USB-C Charging on Razer Blade 15 Base (2020) | Razer Insider

USB-C Charging on Razer Blade 15 Base (2020)

  • 12 November 2020
  • 18 replies
  • 3759 views

Razer marketized the base model 2020 (I do need a ethernet port) with USB-C charging. So I bought it. However, neither with the additional power supply and the USB-C cable they supplied I managed to charge the notebook. Not even with my Dell 90w USB-C port I can charge it. It works smoothly with another notebook from HP.

Razer Support recommended to deinstall the ACPI driver (I did, it only stopped the fan. J, are they trying to burn my CPU and GPU?!). Didn't work. I don't think they know what they are doing. Anyone else before I return the device to the shop?

Product name: Razor Blade Base 2020

Product number: RZ09-03286G22

Thanks for any hint.

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18 Replies

Mine does not work either. I have yet to find a way to get it to charge over USB-C.
Userlevel 1
I got the Caldigit TS3 Plus dock today and it kinda works, but it's not great. It'll charge to 100% then start to discharge, go down by about 4% and then start to charge again. I think this is largely because I can only push 87w and I'm exceeding that draw frequently with my workflow. Good news is that it never really gets the opportunity to significantly drain. I am concerned about the longevity of the battery in doing this, due to increased charge cycles.

What plain does not work though, is simply plugging the dock in and having it charge; I have to boot the machine with the dock plugged in for the charging to kick in and it doesn't appear to charge when the machine is turned off which is annoying.

It seems that a lot of people are having difficulties with usb-c charging, so I hope razer is able to rectify this with a firmware update.

I'm using the advanced model, not the base model btw.
Just tried with an adapter from Lenovo, 65W, 20V. Tried it for 10 seconds, and saw that it charges. However not quite sure I should use a 20V adapter when Razer's adapter is 19.5 Volts... Any recommendations?
My Razer is the 2020 advanced model.
If I'm not much mistaken the Base model does not have USB-C charging. Which is kind of dumb, considering this should be a portable device with an option to charge via a PORTABLE charger.

The Advanced model supports (supposedly) USB-C charging, but as the guy up said, it looks like an iffy preposition.
Where do you see the 15" base laptop as advertised as being able to change via USB-C? I have not see that listed anywhere. Although, I would like to see them support 100W USB-C charging, I can see why they have not done that yet as the base power supplies are over 150W.
I have been through the web pages and I cannot find any place that list the 15" laptops can be charge via USB-C. I also do not think that Razer will allow this. Although, I think that they should. I am guessing that they can do basic math and have figured out that you cannot run a laptop on a 100W USB-C power supply when gaming and the laptop is asking for 150W. My work Dell can charge from both the USB-C and the 2.5mm power supply. I know that most of my work, this is not an issue. If I do any work that needs the GPU, my battery goes now. I know this, so it is not an issue. I am guessing that Razer already knows that when people use a gaming laptop, they are going to....you know...game on it. It would run for a couple of hours just on the USB-C, then people would complain that the laptop is plugged in and still ran out of battery and died.
Userlevel 1
@Brastic you can 'charge' the blade 15 2020 advanced with usb-c it works, but it's temperamental and as you say the powerdraw isn't there; it trickle charges under light-medium workloads. However I really can't recommend using it, if you fire up the discrete gpu you exceed the 100w limit of usb c and atleast on my set up that overloads the dock, all peripherals connected to the dock lose power, the dock has to be rebooted at that point.

So it kind of makes sense for situations where you're travelling and doing light work etc... But I really wish there were protections in place, and it didn't require the stars to aline in order to get it to work i.e. device is powered on connected to the usb-c charger.
Can somone from Razer please comment, I also am having problems, and to be honest if it cannot be resolved I need the laptop to go back so I can get a laptop that does charge from USB C, its pretty integral to my workflow.
scottkuhl
Mine does not work either. I have yet to find a way to get it to charge over USB-C.

same here. it's so annoying to carry that huge brick charger
Userlevel 7
jon2263
Can somone from Razer please comment, I also am having problems, and to be honest if it cannot be resolved I need the laptop to go back so I can get a laptop that does charge from USB C, its pretty integral to my workflow.

