Are you having trouble with your laptop charger? Are you looking for a different charger to charge your laptop? If you are wondering whether you should use a different charger for your laptop model, we have everything sorted out for you in this article.
Laptops make use of two different types of power adapters to function, that is, DC adapter and AC adapter. Laptop chargers are an external source of power that converts the electric energy into a form that makes your laptop function.
Each model of the laptop comes with unique and original laptop chargers. However, there are times when they stop working, and you require a replacement. If you are looking for the answers to the questions mentioned above, you have come to the right place. We will discuss whether you can use the different chargers for your laptop in terms of different models.
Can I Use A Different Charger For My Laptop?
The answer to this question is Maybe. The wattage and voltage of a charger should match the desired voltage of your laptop.
Another essential thing to note is the connector tip that varies from laptop to laptop. If a different charger has a similar connector tip and can provide the desired voltage, it is a possibility that the charger can charge your laptop. However, that is not the case with every other laptop.
You need to take care of the specifications; otherwise, it can also harm your laptop’s battery.
Power Requirements
All the laptops are created with different power. Some require more power, such as gaming laptops. Therefore, their chargers use high voltage. If you use a different charger that cannot provide the right voltage, you risk damaging your laptop.
In the future, the latest USB Type-C connectors will become the primary source for charging your laptops. As they are interchangeable, you can use them for any other laptop.
Do All HP Laptops Use The Same Charger?
In the case of HP laptops, they all follow a basic standard that means they use 45-230 watt and 18.5 voltage. Even the two-barrel sizes are electrically similar, and they use the “Smart-Pin” feature in almost all the laptop chargers. The third thing is the connector, which is only available in SKUs, though it should be EoL.
The only difference between the chargers is that the new SKUs have a more slender connector, allowing thinner and smaller chassis.
If you intend to use a different HP laptop charger from your HP laptop, look at the wattage: 65 and 45 watts. They are mainly for standard usage, which does not require much power.
Whereas, 90 and 110 watts power the small business class unit, including Elitebook 700 series and Probook, and larger consumer units.
Apart from that, 150-230 watts are made to handle the extra load of the laptop. You can use the chargers with the same voltage interchangeably. In some cases, lower specs are supported by the laptop. However, it will not result in a fast charge as your laptop’s charging circuit directs the charging process.
Do All DELL Laptops Use The Same Charger?
Dell Laptops require their original laptop charger made with the special power requirements for charging. All the Dell Laptops do not use the same chargers.
However, when the chargers are paired with a compatible laptop model, they are designed to function with all other laptops with the same power output and connection.
Many Dell laptops require only 35 watts to function, where the other laptop requires more than 100w. A dell charger might charge your laptop, though the difference in power output can cause damage.
Voltage And Amp Complication
Even if your laptop and charger’s wattage is similar and the charger can charge your laptop, there is still a risk of laptop damage due to power source differences.
You calculate the wattage by multiplying the voltage and amperage. Any alternative charger amperage and voltage must match the original charger ratings. However, if you order a Dell manufacturer replacement charger, that might not damage your laptop.
Go By Wattage
A specific wattage is designed for all the Dell laptops that ensure their compatibility. Take, for example, if you use compatible chargers with 90W and 75W for your Dell laptop, you might receive a pop-up message of error when you switch the chargers.
On the other hand, you might not receive an error message with chargers from different brands such as Asus, Sony, or Targus with the same wattage and connection.
Do All LENOVO Laptops Use The Same Charger?
The answer is No. All the LENOVO laptops do not use the same chargers. If you search for the 20V, 90W, and 65W adaptors, the chargers are not the same. The series before T6x/Z6x/X6x/R6x used the same 16.5 voltage but included different plugs.
You can find the difference between the adapter design from 20V and 16V adapters. By just looking at their design, you can judge that they are not the same.
However, some Ideapad models have similar connectors, but they use higher power than 20V and cannot be interchanged with Thinkpad adapters.
16V vs 20V Adapter
If your laptop uses a discrete GPU instead of an Intel GPU, which is shipped with 90 watts and 65 watts adapter, you should use higher wattage of 90 watts or above.
You can conveniently use either a 135w adapters on your laptop that uses either a 90W or 65W adapter. On the other hand, you should not use W510 with 90watts and 65 watts adapter; it will affect the functionality.
If your laptop uses a discrete graphics card and you use 65 watts adapter with it, the laptop will hold itself back from draining more power from lower power adapters.
This may result in slow charging and slow system performance when the laptop is on. Additionally, a higher wattage may cause you to run your laptop at high temperatures.
This year, all the models of Lenovo Thinkpad will use universal chargers based on USB Power Delivery 3.0 specification and a USB-C connector. That does not make you use the same charger for different Thinkpad models, but this power will be compatible with the laptop in the same series.
Do All SURFACE Laptops Use The Same Charger?
