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Magsafe car charger that charges at full 15w?

spinedoc77

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Original poster
Jun 11, 2009
11,488
5,413
Anyone find a car adapter/charger that puts out enough juice (I think it's 20w) to enable the Apple magsafe charger to charge at 15w? I'm looking on google and Amazon and don't see anything that's at least been verified to put out 15w with the official charger. I'm only looking for the actual plug that goes into a car's power port, I'd be using the official Apple magsafe charger connected to it.
 
I’m also looking to get the Apple MagSafe charger for the car, & attach it to an existing phone cradle.

I’ve recently purchased a cheap USB-C PD charger from Kmart which is rated at 18w. Currently using the USB-A port to charge the iPhone X, but am expecting an iPhone 13 to arrive soon, & then will grab the MagSafe charger to try it out.

I don’t mind if it’s less than the 20w rated MagSafe charger, but hoping for 15w or higher.
 
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I ended up getting the MagSafe puck & connected it to a 18w car charger.

Just did a test on the way home. What do we think the Wattage was?…

•USB-C Port (5V==3A, 9V==2A USB-C PD, 12V==1.5A USB-C PD)…

•1 hour drive

•30% increase (50%-80%)

•Screen on with Google Maps + Spotify.

Watts: ???
 
Ralfi said:
I ended up getting the MagSafe puck & connected it to a 18w car charger.

Just did a test on the way home. What do we think the Wattage was?…

•USB-C Port (5V==3A, 9V==2A USB-C PD, 12V==1.5A USB-C PD)…

•1 hour drive

•30% increase (50%-80%)

•Screen on with Google Maps + Spotify.

Watts: ???
Click to expand...
Does it matter? :cool: 30% increase with those apps running is good. Most likely it is not 18W but I am not even sure the car power plug wiring can actually do 18W of sustained power. I might be wrong, I'd be happy with what you are getting. Plus, in the car, especially in the winter with the heat blasting in, the phone will get hot from wireless charging and it might stop charging (it happens on my old Pixel phone charging from a Qi charger). Less Watts pumped into the battery = lower temps in the battery = more sustainable wireless charging. Even 7.5W is not bad if it can still charge the battery a bit while using the phone.
 
DrCC said:
Does it matter? :cool:
Click to expand...
I’ve been running a few charging tests since I received my first iPhone in 3+ years a couple of days ago & am curious how MagSafe compares to both cable (USB-A & USB-C) & standard wireless. & with using non-Apple charge bricks.

Interested to know how this car charger’s performing. Oh & it’s Summer here (27°C today), so the air conditioner was on ?, but the back of the phone had the Sun shining on it.

To compare, a 5W wall charger boosted my older iPhone X from 0 to 36% in an hour, with no use.

I’m just a curious techie.
?
 
Last edited:
Heat is the enemy in the car. If the sun is out, the combination of having to run the display at max brightness plus charging the device will typically quickly result in zero charging regardless of the charger involved.

With a proper vent mount, you can blow the AC on it and work around this issue.
 
I've actually just done a second MagSafe charging test in the car.

1 hour drive #2

*Screen on with Google Maps + Spotify.

= 10% increase (70%-80%)

Yesterday's test, where it increased by 30% for the same trip also ended up being 80%. Now, i'm not sure if optimised charging is coming into play here because the charge icon was still green in the status bar, so maybe it slowed right down when it got to 80% on both occasions.

Which means that I may be able to get more than 30% boost on this 1 hour trip.

So i'm going to let my iPhone 13 battery drain to less than 30% charge by the time I leave for the same trip tomorrow morning, so that I can see if it gets beyond 30% charge.
 
Ralfi said:
Which means that I may be able to get more than 30% boost on this 1 hour trip.
Click to expand...
& as expected, I was able to get more that 30% charge...

Battery started on 24% & after about an hours drive, with GPS & Music Streaming, it ended up at 60%, so a 36% boost.

Pretty happy with that, seeing as i'm not using an Apple/Belkin USB car charger.

I still want to know what wattage is being accepted by the iPhone so i'm hunting down a Power Meter to do more testing.
:cool:
 
Ralfi said:
& as expected, I was able to get more that 30% charge...

Battery started on 24% & after about an hours drive, with GPS & Music Streaming, it ended up at 60%, so a 36% boost.

Pretty happy with that, seeing as i'm not using an Apple/Belkin USB car charger.

I still want to know what wattage is being accepted by the iPhone so i'm hunting down a Power Meter to do more testing.
:cool:
Click to expand...
sounds about right. On iPhone mini the MagSafe will charge from 0-35% in 30 min with home plug but the higher the percentage goes, the less wattage it sends. Since you have gps running, this will eat part of the power. test it from dead without using the GPS and other apps/screen. If you get 30% charged after 30 min then you are charging at home plug speed.

I bought the Anker Dual USBC cigarette plug that outputs 48 watts. 30w in one and 18w out the other. will need to test it in various ways to see if this performs as well as home plug with MagSafe. It definitely charges full speed when using the iPhone cable so if you are going to have screen on and GPS running, maybe go inside the car with phone already mostly charged or its going to charge very slow with MagSafe.
 
