Google recently confirmed that Pixel phones now support bypass charging. Introduced with the December Pixel Drop update, this feature is presented as an option to set an 80% charging limit in the Charging Optimization menu. Currently available on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 series, here’s how you can enable bypass charging on your Pixel phone.
What Is Bypass Charging on Google Pixel?
Google frequently introduces new features to its devices through Pixel Drop updates. The December 2024 Pixel Drop brought several improvements, including new call screening features, a Pixel Screenshots app, and more.
Among these updates was a feature that limits phone charging to 80% battery capacity.
When this feature is enabled, your phone stops charging once the battery reaches 80%. But here’s the key difference: instead of using the battery and repeatedly recharging it to 80%, your phone begins drawing power directly from the charger. This is known as bypass charging.
Why Is Bypass Charging Beneficial?
Since the phone is powered directly by the charger, the battery isn’t actively involved. Charging generates heat, which can stress the battery over time. With bypass charging, this heat is significantly reduced because the battery is no longer constantly charging and discharging.
Additionally, it reduces the number of charge cycles the battery undergoes, which helps extend its lifespan. You can use your phone or play games while charging without worrying about it heating up or degrading the battery.
Think of it like this: instead of filling a bucket (the battery) with water (power) while also using that water, bypass charging provides a direct flow of water from the tap (the charger) to your phone, bypassing the bucket entirely.
Fun fact: To help you monitor phone temperature, Google recently released a live temperature tracking feature. This can be especially useful when using bypass charging, as you can confirm that your phone stays cooler while plugged in.
How to Enable Bypass Charging on Your Google Pixel
For starters, the bypass charging feature is only available on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 series for now. If you own one of these phones, ensure you’ve installed the December Pixel Drop update. This feature is also available to those on the Android 16 Developer Preview.
Follow the steps below to enable it:
- Open Settings and tap on Battery.
- Tap on Charging optimization.
- Turn on Use charging optimization if not already enabled.
- Next, change the selection to Limit to 80%.
Your phone will now automatically stop charging when the battery reaches 80%. It will stop drawing power from the battery, meaning the battery will stay at that percent instead of slowly trickle charging. The power from the charger will bypass the battery completely and provide power directly to the components.
However, a straightforward bypass charging toggle would be more useful. With a toggle, you could enable bypass charging at any time, instead of only activating after reaching 80%.
I enabled the feature and put my Pixel 8 on charge and after 80%, it started showing a “Done Charging” message on the lock screen and in battery settings. Battery and charging monitor apps like Ampere and Battery Guru showed the battery as “not charging” and input current as 0mA, which means the phone isn’t drawing any power from the cell.
Folks at Android Authority ran detailed tests on this feature, where they checked the power drawn from the charger for various scenarios, including screen off, idle, and benchmarks. Bypass charging was indeed in play.
So, if you’re a Pixel 8 or 9 user who frequently uses their phone while charging, give bypass charging a try! It’s a great way to keep your battery healthy and prolong its lifespan.
