Will PowerCore Speed 20000 PD Charge my Laptop?

#1

Hi. I have a Dell Latitude 7275. It charges through two Thunderbolt 3 ports (USB-C)/charging ports. Its power adaptor specs read as follows:
Power adapter:
Input voltage 120 VAC–240 VAC
Input frequency 50 Hz–60 Hz
Input current 1.30 A
Output current 1.5 A
Rated output voltage 20 VDC

I just bought an Anker PowerCore and PowerPort Speed Combo with a PowerCore Speed 20000 PD. It is fully charged, but when I plug it into my laptop (Latitude 7275), nothing happens. The lights on the PowerCore are off, and my laptop does not register as charging.

?Does the PowerCore 20000 PD put out too little power to charge the laptop? If so, does Anker sell a powerbank that will work? Which specs do I need to look for?

Thanks.

[New Release] PowerCore+ 19000 PD
#2

That laptop requires 30w input which you should be able to get from the power core. But, in order for those power packs to output via the usb-C port you need to press the button before plugging anything in.

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#3

If the minimum input is indeed 30W, PowerCore Speed 20000 would not be sufficient as it is capped at 22.5W.

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#4

I was thinking about the input, @joshuad11 is right the power packs are limited to outputing 22.5w. it may be enough to trickle charge your laptop or slow down the rate it’s discharging, but it won’t be sufficient to properly charge it

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#5

Thanks for your help elmo41683 and joshuad11. I tested the PowerCore to see if it would extend battery life or work as a trickle charger. However, it seems to do neither. When I ran my Latitude with a low battery but the PowerCore plugged in, it did not seem to extend the battery life any significant amount. Also, after the Latitude died, I left the PowerCore plugged in for several hours to see if it would charge the laptop (even if slowly). However, it never charged the Latitude even enough to power a boot up. I also noticed that when I try to charge the laptop, the lights on the PowerCore do not stay on–in contrast, when I charge my cell phone, the lights stay on indicating how much power is left in the PowerCore.

I guess it looks like Anker does not really make anything that will work for me. I’ve looked around elsewhere, and there doesn’t seem to be too much to choose from that delivers enough wattage. Looks like a power bank from the laptop manufacturer is going to be the way to go for me.

#6

So in order for this power bank to provide power over usb-C port you have to press the button before plugging anything in, otherwise it will try to draw power instead. So give that a try and see if anything changes

#7

What @elmo41683 said☺️

#8

I made sure to push the power button on the PowerCore before I plugged it into my laptop. Nonetheless, as I said, the lights on the PowerCore soon turn off and it does nothing to charge the laptop.

#9

Well, here’s Anker’s only offering at the moment with 30W of output, you could give it a shot, but there are no guarantees. Should definitely be able to return it, though.

https://amazon.com/dp/B01MZ61PRW

#10

This reply will not help but explain the challenge. Power Delivery negotiates for a common voltage and current, so the device and the powerbank must agree on something in common. As a result it is quite possible for any powerbank and device to not find anything in common and not function. You see this problem fairly often and the only sure way is to test or find someone who has tested.

In your case your device probably is going to only recognize 20V of which it can draw up to 1.5A. The powerbank you have is “PD Output: 5V=3A, 9V=2.6A, 15V=1.6A” so you see it supports only 3 levels and does not do 20V which is the one voltage we know your Dell is expecting.

Who’s fault is this? Well a bit of both, Dell, if had made your device support say 15V, then it would have overlapped Anker, but if Anker had supported 20V they’d also overlap.

It is electrically less efficient for Anker to support higher voltage, it has to step up from 3.7V by a bigger factor so this is overall more the fault of Dell who could have made the laptop accept lower voltages. The smaller powerbanks have fewer cells and so has fewer options for higher voltages, e.g. 20000 is made up 6 3.7V 3400 18650 cells. They probably are using 3 parallel 2 series so would be 7.2V from which they can step down to 5V or up to 15V. Chances are the battery in your Dell has 18V-19V cells so it refuses to accept anything less than 20V. Dell’s stance is the similar opposite problem of Anker, Dell would have to step up from less than 20V to recharge its battery and electrically that would add a little extra cost.

Nightmare, I know.

You asked if something will work, well within the caveat there is no guarantee, if you look at the 26800 PD product’s specs you do see 20V listed

This supports the 3 levels of the powerbank you have plus a 4th level of 20V.

Chances are the bigger powerbanks is capable of higher voltage, such as they are running more cells in series to be a higher voltage than the smaller 20000. The 26800 is likely 8 3.7V 18650 where the also are likely wired 2 parallel of 4 series to make 7.2V but they elected to step up to 20V as they had more current to play with.

It isn’t really fully Anker’s fault, but Anker has excellent customer service and likely will positively respond to a warranty claim. You’re more likely to find the 26800 to work but it is also not a guarantee as its also up to Dell to support PD and support more modes.

FWIW I also have a PD input laptop and it doesn’t work with the one PD output charger but I got both for free so I am wiser and not poorer. I have sitting this problem out for 2018 on items I did spend money, on 2015’s technology of a common denominator more universal to work of 5V 2A. My portable device is the Pixel C and it recharges with everything Anker sells of which I have the 5V output version of the 26800.

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