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xieem

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 7, 2014
32
2
Brussels
Hi,

Does anyone know which powerbanks are able to charge the Macbook Pro 2016 15" model?

Thanks in advance.
 
There are a few threads on this topic. My opinion is that with the current units on the market you will get at best a trickle charge into a MBP, even with USB-C as they are intended for phones and put out 5V/2.4A (on the Anker USB-C battery). This would result in a VERY slow charge on a MBP and likely just a slower discharge of the main battery when plugged in rather than maintaining a charge level or even charging while using it.
 
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There are a few threads on this topic. My opinion is that with the current units on the market you will get at best a trickle charge into a MBP, even with USB-C as they are intended for phones and put out 5V/2.4A (on the Anker USB-C battery). This would result in a VERY slow charge on a MBP and likely just a slower discharge of the main battery when plugged in rather than maintaining a charge level or even charging while using it.
The anker charger (powercore+) charges the 13" MacBook Pro fine.
 
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The anker charger (powercore+) charges the 13" MacBook Pro fine.

Could you elaborate more on "fine"? How long did it take you to charge when the laptop was sleeping? Up to what percentage over how much time? And what happens when you charge and use the laptop altogether?
 
Hi,

Does anyone know which powerbanks are able to charge the Macbook Pro 2016 15" model?

Thanks in advance.
I've been searching Amazon & Google weekly, waiting patiently for 15" 2016 MBP USB-C third party cable and charger options. So far, zilch.

If you search "87W USB-C" the only thing that pops up is Apple's own (ridiculously priced) charger. There are lots of options for the 12" MacBook at 61W, but nothing for us yet at the 15" level.

Compounding the issue is confusion over the required Volt/Amp rating required for both the cable and adapters. Almost everything online I've encountered is rated for wattages far below what we need.

I think all we can do at this point is wait (six weeks and counting) longer for third parties to get their act together and release 87W rated hardware. In the meantime I'll stick it out with Apple's cumbersome & ugly polished white charger.

:(
 
I've been searching Amazon & Google weekly, waiting patiently for 15" 2016 MBP USB-C third party cable and charger options. So far, zilch.

If you search "87W USB-C" the only thing that pops up is Apple's own (ridiculously priced) charger. There are lots of options for the 12" MacBook at 61W, but nothing for us yet at the 15" level.

Compounding the issue is confusion over the required Volt/Amp rating required for both the cable and adapters. Almost everything online I've encountered is rated for wattages far below what we need.

I think all we can do at this point is wait (six weeks and counting) longer for third parties to get their act together and release 87W rated hardware. In the meantime I'll stick it out with Apple's cumbersome & ugly polished white charger.

:(

Hi Mr Fusion, thanks for the reply indeed, it seems that the pro users in the 15" level are left behind. I also have a question regarding the USB-C cables that you might be able to answer. I recently bought the Magsafe lookalike from Griffin but that cable is only optimised for 60W, what effect will this have on the 87W hardware? Will it drain or ruin the battery? I did receive a positive answer from Griffin that they will be making a 15" ready USB-C cable.
 
The anker charger (powercore+) charges the 13" MacBook Pro fine.

Many of the higher end powerbanks can charge 13 inch machines of all stripes. Quadcores with dGPUs are a wildly different level of power need: there aren't really any options yet, just like there are no wall charger alternatives to the 87W Apple charger yet.

The Dell reddit forums are a good place to see announcements: they've been looking for a USB-C charging solution for 18 months, and its needs are roughly in the same ballpark as the MBP15 (slightly higher, so anything that works there should be fine).
 
Hi Mr Fusion, thanks for the reply indeed, it seems that the pro users in the 15" level are left behind. I also have a question regarding the USB-C cables that you might be able to answer. I recently bought the Magsafe lookalike from Griffin but that cable is only optimised for 60W, what effect will this have on the 87W hardware? Will it drain or ruin the battery? I did receive a positive answer from Griffin that they will be making a 15" ready USB-C cable.
I think as others have pointed out, the only difference will be it'll charge slower, or under heavy loads, might not charge at all. Since it's less power (and not more) than what the laptop's rated for, I wouldn't worry about damage.

