Yes, Airplane Mode Makes Your Phone Charge Faster — But It's Not Worth It
Enabling airplane mode while charging a phone can increase charging speed, but the difference is negligible. Other methods, such as upgrading the charging power block and cable, are more effective.
Intelligence analysis by Llama
Airplane mode can marginally speed up charging, but it's not worth the trade-off of rendering the phone unusable. Upgrading the charging power block and cable is a better option.
When you put your phone in airplane mode while it's charging, it can charge a bit faster. But it's not worth it because you can't use your phone at all while it's charging. Instead, you can get a special charger that can charge your phone faster, or use a cable that's good for charging.
Analysis
What Happens in Airplane Mode?
Airplane mode is primarily designed for use on an airplane, temporarily disabling wireless transmission, including cellular connections, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. This feature can also be used to shut down a phone's communications without turning it off when you don't want to be disturbed. However, a better option in those scenarios is to use a do not disturb or focus mode.
The Trade-Off
While charging, enabling airplane mode does stop a phone from continuously searching for signals, resulting in a 4- to 11-minute savings in charge time. However, this benefit is not worth rendering the phone completely inactive. Tests have found that using airplane mode only results in a 4- to 11-minute savings in charge time.
What to Do Instead
If you're looking to get the most possible efficiency out of charging, upgrade your charging power block and cable. While some phones support faster charging speeds, they don't always come with a power block that supports that speed: you need to buy it separately. In fact, phones like the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra don't even come with a power adapter in the box at all. Nor do the Apple iPhone 17 series phones, which support charging speeds up to 40W, 20W for the iPhone Air. Check the maximum charging speed for your device, and get a power block that supports at least that to recharge at maximum speed. The same goes for wireless chargers. If your phone supports Qi2 charging, invest in a wireless Qi2 charger for quicker charging sans messy cables. Additionally, swapping out your USB-A-to-USB-C cable for a USB-C-to-USB-C will make for even faster charging. And invest in reputable cables from known brands, as the cable quality can also impact charging speed.
Key points
- Enabling airplane mode while charging can marginally speed up charging
- The difference in charging speed is negligible
- Upgrading the charging power block and cable is a better option for improving charging efficiency
- Using a wireless Qi2 charger can also improve charging speed
Upgrading to a faster charging power block and cable can significantly improve charging speed, making it a worthwhile investment for users who want to maximize their phone's charging efficiency.
The trade-off of rendering the phone completely inactive while using airplane mode may not be worth the marginal increase in charging speed, especially for users who need to use their phone during charging.
