Can You Charge A MacBook With A Phone Charger? Answered!

ByKern Campbell, MBA

MacBooks are very popular laptops and are regarded for their excellent performance and sleek design, but can you charge this Apple product with a phone charger? If you own a MacBook and are missing the original charging cable, it can be easy to feel defeated in this situation, as Apple products are notorious for lacking cross-compatibility with other devices. However, depending on the MacBook and phone that you have, you may be able to charge the device with a phone charger. 

Can You Charge A MacBook With A Phone Charger 1 1 Can You Charge A MacBook With A Phone Charger? Answered!

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Can You Charge A MacBook With A Phone Charger?

You can charge a modern generation MacBook with a phone charger, so long as it uses a USB-C cable. You cannot charge older generation MacBooks that were released prior to 2016 with USB-C cables – nor can you use other common phone chargers such as Micro USB.

Apple has led the laptop market with their MacBooks for years and they continue to release new and innovative designs with their products annually. 

The MacBook is considered by many users to be the best that money can buy – with top-of-the-line performance, specs, and a minimalistic style. However, a lot of Apple critics have complained about the company’s notorious business model of making their products incompatible with other devices. 

Apple’s approach has traditionally been to design its products to be exclusive to its users, which has its pros and cons. For decades, Apple has made devices that do not offer cross-compatibility, which can be a huge issue if you lose a component such as a charging cable.

However, we have seen Apple change gears with this approach recently. To help you understand this further, we are going to take a closer look at whether you can charge a MacBook with a phone charger. 

After extensively researching Apple products, I have been able to gather enough information to determine if you can charge their MacBooks with phone chargers. My research has indicated that you need to have the right phone charger to charge a MacBook, as not all cables are compatible. 

Can I Charge My MacBook With My iPhone Charger?

No, you cannot use an iPhone charger to charge your MacBook. This has been a major complaint from a lot of Apple users who have multiple products from the company – especially now that a lot of competitors are transitioning to making devices cross-compatible.

No matter what type of iPhone charger or MacBook you have, you will not be able to charge your Apple laptop with this kind of phone charger – it needs to be USB-C. 

However, this may change in the near future. 

The current iPhones that are out (including those released this year) all rely on Apple’s signature Lightning charging cable, which will not work with any other device. With that being said, Apple has announced that it will make the transition to USB-C as of 2023. This means that the iPhones that are set to release in the coming year will be able to charge your MacBook. 

Can You Charge A MacBook With A Phone Charger Can You Charge A MacBook With A Phone Charger? Answered!

Can I Charge My MacBook Pro With Any USB-C Charger?

Yes, you can charge your MacBook Pro with any USB-C charger. This charging cable is used by virtually all modern-era smartphones, as well as many other electronic devices. If you have any kind of tech that uses a USB-C charger, it will be able to charge your MacBook Pro.

However, you may want to approach using certain kinds of USB-C cables with caution, as some are notorious for causing problems with MacBooks. More on this later.

Can You Charge a MacBook With USB-C?

You can charge a current-generation MacBook with a USB-C cable, but we need to keep in mind that not all of Apple’s laptops relied on this kind of charger in the past.

Apple only started designing MacBooks with USB-C compatible charging ports in 2016. Prior to this all of the MacBooks that were on the market had unique charging ports that were not supported by any phone charger – with the most notable being Apple’s MagSafe cable. 

Older generation MacBooks are exclusive products that can only be charged by an original charger manufactured by Apple. You cannot use any phone charger or USB-C cable to charge a MacBook that was released before 2016.

Is it Safe to Charge Laptop With a Phone Charger?

Generally speaking, you should avoid charging your laptop with a phone charger. Your laptop was designed to receive a safe and optimal charge with the charger that came included with the product. 

If you are using a quality cable to charge your laptop, then you should not run into any issues when charging the device. However, there are a lot of cheap chargers out there that can easily sabotage your laptop and potentially even start a fire. 

Cheap phone chargers were designed with low-end parts and may even be missing some safety components. These products can easily harm your laptop and are not safe to use.

How Long Will it Take to Charge a MacBook With a Phone Charger?

The ability to charge your MacBook with a compatible USB-C phone charger has been a game-changer for a lot of Apple users. However, you will find that your MacBook charges considerably faster if you use the original cable that came with the product. 

The USB-C cables that come with phone chargers are not going to give your MacBook an optimal charge. They will certainly deliver power to the device and will charge the device, but it may take a long time. 

You can expect very long charge times of up to 8 to 10 hours when using a charger from a phone to charge your MacBook, which is why a lot of people end up buying an original cable from Apple eventually. 

If you are planning on using your MacBook while it is charging, you may find that this is counterproductive.

Your Macbook will use more energy than it is receiving from your USB-C phone charger, which will result in the laptop battery draining even though it’s plugged in. Although the battery will drain slower, this is not going to be a sustainable way to charge (or use) your MacBook.

Can You Use a Power Bank to Charge a MacBook?

Yes, you can use a power bank to charge a MacBook. So long as you have a USB-C cable and power bank that has a USB 2.0 input, you will not have any issues plugging it into your MacBook to give it some juice. 

However, you may find that your charging time with a power bank is rather slow. In addition, I would recommend using a power bank that has a considerable amount of amper hour (mAh). Your MacBook will require more juice than a standard phone, which is why you should use a power bank that can hold at least 20,000 mAh to ensure that you can give your laptop enough power to receive a full charge. 

Can You Charge a MacBook Wirelessly?

No, you cannot charge a MacBook wirelessly. Although this technology has been rumored to drop, Apple has yet to announce a MacBook that can be charged without a cable. 

With that being said, Apple has recently patented a design feature that enables a MacBook to charge other devices wirelessly. 

We have yet to hear if this feature can be reversed so that other devices can charge the MacBook, but it looks like Apple does have wireless charging in its sights for the future.

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