How to Charge a Laptop Without a Charger? 6 Quick Ways


The laptop was meant to be convenient due to how portable and easy it is to carry around wherever you go. This makes its battery one of the most important parts of the laptop as it is what will power your computer while you are on the go. But what if you don’t have your laptop charger with you because you forgot to bring it or because it got broken/lost and you ran out of battery? How do you charge your laptop without a charger?

Bringing an extra battery, using a power bank or portable charger, having a USB-C adapter, and using your car’s battery can be great ways for you to charge your laptop’s battery even without having your laptop’s charger. However, none of these methods are free and as effective as using the original charger.

Having a charger for your laptop should always be one of the priorities of a laptop owner because there is nothing better than using your laptop charger for keeping your battery juiced up. However, you need to make sure that you actually have backup plans because of how you can’t tell when or where you will need to charge your laptop without a charger.

Battery low message on mobile device screen

Can you charge your laptop without a charger?

There is no doubt that the laptop is one of the most important tools of the modern world because people tend to always be on the go. So, whether they are working, playing, socializing, or watching movies, the laptop is there to help them whenever they are on the move or even simply are in a remote location. Having a laptop makes life easier because of how portable and convenient it is to carry around.

One of the things that make the laptop so convenient is its battery. The battery is there to power the laptop whenever you need it. Meanwhile, laptops also come with chargers that will allow you to replenish the battery whenever it reaches a critically low level. This makes the charger one of the most important things you need to carry around if you are on the go because it allows you to charge your laptop whenever you are close to a power outlet.

So, what if you didn’t have your laptop charger with you? It isn’t rare for people to actually forget to bring their laptop chargers whenever they are traveling. In the same way, it also isn’t rare for people to actually lose or break their laptop chargers because these are just as fragile as any other electronic device. When something like any of the abovementioned scenarios happens, can you actually still charge your laptop without its charger?

The good news is that you can still charge your laptop without a charger because most of the modern laptops that we have today are actually built with the capabilities to find power from other sources aside from their charger. As such, by being able to charge your laptop without a charger or even actually have a different power source for your laptop, you can continue using your computer without worrying whether or not it will end up losing power in the middle of a tough day at work or whenever you are gaming.

However, one of the things you need to know is that not all laptops are built to be able to charge using other sources aside from their chargers. This is quite common in older laptops but the newer ones today are built to be able to have backup charging capabilities in the sense that there are some ways you can charge them even without the use of their proprietary charger.

Also, you should know that almost all of the different ways you can charge your laptop without a charger involve buying a few devices for them to work. There is almost no other way for you to charge your laptop without a charger without spending a few bucks. However, what you should also know is that this is still better than having no way to charge your laptop at all. It also is better than spending quite a bit of cash to buy a new charger or to have your old one fixed.

All that said, knowing how to charge your laptop without a charger can be a lifesaver when you are working on something or when you really need your laptop for emergency purposes. This is why you should invest in the different tools and devices that could allow you to charge your laptop without a charger.

HP laptop on table at home

What are the different ways for you to charge your laptop without a charger?

Now that you know that you can actually still charge your laptop without its proprietary charger, let’s look at the different ways that you can do to give your battery a bit of juice when you are not carrying around its own charger or in case you lost or broke it.

Extra battery

While this isn’t actually a way for you to charge your laptop’s battery, it still is nice for you to actually have an extra battery lying around so that you can still use your laptop after the first battery had already been used up. So, in a sense, this is quite similar to when you have to carry around extra AA batteries for your flashlight when you are out camping. But, in this case, you are now supposed to carry an extra battery that is compatible with the laptop that you own.

However, what you also need to know here is that not all laptops today allow you to remove the primary battery. Some of the newer laptops actually have batteries that cannot be removed because this allows these laptops to become more durable (fewer openings for dust and water to enter).

Of course, one of the reasons why such laptops have made it possible for the battery to be non-removable is that they come with a built-in tech that immediately stops the battery from charging when it is already full as the laptop now switches over to the charger as its main source of power instead of using the battery’s power. This is important because, in the past, people tend to remove their laptop batteries when they are already fully charged but they would rather keep their laptops connected to a constant power source.

