How to Check Laptop Charger Compatibility

Do you want to know how to check laptop charger compatibility and what it is as well? You are on the right spot to know the answer of this question.

A portable power supply or laptop charger is an essential piece to charge the battery of our laptop and be able to use it daily.

Sometimes these get damaged or lost, or we just want a universal charger for multiple laptops and even for other devices. In this article, we are going to tell you all about these chargers and give you valuable tips on choosing one.

What is a Laptop Charger?

A laptop power supply is what we commonly known as a laptop charger, as it is used to charge your battery when it is plugged in, but it also serves as to directly supply the laptop with the power it needs to run.

See Also: How to Choose Power Supply for Gaming PC

Proof of this is that we can use a laptop even if we removed the battery without any problem, as long as we have the power supply connected to it.

In the same way that there are power supplies for laptops, there are also those for desktop computers, which if you have any experience in hardware you will surely recognize easily.

In both cases, the operating principle is the same: they are responsible for converting the alternating current (AC) in our homes into direct current (DC), which is what electronic devices need.

In addition, it greatly reduces its voltage (10 times or more), for example from 230V AC in Europe to 19V DC.

Note that this process is done in the form of a switching power supply, which is a somewhat more complex process than what is explained above.

Basically, switch-mode power supplies “split” the power into many “small packages” to make the process easier and more efficient. But it is beyond the purpose of this article.

Once we have given this basic explanation, we are going to see what the keys are essentials to determine if a power supply is compatible with a laptop or not.

How to check Laptop Charger Compatibility

For this, it is best to have the original charger at hand and consult the information there, but since this is not always possible. The information we need should be on a sticker under the laptop, or at most by searching for the model name on the Internet.

See Also: How to Test Your Motherboard with a Multimeter

Let’s answer this question how to check laptop charger compatibility. The points mentioned below will definitely assist you to find the best one.

1. With stand voltage

The first point of vital importance is the voltage that the computer needs to charge. This electrical magnitude is a key, since the laptop cannot be charged with the wrong voltage in any case. In the best case, it will not load, and in the worst case, we can be disappointed.

Therefore, it is essential to check the voltage on which your laptop works. How? Well, by consulting the lower stickers of the original power supply or the laptop itself, a numerical value ending in V.

“The value of the voltage is usually accompanied by a symbol for direct current (⎓) and the amperage (ending in A) that we will talk about later.”

Be careful, this value will be very small and will normally be accompanied by the symbol that we indicate. Because, if it shows “230V”, “115V” or any similar number, or the symbol is a wave instead of a line and dots ( ⏦ ), then you are looking at the AC input voltage.

This is something which we are going to leave for the end, since it has nothing to do with the laptop. (AC voltage is only listed on the charger itself, please note that)

2. Maximum Power

In addition to that, the ideal is that we find a charger that has as maximum power the one requested by our laptop or more.

That is to say, nothing happens if the electrical power of the charger is higher than what the laptop needs, since it will not overload it or anything like that.

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Power is defined as the multiplication of Voltage times Current (P = V × I). Power supplies seek to keep the voltage constant, while the amperage is variable and depends on what the laptop consumes.

Therefore, nothing happens because the power is greater than necessary. In fact, it is preferable if you buy a “compatible charger”, since sometimes they do not meet the indicated specifications.

3. Connector

The connector is the last critical part for understanding the compatibility of a laptop power supply. If we don’t have the right one, we won’t be able to use the charger, either because it doesn’t fit or because it’s too small to fit. We will now see how some of the connectors used by manufacturers are.

For most laptop manufacturers, the connector used is round in shape, with the size varying by brand. Most universal chargers include enough connectors for you to find the right one for your laptop.

In addition, within the round shapes, it must be taken into account that there are different types. The most common are the ones with a male inner pin (K3, X, E in the photo above) or a female inner pin (the others in the photo above except D, which has no pin).

There are also very specific cases. For example, in the case of Lenovo, it is very normal for them to use a connector with quite characteristic rectangular pins, or in the case of Apple, the classic MagSafe connector is being reintroduced, which is designed to prevent the laptop from falling if we trip over the connector.

4. The case of Laptops with USB-C Connector

Within all this sea of ​​connectors, there is one that comes to unify them all. It is the USB-C connector (USB type C), which we also use in most current mobiles and tablets.

This compact connector, which can be connected from both sides, has revolutionized technology in recent years thanks to its great capabilities.

Among its many possible functions, is that of charging the computer? Normally, if it is prepared for charging, the connector will have a symbol of a “plug” or similar, and if it has a lightning bolt, it means that it is Thunderbolt (so it will also be able to charge)

Although it is true that the USB connector itself does not mean adherence to a certain standard, the most normal thing is that a USB-C for charging works under the USB-PD (USB Power Delivery) standard, which is universal both in many mobiles and on laptops.

This allows us to get a high-power charger that works for both the laptop and the mobile. If your computer has one of these ports, we strongly recommend that you use it, mainly for two reasons:

Having a USB-C charger will allow you to use it on more laptops, on your mobile, etc, and will avoid worries about the connector.

USB-C chargers tend to be the most innovative and best quality, compared to selling imitation laptop power supplies.

If your laptop has a compatible USB-C connector for charging, you will get the best possible compatibility, and the highest quality chargers.

Is Original Power Supply Necessary for your Laptop?

In general, any portable power supply that meets the points that we have mentioned in the article should work for yours. Even so, our recommendation is that you try to get the 100% original charger.

As there are many imitations, try first by contacting the manufacturer directly indicating your laptop model or serial number, so they can tell you where you can get an original.

Of course, if this is not possible, there is no other option but to buy a compatible power supply. We hope we have clarified the key concepts to know if a portable power supply is compatible, as well as how they work.