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My laptop's charger broke, and I have been using a borrowed charger as a replacement while I wait for a warranty replacement. The original charger is 120W (20V, 6A) and the borrowed charger is 65W (19.5V 3.33A) and is physically compatible with the laptop's barrel plug. Unfortunately, it seems that the laptop draws its full 120W from the charger, causing the adapter to overheat and shut down. I can only charge the laptop's battery by about 30% at a time using this method, and it's possibly a fire hazard. Is there any way to limit the current that the laptop draws in the laptop's software?

The laptop is an Asus Vivobook M7600QE, but I'm hoping the answer applies to a wider variety of Asus laptops.

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    There isn't. You need to find a compatible charger, this way something will break. Or catch fire.
    – Peregrino69
    Commented Feb 10, 2023 at 19:21
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    Power is pulled not pushed.. The only way for what you see to happen is that the wronng adapter you have has higher voltage, causing issues.
    – anon
    Commented Feb 10, 2023 at 19:21
  • Can downvoters explain why? I get that charging the 120W laptop off of a 65W charger is non-ideal and possibly dangerous. The question is on how to mitigate that.
    – whoKnows
    Commented Feb 10, 2023 at 20:56
  • @john is wrong. Some laptops do allow you to limit current. (Indeed that is why you get fast chargers for some devices, including some phones and most car chargers). I know some Dell devices can detect a slow charger and reduce the charge speed. I dont know tjis is doable with an Asus though.
    – davidgo
    Commented Feb 11, 2023 at 5:29
  • @John Yes, V=IR, but we can also play with R. See electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/262088/…
    – davidgo
    Commented Feb 11, 2023 at 5:35

2 Answers 2

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No, that's not possible.

Further:

Your laptop specifications indicate 19v, 4.74A, 90W.

By using a 65w charger you are stressing the charger, and as you've noted it is overheating (which is a fire risk). You could offset this by charging the laptop off, don't leave it unattended, and making sure there is plenty of airflow. Prolonged charging may damage the charger and/or your battery.

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Question: "Is there any way to limit the current that the laptop draws in the laptop's software?"

I neither do nor ever have owned an Asus device, but I believe I can say with 99.9999% confidence the answer is "No". Why?

Firstly: I don't recall ever seeing a laptop where this was an option. This obviously doesn't mean they don't exist, but this would be a clear marketing point in the vein of "New ACME laptops allow you to save energy by limiting the power draw during charging" and since that's yet to be seen...

... and as I just learned DELL laptops have "slow charging" functionality. However I can't find any indications for this in Asus site or manuals.

Secondly: Asus FAQ page "[Notebook] The specification and suggested instruction of battery/adapter" says:

Do not use different adapters on different models, or plugging in different sizes of connectors might cause damages. Even though the size of the DC Jack is the same, please ensure the adapter specification (e.g. 19V / 4.74A) is the same. Otherwise, the adapter or laptop will be damaged due to wrong usage.

If there was a way of affecting the power draw through a software, there would simply be no need to specifically ensure the PSU follows the adapter specification.

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    Dell laptops have configurable charging speed, among other business-oriented power management features. They also have adapter identification so they will complain about adapters less powerful than recommended.
    – gronostaj
    Commented Feb 10, 2023 at 21:38
  • Yeah, I literally read your comment 20 seconds ago :-D
    – Peregrino69
    Commented Feb 10, 2023 at 21:48

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