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5W Chargers: will it damage the MacBook Pro 16-inch?
- Thread starter Hexley
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Edit: Below information is not necessarily correct for modern USB C PD chargers.
Are you saying you have a USB A to USB C cable and you want to use the 5w 1amp iPhone charging brick with your MBP?
There usually isn't a problem when you use an oversized charger for a device, but there definitely is a problem if you use an Undersized charger with a device. You risk it getting very hot, burning up, and fire.
I would HIGHLY recommend not using a 5w iPhone charging brick with your MacBook Pro 16 inch.
I've used a 30w Anker charger with my 2017 MBP 13' and it was fine - lost charge during games, but never got too hot.
The correct answer is, your MBP requesting a lot more power than the 5w charger can supply will damage the 5w charger and anything else around it.
Are you saying you have a USB A to USB C cable and you want to use the 5w 1amp iPhone charging brick with your MBP?
There usually isn't a problem when you use an oversized charger for a device, but there definitely is a problem if you use an Undersized charger with a device. You risk it getting very hot, burning up, and fire.
I would HIGHLY recommend not using a 5w iPhone charging brick with your MacBook Pro 16 inch.
I've used a 30w Anker charger with my 2017 MBP 13' and it was fine - lost charge during games, but never got too hot.
The correct answer is, your MBP requesting a lot more power than the 5w charger can supply will damage the 5w charger and anything else around it.
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5W will not be enough to maintain 100%, considering the battery life is at best in the 10-13hour ish range in those activities it is clearly using more than 5W as the battery is 100Wh, so at least 10watts average draw low usage.
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It won't damage the charger either, it just won't be very effective and will cause excess battery wear if used like this.
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It won't damage the charger either, it just won't be very effective and will cause excess battery wear if used like this.
I guess I’m from the older days or something. I’ve burned chargers out using devices on them that were rated for more - but I haven’t done it recently. Nice to see!
The 5W charger does not have enough voltage nor current to do anything to your 16" MBP.
Use a smaller travel sized 29W Apple charger that comes with the 12" Retina Macbook - that's what I would carry on travels.
Use a smaller travel sized 29W Apple charger that comes with the 12" Retina Macbook - that's what I would carry on travels.
What I meant is... I dont want to carry a charger and just use whatever charger is available in the room.
I think you'd be hard pressed to find a 5 watt USB-C charger anyway, but no, it will not maintain battery level if you do.
Ditto what others have said.
Heck! A 5W charger is pretty much useless with an iPhone at times (eg. using a map app), so can't see how a 5W charger will keep a Macbook going.
And seen same as @BigMcGuire: I've got a RAVPower 65W USB-C charger, and if I plug in the phone in the USB-A port on the charger, seen scenarios where the Macbook Pro is using more than the 60W the charger is giving in this configuration and slowly ticking down.
I got the RAVPower for this exact scenario, minimize the number of chargers to lug around and it being smaller than the stock Apple one. Unfortunately, appears as the charger companies are not caught up yet with Apple's needs. I've seen a RAVPower(?) 90W dual USB-C ports charger, which might keep the Mac somewhat topped off and charge something else at same time. Anker has a 100W four port charger, but that has a hefty price tag and only delivers 82W to a 16" MBP.
Heck! A 5W charger is pretty much useless with an iPhone at times (eg. using a map app), so can't see how a 5W charger will keep a Macbook going.
And seen same as @BigMcGuire: I've got a RAVPower 65W USB-C charger, and if I plug in the phone in the USB-A port on the charger, seen scenarios where the Macbook Pro is using more than the 60W the charger is giving in this configuration and slowly ticking down.
I got the RAVPower for this exact scenario, minimize the number of chargers to lug around and it being smaller than the stock Apple one. Unfortunately, appears as the charger companies are not caught up yet with Apple's needs. I've seen a RAVPower(?) 90W dual USB-C ports charger, which might keep the Mac somewhat topped off and charge something else at same time. Anker has a 100W four port charger, but that has a hefty price tag and only delivers 82W to a 16" MBP.
I wonder if it will even sync up with a 5W charger. The lowest I have every gone is 30W and that was rather slow. I usually carry a small 60W charger I got on Amazon and that works fine for any USB-C device I carry and is only $30. So if I lose it or leave it behind it is not a big lost.
Also I am a little weary of plugging into USB ports at airport and hotels. Remember they are designed to provide power, and exchange data.
Also I am a little weary of plugging into USB ports at airport and hotels. Remember they are designed to provide power, and exchange data.
So am I the only one that has had the experience of having lower wattage chargers burn out and start melting themselves when plugging in something that asks for more wattage/power? :/
When I travel I take https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0721DV7YX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 -- enough to keep my 2017 MBP 13' charged up taking notes during conferences, etc - and a port for my USB accessories (headphones, iPhone, etc).
For a 2016 MBP... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PWC32Z...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ== - I might try that one.
When I travel I take https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0721DV7YX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 -- enough to keep my 2017 MBP 13' charged up taking notes during conferences, etc - and a port for my USB accessories (headphones, iPhone, etc).
For a 2016 MBP... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PWC32Z...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ== - I might try that one.
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USB-C? The USB-C spec is supposed to prevent that.
Right, but isn't the 5w charger USB A? (What the OP is talking about)?
Ah the USB C on the laptop won't ask for more than what the 5w will output? Ah ok. Didn't know that. Thanks.
The USB PD spec allows for 5v charging on a laptop that is USB PD capable but also accepts more. It can only draw as much as the USB specs allows for a non PD charger. Look it up. It will not damage the charger or the laptop ( i have been doing this for 3 years now on my macs and windows laptops.) Does that mean i will keep the laptop charged when on... no but when sleeping and im driving between sites in my car, I can get 10 percent per hour on a iphone charger or 15-18% on an ipad charger.
EDIT: Found the term! They are called USB Profiles
EDIT: Found the term! They are called USB Profiles
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Will do - thank you very much for the info! I learned something new today.
Here is the explanation done by renesas if anybody is curious.
if you have a cheap chinease charger being run near 100%, you might have issues. But with a proper quality apple charger, you will be fine.
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if you have a cheap chinease charger being run near 100%, you might have issues. But with a proper quality apple charger, you will be fine.
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Anker is a good quality brand from my experience. The only thing about those dual output ones is the wattage is shared between those ports. I haven't found one that doesn't do that yet
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Considering that my 15 inch uses about 10-15 watts with a static web page and no mouse movement I will assume you need at least the 18 watt charger that comes with the newer iPhones to keep the battery level. More than likely your battery might go down anyway so the minimum should be the 29 watt charger. Look up GaN-based chargers if you are low on space, as they are smaller than usual chargers (but more expensive).
As an aside, the 10 watt iPad charger has difficulty to charge the iPad Pro if you are pushing it. The much bigger 16 inch screen and less power efficient design of a laptop means that the 5 watt charger would only work if you stopped using it and let it charge overnight.
As an aside, the 10 watt iPad charger has difficulty to charge the iPad Pro if you are pushing it. The much bigger 16 inch screen and less power efficient design of a laptop means that the 5 watt charger would only work if you stopped using it and let it charge overnight.
If the size is your concern, just get a gallium nitride (GaN) charger. They are much smaller and prices are coming down. A 90W GaN is about the size of Apple’s 61W charger, and a 60W GaN is about the size of Apple’s 30W charger. I bought a 60W GaN from Amazon for about $35.
Well, make sure you trust whatever it is you're plugging into your computer. "Juice Jacking" is a real thing.