Many people rely on mobile devices to stay connected and be more productive, making portable power sources essential.
So, it‘s only fitting that you ask the question: “How do I know my Anker power bank is charging?” Luckily, we have the answer!
To know if your Anker power bank is charging, you need to check its indicator light. It should light up green when you plug in your power bank to the outlet to charge.
If it’s not lit up, it may be busted, and there are other ways to determine if your power bank is charging.
What to Know About Anker Power Bank Charging Lights
Some Anker power banks have indicator lights that give information about the device’s charging status.
Decoding this information is important in using your power bank correctly and safely. While connected to the power cord, keep an eye out for the LED lights.
✅ Determine the Number of Lights
Some Anker power banks have four small LED lights that indicate the battery level and charging status. Each LED light represents a percentage of the battery life.
✅ Know What the Lights Mean
Anker power bank’s four LED lights indicate the charge taken up by increments of 25%.
When all lights stay steadily lit, your power bank is already fully charged, and you should disconnect it from the power source immediately.
✅ Light Colors and Charge Status
If the light is green, your power bank is actively charging. If it’s red, the charging process is complete, and your device is now on standby mode.
✅ It Can Still Charge Even Without Lights
If your Anker power bank has no indicator lights, you can refer to the manual to determine how much time it takes to charge. Or, you can calculate the charging time yourself.
Now that you know everything about your Anker power bank, let’s proceed to tell whether the battery is charging.
Full Steps on How Do I Know My Anker Power Bank Is Charging
Before connecting your Anker power bank to a charger, remember that some power banks take longer to charge. They have larger batteries, which equals a bigger capacity to store energy.
So, if you have a small power bank with, say, 4,000 mAh, it’ll only take a few hours to charge it fully.
1. Connect Your Anker Power Bank to a Charger
For most devices, the most definitive way to determine whether it’s charging properly is to plug it in.
It’s also the same with your Anker power bank, which can tell if it’s charging.
As soon as you plug it into the wall outlet, you can look out for its LED lights and see which one is illuminating.
Here are the steps to connect your Anker power bank to charge:
- Get the USB-C to USB-A cable.
- Locate the USB-C port on your power bank.
- Plug the USB-C cable into the port on your power bank.
- Insert the USB-A end into a wall charger.
- Plug the wall charger into an outlet.
Note: You can use any charger adapter as long as it’s at least 18W for the fastest possible charge time.
2. Check Your Power Bank’s LED Light Notifications
After plugging in your power bank, you want to look closer at the illuminated LED notification lights.
Your power bank has a set of indicator lights that will tell you if it’s charging. The lights show different colors that tell you at which stage your power bank is in.
This is great as long as your power bank’s lights are working, and you’ll be able to determine if it’s in the process of charging up or if it’s done.
Here’s how to know if your power bank is charging through its LED lights:
- Your power bank’s indicator lights should light up blue or green.
- A green light means your power bank is in fast-charging mode.
- A blue light means your power bank is in slow charging mode.
- The charge indicators tell your power bank’s charge state in 25% increments.
3. Remember the Charging Time of Your Power Bank
The problem starts once your power bank’s charging light indicators stop working.
It doesn’t necessarily mean that if they don’t light up, your power bank is not charging.
There are instances when your battery pack can continue charging, but the LED lights malfunction.
If this is the case for your device, you’ll want to know how long it takes for your power bank to charge up. You can count how long it takes to plug it in to charge fully.
Here’s how to charge your power bank if the lights stop working:
- Know how many hours it takes to charge your power bank fully.
- Plug in your power bank and start a timer on your phone.
- Continue to charge your power bank until the alarm of your timer goes off.
- Unplug your power bank’s charger.
Pro Tip: Most Anker power banks will fully charge between 6 to 8 hours.
4. Feel the Temperature of Your Power Bank
Another method you can use to tell if your Anker power bank is charging is by feeling it.
When your power bank is charging, you will notice some changes in its temperature. You can expect it to heat up when you plug it into a wall outlet to charge.
Even though the charging light indicators don’t illuminate, you can feel the device and check if it’s heating up or not.
Here’s how to know if your power bank is charging through its temperature:
- Plug in your power bank to charge it.
- Wait for at least 30 minutes.
- Feel your power bank, and it should warm up.
- Wait for your power bank to cool down.
- Once it cools down, unplug it.
Note: Your power bank should not get too hot to the touch, or else there’s something wrong with it, and get it serviced.
5. How Many Times It Can Fully Charge Your Device
One of the things you want to take note of with your Anker power bank is the number of times it can fully charge your phone.
Even if there’s no visible light notification on your power bank, you can still have a rough estimate of its current capacity.
If your fully charged power bank can fill up your phone’s battery three times over. Every time you charge your phone, you know your power bank’s capacity decreases in 33% increments.
When you’re down to your last charge, you can plug it in immediately rather than wait for it to stop charging your devices.
Here’s how to know your Anker power bank is charging by its capacity:
- Know how many times your power bank can fully charge your device.
- Once you have that figured out, you can count how many times you’ve charged.
- After charging your phone that many times, you can recharge your power bank.
6. How to Know When Anker Power Bank is Fully Charged
Whether you have the indicator lights available, there are several ways to know if your Anker power bank is fully charged.
There’s nothing to worry about, especially if the lights malfunction since you can still have an estimate when your power bank is charged up properly.
Here’s how you can know if your Anker power bank is charged up:
- Use the USB-C connector to charge up your Anker power bank.
- All four indicator lights should light up solid green.
- If the lights don’t work, charge your power bank for at least 8 hours.
- Your power bank heats up for the first few hours of charging and cools down.
Note: If your power bank’s indicator lights continue to blink, you will need to wait for it to turn solid to know it’s fully charged.
That’s it! You need to know these things if you want to determine that your Anker power bank is charging properly.
It’s not all the time that you’re going to face problems with it. However, you can contact Anker customer support for additional assistance if you do.
Bottom Line
Now that you know the answer to how do I know my Anker power bank is charging, you can charge it in confidence, knowing that you can figure it out even if the indicator lights malfunction.
You can do that in many ways so you always have the charging capacity for your device, even if you don’t have access to a wall outlet.
Read Next: Why Is My Anker Charger Not Charging
Finn Wheatley holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from UCL, London. He helped small data science consultancy firms, helping large corporations to grow their data capabilities, deploy advanced machine learning-based analytics and troubleshoot tech-related issues. Check out more about him here.