The battery of Android mobiles is not only used to power the phone itself, the usual thing is that it can also used to transfer power to another smartphone. Even to accessories like bluetooth headphones or smartwatches: reverse charging is one of the benefits of most Android devices. Both wired and wireless.
Running out of battery when you need it most is one of the most common problems in the first world. Because, who hasn’t suffered a screen blackout just trying to log in to send a last WhatsApp? Yes without plug nearbyMurphy is often prepared for the unexpected. Fortunately, there is one weapon that you don’t always pay attention to: reverse charge.
Reverse charge: when the mobile becomes a “power bank”
Charging the headset using reverse wireless charging
The so-called reverse charge is a feature of Android phones that is generally present in a good part of them. Usually through the loading port; although it is also possible to find it by taking advantage of the induction coils which include those smartphones
Despite the fact that reverse loading is quite widespread at the software level, its possibilities in practice are not so well known. In reality, Most manufacturers don’t even specify this in the phone’s spec sheet.; So there is no other choice but to manually check whether our mobile has it or not.
By reverse charging, the energy stored in the phone is transferred to another mobile or connected accessory. All without there being any outlet or “powerbank” in the ecucacion: energy is transferred directly from mobile to mobile. And there are two ways to do it.
Reverse cable charge
Reverse charge selector on the Huawei Mate 40 Pro
It is the most common, the easiest to use and, also, the one who uses energy the best. It uses the phone’s USB port and a cable connected to it: as soon as you connect another phone through this cable, the energy will be transferred automatically and without the user having to do anything.
To use reverse cable charging, you need a where each end has a USB C connector (or micro USB, already rare). After connecting the two phones via cable, the following events occur:
- By default, the mobile with the greatest amount of battery available will charge the one with the least .
- In case you want to change the mobile that provides power to receive it, simply go to the USB configuration of that phone and choose “Charge only”.
- Some brands set minimum battery values for reverse charging to work, others allow reverse charging at any battery level. As per usual, it is not recommended to deliver the battery below 20-30%.
- In the event that the mobile is not compatible with OTG, it is very likely that it cannot charge other devices either. It is possible to verify it by installing this application.
Wireless reverse charge
Reverse wireless charging on the Google Pixel 6
It is the second type of energy transfer between mobiles and other accessories. It is not too widespread, the most common is that only available on newer and more expensive Android phones. Reverse wireless charging is in addition to “normal” wireless charging: that a mobile has the second does not mean that it also offers the first.
In case the mobile has reverse wireless charging, it is usual to let it activate from the battery options. Once said load is on you have to turn the phone over and place the other mobile on it (or headphones, watch …). After contacting the two induction coils, the gateway through which the energy will be transferred will be established.
Reverse wireless charging between mobiles has several drawbacks. How are:
- It’s an inefficient load. Considering the energy lost in the form of heat, charging another wireless mobile will always fill less battery than if the same phone were charged with a cable.
- It is often difficult to find the exact charging point. To establish a wireless charge between two devices, they must be moved until the coils are properly aligned. It is usually not easy.
- It’s easy to lose touch. Continuing from the previous point, the charge is often lost simply because the phones are not positioned correctly. To think that they were charging and finding out that they hadn’t charged anything is just too common.
Reverse charging solves the unexpected since it allows you to have energy even without outlets. It is very useful to get out of the situation, as long as the mobile with battery is sufficiently charged. Because it could happen that both end up dying before the end of the day …
