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charging issue with Macbook Air M1

N

nkln

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 12, 2023
2
0
Hi there,

i have an issue with my new macbook air m1.
I bought a new power adapter because I am too lazy to carry it always with me.

Bought one from Samsung: EP-T4510 (45 Watt charger).

When connecting this to my macbook air, the macbook recognizes the charger, but a message says, that the battery will not be charged and the power source is the power adapter.
After 20-60 seconds the battery will start charging. When connecting the original apple power adapter, the battery will start charging immediately.

Does anyone know, why there is a small delay. I don't mind about the delay, more concerned about that something might not be correct and could harm my macbook.

Thanks :)
 
I don't know about the delay, but you don't need to worry about harm. If the volts/amps weren't sufficient, the MacBook wouldn't charge.
 
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This happens on my 16 MBP M1Pro with non-Apple charger also. Do not know if Apple charger I use at work is immediate or takes time, I do not care. Not a problem to worry about.
It takes time to figure out among computer, cable, and charger what currents they support. It is bit complicated - computer has to figure out what cable you have and what current cable supports; then figure out what the charger you have and what current that supports; figure out what to use, tell them all, and have all switch to the schema. Simply, there is lots of discussion going on before you can start charging...
FYI: I tested all USB-C cables I have at home at one point and marked them based on what speed & current they seem to support. It varied widely. I now have dedicated charging only USB-C cables, high speed data cables, and only some capable both high current and high speed.
Of course, if you use original Apple cable and charger, this whole thing may be simple as they probably have predefined settings ready to go.
But this whole thing will not damage your computer, just delay start of charging for minute or so.
 
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Honza1 said:
But this whole thing will not damage your computer, just delay start of charging for minute or so.
Click to expand...
can I or someone else plug a USB_C dell power cable used for a 13" laptop in my MacBook Air 2020M1?
depending on wattage and amps specs.

I currently am using my MacBook Pro 2012 60W powering my MBair 2010 which is 45W with no problems!
 
Confusing on what is so difficult on this... You should be able to plug any USB-C cable and any USB-C power source (with PD) into any USB-C charging device and charge it, if they are technically capable of doing so. You should not damage anything. That is intention of the specifications which all USB-C devices should follow.

Now, there is physics - 20W USB-C power source will charge devices slower than 45W or 60W or 100W, if these devices are able to take advantage of higher power. Also, any power source can provide lower currents so you can charge your phone from 100W USB-C power source and all should be fine... But all of that is secondary to safety. You should not damage any USB-C device by plugging it into any USB-C power source.
HOWEVER, people here and elsewhere reported that some cheap USB-C power bricks can damage computers. It is not clear how much to trust causal relationship here and how much is just coincidence... My 2017 MBP charging chip died while I was using Apple power brick... Sometimes we see relationships where there are none and electronics goes bad even without "help". So this is difficult to prove.
Also, some low power devices (headphones) cannot negotiate power correctly and may not charge from high power source, even when they are using USB-C connector. I have headphones which will not charge from USB-C 60W power source using USB-C cable, but will charge fine using USB-A to USB-C cable (from the same power source which has USB-A also). USB-A limits them to 5V, ~1A max. But, no damage, just refused to charge.
 
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@Honza1 and @chabig: thank you for your answers. I now fully charged my mba m1 with the samsung power adapter, everything seems to work fine (except the delay). Since samsung normally produce a good quality, i will continue to use the charger. Thanks to the explanation that nothing should harm my mac, I can sleep a little easier now :)
 
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