How to charge a smartphone faster?

Question

Without extra hardware, just the smartphone.

And not order of magnitudes faster, just few percents.

Sometimes may be useful.

Answer 1

While a PC's USB port is specified at 2.5W for USB 1.0 and 2.0 and 4.5W for USB 3.0 (so always use a USB 3.0 port in preference to USB 1.0 or 2.0 when available), a phone charger might be rated at 5W and a tablet charger 10W, for example. We calculate the wattage by multiplying the current (the number of amps) and the voltage. So, if your charger is specified at 5V, 1A, it can supply 5W. If it is specified at 5V, 2A it can supply 10W. 

 

You can use any USB charger with any phone or tablet, with the only caveat that if there isn't sufficient power available you may find your device won't charge - this is often the case with iPads, which will not charge from a PC's standard USB port. 

 

Check the spec of your phone and your charger now to see whether you could be benefitting from faster charging.

 

Another potentially useful tip, if you can bear to go offline for an hour or two, is to put your phone or tablet either into Flight mode or switch it off during charging. This may charge your device quicker because it isn't busy doing any other tasks that would otherwise place a drain on the battery. 

 

Answer 2

Before you connect your phone to the charger, close any open apps and enable Airplane mode. This will turn off all of the wireless radios in your device, preventing you from making calls, accessing the Web, or using the GPS. The trade-off? Your device will be able to charge slightly faster because background processes will no longer be eating away at your phone's battery 

Answer 3

Or another easier and more practical solution though not so sure of the effectiveness is to buy a good brand of self-claiming fast charger.