards. And that is okay 🙂 . So I am already anticipating a chorus of naysayers… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qHuLE1A8QXQ/maxresdefault.jpg "HORSE SOUNDS FOR KIDS - Learn Neighing, Snorting and Galloping Sound Effects of Horses") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHuLE1A8QXQ) ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/13 "2022-04-18T23:50:43Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > In fact I can almost get it to charge in moments, if I do a bunch of stuff on it while it is charging. Speaking as someone who designs electronic stuff for a living (though not cell phones), I can come up with two theories. The first is that something you are doing is interfering with either the charging hardware or the monitoring software and is making the phone think that it is charging faster than it really is. The second is that the higher current draw while charging is kicking the phone into a higher power charging mode, which might not be all that kind to your battery’s longevity. Getting it to charge in “moments” seems to defy physics a bit, which (assuming that you aren’t mistaken about it) leads me to believe that it’s the first case. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/14 "2022-04-18T23:58:45Z")
I think the first data point you want is to switch the phone off and charge it to get a baseline charge rate. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/15 "2022-04-19T03:57:15Z")
I’ve had phones that charged faster when turned on. Specifically, when turned off (as in powered down, not just screen off) they could only charge at normal USB speed of 5V 500mA, but when turned on could use QuckCharge which was something like 12V 2000mA. My current phone, a Google Pixel, _might_ charge faster when being used than when sleeping under specific circumstances. I haven’t tested this, but at some point I can put the charger on a kill-a-watt and see. When plugged in at night with an alarm set for the morning, the phone will charge “adaptively” to keep the battery heat low, because it knows it can charge slowly and still be full by the time the alarm goes off. If the phone is being used, it might stay charging “rapidly”, and not switch to slow mode. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/16 "2022-04-19T04:07:10Z")
I was going to say, i have a laptop that sometimes seems to “forget” to charge if it’s asleep, but charges fine when I’m using it. It’s possible your phone has a similar software bug. But if it’s “charging instantly” something is seriously wrong with it. Because phones can’t do that. So either it’s giving you the wrong information when it says it’s low on power, or it’s giving you the wrong information when it says it’s charged. (Or both, i suppose.) ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/17 "2022-04-19T04:19:39Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > My smartphone charges faster if I use it (specifically the Wifi, if you’re wondering) while it’s charging. It is very unlikely unless there is some HW or SW issue that is: a. causing it not to charge when idle b. causing it to report full charge when it is not What phone are you using? There are a couple of variables to be aware of when testing: 1. That you are starting at roughly the same battery percentage each time. 2. That you are using the same charger and it is plugged into the same source (wall, computer, car power) 3. That the phone is powered on in both cases. Phone battery charging is fairly complex and it is non-linear. At very low battery levels (dead through single digits) it charges especially slowly for safety. After that it boots into another set of software that allows it to charge a little faster. Finally it boots into the main software that charges as fast as possible, although it slows down as it approaches 100%. There are other factors – most notably the heat of the device and battery. A device out in the sun will effectively charge more slowly. If you are charging from a laptop theoretically there could be some weird interaction between the USB power supplied by the laptop based on the state of the phone’s USB, but I can’t think of an actual example. The biggest battery drain is the display – turning the display off will speed things up the most. Followed by, I think, the network usage – turning Airplane mode on will speed things up slightly. But buggy background programs can have an effect if they are making the device hot. [edit ‘effect’] ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/18 "2022-04-19T04:24:44Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > I’ve had phones that charged faster when turned on. Specifically, when turned off (as in powered down, not just screen off) they could only charge at normal USB speed of 5V 500mA, but when turned on could use QuckCharge which was something like 12V 2000mA. Yes exactly. If the phone isn’t booted it will stick to the conservative USB standard of 500mA. Once the phone boots, it will charge at a higher rate. This was true even before 12V (and higher voltages). It wasn’t uncommon to pull 2A at 5V. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/19 "2022-04-19T04:26:00Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > But this is MPSIMS. I really don’t need a cite. I’m always puzzled by this view. AFAIK there is no rule that one must provide a cite in any forum. There are simply statements supported by cites, and statements that are not supported by cites, and credibility that either is, or is not, gained accordingly thereby. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/20 "2022-04-19T04:49:45Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I’m always puzzled by this view. AFAIK there is no rule that one must provide a cite in any forum. The OP has had repeated go-rounds with other board members (including myself) about why people here challenge the credibility of his personal observations and his memories of things he saw on TV decades ago as anything other than rock-solid, irrefutable proof. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/21 "2022-04-19T11:39:16Z")
I have Bose over the ear headphones that _seem_ to charge instantaneously. If they are at \<10% and I plug them in to charge, then a minute later unplug and use them, they will report 100% charged. Of course a minute later they will report 12%, then shut down. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014/22 "2022-04-19T11:41:58Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > I haven’t tested this, but at some point I can put the charger on a kill-a-watt and see. If you wanted to be even more scientific about it, you could use a killawatt type device meant to be plugged into USB ports. This would measure the current (and voltage) the phone is drawing from the charger as opposed to how much current the charger is drawing from the wall. It _should_ be the same, but I’d bet it’s not. Or at least, I’d bet that the difference, due to losses or other consumption of the charger at one isn’t linear as the phone draws more current. But that’s just a WAG. BigCliveDotCom uses little USB meters [like these](https://www.amazon.com/Tester-Eversame-Voltmeter-Ammeter-Braided/dp/B07MGQZHGM/ref=sr_1_8?crid=13LPA1VGTE66N&keywords=usb+current+monitor&qid=1650368409&sprefix=usb+current+monitor%2Caps%2C94&sr=8-8) all the time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smartphone-charges-faster-if-i-use-it-while-its-charging/963014.md?page=2)