undefined | Better HN

0 pointsslantyyz9y ago0 comments

>> I'm happy to finally have industry standard charging.

Real question to people in the know - is this truly the case?

I get that the port is industry standard, but are there electrical protections put in place?

If I use a 100W non-Apple charger on a MacBook Pro that uses a 63W charger will it damage the battery? Will a USB-C phone charger (with presumably very low wattage) work as well (albeit slower)?

While I really like that TB/USB3 ports are standard, it is incredibly confusing to laypeople with respect to understanding all the nuances.

0 comments

wlesieutre9y ago

Apple's official note says "You should not connect any power supply that exceeds 100W, as it might damage your Mac." [1]

This is the maximum wattage allowed under the USB Power Delivery spec [2], so any USB-C power supply should work. Maximum voltage/current is negotiated between the supply, cable, and computer, which should select the highest amount supported by all parts of the system.

If you're using a cheap 3rd-party charger that doesn't follow the spec and decides it's going to tell the computer "I support 100W, let's do that!" and then jacks up the voltage beyond the USB power delivery limits, then yeah, expect to have problems.

The problem that I actually imagine happening is people getting a 20W rated cable with their cell phone, trying to power their computer through it, and wondering why the battery continues to drain.

[1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207256

[2] http://www.usb.org/developers/powerdelivery/

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse