Laptop charging via USB-C
Discussion
Afternoon all,
I have a Lenovo P1 Gen 3 which comes with a 135W charger. I also have an Anker charger which can output up to 65W, with 20W and 45W USB-C ports.
I take the Anker charger with me when I travel anyway to charge phone, tablet, headphones etc, but I'm wondering if I can potentially leave the laptop charger at home and use that for the laptop as well?
Obviously I realise that 65W isn't as much as 135W, but as I generally only make light use of the laptop when travelling, is it likely to be enough?
The laptop does recognise it, but also gives me a warning message saying that the charger doesn't have enough power, and may only charge the laptop if it's shut down. Does this mean that it won't charge the laptop at all if it's not shut down, or just that it won't be able to increase battery charge whilst the laptop is operational? If it means that the battery lasts 6 hours instead of 4, for example, that's more than enough for me.
Also, if I run cables from both the 20W and 45W ports on the charger to the two USB ports on the laptop, will it take the full 65W or only the 45W one?
I have a Lenovo P1 Gen 3 which comes with a 135W charger. I also have an Anker charger which can output up to 65W, with 20W and 45W USB-C ports.
I take the Anker charger with me when I travel anyway to charge phone, tablet, headphones etc, but I'm wondering if I can potentially leave the laptop charger at home and use that for the laptop as well?
Obviously I realise that 65W isn't as much as 135W, but as I generally only make light use of the laptop when travelling, is it likely to be enough?
The laptop does recognise it, but also gives me a warning message saying that the charger doesn't have enough power, and may only charge the laptop if it's shut down. Does this mean that it won't charge the laptop at all if it's not shut down, or just that it won't be able to increase battery charge whilst the laptop is operational? If it means that the battery lasts 6 hours instead of 4, for example, that's more than enough for me.
Also, if I run cables from both the 20W and 45W ports on the charger to the two USB ports on the laptop, will it take the full 65W or only the 45W one?
It looks like both the Thunderbolt 3 slots support power delivery, not sure what it will do if you plug both in simultaneously.
My Lenovo X1 will run but not charge when connected to a lower rated charger, tbh I haven't tested if it charges when left connected while the laptop is off.
Should be fairly easy to test though.
My Lenovo X1 will run but not charge when connected to a lower rated charger, tbh I haven't tested if it charges when left connected while the laptop is off.
Should be fairly easy to test though.
QuartzDad said:
It looks like both the Thunderbolt 3 slots support power delivery, not sure what it will do if you plug both in simultaneously.
My Lenovo X1 will run but not charge when connected to a lower rated charger, tbh I haven't tested if it charges when left connected while the laptop is off.
Should be fairly easy to test though.p
I'm sure it would. Just I normally have two external monitors plugged in to those ports! My Lenovo X1 will run but not charge when connected to a lower rated charger, tbh I haven't tested if it charges when left connected while the laptop is off.
Should be fairly easy to test though.p
Give it a try and see what it does.
I have a 2x USBC and 2x USBA Rav Power charger, I think its this one;
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charger-Desktop-Adapter-C...
I use it to charge my MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch when I am away from home and it works without fail. Not super fast at charging but I usually plug everything in at night and its 100% by morning. It will also fast charge at 65W if you only plug one thing in at a time. I also have a set of 30cm charging cables to reduce the chaos and weight in the suitcase.
I have a 2x USBC and 2x USBA Rav Power charger, I think its this one;
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charger-Desktop-Adapter-C...
I use it to charge my MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch when I am away from home and it works without fail. Not super fast at charging but I usually plug everything in at night and its 100% by morning. It will also fast charge at 65W if you only plug one thing in at a time. I also have a set of 30cm charging cables to reduce the chaos and weight in the suitcase.
I tried it overnight, but sadly no joy. 
That was with both cables plugged in though, so it may have confused the laptop and caused it to not charge at all? I'll try just the 45W cable to see what that does tonight. I really can't see why it wouldn't charge a turned-off laptop at least to some extent, albeit slowly?
Or, just as a thought, maybe the USB-C ports aren't always on, so won't accept a charge whilst the laptop is actually powered off? Maybe I'd need to put it in sleep mode, rather than actually shutting it down?
[/stream of consciousness babbling]
That was with both cables plugged in though, so it may have confused the laptop and caused it to not charge at all? I'll try just the 45W cable to see what that does tonight. I really can't see why it wouldn't charge a turned-off laptop at least to some extent, albeit slowly?Or, just as a thought, maybe the USB-C ports aren't always on, so won't accept a charge whilst the laptop is actually powered off? Maybe I'd need to put it in sleep mode, rather than actually shutting it down?
