Nowadays, there are more and more electronic devices in our hands, such as mobile phones, laptops and bluetooth headsets, smart watches, etc., and there are more chargers for those devices, which brings us a wonderful life and some inconveniences.
Many times we suddenly cannot find a certain charger; we may need to carry multiple chargers when we go out, and sometimes it is troublesome to forget to bring a certain charger.
However, the charging ports of many mobile phones and laptops are the same now. When the device is out of power and there is no original charger nearby, people may use the charger of other devices instead.
So, can the chargers of mobile phones, laptops and other devices really be mixed to use? Will it cause damage to the devices? Ietcharger here to share some knowledge points about that.
First of all, we must be clear about the concept of “charging protocol”. That you often see on electronic products are various different charging protocols for PD, QC, SCP, FCP, etc.
Since each manufacturer has its own charging program, the charging voltage and current selected by different manufacturers are different, which requires an agreement to coordinate between the devices and charger to ensure that the device can withstand the current input during the charging process.
Therefore, whether the charger can be mixed to used, the first prerequisite is that charger (including usb cable) and devices support same protocol.
There are currently four main types of charging protocols.
- BC1.2 protocol
- Qualcomm QC protocol
- PD protocol launched by the USB-IF organization
- Manufacturer’s own fast charging protocol, such as Huawei’s SCP and FCP. These three categories basically cover most of the electronic devices on the market.
If you don’t know the agreement between the charger and device, you can check the product manual or parameters on the purchase page. If there are not, you can consult the manufacturer’s customer service and compare whether the two support the same agreement.
In addition to the agreement to be consistent, whether the chargers of different devices can be mixed use, also need to consider the power issue.
High-power charger × low-power device
The output of voltage and current by the charger are related to the load of the connected device. Regular chargers generally have built-in protocol chips that can identify the power supported by the device. There are also automatic circuit control systems inside of mobile phones, loptops and other devices, which can prevent excessive current from entering the device.
When using a charger with a consistent protocol and higher power to charge low-power devices, the charger will adjust the output voltage according to the specific situation and supply power according to the current within the safe range.
For example, the C3 port of UGREEN100W GaN charger supports PD 20W fast charging, but it is also backward compatible with 18W power. When charging OPPO ACE2 that supports 18W power, the charger will automatically adjust to 18W fast charging mode for charging.
Low-power charger × high-power device
If the power of the charger is much lower than the standard power of the device, the charger will not be able to reach the minimum power required to power of the device, making charging almost impossible.
Of course, if the charger power is not much lower than the standard power of the device, then charging is still possible, but the speed is much slower than the original charger.
In addition, there is another disadvantages, when during the charging process, the time that the charger keeps running at full load will be prolonged, which will easily cause the charger to overheat and cause loss of the charger and the device battery.
For example, Huawei MateBook 14 is equipped with a very versatile PD fast charge, which has a wider choice of chargers. Even if it is a charger for mobile phone, as long as it supports PD fast charging, it can theoretically be used. But it is best to have an output gear of 20V/3A and above to have an ideal and safe charging effect.
The power are same for charger and device
If the charging power are same and charger is compatible with the device’s protocol, then the charging can normally proceed, and the charging speed should be basically the same as the original charger.
In other words, under the premise of protocol compatibility, the chargers of different devices can mixed use. However, the power of the charger should not be lower than the standard charging power of the device.
In fact, for this problem of mixed chargers use between different devices, there is already an best solution in the field of consumer power supplies, that is, the “gallium nitride GaN” that has been popular in the past two years. The application of gallium nitride material makes the charger have the advantages of small size, high power, and multi-purpose.
With the maturity of gallium nitride technology, the field of 65w fast charging has gradually broken through the limitations of volume, cost and performance.
There already many different kinds of 65W GaN charger with excellent performance has appeared on the market. It supports fast charging, compatible with multiple protocols such as PD, QC, and SCP, and covers multiple models of mainstream brands. It can be used for mobile phones, laptops , tablets, bluetooth headsets, etc. The device provides fast charging and is more convenient to store and carry.
Generally speaking, when mixing charging for different devices, be sure to pay attention to compatibility issues. If you often need to carry a variety of electronic devices when you go out, you can choose a good GaN charger. Take only one when you go out, you can handle all the charging needs.
If you want to know more info, you can consult Ideal, thank you!