Clean Energy Charging is a feature introduced in iOS 16 designed to reduce your carbon footprint. When enabled, your iPhone attempts to selectively charge during times when lower carbon emission electricity is available on your local energy grid. While well-intentioned, this feature can lead to unexpected and frustrating scenarios where your iPhone pauses charging overnight or fails to reach 100% battery before you need to leave, prioritizing grid statistics over your immediate battery needs. If you rely on having a fully charged device on a strict schedule, disabling this feature is essential.
This guide will show you how to completely disable the Clean Energy Charging setting system-wide on your iPhone to ensure your device charges immediately and continuously whenever plugged in.
How to Disable ‘Clean Energy Charging’ on iPhone
Follow these steps to turn off the smart charging restrictions:
- Unlock your iPhone and open the Settings app.
- Scroll down and tap on Battery.
- Tap on Battery Health & Charging (or just Charging Optimization depending on your exact iOS version).
- Locate the toggle for Clean Energy Charging.
- Toggle the switch to the Off position.
- A prompt will appear asking for confirmation. Choose Turn Off to permanently disable it, rather than just disabling it until tomorrow.
Once disabled, your iPhone will no longer pause charging to wait for greener energy grid conditions.
A Note on Optimized Battery Charging
In the same menu, you will also see an option for Optimized Battery Charging. This is a separate feature that learns your daily routine and waits to charge past 80% until just before you wake up to preserve battery lifespan. If you are experiencing charging delays, you may also want to disable this feature to ensure your phone charges straight to 100% without interruption.