Is it okay to charge a chromebook with a different chromebook charger? like a different model chromebook

Question

like a different model chromebook. my teacher has a different type of chromebook and she says if her charge of of her chromebook was connected to my chromebook then it can make the chromebook well. . not work. help please

Solution 1

So long as the charger you wish to use fits and outputs the same Wattage, Voltage, and Amperage, you'll be able to use it.

If it differs in any of these factors there is the possibility of damage.

Solution 2

Summary: If it has USB Type-C and works for your teacher then it should work for you too.

All recent Chromebooks should have USB Type-C connectors and use USB Power Delivery. There is a difference between USB PD 1.0 and newer versions of the standard in supported voltages but 5V and 20V are generally supported. I have been using different chargers and even powerbanks with my Asus C302 since I got it and my experience is that they either work or they don't, and in most cases they work. The only thing that can be risky with USB Type-C for charging are cables with wrong resistors (1, 2), but chargers with hardwired cables that cannot be changed should be fine.

USB Type-C with Power Delivery was introduced to make things easier for consumers. To not have to worry about Wattages, Voltages, Amperages, shape of connectors or manufacturers. Chargers for Chromebooks in particular should play nice and be interchangeable regardless of the device manufacturer. There was some confusion about non-Chromebook models from different manufacturers when USB Type-C was introduced but that doesn't apply to Chromebooks AFAIK. 45W USB Type-C chargers should work for many devices today. Chargers that can only deliver 5V or less than 45W like smartphone or tablet chargers may also work but will be inefficient (and thus riskier of overheating, running out of power, …).

Regarding non-USB Type-C chargers there have been manufacturers making laptop chargers with interchangeable connector tips supporting different Voltages and in most cases offering new connector tips when devices with new connectors were introduced to the market. Using a wrong Voltage setting was very risky with such chargers but some device manufacturers already used circuitry to avoid damaging the laptop. Few laptops only worked with official chargers or chargers strictly following the guidelines but many worked just fine with 15, 16 or 19.5 Volts… but that should be almost history in 2018, particularly for Chromebooks.

Comments

[Steve Rindsberg]

Both chargers should have the voltage, amperage and plug polarity on a sticker or molded into the plastic. As long as the plugs are the same and the specs match up, you should be fine. You can also use a higher amperage-rated charger in place of a lower-rated one, but not vice versa. You don't want to mix voltages.

[davidgo]

Not so. You can use a an adaptor with a higher amperage, but using one with a lower amperage could cause problems. Also, you generally have about 5% wiggle room with voltage.

[Ravindra Bawane]

"...there is the possibility of damage". Lower quality components will be more likely to experience issues with any given mismatch in the power supply. We can get into precise calculations of electricity here, but for a basic user with a low-end system just trying to get things to work, my answer is simple, easy to understand, and covers the basic requirements.

[davidgo]

Not so - your advice about current requirements is simply wrong - if anything a power supply with a higher amperage will put less stress on low quality components because, if anything, the power will be better smoothed. No name brand manufacturer - and almost all laptop manufacturers are - are gong to build arround less then a 5% tolerance on dc voltage.