Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Charging via battery pack

D

Daum

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 18, 2015
191
198
Has anyone tried this yet? I won't get my MacBook for another 4-6 weeks but I plan on charging it with a 10,000mah+ battery pack. How long would this take it would it just keep the MacBook alive?

Would also like to know if there is any way you can control the charging. Because maybe I'd like to charge my battery pack while the Mac is using av power. Wait... I can't do that as it only had one port. Damn might have to get an adapter.
 
Daum said:
Has anyone tried this yet? I won't get my MacBook for another 4-6 weeks but I plan on charging it with a 10,000mah+ battery pack. How long would this take it would it just keep the MacBook alive?

Would also like to know if there is any way you can control the charging. Because maybe I'd like to charge my battery pack while the Mac is using av power. Wait... I can't do that as it only had one port. Damn might have to get an adapter.
Click to expand...

I have a 12,000mAh battery pack and bought a usb-c to usb-a cable to connect to it. It does charge the battery, but I haven't had time to test how long it will take to charge it. The only quick test I did was when my MacBook was at 59%, and the battery pack was fully charged. It said it would take 5 hours to fully charge the MacBook. I will do a full battery test soon.
 
Thank you! That would be really helpful. Even if it just keeps the computer alive while using it, that would be fine with me. This is not a make it or break it deal but I'm just curious if anyone has tried this yet. Thanks again!
 
Jonathon Morrison from TLD (a tech reviewer on Youtube) just posted a photo on his Twitter and Instagram yesterday showing that this was indeed possible. Here's the link.
 
gmintz09 said:
Jonathon Morrison from TLD (a tech reviewer on Youtube) just posted a photo on his Twitter and Instagram yesterday showing that this was indeed possible. Here's the link.
Click to expand...


Possible but how long would it take. I have that same Anker battery so I'm even more curious.

Edit: actually mine is the 13000 mAh version it just looked the same in his photo.
 
There was an Engadget article about this somewhere. They tested with the highest output 18,000 mah pack they could find, and determined with the computer ON, it doesn't charge, it just powers. With the computer off, it charges at 5% per 30 minutes, so full charge would take all day. Highly impractical.
 
I guess that's not too bad if i leave the battery connected in my bag while i'm out all day. so in theory, i can really have all day battery!!
 
Daum said:
I guess that's not too bad if i leave the battery connected in my bag while i'm out all day. so in theory, i can really have all day battery!!
Click to expand...

I have been curious about whether the usb cable/port would be broken if we leave them inside a bag...
 
Daum said:
I guess that's not too bad if i leave the battery connected in my bag while i'm out all day. so in theory, i can really have all day battery!!
Click to expand...

Yikes, that's a scary proposition. What do you do that you leave the house in the morning at 100%, spend 6-9 hours somewhere with no plug, and then aren't back home to charge it? It always baffles me, since most workplaces have plugs, and most people don't sit on their computer (especially a 12" laptop) all day long.... I think we just have a lot of OCD community members who always want their battery to be at 100% heheh. (guilty)

----------
palmwangja said:
I have been curious about whether the usb cable/port would be broken if we leave them inside a bag...
Click to expand...

I'd be more concerned about the damage from hooking up a power source not designed for the computer than the physical port breaking off in the bag. LOL
 
The bundled Apple charger is rated at 29 watts. The highest battery charger on the market is probably only rated for the iPad which is a 12 watt charger.

Basically it is best to wait for manufacturers to build specific chargers that can give the MacBook the full 29 watts, otherwise charging will be REALLY slow.

----------
shenan1982 said:
I'd be more concerned about the damage from hooking up a power source not designed for the computer than the physical port breaking off in the bag. LOL
Click to expand...

Actually, from the looks of it, Apple is following the USB-C charging spec perfectly, which is designed to charge the same way existing USB devices do like the iPhone and iPad. It isn't likely you will have any damage unless the charger is poorly made (like those cheap Chinese knockoffs years ago that caught fire).
 
shenan1982 said:
Yikes, that's a scary proposition. What do you do that you leave the house in the morning at 100%, spend 6-9 hours somewhere with no plug, and then aren't back home to charge it? It always baffles me, since most workplaces have plugs, and most people don't sit on their computer (especially a 12" laptop) all day long.... I think we just have a lot of OCD community members who always want their battery to be at 100% heheh. (guilty)
Click to expand...


I use Adobe CC a lot and I'm sure that will eat up the battery really quick. I live and work downtown Chicago so the idea of being able to work anywhere without having to worry about battery life is awesome to me. And even when i am in a cafe i have to find a spot with an outlet which is not always available.

It would also be cool if i can charge it with my at work with USB. That way I just need to carry around the cord instead of the little brick.
 
shenan1982 said:
There was an Engadget article about this somewhere. They tested with the highest output 18,000 mah pack they could find, and determined with the computer ON, it doesn't charge, it just powers. With the computer off, it charges at 5% per 30 minutes, so full charge would take all day. Highly impractical.
Click to expand...

I couldn't care less if it can charge the MacBook, while in use or not. If the external battery packs that are available now can simply power the device during use (or, shoot, even just slowdown use of the internal battery during use), that's a *huge* advantage over all other Apple laptops.

If I need to charge it, I'll plug it into a wall; if I need to *use* it, being able to extend life dramatically from a modestly sized battery pack is unbelievably useful.
 
scottomfg said:
I couldn't care less if it can charge the MacBook, while in use or not. If the external battery packs that are available now can simply power the device during use (or, shoot, even just slowdown use of the internal battery during use), that's a *huge* advantage over all other Apple laptops.

