Windows 10 Mobile: Devices can now be charged whilst powered off

Zac Bowden

Windows 10 Mobile

Windows Phone users will know that one thing they can’t do is charge their device whilst it’s powered off. It’s just not possible. Plugging a charging cable into a Windows Phone whilst the device is powered down will result in the device waking up fully, and there’s no option to change that.

Well, with Windows 10 Mobile build 10240, that appears to be changing. Assuming it’s not a bug, with build 10240 plugging a charging cable into my Lumia 930 when powered off displays a charging indicator on the screen instead of booting the device up completely. You can check out the charging in action with our hands on video of build 10240 below.

Now, the device still turns on to display the battery indicator, but it does not boot up completely, meaning it’s consuming less power and as a result will charge the device faster. Also, the screen shuts down after about 10 seconds or so, meaning the battery indicator is not permanently on screen. This is a welcomed addition to Windows Phone, and one many users have been asking for since the debut of Windows Phone 8.