Can a iPad Pro charger be used with a MBA?

[trash eighty]

Not that there is anything wrong with my own charger but if there was (or i couldn't find it) could i use my wife's iPad Pro charger safely with my MBA M1? And vice versa?

 

[Mr.Blacky]

I think the worst that could happen is, that it either charges very slowly or not at all.

 

[saintmac]

Sure you can it will just charge slowly.
I sometimes charge my 16" macbook pro with my 18w iPad charger. It's very slow and the battery might actually drain if you use the laptop at the same time, but to charge overnight without using it it works.
I think the USB-C PD (Power Delivery) standard that they both use is pretty good at using different wattages in a safe way.

 

[trash eighty]

Thanks, I thought it would be ok (though slow), handy to know in case of emergencies.

 

[AeroEngineer]

Yep, can confirm. At least, I used it several times to charge my 2018 15" MBP on trips where I forgot to bring my regular charger. It was slow, but worked fine for overnight charging!

 

[xraydoc]

Not that there is anything wrong with my own charger but if there was (or i couldn't find it) could i use my wife's iPad Pro charger safely with my MBA M1? And vice versa?

Yes, although if you're using it at the same time it's plugged in, the 18w (or 20w) iPad charger may not be able to add sufficient charge to the battery -- you'll see a "not charging" notice under the battery icon. It will begin to charge once the computer is put to sleep or is shut down. It won't harm the machine, but it's possible the battery could still slowly drain while using it even with the 18w charger plugged in. But it's definitely sufficient to charge the machine overnight.

And the iPad Pro will happily charge off the MBA's charger (or any of the larger MacBook Pro chargers). The iPad will only draw as much current as it needs and won't be harmed by the "higher wattage" of the larger laptop chargers, presuming you're not using a horribly crappy 3rd party charger that doesn't conform to the USB-C Power Delivery (PD) standard. Rare, but could happen.

 

[maerz001]

All usb-c chargers. Not only ipad.
e.g. I use my nintendo switch charger from time to time

 

[trash eighty]

OK cool I suspect my old Chromebook Pixel charger will be ok too then.

 

[1rottenapple]

i don’t have a m1 but I have a 16 in MacBook Pro with way bigger battery. the 18 watt charger changes it overnight. it won’t gain a charge however if the screen is on.