In the Surface laptops, the chargers for Surface Pro 6, Surface Laptop 3, and Surface Pro 4 come with the same connector. You can conveniently use either of the chargers on other devices.
In the case of Surface Pro 2 and Surface Pro, you can use the chargers of Surface 2 and Surface RT laptops. Surface 2 and Surface RT provide the output of a 24 Watt power supply, which is sufficient and designed to charge the other two devices. You can also use it the other way round.
The time taken by your laptop to charge with another charger will be different. Your laptop will take a longer time to charge than usual.
USB-C Port
If you own a USB-C charger, they work on all the Surface Laptops without causing any problems. However, you should keep few things in mind before using the USB-C charger with your Surface Laptops:
- Make sure the USB-C charger you are using can provide equal wattage as required by your Surface Laptop.
- If there is no power in your Surface laptop and the charger produces 60 watts of power, your Surface Laptop will turn on immediately. On the other hand, if you use a charger with less power, your laptop will not turn on until the battery is 10 percent charged.
- If you use a USB-A or low voltage charger, your system will charge slowly, and you might receive an error message stating, “PC is not charging.”
- You cannot use both a USB-C charger and Surface Connect Charger for charging your laptop. In that case, your laptop will charge from only the Surface Connect charger.
- Surface Studio 2 comes with a USB-C port. However, it does not include a battery, which means it cannot receive power from a USB-C charger. You can only use the power chord that is particularly designed to power the Surface Studio 2.
Third-Party Compatibility
It is highly recommended not to use third-party accessories with your devices. They may be incompatible and may result in serious damage to your laptop. You should always use the original Microsoft-licensed accessories only.
Surface laptops can use the chargers from other surface laptops. However, original Surface chargers take care of the health of your Surface laptops.
Do All APPLE Laptops Use The Same Charger?
The Apple power adapters come in a variety of power outputs, including 96W, 87W, 85W, 61W, 60W, 45W, 30W, and 29W. The adapters are designed in a way that can charge any laptop with lower or same power ratings.
You can use the power adapter of MacBook Pro on MacBook or MacBook Air. The MacBook Pro uses an 85W power adapter, which is suitable for charging any laptop that requires 45W and 65W power.
However, you cannot charge a high wattage power laptop with a low wattage power adapter.
In case you use a low wattage adapter for your high wattage laptop, it will not provide sufficient power to your laptop to operate effectively. Also, using different chargers for your Mac laptops won’t make the charging run faster or make your device operate differently.
Mac notebooks can be charged through MagSafe and USB-C charger cable. Mac notebook charging with MagSafe comes with a detachable AC plug, AC cable, an AC adapter, and MagSafe Connector. And, the Mac notebook charging with USB-C includes a USB-C charge cable, detachable AC plus, and Apple USB-C Power Adapter.
Apple USB-C Charge Cable
To enjoy the best charging performance, you can use the USB-C charge cable included with Mac notebook accessories.
The USB-C charge cable cannot work well with a high wattage power adapter as it has a power rating of 29W and 30W. Therefore, you should either use a higher or same wattage USB-C cable to charge any Apple Laptops.
Do All ASUS Laptops Use The Same Charger?
No, all ASUS laptops do not use the same charger. You should use a laptop charger that matches the original wattage. If you provide higher wattage than expected, it might override the ohms, impedance and can fry the GPU and CPU’s vcore of your system.
Instructions To Use ASUS AC Adapter
You can follow the below-mentioned instructions for using the right adapter for your ASUS laptop:
- Use only the original ASUS adapter to prevent the risk of compatibility issues.
- If the DC Jack size is the same, make sure that the adapter specification is also the same to avoid damage.
- Different models use different connector sizes, which can cause damage to your laptop.
Do All ACER Laptops Use The Same Charger?
Acer Laptop chargers charge the battery and provide power to your laptop. The chargers come in various models such as 90W, 75W, 65W, and 60W.
The charger’s interchangeability depends on the model of your ACER laptop and how much power it requires. As a general rule, a high power wattage adapter can charge any low power laptop. Therefore, the charging ability of the ACER chargers on ACER laptops depends on their power output capacities.
If the ACER charger uses the same voltage, it will start charging your laptop. If the charger is not compatible, it will prompt as soon as you connect the charger with your laptop.
Do All MSI Laptops Use The Same Charger?
Gamers generally use MSI Laptops as they require high power and voltage. The MSI charger needs to be plugged in all the time for better performance.
MSI chargers are hard to find in the market; therefore, they have their distinctive chargers with the required specifications. However, some models can use a different MSI charger, given that the voltage is either the same or higher than needed for the laptop. That way, your laptop can draw the amount of power it requires to operate efficiently.
Final Thoughts
Laptops require a desired wattage and voltage to work and operate effectively. The charger comes with the laptop is designed to provide the desired power output. Many laptop models can use the same charger; however, they always risk slowing and damaging your system.
Before you use any charger with your laptop, make sure you read the specifications carefully.
