Summary
You’ve probably heard thatleaving your devices permanently plugged incan be bad for your battery. If your device features bypass charging, though, you can keep it plugged in without worrying that errant electrons are wearing out your lithium battery.
What is Bypass Charging?
Bypass charging allows a device (e.g., a smartphone or a laptop) to directly draw power from the charger, bypassing the battery entirely.
Typically, the power from your charger first goes into the battery, which then powers the device. This process can lead to heat build-up, especially under heavy usage, and over time, it can degrade the battery as it slowly works through its charge cycle. Bypass charging steps in to prevent this, enabling the device to operate on direct power from the charger, keeping the battery out of the power cycle.
Why You Want a Bypass Charging Feature
The bypass charging technology is appealing for several reasons, especially for those who often use their devices while charging:
Does Your Device Have Bypass Charging?
The availability of bypass charging isn’t yet universal across all devices with lithium batteries. This feature is mainly found in high-end smartphones, especially those marketed towards heavy users like gamers. In some cases, manufacturers limit the use of bypass charging to certain applications, usually gaming apps.
To determine if your device supports bypass charging, look in the device settings, refer to the user manual, or reach out to the manufacturer or your service provider.
While bypass charging isn’t common on smartphones andtablets, it’s relatively common onlaptop computers. After all, it’s expected that laptops will spend more time plugged in than running on battery power. Still, since sofew laptops have removable batteriesthese days, it’s always worth double-checking that the laptop you plan on buying does indeed have bypass charging so you’ll get the most life out of it as possible.
It’s not always obvious when a smartphone has bypass charging. For example, the feature on theGalaxy S22andS23 phonesis calledPause USB Power Delivery.
Alternatives to Bypass Charging
If your smartphone or laptop doesn’t support bypass charging, there are still some measures you may take to reduce heat andprolong battery life:
If you practice a little smart charging, you may avoidruining your smartphone batteryand hold out until your next choice of phone might be better suited to run from the wall.
