One UI 6.1 gets blamed for 40% charging speed reduction on some Samsung Galaxy phones

Samsung has officially rolled out One UI 6.1 for the last-gen Galaxy devices. The new update brings a good number of features, which include Galaxy AI. But it seems that the new custom Android isn’t fairing well on previous flagship phones. Many people on Samsung’s Community Forum report that their devices’ charging speed has been throttled.

For instance, one of the reports comes from a Galaxy Z Fold 5 (512 GB curr. $1,519.99 on Amazon) user who says that the phone is charging at 15 watts even though it’s connected to a 25-watt Samsung charger. That is a sharp 40% reduction. This isn’t an isolated case, though. Another user who owns a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (available on Amazon) reported the same thing. In both instances, the users claim that the issue appeared after updating their smartphones to One UI 6.1.

After seeing these reports, Sammobile took the responsibility of finding out whether One UI 6.1 was actually throttling the last-gen phones. The outlet tested their Samsung Galaxy S23, updated it to the latest software, and plugged it into a 120-watt PPS charger. After considering the voltage and amperage readings from an external meter, Sammobile concluded that the update isn’t responsible for slower charging speeds.

In the test, the outlet found that the Galaxy S23 was charging at normal speeds, which is 20 watts. Yes, it’s still 5 watts lower than the advertised fast charging speed of the phone, but the device occasionally charges at 25 watts. Sammobile also notes that the charging speed remained the same even before the smartphone was updated to One UI 6.1.

So, what about the user reports? Sammobile says that the users aren’t probably aware that the charging speed declines as the battery percentages rise. That is, the users are likely getting slower speeds because they are charging their devices with a nearly full battery. It’s also possible that the app they are using, which is Electron, might not be showing the correct readings.