USB charging of M2 Macbook 16

[CAcreeks]

After several trips carrying the charging brick (mains AC to MagSafe), thought I would leave it at home and try USB-C charging. Apple help indicates this is permissible.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102397

With the lid open and MacOS operating, USB power from my cellphone cord is not enough to charge the battery, but the icon says "Power Source: Power Adapter" so battery does not drain.

With the lid closed (OS suspended) the battery charges slowly and reached 100% overnight.

 

[Greybeard2017]

After several trips carrying the charging brick (mains AC to MagSafe), thought I would leave it at home and try USB-C charging. Apple help indicates this is permissible.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102397

With the lid open and MacOS operating, USB power from my cellphone cord is not enough to charge the battery, but the icon says "Power Source: Power Adapter" so battery does not drain.

With the lid closed (OS suspended) the battery charges slowly and reached 100% overnight.

Its not just the cable that matters its also the source of the USB power - those laptops need a lot of current to charge quickly

 

[Ken Seals]

With the lid open and MacOS operating, USB power from my cellphone cord is not enough to charge the battery, but the icon says "Power Source: Power Adapter" so battery does not drain.

An Apple power cube for an iPad can provide more current and will charge faster than the iPhone size power supply. Naturally it won't charge as fast as the little white brick that comes with the MBP

I keep the charger that came with my M1 MBP Max in my brief case for travel and use the Apple USB charger from my 2019 intel MBP while the MBP is on the desktop. Both work great.

With the lid closed (OS suspended) the battery charges slowly and reached 100% overnight.

I wonder how low the battery would have to be that the little cube would not charge it overnight?

 

[CAcreeks]

An Apple power cube for an iPad can provide more current and will charge faster than the iPhone size power supply. Naturally it won't charge as fast as the little white brick that comes with the MBP.

I keep the charger that came with my M1 MBP Max in my brief case for travel and use the Apple USB charger from my 2019 intel MBP while the MBP is on the desktop. Both work great.

That's good to hear. I have an old 2014 Macbook, still working but out of corporate support, with MagSafe power brick that is likely usable on M1/M2/M3 machines.

With the lid closed (OS suspended) the battery charges slowly and reached 100% overnight.

I wonder how low the battery would have to be that the little cube would not charge it overnight?

Good question. I've never seen it below 80% on previous overnight trips, having charged to full before leaving home.

My Android phone charger seems random. Sometimes it charges my Moto 1 phone on "Turbo" very quickly, and other times it charges so slowly it takes hours. With the M2 Macbook 16, there was no difference between using the 120V vampire vs USB outlet on a motel lamp.

 

[Henry Richardson]

After several trips carrying the charging brick (mains AC to MagSafe), thought I would leave it at home and try USB-C charging. Apple help indicates this is permissible.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102397

Looking at that page they show in both the MagSafe case and the USB-C case that there is a big Apple charger brick. Is it okay to use the little charger that I have with my tablet or the one with my phone (neither one is Apple)?

My phone charger says Output 5V, 2A and the tablet charger says Output 5.2V, 1.8A.

I have a 16" M2 Pro MBP and it comes with the big, heavy 140-watt charger. It would be nice to not have to carry it with me sometimes.

With the lid open and MacOS operating, USB power from my cellphone cord is not enough to charge the battery, but the icon says "Power Source: Power Adapter" so battery does not drain.

With the lid closed (OS suspended) the battery charges slowly and reached 100% overnight.

Most of the time I have the MBP connected to power so I rarely care about fast charging. Generally, being able to charge overnight on the unusual times when I have been using it on battery would be sufficient.

 

[graybalanced]

It’s no problem but the charger and the cable must both support USB-C Power Delivery at a sufficient wattage.

I have the 14” MBP and have found that third-party chargers work just fine if they can supply 60 watts through USB-C PD. Of course the 16” needs more watts.

For each Mac laptop model, there are separate minimum wattage requirements for:

Charging while sleeping

Normal operations without draining the battery

Maximum performance with headroom to also charge the battery. This one is usually what the bundled power adapter is rated for, because for example if a MBP comes with a 140 watt power supply then it can handle that worst case scenario, but if you connect it to a lesser wattage charger it is fine under a lower load like routine photo editing.

Of course, under any of the above scenarios, if you also have external peripherals like SSDs attached, that raises the charger requirement for enough watts to operate and not drain the battery.

Now I only buy USB-C cables that support a minimum of 100 watts and data speed of 10Gbps or better, so that if I grab a cable it will be enough for almost anything. Increasing that requirement to full 100+ watt USB 4/Thunderbolt 4 cables will provide maximum speed and power, but those are still expensive.

USB PD has really freed up space in my travel bag. Now I can travel with one or two USB-C multi-port chargers and power everything including laptop, phone, and cameras, and I only need to carry one kind of cable.

 

[robgendreau]

It’s no problem but the charger and the cable must both support USB-C Power Delivery at a sufficient wattage.

I have the 14” MBP and have found that third-party chargers work just fine if they can supply 60 watts through USB-C PD. Of course the 16” needs more watts.

For each Mac laptop model, there are separate minimum wattage requirements for:

Charging while sleeping

Normal operations without draining the battery

Maximum performance with headroom to also charge the battery. This one is usually what the bundled power adapter is rated for, because for example if a MBP comes with a 140 watt power supply then it can handle that worst case scenario, but if you connect it to a lesser wattage charger it is fine under a lower load like routine photo editing.

