Eli5: What happens when you use a powerful charger on a smaller device?

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I plugged my phone into my laptop charger to see what would happen. My phone on 10% said “charge time 2 mins”. But then after a bit it changed to 45mins.

Does the phone somehow change the power of the charger to a more sensible power?

My phone has a fast charger which is usually “1hr” to fully charge.

In: 5

7 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Speaking of USB yes, the device and charger negotiate how much current and at what voltage will be delivered. There are obviously limits on both device and charger side, there are even limits in the cable. To figure out in detail how every bit of handshaking works you would have to dive deep into USB specs, an effort not worth making unless you are engineering a USB charging related device. As a user, if the plugs fit you can just connect it and it’ll work, nothing will get damaged.

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