If I need to charge it, I'll plug it into a wall; if I need to *use* it, being able to extend life dramatically from a modestly sized battery pack is unbelievably useful.
Click to expand...


you can "charge" it during use. totally depends on how you use it. based on istat menus information, the typical total power consumption for this computer for light usage (browsing web, typing, watching youtube, listening to spotify...) is around 6-10w, mostly 6w, sometimes 12w.
typical 'better' battery packs (those made for iPad) usually have a 12w output. so you can charge the laptop off a battery.

also, i just did a test today, i left home 7:49pm for dinner, plugged the laptop to a anker battery. it charges at 10.75w. and battery level is 61%. and i returned on 9:40pm, and battery level is already 99%, and it has stopped charging already. so i'd say if you are not using the laptop, you sure can get a full charge off battery packs within like 4-5 hours.
 
garyleecn said:
you can "charge" it during use. totally depends on how you use it. based on istat menus information, the typical total power consumption for this computer for light usage (browsing web, typing, watching youtube, listening to spotify...) is around 6-10w, mostly 6w, sometimes 12w.
typical 'better' battery packs (those made for iPad) usually have a 12w output. so you can charge the laptop off a battery.

also, i just did a test today, i left home 7:49pm for dinner, plugged the laptop to a anker battery. it charges at 10.75w. and battery level is 61%. and i returned on 9:40pm, and battery level is already 99%, and it has stopped charging already. so i'd say if you are not using the laptop, you sure can get a full charge off battery packs within like 4-5 hours.
Click to expand...

Thank you! Which anker batter pack do you own?
 
garyleecn said:
you can "charge" it during use. totally depends on how you use it. based on istat menus information, the typical total power consumption for this computer for light usage (browsing web, typing, watching youtube, listening to spotify...) is around 6-10w, mostly 6w, sometimes 12w.
typical 'better' battery packs (those made for iPad) usually have a 12w output. so you can charge the laptop off a battery.

also, i just did a test today, i left home 7:49pm for dinner, plugged the laptop to a anker battery. it charges at 10.75w. and battery level is 61%. and i returned on 9:40pm, and battery level is already 99%, and it has stopped charging already. so i'd say if you are not using the laptop, you sure can get a full charge off battery packs within like 4-5 hours.
Click to expand...

That's awesome to hear! Thanks for sharing that info. I'm surprised this isn't considered a bigger deal, with more people experimenting and sharing their results. Sound like I'll soon be ordering one of those jumbo Ankers.
 
Might be worth waiting for the inevitable 'new generation' of battery packs, designed more specifically with the MacBook (rather than a tablet) in mind. Something with a higher output.
 
I'm not bothered about 'charging' the MacBook, but would like something - as small and light as possible - to plug into it to extend its battery life (whilst in use) by around 50% or more.

It looks like the Anker ones are the way to go - does anyone have a recommendation of which mAh to go for to achieve the above (the smallest one I could use for this)? The 20000 and 25600 seem very similar in terms of size and weight; while the 16000 is obviously a lot lighter and smaller. So it's looking like 16 vs 25.6 for me. I wonder if I'd get away with the 16 for my usage ?
 
Last edited:
I have the same Anker battery pack as well, so this is good to know. Hoping the next gen will have higher output as well as capacity.
 
MarkW19 said:
I'm not bothered about 'charging' the MacBook, but would like something - as small and light as possible - to plug into it to extend its battery life (whilst in use) by around 50% or more.

It looks like the Anker ones are the way to go - does anyone have a recommendation of which mAh to go for to achieve the above (the smallest one I could use for this)? The 20000 and 25600 seem very similar in terms of size and weight; while the 16000 is obviously a lot lighter and smaller. So it's looking like 16 vs 25.6 for me. I wonder if I'd get away with the 16 for my usage ?
Click to expand...

the internal battery is 5000-6000 mah.
 
As more USB C powered Notebooks hit the market we will see more suitable "Powerbanks" presently the issue is not capacity it`s power output, as current "Powerbanks" are designed to charge phones and tablets not a Notebook, with generally a maximum output of around 2A.

There are some high power rapid charge "Powerbanks" available here in China, that will charge a phone from 0-80 percent in 30 minutes, equally there is dedicated hardware and communications between the phone and the battery, with a charging rate up to 3.5A which is pretty impressive for a small battery pack. The even smaller mains charger pushes 5A to the phone. You can also use the mains charger with the "Powerbank" to rapidly recharge it at a far faster rate. It will just be a matter of time before we see similar for the MacBook.



Q-6
 
Last edited:
shenan1982 said:
There was an Engadget article about this somewhere. They tested with the highest output 18,000 mah pack they could find, and determined with the computer ON, it doesn't charge, it just powers. With the computer off, it charges at 5% per 30 minutes, so full charge would take all day. Highly impractical.
Click to expand...
Doesn't seem impractical at all. I have an Anker battery pack that easily can slip in the airline seat pocket in front of me... If I plug it into the MacBook, I can lose zero laptop battery life until the external battery is fully drained. That sounds amazing!
garyleecn said:
the largest 20000+ one. but it doesn't matter, they all have the same output, just different capacity and form factor
Click to expand...
That's not true. The newer Anker devices have PowerIQ, which detects the max power they can deliver. The older ones don't have this technology and some of them had one port specified for fast recharging, and another specified for slower charging. I wonder how quickly the PowerIQ chargers can deliver power - I'm guessing the current versions probably max out at 2.4A.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back