That's excellent to hear Griffin's working on a 15" specific cable!! I just might pick one of those up once it's released.
 
I think as others have pointed out, the only difference will be it'll charge slower, or under heavy loads, might not charge at all. Since it's less power (and not more) than what the laptop's rated for, I wouldn't worry about damage.

That's excellent to hear Griffin's working on a 15" specific cable!! I just might pick one of those up once it's released.

Jup, or we can wait for a 99$ Apple Special USB-C cable by 2019 ;)
 
I think as others have pointed out, the only difference will be it'll charge slower, or under heavy loads, might not charge at all. Since it's less power (and not more) than what the laptop's rated for, I wouldn't worry about damage.

That's excellent to hear Griffin's working on a 15" specific cable!! I just might pick one of those up once it's released.


Doesn't the W level request come from the USB port, to the transformer? Is there even a check on the interconneccting cable?
 
I'd ask Dell for the specific wattage for each port first. What I've seen out of most power banks thus far is they advertise a high overall power output, but when broken down between each port you see the USB-C wattages are quite low.

I think we're just going to have to be patient for at least a few more weeks while third party manufacturers catch up to the 15" MBP's power needs. I thought more options would be available by now, but I think the issue is that manufacturers (just like the rest of us) have been slow getting their hands on the machine.
 
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I'd ask Dell for the specific wattage for each port first. What I've seen out of most power banks thus far is they advertise a high overall power output, but when broken down between each port you see the USB-C wattages are quite low.

I think we're just going to have to be patient for at least a few more weeks while third party manufacturers catch up to the 15" MBP's power needs. I thought more options would be available by now, but I think the issue is that manufacturers (just like the rest of us) have been slow getting their hands on the machine.

I suspect there are technical difficulties with heat dissipation to be solved: there have been enough powerful Windows machines with USB-C for 18 months, that if was easy, there would be options already.
 
Good 3 months ahead now... still no power bank for a 2016 USB-C Macbook 15"....

I've heard rumors that Anker is working on one. Might be hearing something about it later this month. It's come up a few times in the comments on their FB page with different answers. Some hinting at an announcement in April.
 
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I've been charging my 15" 2016 rMPB with a different sort of slower-rate charger, and it's been working just fine.

I haven't been using a powerbank charger, but I believe my experience is relevant.

I use a Time Machine backup drive at my office desk. In this scenario, a drive powered by its own wall wart makes more sense than a USB bus-powered drive. I purchased a drive from La Cie whose wall wart not only powered the drive, but also made available 15 watts of charging power to the Mac over the same USB-C cable. I also upgraded the cable, as I need a longer reach and some of the La Cie reviews indicated this might be a weak point.

In months of regular MPB desktop usage, I have effectively never had to use the Apple charger. The 15 watts from the La Cie drive connection is more than enough to power the MBP. It doesn't discharge the battery, but rather charges it. Peak charging rate is obviously less than the Apple charger can achieve, but that has been effectively irrelevant. Even on days when I'm spending 3-4 hours with the MBP in tow, the stints on the 15 watt charger have been enough to keep the battery well charged (if not completely topped off) throughout the day. If my schedule was completely slammed, or I absolutely need at 100% charge at the end of the day I could break out the Apple charger, but I can't recall needing to do so.

So, if you choose a powerbank that can deliver 15 watts (3A at 5v), your experience should mirror mine - at least until the powerbank begins to be discharged.

For reference, here's the La Cie drive in question, and the longer upgraded cable I use with it:
https://www.amazon.com/LaCie-Porsche-Design-Desktop-STFE5000101/dp/B01FRP1YZC
http://www.provantage.com/targus-acc927usx~7TGU91MK.htm

If anyone finds a good USB-C powerbank, please post here and let us know about it.
 
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