What is Anker trickle charging mode and should you use it?

Everyone has to plug in and charge batteries sometimes. Literally speaking, we do this with all sorts of personal gadgets more often than we’d like. Well, if you think that’s a pain today, in the old days every gadget came with its own bulky, stupid adapter and special little connector that existed seemingly for the sole purpose of charging that very gadget. The advent and improvement of USB charging has certainly made a difference on this front, and mobile accessories brand Anker has been a big help in replacing your lost or broken wall adapters and power banks.

That said, everything has a quirk or two, and for Anker power banks, you may have seen them stay on for hours, without seemingly emitting a charge. Why would this be the case? Well, it turns out that these portable batteries have a dedicated mode that allows you to properly charge smaller accessories with a double press of the power button. The reason this mode exists has to do with how low current draw affects the relationship between a device and a battery-powered power source.

When you charge a phone or even a car, a modern charging source establishes a data connection with that device to determine the voltages and amperages it will accept (including higher fast charging rates), then manages those rates accordingly. In most cases, you will see peak rates during the initial charging phase, then gradually decrease as the device fills up. When the battery approaches 100%, the source will shut down and occasionally recharge the battery until it is full or provide an active “float” to keep it there.

Smaller devices have smaller batteries and must draw lower currents and voltages, lest you want to experience a small explosion and fire. But with a power bank and its own limited battery, Anker and other manufacturers want to conserve charge when possible. Sometimes that means being a little more aggressive in cutting off charging below a certain amperage threshold — which isn’t ideal if your headphones, portable fan, or even desk lamp draw tiny amounts of power, especially at the end of a charge cycle.

To solve this problem, Anker has programmed a trickle charging mode into its power banks. If you have an older model, you should refer to your product manual or search for it on Anker’s support pages to see if the mode is supported. Triggering it keeps the battery on and, in particular, all the full USB ports (USB-A) ready to charge any accessory consuming between 30 and 500 milliamps. If you’re wondering about using a USB-C cable to charge a low-power accessory, Anker says you don’t need to manually enable trickle charging mode, as it does so automatically.

Enabling trickle charge mode on an Anker power bank is as easy as pressing the power button twice. Trickle charge mode lasts up to two hours when activated. You will see the battery display turned on with a special mode indicator and the output meter showing zero watts. Press the power button twice again to turn it off. The power bank will remain on for two minutes after turning off or when a device is unplugged from the bank. In the latter case, you may see the power meter stay at 0.1 watts during the final period.