How Do You Charge An Apple MacBook Air/Pro With Any USB C Charger/Adapter?
Since Apple put USB C ports on its MacBook Air/Pro lineups, you have been able to charge the laptop with a USB C cable.
On the latest MacBook 14-inch and MacBook 16-inch, the latest Magsafe cable is even a USB C cable.
Related Product: I Use And Recommend The UNI USB C To USB C 100W Cable (click to view on Amazon)
But do you need to use a specific USB C charger to charge a notebook like the MacBook, or does any charger work?
Can You Charge MacBook Air/Pro With Any USB C?
The answer to the question in the title is, yes you can use pretty much any USB C output and charger to charge a MacBook Air/Pro. As long as the MacBook has a USB C port that can be used for charging.
There are, however, some low-quality USB C power banks and chargers out there that the MacBook won’t like. Therefore I recommend buying power banks, chargers, and adapters from reputable brands.
Down below I am going to share some of the best accessories I have found that work great with my new MacBook 14-inch from 2021.
The Best MacBook Charging Accessories?
Here are a couple of my favorites from brands that I like and recommend. All of these can charge MacBooks that use USB C.
USB C Cable – I have been using a Uni 10 ft USB C to USB C cable for the past year. It comes in different lengths and supports up to 100W. It’s a very well-made braided cable, and I love that it’s so long that I can charge my laptop while sitting on the couch. I highly recommend this cable.
USB C Charger – The No products found. has been working great for me. But honestly I recommend the official USB C chargers from Apple. The USB C 140W charger by Apple is definitely the best quality and most reliable charger that will keep your MacBook charged even under very heavy loads.
USB C Power Strip – I have a PowerLot Power Strip that has two AC outlets, two USB A, and one USB C port. I did a lot of research on power strips with USB C before purchasing, and this was the one with the highest rating I could find. The USB C port is 45W, which is enough to charge and keep my MacBook 14-inch going unless I am gaming and using the GPU a lot.
USB C Power Bank – I really like my Amcrest USB C Power Bank (click to view on Amazon). Even though the USB C port isn’t very fast at 22W, it’s capable of charging my MacBook. If I start gaming or do heavy video-editing, it’s not quite fast enough to keep charging it, but it will still extend my battery life.
Portable Power Station/Solar Generator – As a backup, I have a Jackery Explorer 300 (click to view on Amazon) . I can charge my MacBook either via the 60W USB C port, or with the AC inverter using the 96W charger that came with my MacBook. It has enough battery capacity to charge my MacBook 14-inch four times before needing a recharge. I use a Jackery SolarSaga 100 solar panel to be able to recharge the Explorer when I am out camping in the summer.
Further down in this post I will share a couple more power station setups that would pair great with a laptop for travel/camping/emergency use.
How Long Will It Take To Charge?
How fast your MacBook is going to charge depends on two things. The total battery capacity of your laptop, and the wattage of the USB C charger.
For example, Apple’s largest 16-inch MacBooks have a 100Wh battery. That’s why they come with a 100W or 140W charger.
Here is how large the batteries are in the notebooks currently sold y Apple:
- MacBook Pro 16-inch (2019) – 100Wh
- MacBook Air M1 (2020) – 49.9Wh
- MacBook Pro M1 (2020) – 58.2Wh
- MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021) – 70Wh
- MacBook Pro 16-inch (2021) – 100Wh
Can It Damage My MacBook Battery To Use A Third-Party Charger?
No, if your MacBook is accepting the charger and charging your computer, albeit slowly, it’s not going to do any damage to the battery.
If it would do any damage, the MacBook wouldn’t allow it to charge the battery.
What Solar Panel Can Charge A MacBook?
While there are portable solar panels with USB C ports, I recommend pairing a small solar panel with a portable power station/solar generator instead.
Then you can let the solar panel recharge your power station, and plug your MacBook into the power station.
Here are a couple of setups you could go with:
The Jackery Explorer 240 + Keshoyal 60W foldable solar panel: With this setup you’ll be able to recharge even the largest MacBook at least twice. You can keep the solar panel plugged into the Explorer while using it.
The EcoFlow River Max + Rockpals 100W foldable solar panel: The EcoFlow River Max has a 100W USB C port that you can use, and the Rockpals panel will recharge the power station in about 8 hours of sunshine.
The Goal Zero Yeti 1000X + Goal Zero Boulder 200: With this setup you’re going to be able to run and power a lot more things than just a laptop. The inverter in the Yeti 1000X is powerful enough to run kitchen appliances like microwaves, air fryers, and coffee makers. This is a great setup to have in an emergency or during a power outage.
How Do I Make My MacBook Battery Last Longer?
This question can be answered in two different ways. Last longer as in make every charge last longer, or last longer as in total lifecycles.
In terms of making a charge last longer, the easiest thing to do is to enable “Low power mode” and turn on the brightness. I have written this article which goes through how to enable low power mode.
In terms of making the battery last longer in cycles, the easiest thing you can do is try to not discharge the battery to 0%, and when charging pull the plug when it reaches an 80% charge.
Keep the battery between 20-80% as much as you can, and do a full cycle (100 to 0%, back to 100%) about once a month. This is going to extend the total lifecycles you get out of your laptop battery.
I have also written this post that talks about how you can check how the battery is doing.
