Is it safe to charge Macbook Pro through Chinese display adaptor

[mudboy1]

I've got a Macbook Pro 2016 and have been connecting it to my Samsung monitor through a cheap chinese USB-C to VGA adaptor. The adaptor has a USB port which I connect my USB hub to, and a USB-C charging port which I don't use because it makes the screen flicker every minute or so. Only reason I've been using VGA is because it somehow works better than HDMI with USB-C, at least with the adaptors that I've tried. It's not perfect though, the USB port can cause display problems and I want something more robust, so I plan to pick up a USB-C to displayport cable. As I'm trying to have no more than 2 cables going into my Macbook when I set it up, I'd like to be able to use my current VGA adaptor for just my USB hub and power (visual artefacts shouldn't be an issue in this case). However, I know that USB-c and power can be a dodgy combination and I want to know how safe it would be to charge my Macbook through this adaptor.

Any other suggestions on how I could set this up would be great, I'm on a relatively strict budget as I'm a student and like to go as cheap as possible (Macbook was a gift lol)

 

[brdeveloper]

I didn't understand well all details about your connections, but in short, avoid generic cables to charge your Mac. Your cable or charger may overheat producing, at best, noise that can mess with your system. I had a generic magsafe charger for my Macbook 2009 that produced random mouse pointer movements due to noise. I ended up fixing the original broken charger through cutting part of the cable and soldering it back to the charger.

If you find VGA produces better results than thunderbolt or DVI, it probably has to do with cables and power.

 

[mick2]

Given that you already own the adapter and that none of us know any thing about it (brand? model?) the obvious solution is just to try it and see.

If it causes any power-related weirdness (eg, it gets overly warm, power to ports is unreliable, the MB starts complaining about power issues etc) stop using it, otherwise it's probably ok.

 

[mudboy1]

Given that you already own the adapter and that none of us know any thing about it (brand? model?) the obvious solution is just to try it and see.

If it causes any power-related weirdness (eg, it gets overly warm, power to ports is unreliable, the MB starts complaining about power issues etc) stop using it, otherwise it's probably ok.

It's unbranded, that's why it's a concern. That's good to know though, I am using a genuine Apple USB-C cable/charger so I'm basically just wanting to know if this can be an issue or not. In my research I found a lot about dangers of using unbranded USB-C cables but nothing about adaptors.

 

[tromboneaholic]

It's unbranded, that's why it's a concern.

Unbranded = no one to sue when it burns down your house.

It might sound like I'm being an alarmist, but how much testing for safety do you think is done on a product like that?

 

[mudboy1]

Unbranded = no one to sue when it burns down your house.

It might sound like I'm being an alarmist, but how much testing for safety do you think is done on a product like that?

I understand that there's probably minimal safety testing, which is why I'm asking how much an adaptor like this would effect the safety when coupled with legitimate cable/power adaptor. This is the kind of thing I'm talking about. https://i.ebayimg.com/thumbs/images/g/wPsAAOSw3z5ZvBsb/s-l225.jpg