What to do if your iPhone 12 charges slowly

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If you’ve ordered a new iPhone 12, we know the anticipation of getting it in your hands must be killing you, but don’t forget that the iPhone 12 doesn’t come with a charger in the box. You’ll want the best iPhone 12 charger you can find for the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. The cable that does come with the phone will be a USB-C to Lightning cable and you’ll also want a USB-C charger to go with it. If your iPhone 12 Pro charges slowly, don’t worry! There are tons of great charging options already out for the iPhone 12 and the best iPhone 12 chargers will have a USB-C port that will let you take advantage of fast charging.

iPhone 12 charging slowly? Fix

If your iPhone 12 is taking a long time to charge, get any of the following chargers.

Small, but mighty

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Anker Nano iPhone Charger

Anker’s newest wall charger is specifically made with the iPhone 12 in mind. Its 20W of power will give your iPhone 12 the fastest charge it can handle, all while remaining in a small footprint, which means you can carry it anywhere you need to go.
$20 at Amazon

Keep it compact

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AUKEY Omnia Mini 20W USB-C Charger

If you want to keep your chargers as small as possible, the Omnia Mini 20W USB-C Charger is the perfect fit. It’s just a tiny little cube that delivers lots of power (20W), meaning you can quickly charge your new iPhone 12, with a charger not much bigger than the standard 5W charger Apple used to ship.
From $15 at Amazon

Apple’s solution

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20W USB-C Power Adapter

Apple obviously launched its own 20W charger for the launch of the iPhone 12. If you want to stick with Apple because you feel like it’s the safest bet, this is the USB-C charger to get for your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro.
$19 at Apple

Over-powered for multiple devices

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AUKEY Focus USB-C Charger

With a 30W USB-C port — which is more powerful than you really need — and a 12W USB-A port, the AUKEY Focus USB-C Charger is perfect for charging two devicessimultaneously. Charge your iPhone 12 really fast with the USB-C port, and then charge your Apple Watch with the USB-A port. It’s a win-win.
$16 at Amazon

Plenty of power x2

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Anker 30W 2-Port Fast Charger

They say two ports are better than one, and when one port is a 30W USB-C, and the other is an 18W USB-A, it’s hard to disagree. If your iPhone 12 Pro charges slowly, the USB-C port on the Anker 30W 2-port fast charger is more than capable of juicing up your phone quickly, and the 18 W USB-A means your Apple Watch, iPad, or any other device will charge up fast as well.
$23 at Amazon
$24 at Walmart

Two fast-charging ports

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RAVPower 30W 2-Port Fast Charger

If your iPhone 12 pro Max charges slowly and want lots of power, the RAVPower 30W 2-Port Fast Charger is a great option. Not only is the 30W USB-C port more than enough juice to quickly charge your iPhone 12, but the 18W USB-A port is plenty of power to charge other devices you may have!
$14 at Amazon

A little less power

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CHOETECH 18W PD Fast Charger

Although it’s only 18W of power, you likely won’t notice much of a difference in charging speed, even though it’s a little less powerful than a 20W. If your iPhone 12 Pro charges slowly, the CHOETECH 18W PD Fast Charger is a great option if you’re looking for a USB-C charger for your iPhone 12.
From $14 at Amazon

Great for traveling

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Native Union Smart Charger

The Native Union Smart Charger will sit flat against the wall when it’s plugged into a socket, making it perfect for tight space behind desks or hotel room tables. Its USB-A and USB-C ports both put out 18W, so your iPhone 12 will charge up quickly. Plus, it includes a UK and EU wall adapter, making it perfect for trips overseas.
$40 at Amazon
$40 at Walmart

Power is the key to fast-charging

Apple states that all models of the iPhone 12 can take advantage of fast charging, citing that each model can achieve a 50% charge in about 30 minutes. So if your iPhone 12 charges slowly, you need to make sure that the charger is 20W or more. Any less and fast charging doesn’t appear to work — although there is more than meets the eye to that situation. The best iPhone 12 chargers will give you that 20W power and let you charge up your phone regardless of which iPhone 12 case you choose to slap on your phone.

What about charging with MagSafe?

The MagSafe charger is a neat little Qi wireless charger that snaps nicely on the back of your iPhone 12; however, to use it to its full ability, you will want to pair it with a 20W charger.

The MagSafe charger can charge your iPhone 12 with 15W of power if you pair it with a 20W USB-C charger. Wireless charging is always a little less efficient than charging directly via the lightning port, but 15W charging through a wireless charger like MagSafe is pretty dang fast.

You’ll only get these speeds using a 20W charger, any less, and MagSafe will charge much, much slower.

So why even mention 18W chargers?

Officially, the iPhone 12 models can only fast charge connected to a 20W charger; however, in our own testing, and 18W charger had pretty similar results.

Our initial testing of charging an iPhone 12 using an 18W charger instead of a 20W charger shows that you can charge an iPhone 12 from 2% to 59% in about half an hour. This was using the 18W charger with a USB-C to Lightning cable directly plugged into the Lightning port on the iPhone 12.

So, while you may not be able to use MagSafe to its full potential, an 18W charger will likely yield similar results to a 20W when charging your iPhone 12 directly via the cable. There are many great 18W chargers out there, which is why we’ve chosen some for this list.

Bottom line: If your iPhone 12 charges slowly and want to make sure that you have the fastest charging speeds, no matter what on the iPhone 12, get a 20W charger — especially for MagSafe. But, if you’re going to charging your iPhone directly via a cable most of the time, an 18W charger likely won’t leave you waiting for much extra time.

Our recommendations

Our favorite iPhone 12 charger is the Anker Nano iPhone Charger. Due to its 20W power output, you’ll get the fast charging Apple is talking about, and its small design makes it easy to carry around in your bag, purse, or jacket pocket.

If you often travel, you may want to take a look at the Native Union Smart Charger. It comes with both U.S. and EU (and the U.K.) plugs, meaning you can charge up using USB-C in many more countries. Yes, it only puts out 18W of power, which means it won’t fast-charge the iPhone 12; however, it is will be faster than chargers with less output.

Lastly, it’s hard not to recommend the RAVPower 30W 2-Port Fast Charger due to just how useful and powerful it is. The 30W USB-C port is more power than you need to charge up your iPhone 12 as fast as possible, but the 18W USB-A port offers incredible charging speeds to other devices as well. If you want a charger to pull double duty for you, this is the one.

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GeeksModo Staff is a team of iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch experts led by Moses Johnson. We're passionate about all things Apple!
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