[/stream of consciousness babbling]
If you are trying to draw from both ports on the charger, you will probably find that they are either disabled, or only drawing 20W from each. Just try one.....
There are smallish 100W chargers now, like this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/MINIX-NEO-P3-Charging-Com...
It will charge via USB C if it is switched off or on.
There are smallish 100W chargers now, like this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/MINIX-NEO-P3-Charging-Com...
It will charge via USB C if it is switched off or on.
CharlesElliott said:
If you are trying to draw from both ports on the charger, you will probably find that they are either disabled, or only drawing 20W from each. Just try one.....
There are smallish 100W chargers now, like this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/MINIX-NEO-P3-Charging-Com...
It will charge via USB C if it is switched off or on.
Ooh!!! I think that makes it worth sending back the Anker charger, as it's absolutely perfect! There are smallish 100W chargers now, like this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/MINIX-NEO-P3-Charging-Com...
It will charge via USB C if it is switched off or on.
CharlesElliott said:
I have one of them, and the 65W version, they are good as I travel a lot and so the Europe / US / UK adapter can be taken as needed. I hadn't noticed before, but there is a picture on the Amazon site which explains how the power for that one varies as you use more than one port.
Yes, that combination of 100W (I'm not sure even 65W would be enough to power my laptop sufficiently) a good quantity of ports and the interchangeable socket adapters really does look like perfection. I've already initiated the Amazon returns process on the Anker one and ordered one of these, so when I'm travelling I'll be able to drop the laptop power supply and socket adapter, which is a nice win when I'm aiming for hand luggage only! I've got a Lenovo Thinkpad that has one USB-C slot, no secondary port for charging on the laptop and the USB-C does all that or acts with the dock etc etc
Have got two phone style USB-C "fast" chargers
Lower powered charger is 20w on a single output, I found this will maintain a full battery for a day while working or charge the unit overnight with the laptop OFF but doesn't seem to charge in use, just seems to maintain - I did get the same message about it being too low
Higher 65w that has two slots
- using one slot with one cable it seems to just behave like the supplied charger, no messages and can charge the battery whilst in use
- using two slot with two cables i.e. one to laptop and one to phone, it seemed to drop and charge slower (but no message), I found this was the case even if I unplugged from the phone but left the cable in. Taking out the "spare" cable made it begin to charge the laptop faster whilst in use so it must switch down to 45w or something like that
Have got two phone style USB-C "fast" chargers
Lower powered charger is 20w on a single output, I found this will maintain a full battery for a day while working or charge the unit overnight with the laptop OFF but doesn't seem to charge in use, just seems to maintain - I did get the same message about it being too low
Higher 65w that has two slots
- using one slot with one cable it seems to just behave like the supplied charger, no messages and can charge the battery whilst in use
- using two slot with two cables i.e. one to laptop and one to phone, it seemed to drop and charge slower (but no message), I found this was the case even if I unplugged from the phone but left the cable in. Taking out the "spare" cable made it begin to charge the laptop faster whilst in use so it must switch down to 45w or something like that
Edited by Captain Answer on Thursday 30th June 14:55
Edited by Captain Answer on Thursday 30th June 14:56
I've been doing a similar things for a while using this 100W charger - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08XQHMTZL/ref...
I prefer it to the wall mounted ones as I can attach a longish mains lead which is useful when travelling and the sockets are not always where you need them, and some are so loose that a wall unit will fall out.
Having USB-C charging laptops is great as it means this one charger does all electronics I travel with, be that a big or small trip. And I can charge lots of things concurrently overnight.
I prefer it to the wall mounted ones as I can attach a longish mains lead which is useful when travelling and the sockets are not always where you need them, and some are so loose that a wall unit will fall out.
Having USB-C charging laptops is great as it means this one charger does all electronics I travel with, be that a big or small trip. And I can charge lots of things concurrently overnight.
I’d advise against this. I’ve always regretted skimping on chargers. It’s just not worth the risk of being powerless to save the weight of a charger.
Sometimes there are unforeseen scenarios and plans change. Once my laptop turned itself on and discharged in my bag. If you arrive at your destination with flat batteries in your phone and laptop, would you be able to cope with both charging slowly? If there was a delay or diversion, would you be able to cope with everything charging slowly if the best you can do is a quick 30 min charge whilst transiting?
I’d keep it simple and take the right chargers for the job. For me, this means taking separate laptop and a multiport Anker charger for my mobile devices.
So that Minix charger will do 65w max if you what to charge more than 1 thing at once. That would make me nervous trying to charge a laptop that comes with a 135w power brick.
At the minimum something like the below that will provide 96w to your laptop and 12w to 1 other device will be better, but still a compromise vs taking the original Lenovo charger and a multiport charger for your other devices.
https://www.belkin.com/uk/chargers/wall/boost-char...
