I had hoped that I could charge my new powercore+ 20100 using the same 61W USB-C charger and cable that I use for my MacBook. The charger supports USB PD and is capable of providing 5.2V @ 2.4A.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to work. I plug the charger into a wall socket, and the USB-C cable into the powercore+, but nothing lights up on the powercore+.
Is this expected? Does the powercore+ not support USB-C power delivery?
The model you have does not support power delivery, however it should still accept charge from the Apple charger… Have you tried emailing support@anker.com ?
I would try a different cable before emailing support, and when you do highlight the steps you have taken to charge it
As @joshuad11 has mentioned you should be able to charge using the MacBook charger. Are you using the included USB-C cable or the cable that came with your MacBook? Might be worth testing with the Anker cable also while your awaiting a response from support@anker.com if already emailed.
I also tried with the USB-C to USB-C cable included by Anker. No luck there.
Charging from a USB-A wall charger, with the USB-A to USB-C cable, does work.
I charge my powercore+ 20100 all the time from my 87W USB-C charger that came with my mbp using the cable that came with the charger and the macbook. You do have to be sure not to turn the charger on before plugging it in.
Hmm… that’s good to know! Do the lights flash (in a circle) as it charges?
I guess there might be something amiss with mine. I’ve emailed support.
Yes. With the lights off plug in the cable to the charger then into the powercore. The lights should immediately do the circle thing indicating it’s charging.
When I’m traveling I actually plug the charger into my macbook then plug the macbook into the charger and leave them overnight. Both charge at the same time. 1 less charger to carry.
I got the chance to test this on some other MacBook USB-C chargers and found that it consistently failed to work with the smaller 61W charger.
However, it did work with the larger 87W charger.
Here are the specs:
61W USB-C MacBook charger output: 20.3V @ 3A (USB PD) or 9V @ 3A (USB PD) or 5.2V @ 2.4A (does not work with my powercore+ 
)
87W USB-C MacBook charger output: 20.2V @ 4.3A (USB PD) or 9V @ 3A (USB PD) or 5.2V @ 2.4A (works with my powercore+ 
)
Now I’d have thought either could handle the powercore+, since it’s probably not charging at the higher 20ish volt level. Any thoughts from the community / Anker?
I received an official statement from someone at Anker.
Despite using a USB-C port for input, the powercore+ 20100 is NOT power delivery compatible. Anker strongly advised not to use it with either of the MacBook chargers!
Kindly be advised that this Anker PowerCore+ 20100 USB-C doesn’t support Power Delivery technology via its USB C port. It’s USB C port is more like a physical port to connect Type-C devices. To recharge it, we always advise customers to use a 5V/2A wall charger (such as the one that ships with the iPad or Galaxy Note).
Our product manager did tests using an Apple 87W/61W wall charger with this Anker Powercore and found the battery is not charging properly at all, judging from the current & voltage his device recorded. So we strongly recommend you to use a 5V/2A wall charger only to charge this battery. It is not safe to use those powerful chargers on it.
@ShaColby_Jackson, you might like to confirm this advice with them, given you do charge using the larger MacBook wall charger).
I’m personally very surprised that a device which uses USB-C as an input isn’t Power Delivery compatible. Using a connector that easily allows it to be attached to a charger in a way that is unsafe seems incredibly risky. 
Wow! That’s a disappointment. Thanks for sharing! Should be in the product description though.
If it doesn’t say PD it isn’t PD.
There has been a half-way USB-C option last 2 years of 5V 3A where USB-C has the reversibility and cables tend to be better for 3A. Anker has made non-PD USB-C for a period also like the Powerport5 with USB-C port, others also make them.
The problem is no one’s particular fault that USB-C can be inferred to mean anything unless you focus and know.
This is partly why I do not yet own any USB-PD, only USB-C, currently a Pixel C 5V 3A and a Lenovo Tab 4 8 Plus 5V 2A and then the Powerport5 USB-C and another make with the same 5V 3A output across 2 ports.
USB-PD has huge potential obviously, the removal of proprietary laptop chargers, something we have been joyously avoiding with smaller tablets for years.
Hi, I have the exact same issue with the 61W charger
The charger says in fine print that it will output 5.2v@2.4A (also will output 9v usb-pd or 20.3v usb-pd)
5.2v is standard usb output (not USB-PD) and therefore should charge the powecore
I think something in the powercore is confusing the apple charger and causing it to not be able to decide which voltage to use.
Anker might be able to offer some explanation as to what is confusing the apple charger
Why does the powercore not trigger the apple 61W usbc charger into delivering 5.2v when all other devices do?
That is very odd…
I first tried to charge the 20100 usb-c with my Samsung Adaptive Fast charger & micru-usb cable that came with my Galaxy S6. The charger itself has an output of 2a. After abour 2 hours of charging, I noticed that the charger had got really hot when I touched it. I immediately unplugged it out of fear of damaging the charger and/or my new power bank. I have not used that charger since.
After that incident, I began charging it with my Macbook Pro’s 87W USB-C Power Adapter & USB-C cable and have not had a problem since. Does not overheat and charges fine every time.