Which iPhones support reverse charging?

Contents of the article

 

What is reverse charging on iPhone?

Reverse charging is a feature that allows your iPhone to act as a charger (power bank), transferring its battery charge to other devices. This is convenient for recharging headphones, watches, or another phone in an emergency.

Does iPhone support both wired and wireless reverse charging?

Unfortunately, the iPhone doesn’t support wireless reverse charging. The only way to charge another device from your iPhone is with a cable.

 

Which iPhones support reverse charging?

All iPhones equipped with a USB-C port, which replaces the now-outdated Lightning port, support reverse charging. This transition allows Apple smartphones to share power with other Apple devices, such as Apple Watch, AirPods, or even other phones, not just iPhones but also Android devices.

It’s crucial that sharing your iPhone’s battery doesn’t require any setup. This feature works automatically, as long as you have the appropriate cable or port to connect the other device to your iPhone. However, there are some important nuances to this process that are worth discussing.

List of iPhones that support reverse charging:

• iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15

 

What is the reverse charging power of iPhone devices?

Let’s be clear that your iPhone, equipped with a USB-C port, can charge other devices at up to 4.5W . Charging other phones, however, will be very slow. As a reminder, all iPhones from the original iPhone 2G to the iPhone 11 came with a 5W charger. However, for charging your AirPods, Apple Watch, and other small devices (like wristbands and Bluetooth headsets), this can be very useful in a pinch.

Of course, your iPhone’s battery will drain faster when you use it to charge other devices.

Charging AirPods and Apple Watch with iPhone

Any AirPods can be charged from an iPhone. You’ll need a high-quality cable with a USB-C connector on both ends to charge AirPods equipped with a USB-C port. If you have an older AirPods model, use a USB-C to Lightning cable.

Similarly, you can use the USB-C port of the Apple Watch magnetic charger and connect it to your iPhone’s USB-C port to charge it. If your watch’s charger has a standard USB-A port, use a proprietary or third-party USB-C to USB adapter.

Charging an iPhone from an iPhone

Charging older iPhones with a Lightning port from a USB-C iPhone

As an example, we tried using a USB-C to Lightning cable to connect an iPhone 11 with a 69% battery charge to an iPhone 16 Pro Max with a 27% battery charge. The iPhone 11 started charging with this connection.

 

What happens if you connect two iPhones with a USB-C connector to each other?

In addition to the fact that they will exchange data with each other, the phone with a higher battery charge will also charge the second device with a lower charge .

Charging an Android phone from an iPhone

Charging an Android phone from an iPhone is straightforward. Simply connect the two devices with the appropriate cable, then:

• Your Android phone will start charging. We’ve even tested this on older devices, 5-6 years old—they charge.
• If your Android device is relatively new and has USB Power Delivery, your Android phone and iPhone will even be able to communicate with each other. This will result in the device with the lower battery being charged by the device with the higher battery. However, there’s a caveat here, which will be discussed below.

Other devices you can charge with your iPhone

In addition to charging another iPhone, AirPods with a USB-C port, and AirPods with a Lightning port, the device also charged an Apple Watch, a couple of different Android phones, and was able to charge an Apple TV Siri Remote, a third-party Bluetooth headset, and even a 10-year-old Samsung phone.

To summarize, an iPhone with a USB-C port functions as a power bank for virtually any mobile device and accessory from various manufacturers, providing low-speed charging thanks to its 4.5W output.

Charging Apple-branded accessories: keyboard, mouse, and trackpad using iPhone

When you connect your iPhone to the Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, or Magic Mouse, all these devices will disconnect from your computer. You simply won’t see any visual confirmation that charging has begun.

We tried using a USB-C to Lightning cable to connect the Magic Mouse to the iPhone 16 Pro Max. We left the cable untouched for about five minutes.

During this time, the mouse disconnected from the computer. Five minutes later, when the device was disconnected from the iPhone and reconnected to the Mac, the mouse’s charge had increased by 3%. So, through experimentation, I discovered that it was possible to charge Magic series accessories for Mac using an iPhone. But does this really make sense?

Charging an iPhone with another Android phone

For this to work, your Android phone with a USB-C port must support features like Power Delivery, power sharing, battery sharing, and so on. Simply connect this device to your new or old iPhone using a cable, and your iOS device will begin charging.

But if the iPhone won’t charge, or the reverse process begins—charging an Android phone from an iPhone—then you can change the power distribution scheme, forcing your Android phone to act as a power bank:

• Make sure your iPhone is connected to your Android phone using the appropriate cable.
• In your Android phone’s notification center, tap the system notification. It may say something like ” Charging this device via USB. Tap to see more options .”
• Scroll down the message and toggle the ” Charge connected device ” switch. This will cause your Android phone to charge your iPhone instead of trying to charge it

Charge your iPhone, AirPods, Apple Watch, Android phone, or other devices with your iPad

Don’t forget about another option for charging a variety of devices with an Apple device equipped with a USB-C port. After all, the latest iPad models feature the same universal connector as the iPhone 16. So, your Apple tablet can also charge other devices. Simply connect them with the appropriate cable.

In our tests, we were able to charge an iPhone 16, iPhone 11, AirPods Pro, and an Android phone using a 12.9-inch iPad Pro (M4).