Is It Safe To Use Another Laptop’s Charger On Your Laptop?
The short answer is; No. You should never intentionally use another laptop’s charger on your laptop. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a pinch or if your battery is about to die. Plugging a different charger that isn’t meant for your specific model will not lead to anything good. In fact, it may immediately, if not eventually, fry your battery and you will have to get a new one. Now that you know you shouldn’t use another laptop’s charger on your laptop, let’s look at why not.
Power Requirements
All laptops are not created equal and neither are their power requirements. Some laptops require more power; think gaming laptops. Their chargers are built for that specific power need. If you use a charger that doesn’t provide enough power, or that provides too much power to a laptop, you risk damaging the battery beyond repair. There’s also the possibility that you damage other hardware on your laptop so really, just don’t do it.
The battery fry may happen immediately or the damage might surface eventually. Usually, it manifests in the form of the ‘plugged in, not charging‘ message.
Proprietary Hardware
Laptop chargers are not meant to mix. If you have a Dell laptop charger and you plug it into an HP laptop, it will damage your battery. It won’t matter if the charger supplies the right amount of power, mixing chargers from different manufacturers is never a good idea and laptop batteries might reject it simply because it’s not from an approved manufacturer. You might be able to get away with it if you’re using chargers from the same manufacturer that can supply the right amount of power but this is a big ‘if’. It’s best to err on the side of caution and avoid it.
Cheap Knock-offs
Some chargers come cheap while others can cost quite a bit. If you’re looking to replace your laptop’s charger and you’re tempted to buy a cheap knock-off know that it is the same as using a different brand’s charger except worse. There is no way to determine the quality of a knock-off charger and while it may claim to supply a certain amount of power, you can’t be sure if it actually does. Stay away. Spend the extra money and get an original or you will be replacing your battery very soon.
MacBooks
MacBooks are a somewhat exception to this rule. You can probably use one MacBook’s charger with another MacBook provided the power requirements are met but you should never use a knock-off charger or attempt to use a non-Apple charger. You might not only fry your battery it’s possible you void a warranty or two.
A misleading article, favoring OEMs’ businesses. I have successfully mixed and matched chargers in 4 major manufacturer’s laptops, finding the lighter ones (compromising “recommended” power) or the more powerful ones (compromising weight). As a previous comment noted, laptop electronics would simply limit maximum current, so don’t expect frying the laptop with a too strong charger. There’re indeed some models that come with insufficient chargers (shame on them). There’re others whose chargers are intended for permanent Full-Gamer use (plus 20-30% reserve) but are too heavy or bulky if you’re not squeezing it all from your laptop. Use your judgment and common sense, and study circuits or electronics.
I am charging both my MacBook Pro and HP Elitebook 360 with the same USB C aftermarket fast charger since 2.5 and 2 years. Both batteries are still excellent. I don’t think you should worry about using different chargers.
Now, hence, question would be that whether power produced by NHPC could be used in an equipment tested and validated with NTPC power ?
Expert must answer with technical justification
… although we understand commercial compulsions ……
Please stop spreading info that is not entirely accurate. As the individual stated above, you can burn a laptop up with “too much power” from a charger. the laptop will only draw what is needed. the remaining power in the charger will act as a reserve. The charger will also have to work less and win turn will result in less heat in the charger, making it last longer.
This line make no sense. It’s a charger, not a flash drive. There’s no data transfer between the two. There’s a positive and a negative. There are exception of chargers that *might* have data or other voltage lines coming in. I.E. 12V and 19V.
“Laptop chargers are not meant to mix. If you have a Dell laptop charger and you plug it into an HP laptop, it will damage your battery. It won’t matter if the charger supplies the right amount of power, mixing chargers from different manufacturers is never a good idea and laptop batteries might reject it simply because it’s not from an approved manufacturer.”
I have 2 chargers in my hand. the ONLY difference is the amount of power it can actually supply. One is 2.37A one is 7.9A.
Will using them interchangably cause damage? No, the barrel connectors are both 5.5MM OD 2.5MM ID and 12MM long. Both charges are 19V. Will using the 2.37A charger on the laptop that requires 7.9A cause damage? Yeah it can, the charger is not supplying the power the laptop needs. The charger will likely go before the hardware in the laptop. The battery can get damaged IF the laptop is running.
If the laptop is off and only charging, it should be fine, the laptop isn’t pulling power. The battery will take longer to charge.
Please stop spreading info that is not entirely accurate. As the individual stated above, you can burn a laptop up with “too much power” from a charger. the laptop will only draw what is needed. the remaining power in the charger will act as a reserve. The charger will also have to work less and win turn will result in less heat in the charger, making it last longer.
This line make no sense. It’s a charger, not a flash drive. There’s no data transfer between the two. There’s a positive and a negative. There are exception of chargers that *might* have data or other voltage lines coming in. I.E. 12V and 19V.
“Laptop chargers are not meant to mix. If you have a Dell laptop charger and you plug it into an HP laptop, it will damage your battery. It won’t matter if the charger supplies the right amount of power, mixing chargers from different manufacturers is never a good idea and laptop batteries might reject it simply because it’s not from an approved manufacturer.”
I have 2 chargers in my hand. the ONLY difference is the amount of power it can actually supply. One is 2.37A one is 7.9A.
Will using them interchangably cause damage? No, the barrel connectors are both 5.5MM OD 2.5MM ID and 12MM long. Both charges are 19V. Will using the 2.37A charger on the laptop that requires 7.9A cause damage? Yeah it can, the charger is not supplying the power the laptop needs. The charger will likely go before the hardware in the laptop. The battery can get damaged IF the laptop is running.
If the laptop is off and only charging, it should be fine, the laptop isn’t pulling power. The battery will take longer to charge.
This post is inaccurate.
My laptop battery still die even using the original charger.
Then I switch my own built adaptor of 19v, and its still fine even until today.
If someone say you cant switch charger with other brand, that person is either scam you (so you will buy their produc) or they really dont understand how electricity work
I do like lenovo products,
Sorry, but there is no such thing as too much power. The only thing that one can assume is that one power supply can or cannot provide the requested power (for charging the battery and/or running the notebook). Hence the power rating of them.
As a side note, the electronics responsible with charging the battery are inside the notebook/laptop. So the term of charger is so wrongly used.
From “electrical” point of view, things that are requested for proper functioning are: voltage level and maximum rated amperage. Of course that manufacturers, for the real sake of protecting their businesses, put another layer of “security” using signaling and/or firmware/software for identifying their own device and most of the time different type of connectors.
Yes, as Vlad says there is no such thing as too much power. The battery charging is managed entirely by the laptop and you won’t fry the batteries using the wrong charger. But the laptop may decide not to charge the battery if it’s not sure whether the power supply can provide the power. I am sorry to say the original post is way of the mark.