Power banks have been around for a long time now, but there are always questions regarding how to use them, which ones are best for certain types of devices, and perhaps one of the most asked questions is how to make a power bank charge faster. This can mean two things; either you want faster output or input charging.
The output charging of a power bank is the charging that you get from the power bank, basically, the charging that your devices, such as your smartphone, tablets, or laptops, can receive. Input charging, on the other hand, is recharging the power bank, and input ports are ports that you would use to recharge the power bank.
How to Charge a Tablet, Smartphone, or Laptop Faster with a Power Bank
Charging from a power bank is easy to understand, so let’s look at the different types of portable chargers that can deliver the charging you want.
If you’re searching for a power bank to charge your smartphone or tablet, the power bank that you’re getting should basically fall into the same category of being a smartphone or tablet power bank. That’s because the charging speed difference between a smartphone or tablet is not too different, and they often use the charging technology.
The two most common fast charging technologies used among tablets and smartphones are Quick Charge and USB-C Power Delivery. At this point, Power Delivery charging is surpassing Quick Charge as it’s more universal with the way it’s used and has better compatibility when it comes to the standard USB-C port.
If you have an Android smartphone that uses a USB-C port, which most Android smartphones have been using for a few years at this point, then your Android smartphone is likely Power Delivery fast charging compatible. This means that at a minimum, your phone can charge at 18W via a Power Delivery port, and the same can be said about Quick Charge 3.0 ports. There are still a few Android phones that don’t use Qualcomm Quick Charge, such as Google Pixel and OnePlus smartphones.
At this point, Power Delivery is more streamlined for fast charging, so if you do have an Android smartphone and have a power bank that has a USB-C Power Delivery and a Quick Charge port, it’s best to use a USB-C to USB-C cable to charge via the USB-C port as USB-A does not work optimally without the USB-C standard when it comes to faster charging.
Fast Charging Tablets with Power Banks
Keeping the Power Delivery in mind, tablets are also the same way. With many tablets on the market also doubling as laptops at this point, fast charging is needed, and that’s why most modern tablets now use a USB-C port and are compatible with USB-C Power Delivery. The best part of PD compatibility with tablets is that they work well with 18W PD ports and don’t require a higher wattage amount. This makes it possible to use the same Power Delivery power bank to fast charge your smartphone and tablet.
To add to that, Apple changed the iPad Pro’s Lightning port to a USB-C port back in 2018, simply because they had to as it was becoming the standard. The same can be said about the Macbook and how Apple went from MagSafe charging to USB-C Power Delivery charging. We’ll get to fast charging for laptops a little later on.
The only setback with a power bank with an 18W USB-C Power Delivery port is that the power bank may not have enough power capacity to charge your tablet fully. However, there are plenty of power banks on the market with a 20,000mAh power capacity that does feature an 18W PD port.
RAVPower 20,000mAh 18W USB-C Power Delivery Power Bank
This RAVPower portable charger is a perfect power bank that you can use to fast charge your smartphone and tablets without spending a higher price on a more powerful USB-C Power Delivery charging speed. This power bank has a 20,000mAh power capacity that can charge most tablets to full power at least once and still have spare power capacity. You can use that leftover power capacity (likely 10,000mAh) to charge a smartphone either once or twice.
The charging from this power bank is also great, using an 18W USB-C Power Delivery port, a Quick Charge 3.0 port, and a standard 12W port.
In terms of having a power bank with a standard port that does not feature fast charging like Power Delivery or Quick Charge, it’s best to use the one rated to have the higher Amperage. Usually, standard ports have labels such as 5V/1.0A, 5V/2.0A, or 5V/2.4A, and in this case, it would best to use the 5V/2.4A port as it offers faster charging speed. Of course, standard power banks are not as common as most portable devices are fast charging compatible.
Along with Apple’s iPad changing over to USB-C, the Apple’s iPhone may not have changed the Lightning port to USB-C, but they did make the iPhone X, iPhone 11, and the iPhone 12 USB-C Power Delivery charging compatible. The only difference is that you have to use a Lightning to USB-C cable to fast charge from a PD port when it comes to iPhones.
Read Review for RAVPower 20,000mAh Tri Output / Input PD Power Bank
| RAVPower 20,000mAh USB-C PD - Quick Charge Lightning Tri Input Power Bank Specs | |
|---|---|
| Power Capacity | 20,000mAh |
| USB-C Power Delivery Port | 5V/3.0A | 9V/2.0A | 12V/1.5A (18W) |
| Quick Charge 3.0 USB-A Port | 5V/3.0A | 9V/2.0A | 12V/1.5A (18W) |
| Standard USB-A Port | 5V/2.4A (12W) |
| USB-C PD Input | 5V/3.0A | 9V/2.0A | 12V/1.5A (18W) |
| Micro-USB Input | 5V/3.0A | 9V/2.0A | 12V/1.5A (18W) |
| Lightning Input | 5V/2.1A |
| Size | 6.2 x 2.9 x 0.6 inches |
| Weight | 1 Pound |
How to Charge Laptops with a Power Bank
On the other hand, if we’re talking about charging a laptop faster with a power bank, you have to use USB-C Power Delivery but at a higher wattage. Previously we mentioned that you could use an 18W USB-C PD port for fast charging most smartphones and tablets, but an 18W PD charge rate is too low for charging a laptop as it’s not enough power.
