2020 Razer Blade Advanced USB-C PD Charging Issues | Razer Insider

2020 Razer Blade Advanced USB-C PD Charging Issues



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Userlevel 2
Update: It seems like Razer's engineering team purposely gimped the charging speed of docks by not properly implementing USB-PD, and then they made their own proprietary protocol on top of/beside USB-PD to enable their first-party accessories to work properly.

https://mysupport.razer.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3948/kw/power%20over%20usb-c

Razer's new fancy RGB Thunderbolt dock pushes 90W to the laptop.
Their dock seems to be exactly like this Kensington SD5700T:

https://www.kensington.com/p/products/device-docking-connectivity-products/laptop-docks-usb-accessories/sd5700t-thunderbolt-4-dual-4k-docking-station-with-90w-pd/

However, the Razer dock is missing one USB port on the front, presumably because it got routed to the RGB controller inside the dock. (A tradeoff I think is pretty dumb but ok.) However, that Kensington one is also rated for 90W of power delivery. If Razer's dock can deliver 90W to the laptop but this Kensington one can't, then Razer intentionally neutered USB-PD on their laptops just to sell more accessories.

Also, this Kensington dock was on the market a few months before the Razer dock, and yet their I/O layout and selection is basically the same (minus the USB 2 port on the front). Either Razer ripped off Kensington, or (probably more likely) both Razer and Kensington are following an Intel Reference design for a Thunderbolt 4 dock.

If anyone has the Kensington SD5700T or a USB-PD protocol analyzer, pls test
Userlevel 2
ha1o2surfer96
Interesting, I'll try my Startech dock when I get back to the office, that dock claims 97w USB PD so I'll let you know.

I'd definitely be curious. I've tried three docks, all with >90W Advertised PD capabilities, and none of them could do it. If you don't have a USB-C power meter, you can try use a Kill A Watt between your dock's PSU and the wall. I couldn't even get close to 75W power draw for the entire dock.
Interesting, I'll try my Startech dock when I get back to the office, that dock claims 97w USB PD so I'll let you know.
Userlevel 2
ha1o2surfer96
Also depends on your cable, you have to have an "e" marker cable or the amperage will be throttled. I had no problem getting 80+ watts from an apple "e" marker cable.

Both my 2020 and 2021 can draw upwards of 95w from the USB c ports

I ruled out cable E-Markers from the issue. Test results were shown in the OP. I could get 95w from a dedicated USB-PD charger, but not a dock.
Also depends on your cable, you have to have an "e" marker cable or the amperage will be throttled. I had no problem getting 80+ watts from an apple "e" marker cable.

Both my 2020 and 2021 can draw upwards of 95w from the USB c ports
Userlevel 2
Joikansai
Probably it is to avoid any issue using third party charger same as Apple that recommended using their original usb C power brick. Other thing to notice Razer blade 15 use their proprietary power brick, the implementation of USB C power delivery starts on 2020 advanced model, if users use dual charging for some reason it might also harm your device (battery), so there comes the limitation, I might be wrong it’s only my assumption. For original usb C power delivered Razer’s laptops like book 13 and stealth (stealth 2016 and 2019) itself I never measured the pulled wattage nor trying on TB3 dock (since I use core v2 power delivery maxed at 65 watt appparently due specification), but it’s working as it should to supply the devices.


When the 230w adapter is plugged in, the laptop does not accept power over USB-C (which is good).

It's just sad that Apple, of all companies, has a product that is less proprietary than Razer's solution. The MacBook I tested alongside my Blade had no issues whatsoever detecting and utilizing the full power delivery capabilities of the 3 docks I tested. USB-C is meant to allow different types of devices from different manufacturers to work together. That's the whole point of making a universal specification.

Since posting the main post, I also tested the docks with my friend's Dell XPS 15. Guess what? It has no issues at all.

I think this issue can be resolved with a BIOS update, if the engineers care enough. IIRC, BIOS updates can also update the firmwares of other ICs on the motherboard. Razer laptops also have their EC board, and I wouldn't be surprised if the EC played a role in USB-PD support.
Userlevel 7
Probably it is to avoid any issue using third party charger same as Apple that recommended using their original usb C power brick. Other thing to notice Razer blade 15 use their proprietary power brick, the implementation of USB C power delivery starts on 2020 advanced model, if users use dual charging for some reason it might also harm your device (battery), so there comes the limitation, I might be wrong it’s only my assumption. For original usb C power delivered Razer’s laptops like book 13 and stealth (stealth 2016 and 2019) itself I never measured the pulled wattage nor trying on TB3 dock (since I use core v2 power delivery maxed at 65 watt appparently due specification), but it’s working as it should to supply the devices.