Lucas Curious said:
test it from dead without using the GPS and other apps/screen. If you get 30% charged after 30 min then you are charging at home plug speed.
Click to expand...
I've done it from nearly dead; it went from 21%-60% in an hour, so 35% increase.

But there are additional factors here, as the Sun heat may've slowed the charging rate + all my testing was with a 1mm case (non-magsafe), so if it was heating up, it may have taken longer for the heat to disperse.

I should do it from 0% though, maybe in the morning when it's cooler.
Lucas Curious said:
if you are going to have screen on and GPS running, maybe go inside the car with phone already mostly charged or its going to charge very slow with MagSafe.
Click to expand...
This is what I normally do yep.

Lucas Curious said:
home plug with MagSafe
Click to expand...
I did this test today...

Apple MagSafe puck charging performance (iPhone 13 from 0% to 100%)…
- With 18w wall adapter (USB-C): 5V=3A, 9V=2A (PD), 12V=1.5A (PD)

0:15 minutes: 12% [Powered on in 6m30s]

0:30 minutes: 31% (+19%)

0:45 minutes: 47% (+16%)

1:00 hour 63% (+16%) 1st hour: +63%
----
1:15: 77% (+14%)

1:30: 86% (9+%)

1:45: 95% (9+%)

2 hours: 100% (+5%) 2nd hour: +37%

Oh & I have a USB power meter on the way, so it’ll be easier to measure the wattage being utilised.
 
Last edited:
GeekyGrannie said:
Belkin sells several. Check Amazon.
Click to expand...
It doesn't charge at 15W, but I'm going to give it a shot. It seems like it just launched recently and their regular magsafe mount has a good grip.

www.amazon.com

Belkin Magnetic Wireless Car Charger, MagSafe Compatible Air Vent Mount for Wireless Charging - AC Mount for iPhone 15, iPhone 14 & iPhone 13 - Travel Accessories for Phone (Power Supply not Included)

Belkin Magnetic Wireless Car Charger, MagSafe Compatible Air Vent Mount for Wireless Charging - AC Mount for iPhone 15, iPhone 14 & iPhone 13 - Travel Accessories for Phone (Power Supply not Included)
www.amazon.com
 
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dannyyankou said:
It doesn't charge at 15W, but I'm going to give it a shot. It seems like it just launched recently and their regular magsafe mount has a good grip.

www.amazon.com

Belkin Magnetic Wireless Car Charger, MagSafe Compatible Air Vent Mount for Wireless Charging - AC Mount for iPhone 15, iPhone 14 & iPhone 13 - Travel Accessories for Phone (Power Supply not Included)

Belkin Magnetic Wireless Car Charger, MagSafe Compatible Air Vent Mount for Wireless Charging - AC Mount for iPhone 15, iPhone 14 & iPhone 13 - Travel Accessories for Phone (Power Supply not Included)
www.amazon.com
Click to expand...
OK, I may have misunderstood the OP. I was thinking of an adapter that could be used with the official Apple MagSafe charger - like this
 
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AE14 said:
www.amazon.com

Udaily Magnetic Wireless Car Charger, 15W Qi Car Charger, Fast Wireless Car Charger Air Vent Dashboard Car Holder Mount, Compatible with iPhone 12/12 Mini/12 Pro/12 Pro Max

Udaily Magnetic Wireless Car Charger, 15W Qi Car Charger, Fast Wireless Car Charger Air Vent Dashboard Car Holder Mount, Compatible with iPhone 12/12 Mini/12 Pro/12 Pro Max
www.amazon.com

I use this one and it has been much better than I anticipated.
Click to expand...
Does this hold the phone tight if you apply a sudden break, I'm worried that my phone would fall from the charger and get some damages.
 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Not sure how those charging rates are possible while phone is open and gos and Spotify is being used. I have a 15w MagSafe charger with a 20w power adapter. While unlocked and using apps I lose power faster than it chargers. I have asked the Genius Bar and it seems to be that the iPhone does not rapid charge while open. If you have the phone open and place it on the charger the icon shows the lighting bolt that it’s charging. But if you turn the phone off then place it on the charger the round circle graphics show it is rapid charging. However if you are rubbing gps the phone stays on even when locked so again the rapid charging graphics don’t display.

So again I’m very curious how anyone is actually getting any kind of increase let alone 30% while gos is running and or phone is open.
 
I have a MagSafe charger in the car and I have an iPhone 13 mini connected via Wireless Apple Car Play. Even when I am using Maps, the phone is still charging and the battery percentage goes up. And it is usually GPS + music on Spotify or YouTube in the background, the screen is on with all the apps opened. I am suspecting your 20W adapter is not really 20W.
 
I am using Belkin’s magsafe car charger along with a Duracell PD car charger. My iPhone 12 pro gets the AC blown on it and it charges just fine with GPS, Music, and Display on full. You will get the best speed if you have a vent mount or some other cooled space for the phone And charger. They will drive down the watts as the phone and charger heat up
 
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