Fast-Charging the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, X, XS, XS Max, XR, 8, and 8 Plus

by Phonola Admin November 15, 2019

Beginning with the iPhone 8, iPhone's have been capable of fast charging. With fast charging, you can recharge your iPhone's battery up to 50% in 30 minutes. Here's how you can take advantage of this lightning-fast charging option.

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You will need two things: One is a USB-C to Lightning cable, which you can purchase here from Apple (ZMI offers a value option as well).

NOTE: If you have the iPhone 11 Pro or 11 Pro Max, this cable will come in the box. If you have the baseline model iPhone 11, you will still need to buy a USB-C to Lightning cable separately for fast charging.

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You will also need a USB-C PD power adapter or battery pack. (UPDATE 9/10/2019: iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max will ship with a stock 18W USB-C PD plug. For iPhone 11, it will still be the classic 5W square plug.)

If you have a 2015 (or later) MacBook or 2016/2017 MacBook Pro, you will have a power adapter or brick charger that should work. Take a look at Apple's 30W charger for example. Apple's 61W and 87W chargers will also work but are too expensive and unnecessary for fast-charging the iPhone. You may be also interested in a lower-cost option. ZMI has a 45W charger that works great when charging iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks.

If you prefer to charge multiple devices at the same time, then ZMI's 3-port wall charger may be a sensible solution with 45W PD from its USB-C port and 18W split between two classic USB ports.

For fast charging your iPhone on-the-go, ZMI offers a USB-C portable charger/battery pack (see picture below). If you have other USB-C or classic USB charged devices that you'd bring along on the trip, we got you covered as well. Please check out our USB-C portable charger collection.

Once you have the two required items, fast charging is as simple as plugging the adapter into a wall outlet then connecting the USB-C to Lightning cable to your iPhone.

How do you tell if your iPhone is in fast-charging mode? Unfortunately, Apple has not made an easy on-screen message for indicating fast-charging status. One way you can tell is through the chime or ding your iPhone makes when the cable is plugged in. Using a normal cable and adapter like the ones that come in a new iPhone box, there should only be one chime noise emitted from the phone to signal normal charging. In fast charging mode, you should hear a second chime sounding a second or two after the first chime.