watchOuterSpacequick514
same here. it's so annoying to carry that huge brick charger

To be clear, any blade 15 base model that are out now doesn’t support PD for charging the device, it is from hardware not software. USB charging only support on blade 15 advanced and pro 2020, all blade stealth and book 13 models.
For advanced and Pro users, even it can be charged with usb c, it won’t give max performance with its nvidia dgpu since it demands more power than 100 watt that usb C can deliver, and it depends on workload on light works like paperwork, web browsing etc it should be fine, but not on gaming where with its optimus technology it’ll wake nvidia gpu and demanding more power. For usb c powerbank there’s also voltage specification that should be met to power it properly.
Joikansai
To be clear, any blade 15 base model that are out now doesn’t support PD for charging the device, it is from hardware not software. USB charging only support on blade 15 advanced and pro 2020, all blade stealth and book 13 models.
For advanced and Pro users, even it can be charged with usb c, it won’t give max performance with its nvidia dgpu since it demands more power than 100 watt that usb C can deliver, and it depends on workload on light works like paperwork, web browsing etc it should be fine, but not on gaming where with its optimus technology it’ll wake nvidia gpu and demanding more power. For usb c powerbank there’s also voltage specification that should be met to power it properly.

Thanks. I have the Blade 15 Advance. I got the Hyper juice USB C (100w) which seems to work perfectly fine with all other laptops (eg. macbook pro etc). On the Razer, it charges only for 4 mins, then stops. I really don't know what's going on. Also, understandable that I cannot get max performance on the USB C but sometimes, I only need power for basic editing or microsoft office etc.

https://www.hypershop.com/products/hyperjuice-100w-usb-c-gan-charger

Any tips?
There is no way to use the Razer Blade Advance 15" (2020) laptop without the full brick charger. It's very disappointing given that it is "said" to be able to charge with USB C. It doesn't charge when you are using the laptop even to do internet browsing. It is understanble that you need the brick charger for the purpose of gaming, but its unacceptable not to be able to use the laptop for basic purpose using the USB charger. Its absolutely shocking.
Can you please let me know where it is stated that the 15" laptops support USB-C charging. I have been going over the web page and I have not see USB-C PD support yet.
Good news. The new 2020 15" and 17" support USB-C 3.0 100W charging. Time for me to upgrade.

And thanks again for reminding me about the hyperjuice. I was needing a dual output USB-C charger.
Hi Guys,

Just to be clear, AFIK only the advanced model (which I have) support USB Charging.

However, USB charging works for normal use and not for gaming or heavy loads (when it does it)

I have three different docks, two at home and one in the office with the following results:

My Dell Dock WD 15 doesn't charge it all regardless of the 120w power supply. this one is sitting as my main with the Original Charger

My HP elite dock G3 work perfectly and charge, but it discharges when doing intensive work and charge it slowly, it uses an 85w power supply (ironic? yes)

My office thunderbolt HP dock 120w G2 works perfectly, it takes some hours to get 100% battery from low while I am working. Tried gaming and it only lasts a bit longer than using the battery, so it doesn't help the GPU too much.

I am fine with this as I don't do intensive tasks at Office, only remote stuff and I am now confident to leave the large power brick at home.

Has anyone tried a USB PD charger with good results? Could you name it?
I just purchased the RZ09-03286E22 model from Amazon (Base 2020 model with rtx 2060) and ON AMAZON it said it supported USB-C charging, but I don't have a way to test this currently and would not want to spend money just on the chance it might work. Would appreciate if someone with this model or someone from Razer could chime in.
Those Amazon descriptions are terrible and are inaccurate a lot. I always check specs on the manufactures web page. I am guessing what happened is that only the Advance model supports USB-C charging so it got listed. Many people have tested the Base model and there is no USB-C PD charging. Only the 2021 models support this.
Just FYI I have the Razer Blade 15 Advanced 2019 with the Dell WD19TB (with most recent firmware) and the power delivery does _not_ work.