How to Charge a Laptop Without a Charger [Lenovo, HP, Dell]

In this article, we are going to show you a couple of ways to charge your laptop without a charger

So, what exactly should you do in the event you lose or forget to carry your laptop charger? The answer depends on how creative you are.

Without your laptop charger, you may feel like your laptop is next to worthless. You might be lucky enough to get one of those super laptops that can keep charged for up to 17 hours.

But eventually, the charge will run low, putting you back in the same spot.

However, there are some tricks you can try that will keep your laptop humming. In this roundup, we will show you how you can easily charge your laptop without your charger, regardless of its brand.

Thus, you will be able to charge a Lenovo, HP, Dell, Asus, Acer, or even Microsoft Surface laptop without charger.

Can I use any charger to charge my laptop?

Not really, voltage and port requirements need to match. You can, of course, use an adapter but it won’t work on its own.

For instance, if you want to charge a laptop with HDMI, you’ll need an HDMI to USB-C adapter. The good news is that most USB-C power outputs are interchangeable.

If you want to know how to turn on a dead laptop without a charger, we’ve got some quick and easy methods for you.

The easiest way to do it is with a universal laptop charger or a universal adapter.

Remember to always check the voltage, no matter the charging solution. If that doesn’t suit you, charge your laptop from a car battery or use an external battery charger.

How can I charge my laptop without a charger?

1. Use a universal adapter

A universal adapter is perhaps the most common solution to your battery woes. These universal chargers come with multiple tips so it’s likely you’ll find one that will fit in your laptop’s charging port.

You can even buy individual tips separately. Some universal adapters even have the ability to charge your laptop from a car or from other 12V DC power points.

When plugged in, the adapter will not only power the laptop but charge it as well

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However, if put in the wrong way, tips can cause improper voltage and damage to your laptop.

2. Use a power bank

Nowadays indispensable, the power bank is a useful piece of equipment to keep at hand. Just like you would charge your phone with it, you can use the power bank to charge your laptop if you lost or forget the charger at home.

There are a few things to keep in mind, though:

• Your laptop must be equipped with USB-C ports (While most are, some older generations of USB-C laptops may not support this function.)
• Your power bank must support at least 12v in output power (which is recommended for laptops).
• The best part is that you needn’t connect the power bank to a power source as it will do just fine on its own as long as it is charged itself.

3. Use a Car Battery

If you are the kind of traveler who spends most of the time on the road than in the office, then you can use the car battery to charge your laptop.

Wiring the laptop directly to the battery can be tricky since most modern laptops have battery voltages ranging from 8V and above, while most car batteries are rated at 12V.

Even so, there are ways that you can ‘hotwire’ a laptop to a car battery even if the voltage is less than 12V. However, it’s important to be cautious as you could wind up with a dead car battery or damage the laptop in the process.

The most efficient way to adapt the power from a car battery to power or charge a laptop is by use of an inverter. Various inverters exist and are capable of generating AC current from a DC source with output power ranging from 12-24V.

When you have the inverter, you can certainly use your car’s cigarette lighter to charge your laptop. To do so, follow these 3 simple steps:

1. Plug the inverter right into your car’s cigarette lighter socket.
2. Now, plug the laptop’s AC adapter into the inverter.
3. Connect the AC adapter to the laptop.

Read more about this topic

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4. Charge the laptop with USB-C

If you’re one of the lucky ones that have a USB type C on your laptop, then you don’t have to worry anymore.

USB type-A port only allows for data transfer and power output, but not input. With the introduction of USB type B and, most importantly, type C, not only fast data transfers are allowed but also power input and output.

So, if you lost your laptop charger, you have a couple of options. The first one is to charge your USB C laptop from a power bank.

Also, a big power bank can supply a lot of juice to your laptop and it is also portable, so you can take it with you everywhere you go.

Another solution is to use a USB C power adapter. Modern laptops come with those in the box, but if you don’t have one, buy it along with a good USB C to USB C cable.

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5. Charge the laptop with a phone charger USB-C

The last solution, as silly as it may sound, is to use your phone to charge the laptop. Yes, you won’t get much of anything and yes, it won’t last too long, but in the urgent case when you need just 10 more minutes to save a document or send an email, this works.

You just need a phone with USB C and a USB C to USB C cable. Connect your phone and the laptop with the cable and in the USB options on your phone choose ‘supply power to the other connected device’. 

That’s it. Your phone should now, for a very limited time, charge your laptop.

While the methods described above might provide a solution for charging your laptop when you don’t have a charger, keep in mind that they cost money, and require an advance purchase.

In all cases, it is economical and safer to buy a laptop charger.