What is smartphone bypass charging? Here is when and why you should use it

In a typical scenario, when you use the smartphone while it is charging, the power first goes to the battery, and then it is drawn by various components such as the processor and display. In bypass charging mode, it is more like using a desktop PC rather than a laptop, where the required power is drawn directly from the wall adapter.

Depending on the brand, the implementation of bypass charging varies. On Pixel smartphones, one can only enable bypass charging once the device has been charged up to 80 per cent, while there are no such restrictions on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (review), but it can only be enabled while playing a video game. The same feature on iQOO 13 (review) is called a direct drive power supply, which can only be activated while playing a video game.

Bypass charging on Samsung smartphones. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Select models of Samsung, Google, Asus, iQOO, Infinix, and Sony offer bypass charging.

While the bypass charging feature is not meant for everyone, it definitely has its own audience, especially gamers.

Here are a few details on when to use this feature.

Bypass charging will come in handy for those who play video games on their smartphones for hours, where it can not only reduce heating but can also help sustain peak performance.

Continued gaming on smartphones generates a lot of heat, as most smartphones do not have an active cooling solution and depend on surface-level heat dissipation. Charging also tends to make the phone heat up. Hence, gaming while charging is prone to severe heating, which will adversely affect performance. There is a high chance of performance throttling, at least until the device gets cooled, and this isn’t going to happen unless you stop the gameplay.

In the case of bypass charging, the power is directly supplied to the components, which prevents the battery from heating up. This also means the overall heat generation will be checked, reducing the risk of thermal throttling. In the long run, as the battery is less involved, this will also help the smartphone to sustain its charge capacity. However, on most phones, bypass charging needs to be enabled every time, which does make it a bit more challenging to use this every time you play.

When you are using bypass charging, make sure to use the recommended charger to ensure it offers enough power to deliver peak performance. On top of that, also limit bypass charging for certain tasks like gaming, as during this period, the battery charge percentage will remain constant.