Once upon a time, Pixels pioneered fast charging standards, shipping with 18W chargers in the box, leaving most other smartphone companies in the dust. But over the years, as phone charging standards have evolved, Pixels have remained alongside Samsung and Apple phones as the slowest-charging smartphones on the market.
The Pixel 11 series charges noticeably more slowly out of the box than the Pixel 10, even with the same charger, but a hidden setting fixes the issue if you meet certain conditions. It’s called Extreme Charging, and it’s the first time we’ve seen Google directly address this problem with a unique, non-hardware-based solution.
All four Pixel 11 models support Extreme Charging, although not every model uses it as effectively. During our testing, only the Pixel 11 Pro XL truly benefits from the setting, while the other Pixel 11 Pro phones show a much smaller difference in charging time. Here’s how to use it to help alleviate battery anxiety if your phone suddenly runs low on battery.
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What is Extreme Charging?
Extreme Charging is a new Pixel 11 family feature that enables the fastest charging that Google’s hardware supports. In addition to charging at the highest supported wattage, Extreme Charging pauses many apps while charging.
This ensures that your Pixel isn’t getting extra hot while charging (since charging and running lots of apps at once can have that effect) and also means your phone can charge much faster.
Extreme Charging needs to be enabled every time you plug the phone in and when it’s below 50%, but once enabled, it’s a 1-tap action. To get the most out of Extreme Charging, ensure you’re using one of the best fast chargers, preferably at least a 45W model with 21V PPS. You can also use Google’s official charger to ensure full compatibility.
How fast is Extreme Charging?
For most Pixel 11 models, Extreme charging makes little to no difference. I have all three Pixel 11 Pro models in my possession and have drained each to 0%. I then plugged them into a supported 45W Anker charger (like this one) and tapped the Extreme Charging button to enable it (more on how to find it below).
I then set a 15-minute timer and recorded the charging percentage at the end of the timer. After a second 15-minute timer, I recorded that charging percentage. This test is identical to our in-house battery-charging test used for all smartphone reviews. Android Central’s Derrek Lee also performed the same test with his Pixel 11 and the 67W Dual Port charger.
The results were fascinating, but it’s clear that the Pixel 11 Pro XL is the only Pro model that genuinely benefits from Extreme Charging. The other models see a small boost after 15 minutes, and a larger difference is noticeable after 30 minutes, so there is some benefit to Extreme Charging for the rest of the Pixel 11 models, but nothing compared to the Pro XL.
|
Charging |
Pixel 11 |
Pixel 11 Pro |
Pixel 11 Pro XL |
Pixel 11 Pro Fold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Maximum supported wattage |
30W |
30W |
45W |
30W |
|
15-minute charge (standard) |
21% |
27% |
27% |
29% |
|
15-minute charge (Extreme Charge) |
26% |
28% |
45% |
27% |
|
30-minute charge (standard) |
40% |
51% |
54% |
56% |
|
30-minute charge (Extreme Charge) |
50% |
57% |
80% |
58% |
How to enable Extreme Charging on a Pixel 11
Extreme Charging is only available on Pixel 11 phones when your phone’s battery is under 50%. Once your battery is low enough, plug it into a compatible 30W, 45W, or even faster charger, then follow these steps:
1. When your phone’s battery is under 50%, plug it into at least a 30W charger.
2. Open system settings by tapping the Settings icon in your app drawer, or swiping down on the status bar twice, then tapping the gear icon at the bottom of the screen.
3. Scroll down to and tap Battery & charging.
4. Scroll down and tap Extreme Charging Mode.
5. Tap the button to turn on Extreme Charging.
You must enable Extreme Charging every time you want to use the feature, but don’t worry. You don’t have to go through all that nonsense again. Once you enable the option in system settings, a handy shortcut appears on your lock screen whenever your phone is plugged into a charger and the battery is under 50%.
1. When your phone’s battery is under 50%, plug it into at least a 30W charger.
2. On the lock screen, tap the Use Extreme Charging button at the bottom of the screen.
Additionally, you could enable the Extreme Charging tile in Quick Settings by following these steps:
1. Swipe down on the status bar twice. That’s the area at the top of the screen with the clock and battery/connection icons.
2. Tap the pencil icon below the grid of quick toggle buttons to open the edit menu.
3. Scroll down to Extreme Charging and tap the plus button next to it to add it to the Quick Toggles collection.
4. Scroll back up and resize the Extreme Charging button to your liking.
This gives you multiple ways to enable Extreme Charging the next time you plug it in, making it easy to get the fastest charging possible on your Pixel 11 Pro XL.
