A charger or "power supply" is the soul of your Laptop. Without a charger, your computer is useless. This mainly happens when you forget your charger at home when you are somewhere out. Or when it breaks and the new charger will arrive in a week.
These are some of the difficult situations that every laptop user faces. In such cases, there is no other option but to borrow a friend's charger or use an old one.
But could using such a charger cause problems? Could a charger of a different power and brand damage your device? Is it safe to use a power supply with a different configuration? These are some of the questions that laptop users face and we will try to answer below.
A power supply essentially converts the normal local electrical input voltage (110-120 Volts in the United States, and 220-240 Volts in most other regions) into DC output that runs on our electronic devices. The most important details to pay attention to are voltage and current. Voltage is measured in volts (V) and current in amperes (A).
The other important term to know is polarity. For direct voltage, there is a positive (+) and a negative (-) pole. For an adapter, the positive plug must mate with a negative socket or vice versa.
The next thing you need to match is the connector. Different laptop manufacturers make different types of connectors to be able to market their chargers and other accessories.
So, if your charger is broken or you forgot it at home, these are some things to keep in mind when using a friend's charger.
-The socket should be the same. You need to check if the size and shape of the plug on the power adapter matches the socket on your laptop.
-Once you find a charger that matches the shape and size of the connector, you need to check the voltage and polarity. If you have forgotten your charger at home or somewhere else, you can find the exact specifications of your power supply from the internet.
-Make sure your friend's charger has equal or greater Amps.
-If you have found a power supply that fits the above three points, you should have no problem using it. Remember, using a charger with the wrong voltage can potentially damage your laptop. This is usually caused by too high a voltage. But using one with too high a current will not damage your laptop.
