How to Charge Your Laptop with a Portable Charger Bank

Download Article

Power your laptop on the go, even without an outlet

Co-authored by Luigi Oppido and Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: November 7, 2024

Download Article

Charging Your Laptop

|

Maximizing Battery Life

Is there no outlet around to charge your laptop? This wikiHow will teach you how to use a power bank to recharge your PC Laptop or MacBook, as well as how to maximize your battery life.

Using a Power Bank to Charge a Laptop

Charge the power bank using a wall outlet.
Make sure the power bank is powered on.
Connect the laptop to the power bank using a USB C cable.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Charging Your Laptop

Download Article

1
Get the correct power bank for your laptop. Most laptops require 16V-20V output while most power banks supply 5V USB output. You can usually find the power rating and voltage output your laptop needs on the current AC adapter or in the manual.
- The MAXOAK Laptop Power Bank has a high rating on Amazon.com for working with Dell, HP, Lenovo Surface Pro, Sony, Samsung, Acer, and Toshiba notebooks.^{[1]
  X
  Research source}
- For an Apple laptop, check out the Mophie Powerstation.^{[2]
  X
  Research source}
If your laptop runs out of battery power when you're on the go, you'll want your portable power bank to be fully charged. If you don't know how to charge a power bank, you can check out How to Charge a Power Bank for more information.

Advertisement
Many power banks connect to your computer with a USB-C cable and port, but you can find others like USB-A or Lightning ports.^{[3]
X
Research source}
4
Turn on your power bank (if you need to). According to your power bank's make and model, you might have to press a button or turn a switch for the power bank to start charging your computer.^{[4]
X
Research source}
- You should see the battery charging symbol in the tray of your laptop screen. On Windows, this looks like the battery icon next to a three-prong plug as the icon is filling up with white. On a Mac, you'll see a lightning bolt inside the battery icon.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Maximizing Battery Life

Download Article

1
Work on one program at a time. You may have gotten accustomed to multi-tasking, but the more programs you have open and running, the faster your battery is used.
- If you're using Windows 8 or 10, make sure you look in your taskbar for programs that are running in the background, like Google Drive (or any of those other syncing services) or a gaming launcher (like Origin Games).
2
Use less memory. Similar to the previous step to saving battery power, like closing unnecessary open programs, you need to use less memory-intensive programs to save battery life.
- For example, if you need to write a document, use Notepad/TextEdit instead of Microsoft Word.
- Watching a movie or playing a large game can also drain your battery quickly. You can open up task manager (Windows) or activity monitor (Mac) to see what programs you're using are taking up the most resources.
Your battery might be drained faster as your laptop uses resources to keep these on.
You'll find these in Settings > System > Power & Sleep (Windows) or System Preferences (Mac).
5
Reduce the brightness of your screen. Usually, the Power Saver and Energy Saver settings take care of this, but you can lower the brightness even more if you want to.
- You should see a shortcut key on your keyboard that will do this. It will have a picture of a hollow sun next to a picture of a filled sun, indicating it adjusts brightness.
Plugins like USB flash drives, mice, and CDs, will drain your battery faster. If you're not planning on using something, you'll need to unplug it.
Batteries don't do well in extremely hot or cold temperatures, so you'll want to avoid either of those.
8
Keep your laptop's air vents clear. Your laptop most likely has internal fans that help keep it from overheating; if the vents to these fans are blocked by dust or debris, then they will work harder and drain your battery faster.
- Likewise, you do not want to use a pillow or other soft surface to rest your computer.

Common Questions: Power Bank Capabilities

Why is my power bank not charging my laptop?

Laptops need a high wattage output to effectively charge. Most power banks offer around 15-30 watts while laptops need at least double of that. If your power bank can charge your phone but not your laptop, you'll need a power bank with a higher wattage.

Can I use a cell phone charger to charge my laptop?

Avoid using unofficial chargers for your laptop. You might damage the energy supply or reduce your laptop's battery life. Use the provided charger for your laptop unless the manual states an alternative.

How do I enable USB-C charging on my laptop?

If your laptop supports USB-C charging, you'll usually find it in your laptop's power or battery settings. This feature must be enabled and you must have a charger powerful enough to support your laptop.

Can you charge a laptop with 20000mAh?

20,0000 mAh is enough power to charge a laptop. Make sure the power bank is meant to be used with a laptop. If it isn't, this could damage your device.