One of the biggest problems we face in this modern era is battery life. Every day we use numerous pieces of technology, many of which work without being plugged into the mains.
The most prominent examples of this are laptops and our mobile phones. Figuring out how to make these machines last longer without charging is a billion-dollar industry.
One of the innovative answers tech giants gave to us in terms of laptops is the Chromebook. These laptops utilize smart tech and streamlined efficiency parts that equate to long hours of battery life.
But what do we do in a power outage, or if the charger broke? In this article, we will show you some innovative ways to charge your Chromebook without a charger.
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How To Charge A Chromebook Without A Charger (4 Easy Methods)
If you find yourself without your original Chromebook charger and you need to get into your laptop, check out the following options. Bear in mind that these methods come with their own problems and will not be suitable for every situation.
Unfortunately, the best thing to do if you have lost your charger is to buy a branded replacement. If that isn’t an option, read ahead.
USB-C Method
The first and easiest method for charging your Chromebook without its original charger is to utilize a USB-C cable. You will need to make sure that you have a USB-C port on your Chromebook and a power supply that is as powerful as possible.
While a phone charger will work in a pinch, charging this way will lead to battery decay extremely quickly. You will also need to make sure that the charger has PD capabilities. If not, you will not be able to use your laptop while it charges.
For all of this to work, you'll have to ensure that your Chromebook supports USB-C charging to begin with.
This is simple to do. On your Chromebook, head over to the settings menu and find the Power section. On this menu, you should be able to find a way to choose your power source. If this isn't there, or the boxes are greyed out, your Chromebook cannot be powered this way.
Power Banks Method
Power banks are great tools to have. They allow you to charge your devices on the go with ease and can come in massively handy on longer journeys or periods of time away from your home.
In the past, they were rarely powerful enough to give you more than one or two phone charges. Nowadays, however, power banks have a lot more juice.
If you have the right cables, you can charge your Chromebook via such a device. You will need to remember that this will be a slow and painful process, even if you have one of the fastest power bank chargers on the market.
If you don't have a charger or a power bank and are desperate, you could also use your phone. Modern phones with the ability for two-way power delivery will charge your laptop.
However, this is extremely slow, and even with a fully charged phone, you shouldn't expect more than a 5-10% charge on your Chromebook. This is a last chance saloon-type deal and should only be used in dire emergencies.
Use a Universal Charger
For anyone with a number of different tech items in their possession, it is a really good idea to purchase a good universal charger. These incredible bits of equipment come with interchangeable ends and include 90% of the connectors that all laptops, phones, and tablets use.
This means that if you lose your phone charger or your laptop charger, you will have a backup that will carry you through until you can replace your charger. The only problem with these devices is that the power is generally quite low so don't expect fast charging.
Try Your Car Charger
For the truly desperate, using your cigarette lighter and a plug-in USB adaptor usually used to charge phones, you will be able to charge your Chromebook. Charging your laptop in your car will be the slowest of all the methods and will takes hours. Be careful about leaving this running when the engine is off, as you may come back to a dead battery as well as a dead Chromebook.
Prioritize Getting An Original Chromebook Charger
As you can probably guess, all of the methods for charging your Chromebook are emergency solutions and should not be a permanent method. While they may allow you to get back onto your Chromebook in an emergency, you should always make it your priority to get your original charger or buy a branded replacement. This is the only method that has no adverse side effects.
Best Brands For Chromebook Battery Life (Ranked & Compared)
1. ASUS Chromebooks
Asus were, alongside Acer and Samsung, the original Chromebook innovators. They were first on the scene and have made massive strides. As a result, ASUS Chromebooks have the best battery efficiency.
2. Acer Chromebooks
Acer is pretty much on par with ASUS. Their Chromebooks have excellent battery life and great efficiency.
3. Samsung Chromebooks
Samsung makes excellent Chromebooks and, thanks to their technological innovation in mobiles and tablets, have industry-leading battery life. Their only downside is a lack of expertise in the laptop market compared to Acer and ASUS.
4. HP Chromebooks
HP Chromebooks are the middle of the bunch, they make great Chromebooks, but the battery life on HP is usually shorter than the above brands.
5. Dell Chromebooks
Dell has always been focused on performance and power at the cost of battery life. Their Chromebooks are therefore powerful but Dell laptops in general lack in terms of battery life.
How Long Do Chromebook Batteries Last? (Average Lifespan)
Chromebooks tend to have a much better battery life than typical laptops. This is due to the streamlined approach to parts and storage.
Most Chromebooks utilize cloud storage and internet access for most functions. This means you will not be utilizing your battery for things like huge SSD drives and dedicated graphics cards.
Chromebooks tend to come with a battery life between 11 and 20 hours, occasionally a little more with higher-end models.
How To Improve Your Chromebook Battery Life (Tips & Tricks)
No matter how good your battery life is, sometimes it still feels like you don't have enough juice. Luckily there are a number of different techniques and tips that you can use to maximize the battery life of your device.
The first major thing that will allow you to extend your battery life is the brightness levels of your screen.
When your brightness is maxed out, your battery life is going to drop a lot quicker. If you are working somewhere where you do not need the screen to be full brightness, dial the brightness level down, turn off the touchscreen and you will be able to work for longer.
Another major thing that people don't realize is that multitasking drops your battery life at a much faster rate than if you are just working on one task at a time.
The biggest culprit of this is Google Chrome. When you open a second tab on Chrome, your computer allocates that tab its own share of your RAM and CPU power. This means that if you have 16 tabs open, your RAM is split 16 ways. This is going to deplete your battery extremely quickly.
In terms of maintenance, make sure that you do not overcharge your Chromebook. Don't leave it on charge overnight; unplug it when full and allow it to deplete before recharging.
People Also Ask (FAQs)
Should Chromebooks be plugged in all the time?
No, the best way to ensure your battery life stays healthy is to charge your laptop to full then unplug it. Allow it to deplete to around 20% before plugging it back in. Leaving it charging overnight will reduce the lifespan of your battery.
Why is my Chromebook dying so fast?
If you are finding that your Chromebook is slowing down or dying much quicker than usual, you should look at the above section on how to improve battery life. If you are multitasking or watching lots of high-quality videos on a bright screen, your battery life will drop drastically.
How much does it cost to replace a Chromebook battery?
Chromebook batteries cost between 30-90$ for the parts, but the labor prices to fix it will vary. You could also replace the battery yourself as it isn't a difficult job; just be wary of voiding warranties.
At what percentage should I charge my Chromebook?
Letting your battery drop to 20% before charging is optimal. Try not to let your laptop run below 5% battery as this could cause damage over time.
Does Chromebook night light save battery?
Anything that lowers the brightness of your screen will prolong battery life, such as by turning the night light on.
Conclusion
Chromebooks are becoming increasingly popular thanks to their lightweight design, innovative operating system, and long battery life. Unfortunately, battery life plagues us all, but after reading this article, you should be much more prepared to deal with any problems that arise.
Jake Redman is a UK-born-digital nomad & founder of Ultimate Quality Content, a collective of high-end copywriters formed to provide detailed insight into everything technology-related. Jake is the definition of a man-nerd. He gets excited over things like processor architecture, ray-tracing, & is an avid E-Sports fan, specifically League of Legends. When he isn’t writing detailed tech-related articles, Jake can be found performing fire-breathing shows & wields a dragon staff, or on the sofa playing Mario Kart.