Used an Anker 65W USB-C charger to keep my MacBook M1 Pro 16" charged over the weekend - now the port is acting weird - did I mess up?

[somevelvet]

Hi all!

Recently I used this power strip as an all-in-one charger for my peripherals and MacBook M1 Pro 16" (2021) while traveling over the weekend. I was sure only to use it as a laptop charger when nothing else was plugged into the other USB ports to ensure I got the full 65W (which I know is a fraction of the 140W it draws from the included charger, but I wasn't doing anything too power-intensive and it seemed to keep it topped up fine).

However, I got home recently and found that the port I was using is now acting a little... weird. I generally plug my computer into a Dell monitor that provides 90W of power, acts as a hub for peripherals, etc, and have never had a problem. Now, though, when I plug straight into the monitor, I get power through that port, but it doesn't see the monitor, or it does but it sees the monitor but not the attached peripherals. The other port on that side works fine.

It seems to see USB drives plugged straight into the port, but not my printer.

I've tried reseting the SMC, updating my OS, even running the diagnostic tool... no dice.

Did I mess up by using a lower wattage? Can using 65W on a machine built for 140W max fry it, or fry the ports? Is this just maybe a weird coincidence?

Any thoughts or technical know-how would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[somevelvet]

Bumped for the Monday morning crowd.

 

[jaytv111]

No you did not mess up. Either your machine was defective, your cable was defective, or your charger was defective. Or there’s a software bug. But the Mac is designed to work with lower power PD supplies, they don’t need to be 140 watts and in my experience USB-C MacBooks could go as low as 18 watts (terrible experience but it’s possible, in an emergency you could use a phone charger but keep the laptop closed). 65 watts is plenty and I used my old Macbook pro 15 inch with 30 watts for years with no problems.

 

[somevelvet]

Thanks for the reassurance. Feel like this must be a software issue.

 

[astorre]

No you did not mess up. Either your machine was defective, your cable was defective, or your charger was defective. Or there’s a software bug. But the Mac is designed to work with lower power PD supplies, they don’t need to be 140 watts and in my experience USB-C MacBooks could go as low as 18 watts (terrible experience but it’s possible, in an emergency you could use a phone charger but keep the laptop closed). 65 watts is plenty and I used my old Macbook pro 15 inch with 30 watts for years with no problems.

I use 10W phone charger sometimes and its ok for basic use 😅, it evens charges the battery at snail rate

 

[MajorFubar]

I have no personal relatable experience but only a few minutes ago I read in another thread someone saying do not use Anker products with M1 Macs because they can damage the computer. Can't remember what thread it was now, but I hope your computer is OK. I don't want to be intentionally alarmist.