HOW TO CHARGE YOUR ANDROID PHONE BATTERY FASTER

We've all done it: you're getting ready to leave the house and you realize you've forgotten to charge your phone. Its battery level is perilously low, but you have 15 minutes to spare, so you plug it into its charger to give the battery a boost – and it gains a measly two percent. How do you avoid this in future? Read our guide on how to charge your Android battery faster.

Get the right plug and charger

While Android chargers have a universal fitting, that doesn't mean they're all the same. Connecting your charging cable to a laptop is a bad idea if you want to charge your phone quickly: a USB 2.0 port chucks out just 2.5 watts of power, while USB 3 delivers 4.5 watts. Your wall charger will deliver much more, so this is the best bet if you want the speediest charging.

Many modern Android phones support fast charging, which delivers a whopping 15 watts and can therefore charge your phone much more quickly. You'll find a good list of fast charging phones on the Qualcomm website (you don't need to have a Qualcomm processor; just Qualcomm's power system).

Be aware that just because a phone supports fast charging, it doesn't mean the charger that came with it is a fast charger. You may have to buy your own. For example, the LG G4 is compatible with fast charging but the stock charger isn't a fast charger.

You don't necessarily need to buy your phone maker's own charger – a third party one can save you a fortune – but be wary of no-name gray market cheapies, which have a tendency to set things on fire.

Put it into airplane mode

The less your phone is trying do while it's charging, the more quickly it will recharge. Airplane mode blocks any wireless radios on your device, reducing your phone's capabilities and therefore stopping it from doing so much.

It won't receive calls or messages while it's in airplane mode, but it’s worth it to have a device that will stay on for the next few hours.

Turn it off

Turning your phone off completely will allow it to recharge even faster than putting it in airplane mode. Again, you might miss out on a few notifications while it is off, but you'll have to live with that if you want your phone to last until you come home again.

Use a battery-saving mode

Every Android Lollipop device has a battery saving mode of some description, whether it's the stock option or a manufacturer-specific feature such as Motorola's Doze. Switch this on to conserve power while your phone recharges.

Switch off unnecessary features

Check to see if you have any unnecessary features on, such as Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi or NFC, which could be using up battery power. Close all your apps and stop your phone from doing automatic backups or updating apps from the Google Play Store.

Don't touch it

If you need your phone on and out of airplane mode while it's charging, because you are expecting an important call, try not to keep using your phone every 30 seconds. Why? Because the screen is the biggest battery drainer of them all.

The more you wake your phone, the faster its battery will drain. So try to avoid the urge to check every notification that comes through, leave it to charge, and it will reach the desired level much faster.

Buy a portable USB charger

This won't actually charge your phone faster, but it will solve the problem of having a low battery and not enough time to fully charge it. Portable USB chargers come in small, lightweight packages and often can be picked up for less than US$20.

l  Clevo N850BAT-6 battery for Clevo N850HC N850HJ N850HJ1 N850HK1 6-87-N850S-4C4

l  Acer AP13B8K battery for Acer Aspire V5 M5-583P V5-572P V5-572G

l  Asus C11-A68 cellphone battery for Asus PadFone2 A68 

l  Sony LIS1532ERPC cellphone battery for Sony Xperia Z1s 4G version(L39t L39u L39W C6916) 

l  Dell F235E-00 Computer Power Supply