Have a first generation iPhone SE. It seems to charge a lot slower in my car than at home and wonder if I’m doing it right. I have a generic cigarette lighter plug to USB A and C charger and a generic USB C to Lightning cord. I’m wondering if it will make a difference using a charger marked USB A “QC3” and USB C “PD” (and if so, which port would be better to use). And if I should be using a real Apple charger and real Apple cable? Or if maybe it’s the cigarette lighter socket itself that’s a limiting factor? (it’s fused at 15 amps)
I have the same problem and I’m interested in the solution, assuming there is one. Both my vehicles have built-in pads for charging my iPhone, but neither works very well and I have an available USB port I can use instead if I need to.
What is the output amperage of the cigarette lighter adapter, not the socket itself? There are many factors that could be in play, but that’s the most likely culprit. Does you car have any other power sources or USB, like in the center console?
Apple does some things intended for their products, but there are plenty of third party ones who will work just as well without the price premium. Just use a decent quality one (I like Anker, YMMV)
USB devices have always been expected to negotiate their power draw with the supply. However this doesn’t always happen. Especially when the device delivering power is very basic. Which is pretty much guaranteed for a dumb car charger. The basic charger will deliver 5 Volts and any smart device will find that nobody is home when it tries to negotiate a power draw, and will default to drawing a safe 1 Amp. So 5 Watts maximum.
Newer USB protocols for power delivery - such as USB PD (guess what that stands for) provide explicit protocols for negotiation of power. Even and old iPhone SE should be able to discover the potential power available and negotiate up to 10 Watts.
USB PD can deliver higher voltages and current and is required for laptop charging and the like. But it would seem to provide the flexibility and capability to allow any smart device to safely negotiate the best possible charge rate.
I can not say if these products will fast charge YOUR phone but fast chargers for car cigarette lighters do exist and are pretty cheap ($15 - 20ish).
- Here is one. (although it does not specifically list the iPhone SE as compatible…which may or may not not mean anything)
- This one does specifically list the iPhone SE
- Here is a list of some others.
Again, I have no experience with these products and cannot verify their claims. Buyer beware and all that. That said, these seem the best shot for your particular use case. If you get one let us know how it goes.
As an aside, my phone (Android) often tries to get clever with the charging to save the battery. Even if I use a fast charger sometimes the phone decides it will trickle charge this time in order to help extend the battery life. Once it gave me an option to make it fast charge but mostly it just decides on its own (it figures if I am charging at 10p it is over night and can slow charge). Most times I do not mind but on occasion it has bugged me when I needed a quick charge. Dunno if Apple does something similar and if you can override it when it chooses a slow charge.
This one (Nekteck PD 45W Type-C Car Charger) was top-rated by Wirecutter, a product review site owned by the New York Times.
The websites I’m finding say that USB-C PD will be faster than USB-A or, I think, USB-A QC.
I wonder if an iPhone that old would care. If all it knows is 2.1 amp charging service at its best, the more recent higher-current service wouldn’t make a difference.
I tried looking for that info but the OP is about a first-generation SE and the current one is the third generation. I think the Apple website for the iPhone SE lists the specs only for the current model.
It’s confusing when they reuse model names.