Travel Charging MacBook Pro

The USB -> USB-C cable likely didn't work because it doesn't carry the voltage pins/wires needed.

Standard USB v1 and v2 ports/cables could deliver up to about 10W of power at 5V. This is enough to charge low-power devices such as your phone.

USB-C can deliver up to 100W of power at 20V - significantly more, and enough to charge your MacBook Pro

So to have one charger the rules them all, it will need to be a USB3 charger to deliver the high-wattage required. This can also charge older/lower wattage devices through cables, or through a USB-C -> USB A adapter (which lets you plug 'standard' USB cables in, and bypasses the high-power pins.

You're not referring to international travel where you might need to access a different plug?

On the road it may be possible to charge using one of those USB-A power-only power that are common these days. I've seen them at airports and even malls where all you need is the proper cable . However, it's going to be slow. Most top out at 2100 mA (10.5W) although I'm not sure what yours is cable of using.

What might be useful would be a USB-C power pack. That would charge and/or provide power quickly. Here's an article with reviews of several versions.

The Best USB-C Battery Packs and Power Banks: Reviews by Wirecutter | A New York Times Company

With one of these things you might be able to charge it on the go, and then use a USB-A power adapter to charge it overnight. Ideally you would just use a higher power USB-C power supply.

DaveOb64 wrote:

Hey thanks very much. Thats exactly it, and I have ordered. Really appreciate it.

Dave

Cool. That was just the first one that came up.

DaveOb64 wrote:

Yes I was thinking international travel.

I can get plug adaptors (Australia to USA) and plug my MacBook charger in and thats fine, but I then need another plug adaptor and charger for iPhone. I have never really had an issue charging phones while travelling. I have enough battery to get me through a day, so while a power bank is a good idea I don't think its what I want.

In my mind I would love an adaptor with 4 USB outputs that I can plug MacBook, iPad and iPhone in at night into one wall socket and charge all 3. This may not even exist as yet.

It exists. This is one example, with a 60W USB-C port and 12W shared between 3 USB-A ports:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MS9CTB7

You could also charge your iOS devices using the MacBook Pro and a passive USB-C/USB-A adapter if you don’t have an Apple USB-C to Lightning cable.