WorksTogether

USB-C charging compatibility

Last updated September 25, 2026 · Catalog figures are live from the WorksTogether database

In short

  • A USB-C plug does not guarantee charging. USB-C is only the connector; the charger and device negotiate power through USB Power Delivery (USB PD).
  • Compare the charger's maximum output with the device's recommended adapter power. A weaker charger usually still charges, but more slowly (and a laptop under load may drain faster than it charges).
  • Many phones reach their fastest wired charging only with PPS, an optional part of USB PD. A charger without PPS still charges them, at a lower rate.

USB-C charging checklist

CheckWhat to look forWhy it matters
Charging portThe device must charge through USB-C. Some laptops charge only through a barrel or proprietary port, or only through one of their USB-C ports.A USB-C port that only carries data will not charge the device
Power (W)Charger maximum output ≥ the device's recommended adapter power.Below it, charging is slower; at very low power a laptop may not charge while in use
ProtocolUSB PD on both sides for laptops and most phones; PPS for the fastest charging of phones that use it.Without a shared protocol, the charger falls back to basic 5 V USB power
Multi-port chargersThe stated total output is shared between ports when several devices are plugged in.Each port may deliver less than the headline wattage
CableAbove 60 W (3 A), USB PD needs a 5 A cable with an e-marker chip.A 3 A cable caps a 100 W charger at 60 W

USB Power Delivery and PPS

TermWhat it is
USB PDThe USB standard that lets a charger and a device agree on voltage and current over USB-C. Standard Power Range reaches 100 W (20 V × 5 A).
USB PD 3.1 EPRExtended Power Range: up to 240 W (48 V × 5 A) with EPR chargers, cables and devices.
PPSProgrammable Power Supply, an optional USB PD feature that adjusts voltage in small steps. Some phones (for example many Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel models) use it for their fastest charging.

Laptop vs phone charging

Laptops and phones use the same connector and the same USB PD negotiation, but at very different power levels. In the WorksTogether catalog (verified manufacturer figures):

  • Laptop recommended adapter power: 30–300 W across 184 laptops.
  • Phone recommended adapter power: 20–60 W across 26 phones.
  • Charger maximum output: 20–160 W across 22 chargers.
  • 161 laptops have a verified USB-C charging port; 2 chargers and 7 phones state PPS.

A high-wattage laptop charger can safely charge a phone — the phone only draws what it negotiates — while a low-wattage phone charger connected to a laptop usually charges it slowly, or not at all under heavy load.

Real charger checks

34 laptop charger and 25 phone charger checks are published. A selection across verdicts:

Laptops

Phones (wired)

All of them: laptop charger checks · phone charger checks. Wireless charging is covered in the wireless charging guide.

How WorksTogether decides

A charger and a device are evaluated only when a real dimension is verified on both sides (the connector, or the charging protocol for phones); power alone is not enough. A constrained evaluation model then analyzes the verified facts — connector, maximum output vs. recommended power, protocol — using a fixed set of compatibility questions, and cannot add or assume missing specifications. Otherwise the answer is “Unknown”.

Where the data comes from

Every product figure on WorksTogether comes from the manufacturer's own specification pages; nothing is taken from retailers or inferred from product names, and each check links to its official sources. Read the full compatibility data and methodology, browse the product database or search every published check in the Compatibility Library.