Here are all the phones that support bypass charging, and why you should use it

With even mid-range smartphones now packing enough processing power to last half a decade or longer, hardware longevity has become an important consideration for many of us. And while the industry has made strides in water resistance and screen durability, one aspect remains: battery health. Even with the precautions of modern fast charging standards like USB Power Delivery, repetitive charge and discharge cycles end up reducing the battery’s usable capacity to quite an obvious extent. Luckily, a feature known as bypass charging can help extend the lifespan of your smartphone with little to no effort.

Google has become the latest smartphone maker to support the feature, meaning bypass charging is now available on recent Pixel devices. So in this article, let’s take a closer look at how the feature works, which Android phones support it, and how to enable it.

How does bypass charging work?

With the bypass charging feature enabled, your smartphone will only draw as much power as the internal components need to function. This means the power from a charging adapter is directly routed to the phone’s processor, display, and other components.

In the absence of bypass charging, the battery will continue to deliver power to your phone’s components. Even when fully charged to 100%, most devices typically continue to draw power from the internal battery. And as soon as the charge level drops below a threshold, say 99%, the charging circuitry kicks back in to restore the battery to its fully charged state. This cycle continues indefinitely, as long as you keep your phone plugged in.

Since bypass charging allows your phone to draw power directly from an external source, it sidesteps or bypasses the battery. Put simply, your phone’s battery is neither being charged nor discharged during this time.

Bypass charging isn’t a widely-known feature, and you’ll only find it on select phones. It also behaves differently depending on the device. On Google’s Pixel phones, for example, it is a byproduct of the “Limit to 80%” setting. You cannot toggle bypass charging at a charge level of your choosing — it will only engage once your device fills up to 80%.

On Samsung devices, the bypass charging toggle is hidden within the Game Launcher app under the “Pause USB Power Delivery” label. This works at any charge level but you can only enable it while playing a game. In non-gaming apps, Samsung’s software will warn that “some features may not work” and we’ve observed the device continues to charge the battery.

Why should I use bypass charging?

If you frequently use your phone for gaming, video editing, or even just streaming while plugged into an external power source, bypass charging can make a big difference. In such scenarios, a typical device would have to simultaneously discharge and charge its battery in quick succession. With bypass charging enabled, however, the phone can keep the battery idle and rely on the external power source instead. This is important for the following reasons:

• Lower heat: Generally speaking, charging any electronic device produces heat due to changes in the battery chemistry and inefficiencies in power delivery. Tasks like gaming generate heat by themselves, so charging and using your phone simultaneously can result in the battery getting dangerously warm to the point of battery degradation. Removing the battery from the equation results in much lower heat output, which helps extend its lifespan.
• Reduced thermal throttling: You may have noticed that your phone doesn’t perform as well when it gets warmer. This is because the system-on-chip (SoC) inside your phone automatically reduces its performance to prevent overheating. This is known as thermal throttling. Bypass charging means that the SoC doesn’t have to contend with excess charging heat.
• Long-term battery health: The micro-charging cycles that take place between 99% and 100% may seem harmless on the surface but they do add up over time. It’s no different than discharging it all the way to empty and then charging it up to full — except stretched out over a much longer period. Smartphone makers typically guarantee usable battery capacity up to 1,000 full charge cycles, which translates to about three years of daily charging.

Which phones support bypass charging?

Bypass charging is a relatively new feature that first appeared on gaming phones like ASUS’ ROG Phone lineup. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of devices that support the feature, along with any caveats that may apply:

• Google: The Pixel 9 and 8 series supports bypass charging as of Google’s December Feature Drop update. Ensure you’ve downloaded any available updates on your phone, and head to Settings > Battery > Charging Optimization. Enabling “Limit to 80%” will ensure that your phone doesn’t charge beyond 80%, even when plugged in. You cannot use bypass charging at 100% or other charge levels at this time.
• Samsung: Most modern Samsung phones and tablets ranging from the Galaxy A35 to the Galaxy S24 series support bypass charging. Specifically, the Game Launcher app can prevent the battery from receiving power at any charge level. Open the app, then head to the Game Booster menu, and enable Pause USB Power Delivery. As stated above, this toggle only works for the duration of your gaming session and the phone will begin charging once you exit the app.
• ASUS: The ROG Phone 3 was the first to feature bypass charging, which can be accessed via the ASUS Game Genie app. If you take a peek into the Battery Care menu, you’ll also find a customizable charging limit feature that lets you set the limit at any value between 80% and 100%. The latest Zenfone 11 Ultra and ROG Phone 9 support the feature to this day.
• Sony: The Xperia line supports bypass charging under the “Heat Suppression Power Control” setting found within the Game Enhancer app. However, you will have to enable it on a per-app basis.

A handful of other lesser-known devices like the Xiaomi Black Shark 5 and nubia REDMAGIC 9 Pro also support bypass charging. While the feature has been marketed to gamers until now, Google supporting it on the Pixel should lead to wider adoption.