How Long To Charge Samsung Galaxy S4?

Today I tested how long it takes to charge my new phone (Samsung galaxy S4).  As part of the ongoing experiment with my Samsung S4.  The total time taken for the smartphone to charge from start to finish is listed below.  It takes 2 hours to charge the battery on the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Charging started at 6.15pm with 5% battery life remaining on the S4.

At 6.45pm the battery charge was at 32% complete on the Samsung Galaxy SIV.  It appears to charge 1% every minute.

At 7.15pm (60 minutes into the experiment) the phone charge was 66%.  This still agrees that the phone charges at about 1% every minute.

At this point I was thinking if maybe the Samsung S4 charges like the iPhone and iPod do.  With the Apple devices there is a rush charge for the first 80% of battery, then a trickle charge for the remaining 20%.

This was not the case!  Battery charge on the Samsung s4 was 100% complete at 8.15pm.  Taking exactly 2 hours to charge the battery on the Samsung Galaxy S4 phone.

From my previous review of the smartphone I expected it to be much longer.  I know that the battery doe snot last very long (less than 24 hours if you use the phone).  On Android you can go to settings -> More ->Battery and view a graph chart of how the battery discharges over time on the Samsung S4.

Also from my Samsung S4 review I was very disappointed by the battery life.  Thinking about this more I realise that if this was really a problem for my usage I could just buy a spare battery.  I guess I am just used to Apple locking everything into the product, but the Samsung S4 is free of restrictions.


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30 Responses to How Long To Charge Samsung Galaxy S4?

  1. My battery lasts 20-30 hours on medium-low usage and charges from 10% To 100% in 40-60 minutes, on my S4.

    • Really? Your samsung s4 battery charges from 10% to 100% in just 60 minutes? I dont believe it since Samsung has confirmed themselves that it takes 2 hours to fully charge from 0% like my experiments have shown.

      I have now tested the battery at different usage levels more. Turning off wifi makes a HUGE difference to usage. My Samsung galaxy s4 can do more than 3 days if I turn off wifi. I turn the wifi on only when I need it by using the swipe down menu.

  2. Hi
    When I first got the phone about 3 months ago it used to take about similar amount of time to charge as said in your blog. However, since past 2 days it is taking hours and hours. I put it on charge at 5.30 am this morning and at 11.15 am it is only at 77%. Same happened yesterday and I even tried charging it while switched off. But it was the same and only charged a bit.
    Do you guys reckon if it is battery problem (already? Within 3 months).

    • It is not normal for he battery to take so long to charge. Call the Samsung support helpline number and get a warranty repair on your samsung s4 phone. The battery should not take that many hours to charge. If you can, maybe try a different charger because you could have a faulty charger.

  3. Android uses a lot more battery energy perhaps because it multitasks and syncs more than iOS.

    Also, in my experience with night devices, I end up using Android a whole lot more because of stuff like widgets etc., so my Android phones get more use.

    IMHO, basically, Android has a lot more going on and gets used more, so yeah, I kill the battery fast.. I mean.. I barely ever go on a PC now, unless it’s to use some heavy software.

    • I agree. Android takes some time to use fully, but once you understand the Android OS, it,s strengths and weaknesses, then you see it is a great alternative to IOS.

      I just started making my own apps for fun :).

  4. Hey I just got my phone on labor day (3 days ago) and the past 2 nights I have only been using the charger it came with and I have been charging it from around 9:33pm to 6am and the battery is has always been around 20% but when I wake up the battery is only around 80% and still charging. Is this normal?.

    • Not normal. After 9 hours charging your Samsung S4 the battery should be 100% charged. Try discharging to 5% and then charging during the daytime so you can watch it.

  5. My 1 day old Samsung Galaxy S4 has been on charge since around 5pm and is still not charged and it is now 10pm.. Not very happy with my phone at all.

    • You get used to it I guess. My Samsung Galaxy S4 is being repaired for the second time. Lucky there is a warranty but I worry they will take 2 weeks to repair it again this time. Total of a month without my new phone is not good Samsung!.

  6. Is it ok to charge my S4 over night. Even though it might be fully charged In About 2 hours ?.

    • Usually yes. The charger transforms into trickle charge around 80% so it is ok. I always leave my Samsung S4 to charge overnight and I have never had a problem. I would not leave it to charge while I am sleeping if I had a cheap battery or cheap charger, because then there is the risk of fire. I only use original Samsung batteries and chargers.

  7. I bought my galaxy s4 about 3 days ago and it takes about 5 hours to fully charge . Does anyone else have this problem ?.