Instead, when charging laptops via USB-C, you have to aim for a Power Delivery port with a 30W charging speed or higher. The higher, the better, and we would even recommend that you search for a power bank that has a 65W USB-C Power Delivery port because it’s generally able to charge your laptop faster. You can still use a 90W Power Delivery port to charge a smartphone or a tablet, and it won’t damage the devices. This is because charging power is adjusted to whichever device it’s charging.
How to Recharge a Power Bank Faster
Input charging, also known as recharging, can be as important as the output charging that your devices get. Recharging a power bank enables you to get back to the freedom of charging with a power bank in the first place. In most cases, you’re going to want to recharge your power bank as fast as you can, especially if you’re dealing with a high-capacity power bank.
Most power banks use a single input port. However, there is a growing trend that power banks now use multiple input ports to be recharge from. Most of the time, you can only use a single input at a time to recharge, but some power banks allow you to use two input ports simultaneously for faster recharging.
EasyAcc 20,000mAh Power Bank with Dual Input
For example, this EasyAcc portable charger has two input ports that can be used simultaneously to have it recharge faster. There’s a Micro-USB input port and a USB-C input port, and both ports can recharge at 2A speeds. So when you use them both to recharge the power bank, you’re able to recharge the power bank at 4A (20W). Considering that the EasyAcc power bank has a 20,000mAh power capacity, a 20W recharging speed is definitely useful for a faster recharge to its full power capacity.
This also brings us to using the right wall charger to recharge your power bank and use the fastest input port to get you the fastest recharge speed.
If a power bank has a USB-C input port, Lightning input port, and a Micro-USB input port, it’s always best to use the USB-C port to recharge it. This is because it almost always has a faster recharging speed, likely because the USB-C port doubles as an output Power Delivery port so that it can be recharged at Power Delivery speeds.
When it comes to recharging via a USB-C PD port, please note the power bank’s recharge rate labeled on the power bank itself. For example, USB-C input speed maybe 18W, so it would be best to use an 18W or higher USB-C Power Delivery wall charger to recharge the power bank at its max speed.
Read Review for EasyAcc 20,000mAh Doubin Power Bank
| EasyAcc 20,000mAh USB-C Dual Input Power Bank Specs | |
|---|---|
| Power Capacity | 20,000mAh |
| Each USB-A Port | Shared 5V/3.0A Output (15W) |
| Each USB-C Port | Shared 5V/3.0A Output (15W) |
| Micro-USB Input | 5V/2.0A (10W) |
| USB-C Input | 5V/3.0A (15W) |
| Dual Input | 20W |
| Size | 6.6 x 3.2 x 0.9 inches |
| Weight | 1.1 Pounds |
RAVPower 30,000mAh 90W PD Power Bank with 60W Input
Another example is when a power bank has a very powerful USB-C Power Delivery input speed. This RAVPower charger has a 90W USB-C Power Delivery output charging rate for the devices you’re charging. At the same time, you can recharge this power bank at 60W.
This means that if you want to recharge this 30,000mAh power bank at its max charging speed, then you have to use a 60W Power Delivery wall charger or higher. It’s best to do so, too, as a 30,000mAh power capacity is a lot of power to get back to full power. If you use a 5V/2.0 (10W) wall charger to recharge a 30,000mAh power bank, then you’re going to be waiting a very long time to restore the power bank.
Micro-USB and Lightning input ports are also on power banks, but these ports are generally slower at recharging. Most notably, Lightning input ports are almost always capped at a recharge speed of 5V/2.0A (10W).
On the other hand, a Micro-USB can be capped at a 5V/2.0A (10W) recharge speed; that said, there are times when a Micro-USB input port on a power bank is Quick Charge compatible. It’s best to use a Quick Charge wall charger to recharge the power bank in those cases.
Read Review for RAVPower 90W USB-C Power Delivery Power Bank
| RAVPower 30,000mAh 90W Power Delivery Power Bank PB232 Specs | |
|---|---|
| Power Capacity | 30,000mAh |
| USB-C Power Delivery Port | 5V/3A | 9V/3A | 12V/3A | 15V/3A | 20V/4.5A, 90W Max |
| USB-A Quick Charge Port | 5V/3A | 9V/2A | 12V/1.5A, 18W Max |
| Max Output when using Both Ports | PD 65W + iSmart 18W, Total 83W Max |
| USB-C (Input) | 5V/3A | 9V/3A | 12V/3A | 15V/3A | 20V/3A, 60W Max |
| Size | 5.9 x 3.4 x 1 inches |
| Weight | 1.1 Pounds |
Since 2016, Usman has flourished as an independent tech journalist, reveling in the evaluation of diverse tech gadgets, with a particular fondness for charging technology to ascertain product performance. Besides his journalistic endeavors, he helms the Charger Harbor YouTube channel, where he extends his tech insights to a broader audience.