Are there any reasons not to use a 10w ipad charger with a USB->USB-C cable to charge a new MacBook Pro 2016? Have the one charger that came with MacBook but would like to be able to plug in at office, home on road, etc. with other chargers. Thx.
MacBook – Other than speed, is there a reason that a 10W iPad charger shouldn’t charge a new MacBook Pro 2016
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You typically will need one high-powered (5W) USB port for each of such devices to charge efficiently. The iPad alone requires more to charge, hence the non-standard 10W adapter. In addition, the USB hub itself is not likely to provide the necessary wattage to any of the ports (these usually are low-powered ports), so chances are not even one device will efficiently charge when connected alone to such a hub.
The iPad charger is 10 W and the MacBook charger is 29 W, so you would really be limping along from a power source that's not sufficient. I haven't tested, but my guess is the MacBook won't even try to charge from that small power source.
The second hurdle you will face is that you'll need a charging cable to go from the iPad charger's USB A port to the USB C port. This basically will connect the 4 wires the iPad charger uses to the 24 pins that the MacBook expects.
I wouldn't count on this doing anything and instead look for an Apple Adapter or third party adapter that adheres to the USB Power Delivery specification - Apple specifically lists that this is supported by the MacBook.
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Best Answer
A 10W iPad charger should in theory work and you would be correct that it would be a slow charge. Well, to be accurate, it would be a horribly slow charge - you are getting a charger that is 1/6th (17%) of what is required (61W).
Will there be a problem? No.
Will it charge? Slowly. Molasses in January slowly. From Apple's web site:
Assuming you are using a genuine Apple iPad charger, it should charge since Apple charges adhere to the spec.