It’s worth digging into how fast your laptop will charge from USB C and not the original power brick. It wont accept 135w (usb c is rated max 100w), maybe not even 96w, depending on what Lenovo implemented. It is not unusual for manufacturers to cap USB C power at 30w.
Sometimes there are unforeseen scenarios and plans change. Once my laptop turned itself on and discharged in my bag. If you arrive at your destination with flat batteries in your phone and laptop, would you be able to cope with both charging slowly? If there was a delay or diversion, would you be able to cope with everything charging slowly if the best you can do is a quick 30 min charge whilst transiting?
I’d keep it simple and take the right chargers for the job. For me, this means taking separate laptop and a multiport Anker charger for my mobile devices.
So that Minix charger will do 65w max if you what to charge more than 1 thing at once. That would make me nervous trying to charge a laptop that comes with a 135w power brick.
At the minimum something like the below that will provide 96w to your laptop and 12w to 1 other device will be better, but still a compromise vs taking the original Lenovo charger and a multiport charger for your other devices.
https://www.belkin.com/uk/chargers/wall/boost-char...
It’s worth digging into how fast your laptop will charge from USB C and not the original power brick. It wont accept 135w (usb c is rated max 100w), maybe not even 96w, depending on what Lenovo implemented. It is not unusual for manufacturers to cap USB C power at 30w.
Edited by wyson on Sunday 3rd July 18:23
wyson said:
I’d advise against this. I’ve always regretted skimping on chargers. It’s just not worth the risk of being powerless to save the weight of a charger.
Sometimes there are unforeseen scenarios and plans change. Once my laptop turned itself on and discharged in my bag. If you arrive at your destination with flat batteries in your phone and laptop, would you be able to cope with both charging slowly? If there was a delay or diversion, would you be able to cope with everything charging slowly if the best you can do is a quick 30 min charge whilst transiting?
I’d keep it simple and take the right chargers for the job. For me, this means taking separate laptop and a multiport Anker charger for my mobile devices.
So that Minix charger will do 65w max if you what to charge more than 1 thing at once. That would make me nervous trying to charge a laptop that comes with a 135w power brick.
At the minimum something like the below that will provide 96w to your laptop and 12w to 1 other device will be better, but still a compromise vs taking the original Lenovo charger and a multiport charger for your other devices.
https://www.belkin.com/uk/chargers/wall/boost-char...
It’s worth digging into how fast your laptop will charge from USB C and not the original power brick. It wont accept 135w (usb c is rated max 100w), maybe not even 96w, depending on what Lenovo implemented. It is not unusual for manufacturers to cap USB C power at 30w.
Thanks for the concern, but to be honest half the trips I won't even use my laptop! Sometimes there are unforeseen scenarios and plans change. Once my laptop turned itself on and discharged in my bag. If you arrive at your destination with flat batteries in your phone and laptop, would you be able to cope with both charging slowly? If there was a delay or diversion, would you be able to cope with everything charging slowly if the best you can do is a quick 30 min charge whilst transiting?
I’d keep it simple and take the right chargers for the job. For me, this means taking separate laptop and a multiport Anker charger for my mobile devices.
So that Minix charger will do 65w max if you what to charge more than 1 thing at once. That would make me nervous trying to charge a laptop that comes with a 135w power brick.
At the minimum something like the below that will provide 96w to your laptop and 12w to 1 other device will be better, but still a compromise vs taking the original Lenovo charger and a multiport charger for your other devices.
https://www.belkin.com/uk/chargers/wall/boost-char...
It’s worth digging into how fast your laptop will charge from USB C and not the original power brick. It wont accept 135w (usb c is rated max 100w), maybe not even 96w, depending on what Lenovo implemented. It is not unusual for manufacturers to cap USB C power at 30w.
I turn my laptop off before travelling, and in the worst case scenario, I could also drive a presentation from my phone or tablet.
I always travel with the one charger for everything. Whether I'm travelling short trip hand luggage or long trip big bag I'm always chasing minimum weight and only taking exactly what I will need.
I am ok with the risk of one charger failing. The mitigation is that I always have at least a couple of hours charge in the laptop and phone so I can buy a new USB-C charger in any location I travel on business to. Almost every hotel I use has direct USB charge sockets too, so it's only the laptop that'd struggle without a charger.
I am ok with the risk of one charger failing. The mitigation is that I always have at least a couple of hours charge in the laptop and phone so I can buy a new USB-C charger in any location I travel on business to. Almost every hotel I use has direct USB charge sockets too, so it's only the laptop that'd struggle without a charger.
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