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Iscru
Level 1 (1 points)

Q: Problems charging macbook pro with 45w magsafe 2 ?

I have a macbook pro 15" with AMD Radeon R9 M370X which starts only when the magsafe 2 is plugged. In my work is plugged al the time to magsafe 2 85w for better performance, but when I'm home I have a charger from a macbook air (magsafe 2 45w I believe is)

Is anything I should be aware of using a smaller charger for the battery or for the graphic card, or is just the battery charges slower and everything works fine?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Mar 23, 2016 2:15 AM

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Iscru

Q: Problems charging macbook pro with 45w magsafe 2 ?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Courcoul,Helpful

    Courcoul Mar 23, 2016 3:09 AM in response to Iscru
    Level 6 (14,193 points)
    Mar 23, 2016 3:09 AM in response to Iscru

    The 15" models need the 85W charger. Using the smaller charger will cause it to overload and possibly fail prematurely, plus the big Mac will be power-starved and discharge the battery since there won't be enough juice. Don't be a cheapskate and buy a proper charger for it if you don't want to carry one about.

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Mar 23, 2016 3:54 AM in response to Iscru
    Level 9 (52,469 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 23, 2016 3:54 AM in response to Iscru

    Reinforcing Courcoul's good advice, the rule of thumb is: You can use a charger with the wattage the MBP is is designed for or GREATER, but never use a charger of LESSR wattage than the MBP it is designed for.  (The OSX governs the charge levels so a MBP can never be overcharged.)

     

    Ciao.

  • by mldennisa,

    mldennisa mldennisa Sep 27, 2016 11:51 AM in response to Iscru
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 27, 2016 11:51 AM in response to Iscru

    I have been using 45W chargers for 3 years that were labeled and sold as 85W.  Make sure you check your system information to verify that what is supposed to be an 85W charger is in fact that.

     

    --M