    • In the end this article is a record of the charge time for my Samsung S4 phone. There could be differences in network power usage. Like if you’re using the S4 on At&t with LTE always on that might take more energy and the phone will take longer to charge. Also if you have the more powerful version of the Samsung S4 with the octocore processor that might affect charge times too.

      In the end, this article is the raw data recorded while charging my phone. I am confident it is accurate, but in the end, it might only be true for my phone! Which is the quad core processor.

  8. Well I just called AT&T and was told this phone takes 4-5 hours to charge.

  9. For anyone still wondering, the charge time varies based on the type of charger being used. I have the S4 I9505 (unlocked international device), and when I charge it with the supplied charger, it only takes 1.5-2 hours. If however, I use an old iPhone charger or USB 2.0 port on my PC, it takes hours longer. The supplied charger provides 2.0amp output, which is double the current of the 1.0amp iPhone charger (hence a faster charge).

  10. At the first 5 months of using samsung s4, its charging time is 2hours but after that, its now charging for almost 4hours with its power on or off. I also make it a habit to kill tasks everytime after I use it to ensure it is not running any apps. What do you think is its problem and what should I do about it?.

    • Check the battery in settings. It should show you where the battery drain is happening. If that looks ok, let the battery drain to 5% before charging it. And time it, sometimes it can feel like 4 hours but actually be 3 or less.

      If that’s all ok then your Samsung S4 might have a faulty battery.

  11. I just got the samsung s4. I have mostly everything off when I slide my finger down… wifi, gps, bluetooth, air view, air gesture, sbeam, sync….
    I started charging it at 9 45pm last night with 37% battery left and its now 6:33am and is on 98%
    Is this normal for a 3 day phone? So I can change it or get a different one. I had the s3 before this and it never took this long and the phone was in use while charging with more open features / pandora app music.

  12. If you are still havingroblems charging. Make sure the usb is all the way plugged in the wall charger. Check settings> more>battery. Make it doesn’t say charging usb. If it does the cord is’nt plugged in. This equals slow charge. It should say charging AC.

  13. I’ve definitely noticed this with Android too, got myself a Nexus 5 which is a great phone but it does take a lot longer to charge than my 2 year old iPhone 4S, but I’d say this is due to the Nexus containing a larger 2300mAh battery which naturally would take longer to charge, this would be the same for your S4. Big screen phones need bigger batteries so they take longer to charge, it’s not a iOS v Android thing, test an iPad and see how long this takes to reach 100%… more than 2 hours in my experience.

    The only thing I don’t like about Android is email… it’s awful, worse than iOS and Blackberry. The KitKat default google client isn’t that good and the 3rd party alternatives are not in the class of Sparrow or even the default iOS7 mail client.

  14. Had my GS4 since June 2013…so 6 months. Still charges from 0 to 100% in less than 2 hours…however i usually charge it at 30% at night to prevent it from dying the next day. Lasts 30+ hours on moderate usage. I leave bluetooth, gps and wifi on, along with power saving mode enabled. All my apps are set to sync every hour. Constantly on the internet and texting. Battery life suffers when constantly on calls or playing games, but thats about it. I also tend to close all windows and clear memory after using my phone for a while.

    • In addition, I followed a few YouTube tutorials to change general settings to extend battery life (i.E. Turn off animations…) when I first got my phone. Hope this helps!.

  15. Hi! I just got my Samsung Galaxy S4 yesterday. It wasn’t a completely new phone, it was past down from my aunt. I charge it using the computer wire. But the battery charging is taking TOO long!!! I put it in charge from 6Pm (5%) to 10Am (30%) when i wake up. And also, when I charge while using my phone, the percentage doesn’t even go up, it goes DOWN! My old iPhone wasn’t like that AT ALL! PLease help.

    • You need to use the mains plug. It will charge it faster. The computer cable cannot get enough power to charge the phone!.

  16. Hi i am very curious by looking at other people’s S4 battery stat they last more than a day easily and if they turn off wifi they get more than 2 days how is that possible i get not even a full day even on stand by my battery drains for e.G on 5:30am it’s full when i will wake up at 11:30 it would be down to 87% :( please help me how to improve i use wifi total for 15 mins whole day.

    • Do you have GPS on? Go to the battery area of settings and you will see a chart showing what is using the most battery power. It’s super useful.

  17. I’m kinda disappointed w/ the battery life as well…just wish I could charge it 30 min really quickly and be fine.

  18. Abigail Mcgwyre

    I put my snmsung on charge at 3:30 and it is now 5:35.