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Battery charging slow on iPhone 6

akash.nu

akash.nu

macrumors G4
Original poster
May 26, 2016
10,871
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So as some of you may recall, I got the battery replaced by Apple on my iPhone 6 due to bad battery life and today I've started noticing it seems to be charging really slow.

In the last 2 and half hours the battery charged up by 22%. That's too slow isn't it?
 
my 6s plus is slow to charge.

im using a 2a samsung mains to usb adaptor from my S7 edge.

the apple charger says 1.2a so I would have thought it charge faster on the samsung.
It's not quite as slow as yours but alot slower than the S7 edge.
 
I've never seen it charge this slow before to be honest and I'm charging from my Mac right now that outputs at 900 mA as far as I remember.

Edit - so according to Apple I'm supposed to get the max output from the USB3 port which would be 2900mA. That's similar to using an iPad charging brick I think.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204377
 
akash.nu said:
I've never seen it charge this slow before to be honest and I'm charging from my Mac right now that outputs at 900 mA as far as I remember.

Edit - so according to Apple I'm supposed to get the max output from the USB3 port which would be 2900mA. That's similar to using an iPad charging brick I think.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204377
Click to expand...

If you have an iPad charger, it will charge quicker. I just charge mine over night and never have to worry about the speed of charging.
 
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I generally charge overnight as well but it seem to have drained faster today probably because I was using it outside so the screen brightness killed it.
 
It seems somewhat slow to charge at that rate. But I don't think it's
Completely abnormal at that rate. If it worsens, then hopefully, at minimum Apple could provide you with a battery replacement.
 
Relentless Power said:
It seems somewhat slow to charge at that rate. But I don't think it's
Completely abnormal at that rate. If it worsens, then hopefully, at minimum Apple could provide you with a battery replacement.
Click to expand...
It has started after a battery replacement anyway, so hopefully I'm still within the replacement part warranty that comes with it.
 
Did you have to do a restore or anything of your data recently? If it's attached to your computer and only providing 900mA then it's conceivable that if the phone is busy with a lot of background processes and/or the screen is also on that it is only providing a small amount of current to charge the battery after it first powers the phone.

This seems like the most reasonable explanation.
 
zhenya said:
Did you have to do a restore or anything of your data recently? If it's attached to your computer and only providing 900mA then it's conceivable that if the phone is busy with a lot of background processes and/or the screen is also on that it is only providing a small amount of current to charge the battery after it first powers the phone.

This seems like the most reasonable explanation.
Click to expand...
No if you read the edit bit, it's supposed to provide the max over USB 3.
 
akash.nu said:
No if you read the edit bit, it's supposed to provide the max over USB 3.
Click to expand...

I read that page to indicate the maximum is 1100mA over USB 3. Not enough to charge at full rate if the device is consuming power at the same time. Follow the instructions on that page to find out how much it is providing.
 
zhenya said:
I read that page to indicate the maximum is 1100mA over USB 3. Not enough to charge at full rate if the device is consuming power at the same time. Follow the instructions on that page to find out how much it is providing.
Click to expand...
Yes, from what I read on that page the maximum output it can provide is 1100mA provided it meets certain conditions: 1) it is an Apple computer or display capable of doing so (there is no list), 2) the computer or display is awake, 3) the iPhone is connected directly to the computer (no hub), 4) it is the first Apple device requesting additional power (some computers/displays can have more than one port with additional power), and 5) the device actually needs it at that time (not on trickle charge). Otherwise the USB port will put out 900mA max.
 
bhayes444 said:
Yes, from what I read on that page the maximum output it can provide is 1100mA provided it meets certain conditions: 1) it is an Apple computer or display capable of doing so (there is no list), 2) the computer or display is awake, 3) the iPhone is connected directly to the computer (no hub), 4) it is the first Apple device requesting additional power (some computers/displays can have more than one port with additional power), and 5) the device actually needs it at that time (not on trickle charge). Otherwise the USB port will put out 900mA max.
Click to expand...
Yes and my situation satisfied all of those conditions. I was charging it from my Mac directly using an authentic Apple cable when the phone was at 20% charge. There wasn't any other device connected with the Mac.
 
akash.nu said:
Yes and my situation satisfied all of those conditions. I was charging it from my Mac directly using an authentic Apple cable when the phone was at 20% charge. There wasn't any other device connected with the Mac.
Click to expand...
Yeah, Apple probably needs to look at it then. That sucks you've had two potentially bad batteries. Heck, quote that article if the store folks have any questions.
 
