How to charge a laptop without a charger

Left your charger at home? We’ve all been there. Luckily, there are loads of ways to power up your laptop without one. So, here’s how to charge a laptop without a charger. You can thank us later…

Laptop charging basics

Quick tech/science lesson here. Most laptops come with a charger that plugs into a power socket, which then connects to your laptop through a charging port. This port is almost always on the back or the side. The charger converts the electricity coming from the outlet into energy that your laptop’s battery uses to recharge. It’s as simple as that.

Other charging options

With that said, all you need to do is find an alternative to the above. Here are a few of the best other ways to top up your laptop…

Charging your laptop with HDMI

If you’ve got an HDMI cable lying around, you’re in luck. Some newer laptops come with a nifty little feature called HDMI Power Delivery (or HDMI PD for short).

This lets you hook your laptop up to another gadget – like a monitor or a TV – using an HDMI cable. The connected bit of tech then sends power back to your laptop through the same cable, charging it at the same time. Pretty clever, right?

Using a power bank

Powers banks come in lots of different sizes and capacities. Some are small enough to pop in your pocket, while a few are absolute beasts. And others have multiple charging ports, letting you give your laptop a bit of juice while you do the same for your phone. Nice.

Before you buy, think about how portable yours needs to be, and have a good look around to find one with enough power to charge your laptop. Otherwise, it’s not going to be very useful.

It’s also worth saying that charging from a power bank might take longer than being plugged into a proper socket. So, be patient, and that battery will be back up to 100% in no time.

Car battery and USB-C charging

Let’s say you’re away on a business trip, but you’ve forgotten to pack the charger. Don’t panic. Some cars have built-in USB ports that use the car battery to charge all of your gadgets and gizmos.

As long as you’ve got a USB-C cable on you, you’ll be sorted. Plug one end into the laptop and the other into the port, switch on the ignition and voila. Now you’ll be able to fire up your laptop and take it for a spin.

Don’t leave it plugged in for ages though. Eventually, it’ll drain your car battery – and while you’ll have a fully charged laptop, your car won’t start. And that’s going to be a pretty awkward call to the AA explaining that one!

If you’ve got an old motor though, and there’s no USB port in sight (that tape deck is a dead giveaway), there’s still a way to do it. Lots of cars have a cigarette lighter built-in. Get yourself a USB adapter, plug it into the lighter and you’ll turn it into a USB outlet that you can charge your laptop through. Sorted.

Universal adapters and super batteries

If you’re a bit of a frequent flyer – or just regularly find yourself somewhere without many plugs nearby – grab yourself a universal adapter and a super battery.

Universal adapters let you take your tech abroad and charge it up properly while you’re away. They pretty much convert your UK plug to a European/American etc style one. Letting you plug in and top up whenever, wherever. And because they work with other chargers (not just your laptop one), it doesn’t matter if you haven’t got that to hand.

Super batteries are exactly what they sound like. These high-capacity life savers are designed for charging laptops and other power-hungry devices. So, make sure you pack a few if you’re going to be off grid for a while.

Check your laptop warranty first

While all of these suggestions are nice and safe, there are plenty of others out there that involve messing about with the electronics.

Before you start charging about with these technical methods, make sure you check your laptop’s warranty first. Opening it up or using something that isn’t a regular charger might void the warranty completely. And if you don’t do it properly, you could damage your laptop. If you’re not feeling confident, it’s better just to stick with the charger that came in the box.

So, it’s completely up to you whether you decide to do it or not. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Source: CURRYS