Help replacing USB-C Power Supply

pt22

Hi all.

I hope this isn't silly but I thought I could solve this but clearly I cannot. 

I've got this MagSafe stand for my iPhone. Actually I now have 4 of them, but only purchased two, and that's because they aren't amazing quality although customer support has been excellent and they've essentially sent me two extras.

The problem now is the 36W USB-C wall wart has broken on one, and I need to replace it. Otterbox does not sell a direct replacement, so I had to go 3rd party. I thought it was as simple as matching specs. The specs of the OEM wall charger are as follows:

36W
Output: 
5.0V/3.0A 15W
9.0V/3.0A 27W
12.0V/3.0A 36W

So I bought this to replace it. (Amazon link) Specs:

65W
Output:
5.0V/3.0A 15W
9.0V3.0A 27W
15.0V/3.0A 45W
20.0V/3.25A 65W

So what am I missing here? Is it possible the new power supply cannot do 12.0V specifically and therefore cannot power the stand, even though it's overpowered?

Can anyone direct me to a specific charger which should work? I'd be very appreciative. Without this I've got a piece of e-waste which I'd prefer not to bin. 

Cheers

Pete

strumjoughlamps

It’s my understanding that the device will take what is needed. For eg Steam Deck charges 45w if I plug it in a 100w charger it will still charge at 45w

stickyfiddle

strumjoughlamps said:

It’s my understanding that the device will take what is needed. For eg Steam Deck charges 45w if I plug it in a 100w charger it will still charge at 45w

Yep, my understanding is how wireless charging standards work is they'll do a handshake with the phone at 5V initially, whereupon the phone will say "I'd like 9V/12V/15V please" and the charger will then give that voltage up to the rated current for said voltage. 

iPhones I believe use 9V for magsafe charging, so it should be fine. 

pt22

Apologies I realised I left a critical piece out of my initial comment...

The new charger DOES NOT power the phone through the MagSafe base. 

I did also figure the phone would only take what was needed. That's why I bought an "overpowered" charger. The phone charges when plugged directly into both the 36W Otterbox and the 65W Anker chargers, but only the Otterbox charger works when the phone is on the MagSafe base.

Any ideas? 

EDIT - To add to the confusion, the Anker charger does allow for my watch to wirelessly charge through the MagSafe stand, but only of course where the watch is supposed to hang. Not on the iPhone magnetic pad. What could be going on to not allow for the iPhone to charge? Do we think this could be simply a power requirement issue, or is there some sort of handshake going on to allow for/not allow for the phone to charge?

stickyfiddle

I wonder if it's a wireless charging standards conflict. I'm aware that Qi and a couple of others exist, but as far as I know all modern devices from name brands should play nicely with each other. 

Are you using the same USB-C cable now as you were before? Have you tried another one, just in case? 

pt22

stickyfiddle said:

I wonder if it's a wireless charging standards conflict. I'm aware that Qi and a couple of others exist, but as far as I know all modern devices from name brands should play nicely with each other. 

Are you using the same USB-C cable now as you were before? Have you tried another one, just in case? 

The cable does not seem to make a difference. Both an apple cable and the Otterbox cable work with the Otterbox charger. Both cables work to charge a USB-C device from both chargers. 

Boggling. 

Nothing about the ability (or inability) of the Anker charger to put out 12V @ 3A, even if it can go higher? Are chargers rated for only certain voltages, or voltage "steps"? 

Cheers

Danny1969

The device will draw the current it needs but it needs to handshake at the correct voltage before power delivery commences otherwise it’s just a static 5 V and no current drawn. 

Does the new USBC PSU  you brought support 12V .. not all of them do

pt22

Danny1969 said:

The device will draw the current it needs but it needs to handshake at the correct voltage before power delivery commences otherwise it’s just a static 5 V and no current drawn. 

Does the new USBC PSU  you brought support 12V .. not all of them do

It doesn't specifically say 12V, so I assume not. That was the heart of my question, and it seems you've confirmed that the exact voltage needs to be listed as supported, even if higher and lower voltages are ok. 

Thanks. I'll try to find a 12V 3A charger I guess. 

pt22

Well for anyone interested, a new 12V 3.0A USB-C charger does not work with the charging stand, so now unless Otterbox will sell me one from the factory one of the stands is e-waste. There must be some sort of proprietary handshake between the charger and the stand. 

Long story short...be suspect of Otterbox tech. This stand has a few areas of potential fault which have come to fruition, the port on the charger is particularly weak, and when the charger does break it seems impossible to replace with off-the-shelf products.

Shame. Their cases are well regarded.

strumjoughlamps

That’s a shame Otterbox are the better end when it comes to cases, my iPhone and iPad both have Otterbox cases and are excellent.

Charging wise I tend to go for Anker, Ugreen and ESR.