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akash.nu said:
Yes and my situation satisfied all of those conditions. I was charging it from my Mac directly using an authentic Apple cable when the phone was at 20% charge. There wasn't any other device connected with the Mac.
Click to expand...

There's nothing wrong. 1100mA is not enough to charge the phone very fast if it is being used in any way.
 
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zhenya said:
There's nothing wrong. 1100mA is not enough to charge the phone very fast if it is being used in any way.
Click to expand...
I hope so. Wasn't using the phone per se but some processes must be running.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but, I believe the "rapid" charging started with the iPhone 5s - being able to charge at greater than 1a. My 6s+ loves my Anker batteries and Anker wall/car chargers that do 3.8+amps. Definitely charges significantly faster than the iPhone 1a power brick that comes with the phone.

Going from x-70% is rocket fast, then it slows down 80-90, and 90-100% can take some time (slows way down for this). coconutBattery app on Mac shows it trickle charges down to even 100mAh from 90-100%.


2 1/2 hours to 22% is INSANE, I'd find that slow for even a 500mah power brick (assuming the phone's screen is off).

Even with my Chinese no-name cable that barely does 1a, my iPhone 6s+ and iPad Mini 4 will charge much faster than that.


What would I do if that happened to me? Hold Power + Home and restart phone. Plug it in, turn screen off, flip phone face down, and check it again in 20 mins - see if that helps. If not, I'd take it to Apple.

Charging via my Macbook Air 11 (Early 2015) is very fast.
 
BigMcGuire said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but, I believe the "rapid" charging started with the iPhone 5s - being able to charge at greater than 1a. My 6s+ loves my Anker batteries and Anker wall/car chargers that do 3.8+amps. Definitely charges significantly faster than the iPhone 1a power brick that comes with the phone.

Going from x-70% is rocket fast, then it slows down 80-90, and 90-100% can take some time (slows way down for this). coconutBattery app on Mac shows it trickle charges down to even 100mAh from 90-100%.


2 1/2 hours to 22% is INSANE, I'd find that slow for even a 500mah power brick (assuming the phone's screen is off).

Even with my Chinese no-name cable that barely does 1a, my iPhone 6s+ and iPad Mini 4 will charge much faster than that.


What would I do if that happened to me? Hold Power + Home and restart phone. Plug it in, turn screen off, flip phone face down, and check it again in 20 mins - see if that helps. If not, I'd take it to Apple.

Charging via my Macbook Air 11 (Early 2015) is very fast.
Click to expand...
I believe it was as of iPhone 6.
 
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BigMcGuire said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but, I believe the "rapid" charging started with the iPhone 5s - being able to charge at greater than 1a. My 6s+ loves my Anker batteries and Anker wall/car chargers that do 3.8+amps. Definitely charges significantly faster than the iPhone 1a power brick that comes with the phone.

Going from x-70% is rocket fast, then it slows down 80-90, and 90-100% can take some time (slows way down for this). coconutBattery app on Mac shows it trickle charges down to even 100mAh from 90-100%.


2 1/2 hours to 22% is INSANE, I'd find that slow for even a 500mah power brick (assuming the phone's screen is off).

Even with my Chinese no-name cable that barely does 1a, my iPhone 6s+ and iPad Mini 4 will charge much faster than that.


What would I do if that happened to me? Hold Power + Home and restart phone. Plug it in, turn screen off, flip phone face down, and check it again in 20 mins - see if that helps. If not, I'd take it to Apple.

Charging via my Macbook Air 11 (Early 2015) is very fast.
Click to expand...

It was the iPhone 6 that first was able to take advantage of higher current chargers, as stated.

There is nothing wrong with his phone! The rate of charge with a 1a or less charger is completely dependent on how heavily the phone is being used. If it's busy with background processes or the screen is on, that will consume most of the available power from the charger because power is first used to power the phone. Anything left over goes to charge the battery.
 
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zhenya said:
It was the iPhone 6 that first was able to take advantage of higher current chargers, as stated.

There is nothing wrong with his phone! The rate of charge with a 1a or less charger is completely dependent on how heavily the phone is being used. If it's busy with background processes or the screen is on, that will consume most of the available power from the charger because power is first used to power the phone. Anything left over goes to charge the battery.
Click to expand...
The only issue is that the phone wasn't being used at that time. I hardly use my phone for that high intensity work.
 
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