Of course, under any of the above scenarios, if you also have external peripherals like SSDs attached, that raises the charger requirement for enough watts to operate and not drain the battery.

Now I only buy USB-C cables that support a minimum of 100 watts and data speed of 10Gbps or better, so that if I grab a cable it will be enough for almost anything. Increasing that requirement to full 100+ watt USB 4/Thunderbolt 4 cables will provide maximum speed and power, but those are still expensive.

USB PD has really freed up space in my travel bag. Now I can travel with one or two USB-C multi-port chargers and power everything including laptop, phone, and cameras, and I only need to carry one kind of cable.

Good points, and folks should consider this since so many chargers now use USB-C / USB PD for battery charging, and for charging in camera. Some of my speedlights too.

 

[CAcreeks]

Now I only buy USB-C cables that support a minimum of 100 watts and data speed of 10Gbps or better, so that if I grab a cable it will be enough for almost anything. Increasing that requirement to full 100+ watt USB 4/Thunderbolt 4 cables will provide maximum speed and power, but those are still expensive.

Good advice, thanks.

One advantage of having the Macbook plugged into USB (on the motel lamp fixture) is that the screen doesn't go blank quickly.

USB PD has really freed up space in my travel bag. Now I can travel with one or two USB-C multi-port chargers and power everything including laptop, phone, and cameras, and I only need to carry one kind of cable.

Not to mention iPhone 15, when you or I upgrade.

I'll miss shake-on/off flashlight, microSD card, and FM radio on my Moto 1.

 

[graybalanced]

Not to mention iPhone 15, when you or I upgrade.

I just did. My iPhone was over 5 years old, the battery was dying, and it won’t run iOS17 so I said it was time. I did get an iPhone 15, so I was able to evict Lightning cables from my travel bag.

 

[CAcreeks]

Not to mention iPhone 15, when you or I upgrade.

I just did. My iPhone was over 5 years old, the battery was dying, and it won’t run iOS17 so I said it was time. I did get an iPhone 15, so I was able to evict Lightning cables from my travel bag.

Did you decide on the Pro Max or regular Pro? Camera features seem worthwhile, but I'm not certain about the 5x (120mm) lens and don't like the larger size of Max.

(This question belongs on the iOS group, but I do not see you posting there.)

 

[Ken Seals]

My phone charger says Output 5V, 2A and the tablet charger says Output 5.2V, 1.8A.

This made me curious about the charging cubes I have. My earlier comment about the iPhone charger being 1 Amp and the iPad charger being 2 Amps is based on the devices I have used through the years.

Today, I found my magnifying glass to see what the labels said:

1. Old iPhone charging cube (~1" cube with USB-A output) = 5V @ 1 Amp.

2 Old iPad chargers (~2x2x1" with USB-A output) = 5V @ 2 Amps.

3 New iPad charger with USB-C output = 5V @ 3 Amps and 9V @ 2.2 Amps. This is the one I use to charge my Z9 and new iPad pro.

4. Anker power cube (PD) slightly larger than iPhone chargers = 5V @ 3 Amps and 9V @ 2.2 Amps.

Apparently the new charging cubes have a smaller form factor with higher power

I have a 16" M2 Pro MBP and it comes with the big, heavy 140-watt charger. It would be nice to not have to carry it with me sometimes.

Good point. For me, I use the 140 W charger as my travel charger.

Most of the time I have the MBP connected to power so I rarely care about fast charging. Generally, being able to charge overnight on the unusual times when I have been using it on battery would be sufficient.

I use my MBP 16" M1 Max in exactly the same way, except when I travel. Even then, it's hooked up to AC in the hotel room/

 

[graybalanced]

CAcreeks wrote:
Did you decide on the Pro Max or regular Pro? Camera features seem worthwhile, but I'm not certain about the 5x (120mm) lens and don't like the larger size of Max.

None of the above. I did not to pay $1000 for a phone, and the regular iPhone 15 camera is already a major step up from my old 1st gen iPhone SE. So the base iPhone 15 it is. No Pro, Plus, or Max. And no regrets. As with any smartphone I’ve owned, I find I rarely use the high end features that really boost the price. Most of the day I just check apps and send texts. I could have just gotten another SE, I just wanted something a little nicer this time, and also to move to USB-C.

I also didn’t need the best phone camera because I’m one of those who prefers to carry a good little real camera everywhere (RX100 in my case), and for now, I still prefer the camera ergonomics, and editing and printing the raw images I get from that camera, over what the phone does.

 

[4863 Media]

Anker (and UGreen, among others) growing supply of USB hubs with 140W ports has been absolutely game changing. Now you can use one brick for fast charging (when just the Macbook is plugged in), as well as slower charging while charging several other devices. I don't even use the OEM brick anymore. My fav is the Anker power strip that has a 140W port, several more PD ports, and AC plugs. You don't even need a brick at all with it.

 

[graybalanced]

...Now you can use one brick for fast charging (when just the Macbook is plugged in), as well as slower charging while charging several other devices. I don't even use the OEM brick anymore...

Yes, it is to the point where I have never even taken the Apple brick out of the box. It's still in there, unused with the protective plastic still on it. I just can't stand any more chargers that only have one port, they're just going to clutter up the bag and take up another scarce AC outlet in a hotel room.