So, in your case, this method should work only when you have a laptop that has a removable battery. Otherwise, you won’t be able to make use of an extra battery if you can’t even remove your laptop’s first battery.

Pile of used Laptop computer Battery

Power bank

One of the most useful devices that plenty of people who are always on the go have in their pockets or bags is the power bank, which is also called the portable charger. As the name suggests, this is actually a portable charger in every sense of the term because of how you can use it to charge your gadgets while you are on the go.

While power banks were primarily designed to be used for mobile phones and tablets, there are now power banks that have enough battery capacities to actually power laptops as well. But, then again, there is a catch here.

Power banks are usually made to have 5V of power to protect your mobile devices from getting too much juice. Meanwhile, laptops need about 8V to 12V of power. This means that most power banks are not powerful enough to actually give laptops the constant flow of electricity they need to charge. That’s why you need to look for a power bank that can deliver at least 8V of power so that you can use it to charge your laptop.

External power Bank for charging

USB-C adapter

Some of the newer laptops today have gotten rid of their old power ports in exchange for the USB-C port, which has a wide variety of purposes. Other than how it is able to function in a similar way to any USB port, the USB-C is also designed to deliver power. That’s why laptops with USB-C ports support USB-C charging.

If you have a laptop that supports USB-C charging, having a USB-C cable and an adapter can allow you to charge your laptop even without carrying its proprietary charger. The adapter head should be able to connect to a power outlet or to any other source of power. Meanwhile, the other end of the adapter should be connected to your USB-C cable.

HDMI to USB c connected to laptop

Using your car’s battery

If you are on the road and you forgot to bring or even broke your laptop’s charger, you can actually use your car’s battery to power up your laptop. The great thing about this is that a car’s battery is nearly perpetual as long as you make sure you do your job in making sure that it lasts long enough.

So, in that case, the best way for you to charge using your car’s battery is to have an adapter that will allow your laptop to connect to the car’s cigarette lighter so that it can get enough power from there. Make sure that the adapter actually has a charging head that is compatible with the charger port that your laptop comes with.

There are also some cars with built-in USB sockets that you can use. However, the best way to use these sockets to charge your laptop is to have a USB adapter that is capable of charging your laptop as well if the other end of the cable is compatible with your laptop’s charging port. You can also use a USB-C cable that has a USB-A head on the other end to charge a laptop that is capable of USB-C charging.

External battery charger

This is once again aimed at those who own laptops that have batteries that they can easily remove from their laptops. That’s because non-removable batteries cannot make use of this method as it requires you to actually remove your laptop battery from the laptop to charge it. This means that this method might not be the most convenient but it still is better than nothing.

An external battery charger is exactly as its name suggests. It’s a charger that can be connected to a power source but requires you to remove your battery and dock the battery with the charger for it to charge the laptop’s battery. Throughout that time, you won’t be able to use your laptop because it doesn’t have its battery with it. This is similar to the rechargeable AA batteries you may have at home as you need to dock the batteries with an external battery charger to make sure that they have enough juice.

Universal charger

When all else fails, using a universal charger is the answer. While this isn’t exactly a method to charge your laptop without a charger, it still is quite useful for charging a laptop without its proprietary charger because universal chargers have the capability to charge any kind of laptop regardless of what brand it might be.

That said, universal chargers are similar to any kind of laptop charger except for the fact that you can change their charger head to suit the charger port that your laptop comes with. It allows you to easily switch between one head and another to make sure that you can use it on any kind of laptop. And the best part is that universal chargers are usually more affordable than the proprietary charger that your laptop comes with.

Final word

The charger that your laptop comes with is still the best way for you to charge your laptop because it delivers the right amount of power and is also the safest way for you to keep your battery juiced up. So, if you have the option to use your laptop’s charger, always use it as the primary way of charging your laptop.

Meanwhile, the methods we stated above should only be used as backups for you in case you can’t charge your laptop using the main charger due to various reasons. These are all effective at charging your laptop but they are not meant to act as replacements for your laptop’s proprietary charger.

Rob

I'm Rob, the founder of theonetechstop.com. I’m a Marine Corps vet with a master’s degree in Information Systems and have been working in the technology field for over a decade.

Recent Posts