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Powerbanks (at least those with USB-C) work with Nintendo Switch

I

Irminsul

Member
Because this was something that was requested a lot of times, I'd thought a thread informing people would be nice.

As tested by Digital Foundry (Youtube video with timestamp), Powerbanks do work with the Switch, which should come in pretty handy for longer gaming sessions on the move.

Not sure if those without a dedicated USB-C port work, though. Someone should test this as well.
 
S

shiyrley

Banned
Allow me to copypaste here my post about USB A powerbanks possibly working

Okay so I may sound super dumb but here it goes anyway
This is the Switch's AC adapter
t58gzHX.jpg
Click to expand...

It appears to have two modes. It would make sense to assume that the 5V - 1.5A is for charging in portable mode and the 15V - 2.6 A would be for the dock, right?

This is my powerbank
pmNWHPN.jpg
Click to expand...

If we asume the official AC adapter charges the console at 5V - 1.5 A, shouldn't this powerbank be enough to charge while playing in portable mode because it's 5V - 2.4A? With a good USB A-C cable.

Only output 2 has Quickcharge btw so even if that's dangerous I just have to use output 1
 
Minsc

Minsc

Gold Member
Synless said:
So what is the cheapest and best USB-C to USB-C powerbank I can buy?
Click to expand...

This is probably one of the most prominent ones. Does everything too, so it's good for other devices as well.

Should be around $40-50 at a good price, and 20100mAh should let you enjoy Zelda for a good 12 hours or more without needing to plug in to an outlet. If you're going to get a cable though, make sure to grab one off the cables recommended here, especially if it's a USB A to USB C cable, but you'd most likely want a USB C to USB C cable for the quicker charging anyway (which are also reviewed there, but those shouldn't have the same quality issues of the A to C cables).
 
X

xKilltheMx

Member
shiyrley said:
Allow me to copypaste here my post about USB A powerbanks possibly working

Okay so I may sound super dumb but here it goes anyway
This is the Switch's AC adapter


It appears to have two modes. It would make sense to assume that the 5V - 1.5A is for charging in portable mode and the 15V - 2.6 A would be for the dock, right?

This is my powerbank


If we asume the official AC adapter charges the console at 5V - 1.5 A, shouldn't this powerbank be enough to charge while playing in portable mode because it's 5V - 2.4A? With a good USB A-C cable.

Only output 2 has Quickcharge btw so even if that's dangerous I just have to use output 1
Click to expand...

This is the same logic I have, my powerbank outputs the same amount so I assume it should work
 
T

TangoAlphaLima

Member
Irminsul said:
Because those without probably don't support USB power delivery.
Click to expand...

Wut? All power banks support USB power delivery.

shiyrley said:
If we asume the official AC adapter charges the console at 5V - 1.5 A, shouldn't this powerbank be enough to charge while playing in portable mode because it's 5V - 2.4A?
Click to expand...

So from my understanding, any 5 volt charger will get the job done, the issue is how many amps are pushed through will determine how quickly it charges. Many power banks have 1 amp USB ports for phone charging, and 2.1 amp USB ports for tablet charging, or some varying degree of these amp outputs. It's probably best to treat the Switch like a tablet and aim to use 2.1 amp USB ports to charge it, which meets the minimum 1.5 amp rating on the Switch's power supply.
 
L

Luigi87

Member
Glad I bought a 20100 mAh Anker Type-C charger the other week in preparation. That should keep me going for some time.
 
L

Luigiv

Member
shiyrley said:
Allow me to copypaste here my post about USB A powerbanks possibly working

Okay so I may sound super dumb but here it goes anyway
This is the Switch's AC adapter


It appears to have two modes. It would make sense to assume that the 5V - 1.5A is for charging in portable mode and the 15V - 2.6 A would be for the dock, right?

This is my powerbank


If we asume the official AC adapter charges the console at 5V - 1.5 A, shouldn't this powerbank be enough to charge while playing in portable mode because it's 5V - 2.4A? With a good USB A-C cable.

Only output 2 has Quickcharge btw so even if that's dangerous I just have to use output 1
Click to expand...

Sweet, my little USB 2.0 power bank outputs 5V - 1.5A, so hopefully the means it can charge the Switch faster than it can drain.

Irminsul said:
Because Nintendo said HDMI adapters wouldn't. So just because it's USB-C doesn't mean anything
Click to expand...

There's a big difference between a HDMI dock and a charger. The dock is substantially more complicated, with it's own internal logic that communicates back and forth with the console, the charger just supplies power.
 
P

Peltz

Member
Now we need one with a good form-factor for the Switch. I do not want to carry around a separate brick. If someone could design one which clasps onto the system in an unobtrusive way, it would be a great peripheral.
 
tkscz

tkscz

Member
Irminsul said:
Because this was something that was requested a lot of times, I'd thought a thread informing people would be nice.

As tested by Digital Foundry (Youtube video with timestamp), Powerbanks do work with the Switch, which should come in pretty handy for longer gaming sessions on the move.

Not sure if those without a dedicated USB-C port work, though. Someone should test this as well.
Click to expand...

This was something Nintendo revealed on the event last month. So it was known they would work as long as they are USB-C
 
L

Luigiv

Member
Peltz said:
Now we need one with a good form-factor for the Switch. I do not want to carry around a separate brick. If someone could design one which clasps onto the system in an unobtrusive way, it would be a great peripheral.
Click to expand...

