Have you lost your laptop’s original charger and now only have a lower-wattage charger to charge your laptop? You must be thinking, “Can I use a lower wattage charger for my laptop.
It sounds like a good idea, but knowing the consequences is always helpful before using a lower-wattage charger.
Using the lower-wattage charger is not perfect for charging your laptop. A lower-wattage charger can cause several problems for your laptop. It can slow the performance, damage the components, drain the battery, and cause several other problems.
Never use any lower-wattage charger for your laptop. Use the recommended one from the company. Let’s dive into the article to know whether it is possible or not:
Table of Contents
What Does Charger Wattage Mean?
The power of the chargers is measured in wattage. Every laptop has different charger wattage. The wattage power of the chargers is what they need over time to recharge the laptop.
Measuring the laptop charger’s wattage determines how much power a laptop charger needs and uses. It will help the user know how much power its charger should provide, equal to or greater than the amount.
Every charger is different than the other and varies in wattage, so they all are classified into different groups according to the power they produce. Depending on the wattage power, some chargers use lower wattage, while some use higher wattage.
If you don’t know the wattage power of your charger, check on the manual page that comes with it. It must be written on it. Otherwise, you can also search online on the official website of the charger model.
For example, the iPhone only takes 5 wattage power, so you can use the charger for 10 wattage power because the phone will only take 5 wattages. Similarly, the laptop uses specific wattage for charging; if the charger provides low wattage, a laptop will not get charged.
Can I Charge My Laptop with Lower Wattage Power?
Every laptop motherboard consists of a voltage regulator. The work of this voltage regulator is to adjust the voltage in the system according to the requirement of each component. The voltage and power requirement of each component is different.
The voltage regulator lets the laptop uses only a specific voltage amount. If your charger is a 19V charger, it can provide 20V to the laptop system thanks to the voltage regulator.
However, the laptop charger can be higher or lower in voltage or wattage power, which can fail the working of the voltage regulator. If the voltage regulator keeps running, you can comfortably charge a battery and use the laptop.
If you don’t know about the charger with the voltage matched to your laptop, avoid connecting any random charger. You can damage the laptop and charger, also. So, in short, you can only charge the laptop with the lower wattage power charger if its voltage matches your laptop requirement.
How does The Power Supply of The Laptop Work?
Before knowing how your laptop power supply works, you need to know the power supply. Let’s compare the laptop’s power supply requirement to your room’s bulb power requirement.
Suppose your room’s bulb has insufficient power to provide light; it will be dimmer. The light in the room will not be bright and effective. Similarly, laptops also need enough power supply to provide the components to work smoothly.
Companies manufacture laptops in a way that they can withstand any worst situation while charging. If the laptops do not get enough power, they will not work smoothly, and their performance will be affected.
Some laptops can run normal programs and work smoothly, but they cannot perform well if you run higher power-consuming programs. It affects their performance and annoys the user.
The recent converts from AC to DC power when you connect one charger end to the laptop’s port and the other to the socket. It starts reducing the voltage power of the charger.
The charger provides the DC power to the laptop’s motherboard. Then the motherboard distributes all the voltage and power to the laptop’s components. The laptop battery also stores the backup wattage power when the charger is not connected.
What Signs Can Indicate That the Laptop Is Not Getting Enough Power?
Some users lost their laptop chargers and wondered if they could use a lower-wattage charger to charge their laptops. Your laptop might run after charging, but you can face some issues.
Here are some signs which can indicate that your laptop is not getting enough power for the system:
- The most common sign is your laptop will not power on or it will switch to the battery power.
- You will notice that when the charger is plugged in, the battery is not getting charged or is slow charging.
- The graphics card and GPU are the two components that use the most laptop power. If your laptop is not getting enough power, you will see problems with the graphics card and GPU. While playing games, you will see low-quality graphics and will also get error messages about your GPU.
- Your laptop display might be a problem because your laptop cannot get enough power. You might see notice dots or display flashes on the screen. The screen can also completely shut down if the system has insufficient power.
- Due to the lower power of the system, the laptop will start behaving unstably. The programs can crash suddenly while working, and the laptop can turn off or freeze.
If any of these signs appear on your laptop system, the components are not getting enough power. The lower-wattage charger is the main issue in that situation. If you see any of these problems, look for the wattage power of your charger.
See if it has lower wattage power than the requirement of your laptop. If you are using the lower wattage charger, that must be causing these problems for your laptop. Turn off your laptop and purchase a new charger with high wattage power to charge your laptop.
You can cause serious problems for your laptop if you keep using the charger, which cannot provide enough power. Ensure to get the high quality and high wattage charger for better laptop performance.
Is The Lower Wattage Charger Damaging for the Laptop?
The short answer is yes; using a charger with lower wattage power can cause serious problems for your laptop. Always remember that there are high risks of laptop damage with the lower wattage charger.
The same problem can occur using a charger with a different voltage rating. The charger with voltage matched with the laptop requirement is necessary. If the charger wattage, power, and voltage are not according to the laptop’s requirement, the first problem will be with the charger and power supply.
It is not an issue if you use an old charger for charging. Still, if the power supply fails, it can damage the laptop components and ruin the laptop’s performance. The power spikes can also occur in the system. So, be careful, and use the charger with higher wattage power for laptop charging.
How Lower Wattage Charger Can Affect the Laptop?
Using the lower-wattage charger can damage the entire laptop system. Still, some initial symptoms can determine any problem with the system. Let’s get to know what those are warning:
1. Overheating
Overheating the laptop system is the first symptom that can determine that your laptop battery is not getting enough power and is trying hard to get the proper charges for the motherboard.
Using a charger with lower wattage will take longer to provide wattage power to the laptop battery. The battery will also work hard to charge, resulting in heating.
2. Damaged Components
Using the lower-wattage charger to charge the laptop can damage the system. The damaged components will also affect the laptop battery, which will result in the battery draining at a faster rate.
The components will face a power shortage if the charger does not provide enough power to the laptop battery. The power shortage problem will cause the components to fail and lose efficiency.
3. Poor Performance
Using the lower-wattage charger will also slow down the laptop’s performance. The laptop’s slow performance might be the first thing you will notice in this situation. The laptop components will not get enough power to run smoothly, so the system will start providing slow performance.
Playing any heavy game or running software can crash the laptop system. All the laptop components will burn out, leaving you with nothing. So, it would be better to use the charger recommended by the laptop company.
Final Verdict: Can You Use Lower Wattage Charger for Laptop
That’s all, folks. I’m sure reading the article must have provided you with complete knowledge about your question. Using the lower-wattage charger is inappropriate for your laptop charging.
So, be careful while using any charger for your laptop; it can damage your entire laptop components. Use the charger recommended by the company and enjoy your laptop’s fast performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Happens If You Use a Lower-Voltage Charger for A Laptop?
Using a lower voltage charger than the requirement of the laptop can cause severe problems. The overheated system, burning of the components and charger, or stopping laptop functioning are the few problems you can face with the lower voltage charger.
Will A Slow Charger Damage the Laptop?
Yes, the slow charger damaged the laptop slowly. It does not harm the battery, but you need not let it charge to 100%. It can damage the battery and slow down the laptop’s performance. If you want to use the laptop for longer, then charging it almost in between 33% to 66% will be best. Discharge the slow charger after 50+% charging.
What Is the Minimum Wattage to Charge the Laptop?
Typically, most chargers provide wattage between 29 watts-31-watts to give the laptop more power. Of course, it depends on your laptop model and how it consumes the battery.