Will almost certainly happen sooner or later, it's just a question of when.
 
S

shiyrley

Banned
Fuck it, I just ordered a USB-C powerbank to a friend's house since he's coming here on vacation. I have a Nexus 5X anyway so even if the Switch doesn't actually need a USB-C powerbank specifically to charge I will take advantage of the extra charging speed with my phone at least. I will try to sell the USB-A powerbank to someone.
 
I

ika

Member
I got this Anker 17000 mAh powerbank two years ago for my Ingress sessions, with two USB-A ports. I wonder if this will work with my Switch using the USB-A to USB-C cables included with Pro Controller and Charging grip...

015.jpg
 
SystemUser

SystemUser

Member
TangoAlphaLima said:
Not sure why that would matter. Having a cable with the USB-C male connector is the important piece.
Click to expand...


Yeah, the voltage and amps on the powerbank is important. Whether the bank has a USB-C port is not important in and of itself, but a powerbank with a USB-C port is more likely to have the minimum voltage and amps.
 
F

Frankfurter

Member
Isn't every powerbank 5V? I know mine does and it's ~5 years old. It only charges at 1A though, so I'm curious if that would also work.
 
C

Coffinhal

Member
ika said:
I got this Anker 17000 mAh powerbank two years ago for my Ingress sessions, with two USB-A ports. I wonder if this will work with my Switch using the USB-A to USB-C cables included with Pro Controller and Charging grip...

015.jpg
Click to expand...

+1 we need an answer on this
 
F

fabricated backlash

Member
ika said:
I got this Anker 17000 mAh powerbank two years ago for my Ingress sessions, with two USB-A ports. I wonder if this will work with my Switch using the USB-A to USB-C cables included with Pro Controller and Charging grip...

015.jpg
Click to expand...

As long as it has 5V and 1.5 A output it should work. If it has more than 1.5 A then it's even better.
 
S

spawnsniper

Member
Minsc said:
This is probably one of the most prominent ones. Does everything too, so it's good for other devices as well.

Should be around $40-50 at a good price, and 20100mAh should let you enjoy Zelda for a good 12 hours or more without needing to plug in to an outlet. If you're going to get a cable though, make sure to grab one off the cables recommended here, especially if it's a USB A to USB C cable, but you'd most likely want a USB C to USB C cable for the quicker charging anyway (which are also reviewed there, but those shouldn't have the same quality issues of the A to C cables).
Click to expand...

Are you benson though?
 
TAS

TAS

Member
If 5V - 1.5A is what is required for portable mode charging, then almost any (modern) battery bank will work. The standard output nowadays is 2.0-2.4A.
 
H

H13

Member
Sorry bit of a noob here, but can I use the anker powercore 20100 provided that I have the usb c cable on my own? Or do I need to buy the anker powercore + 20100? As the + has usb c support?
 
P

Prototype Viktor

Member
Irminsul said:
Because this was something that was requested a lot of times, I'd thought a thread informing people would be nice.

As tested by Digital Foundry (Youtube video with timestamp), Powerbanks do work with the Switch, which should come in pretty handy for longer gaming sessions on the move.

Not sure if those without a dedicated USB-C port work, though. Someone should test this as well.
Click to expand...

if it follows USB-C standards it any powerbank that also follows the standard should work. if it doesn't one of the 2 parties aren't following the standard
 
B

Bendo

Member
H13 said:
Sorry bit of a noob here, but can I use the anker powercore 20100 provided that I have the usb c cable on my own? Or do I need to buy the anker powercore + 20100? As the + has usb c support?
Click to expand...

Yes, it should work just fine, thought it probably won't provide enough voltage to fast charge or charge while you're playing.
 
P

Prototype Viktor

Member
wwm0nkey said:
If you want to save $10
Click to expand...

be wary, you shouldn't use a USB-A to USB-C cable with that powerbank and will be exclusively using the USB-C port. Also the Anker one's shell is made of metal

Can Qualcomm QC and USB Type-C coexist on the same connector?
I get this question sometimes, so I wanted to do a quick post to address it.
tl;dr : Type-C Spec forbids it.

....

Also, any USB Type-C charger that purports to support QC2.0 or QC3.0 out of the same Type-C port is also breaking this section of the spec as well.
 
Shrike Alvaron

Shrike Alvaron

Member
Prototype Viktor said:
be wary, you shouldn't use a USB-A to USB-C cable with that powerbank and will be exclusively using the USB-C port. Also the Anker one's shell is made of metal

Can Qualcomm QC and USB Type-C coexist on the same connector?
I get this question sometimes, so I wanted to do a quick post to address it.
tl;dr : Type-C Spec forbids it.

....

Also, any USB Type-C charger that purports to support QC2.0 or QC3.0 out of the same Type-C port is also breaking this section of the spec as well.
Click to expand...

The RAVpower doesn't support QC over the USB-C port in the first place (you may be getting mixed up with the micro USB QC input next to it for charging the battery), and even if you did use a USB A to C cable on the QC port it wouldn't be any different from other ports. QC requires the device it's connected to to support it otherwise you'll just get standard speeds (5V/2.4A). I'd say go for the RAVpower if you don't care about the metal case or have other devices that can benefit from Quick Charge, it's what I've got and while I haven't had much of a chance to use it yet it seems just fine.
 
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