Dell XPS 15 9520 Powerbank?

newmann · Oct 12, 2022

What are good powerbank options for the dell xps 15 9520 ?

I previously used a dell xps 15 9550 for many years and I bought 2 PW7015L powerbanks for it and it works. This is a barrel powerbank charger and thus cannot be used with the dell xps 15 9520 since it uses usb-c for charging. I also need this powerbank to be allowed to travel with by air so it has to be below the certain mAh amount.

Dell 4.5 mm/7.4 mm barrel Laptop Power Bank Plus 65 Wh - PW7015L | Dell USA

From checking online, I was told by someone I could buy this adapter but this has been out of stock. Would this work? That person said with this cable, I would use it with my dell pw7015lc barrel powerbanks and it would work? Anyone know where I could even buy this since it is always out of stock on dell site?

Dell Adapter - 4.5mm Barrel to USB-C | Dell USA

The other options from checking online seem to be below? The dell seem to be the exact same as the pw7015 except it is usb-c so it would work? The other one also seem it would work?

Dell USB-C Laptop Power Bank Plus 65 Wh - PW7018LC | Dell USA

SunJack 100W 25600mAh Power Bank

Winuser · Oct 12, 2022

Have you checked on Amazon or Ebay? To save money you could look for an adapter and use your old powerbank.

newmann · Oct 13, 2022

Winuser said:
Have you checked on Amazon or Ebay? To save money you could look for an adapter and use your old powerbank.

What would be the name of this adapter I am looking for? Someone in dell forum suggested that adapter dell site sells but it has been out of stock for a long time.

Would those other powerbanks i list above work? Of course I rather still use these 2 barrel powerbanks that i used for my old xps 15 9550.

Winuser · Oct 13, 2022

It would either be a 4.5mm to USB C adapter or a 7.4 to USB C adapter. The size needed would be the size that fits into your batter. As an example, https://www.amazon.com/Charging-Con...hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583795278112354&psc=1

newmann · Oct 13, 2022

Winuser said:
It would either be a 4.5mm to USB C adapter or a 7.4 to USB C adapter. The size needed would be the size that fits into your batter. As an example, https://www.amazon.com/Charging-Con...hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583795278112354&psc=1

Hi. I took a look at what you posted. But how would i know it is compatible with the xps 15 9520 or not. I believe the xps 15 9520 dell laptop charger is 130W.

Now my old dell xps 15 9550 laptop charger also is 130W, The two Dell PW7015L powerbanks I have I believe that charger only does 65WL? However, that isn't an issue because i used it with my old xps 9550 without any issue.

So is there a way to find out which adapter would work for this? Because with an adapter, then I can still use my two Dell PW7015L powerbanks with my new dell xps 15 9520. Also... I would also need to have my old xps 9550 charger with me as well right since it is needed to charge the PW7015L powerbanks? Could I charge my 2 PW7015L powerbanks with just the new xps 9520 charger and the adapter?

Winuser · Oct 13, 2022

newmann said:
Hi. I took a look at what you posted. But how would i know it is compatible with the xps 15 9520 or not. I believe the xps 15 9520 dell laptop charger is 130W.

Now my old dell xps 15 9550 laptop charger also is 130W, The two Dell PW7015L powerbanks I have I believe that charger only does 65WL? However, that isn't an issue because i used it with my old xps 9550 without any issue.

So is there a way to find out which adapter would work for this? Because with an adapter, then I can still use my two Dell PW7015L powerbanks with my new dell xps 15 9520. Also... I would also need to have my old xps 9550 charger with me as well right since it is needed to charge the PW7015L powerbanks? Could I charge my 2 PW7015L powerbanks with just the new xps 9520 charger and the adapter?

You're not buying a charger. You're buying a USB cable that will plug into your battery on one end and has a USB C connecter on the other end that will plug into your laptop. This way you can use your battery and save money by not needing to buy a new and very expensive battery.

newmann · Oct 14, 2022

Winuser said:
You're not buying a charger. You're buying a USB cable that will plug into your battery on one end and has a USB C connecter on the other end that will plug into your laptop. This way you can use your battery and save money by not needing to buy a new and very expensive battery.

Hi. Yes that is what I meant. I want to buy a usb cable so I could still use the 2 PW7015L Barrel Powerbanks I have with this new xps 15 9520 that uses usb-c.

But where can I buy an adapter like this if dell has it out of stock for a long time.

Winuser · Oct 14, 2022

newmann said:
But where can I buy an adapter like this if dell has it out of stock for a long time.

You could try Amazon, Newegg, TigerDirect or Micro Center. If you want to go with the adapter cable, you need one that has the correct end to plug into your battery on one side and a USB C end on the other. Without Kowing the correct size for your battery, it is possible the one I linked to could be the correct cable.

newmann · Oct 14, 2022

Winuser said:
You could try Amazon, Newegg, TigerDirect or Micro Center. If you want to go with the adapter cable, you need one that has the correct end to plug into your battery on one side and a USB C end on the other. Without Kowing the correct size for your battery, it is possible the one I linked to could be the correct cable.

My dell xps 15 9520 battery is 86Whr

The laptop charger is 130W I believe

But is there any other information that needs to be know about this such as the volts etc? Again I am not familiar with this. But if it is like that dell one that is out of stock, my assumption is it would work.

Winuser · Oct 14, 2022

newmann said:
My dell xps 15 9520 battery is 86Whr

The laptop charger is 130W I believe

But is there any other information that needs to be know about this such as the volts etc? Again I am not familiar with this. But if it is like that dell one that is out of stock, my assumption is it would work.

Just to clarify, do want an extra charger, portable battery or just a USB charging cable that will plug into the batteries you already have?

newmann · Oct 14, 2022

Winuser said:
Just to clarify, do want an extra charger, portable battery or just a USB charging cable that will plug into the batteries you already have?

I want the adapter that will allow me to use my 2 old Dell PW7015L powerbanks... with this new dell xps 15 9520 laptop.

Thus because the PW7015L powerbank is a barrel charger... and the new xps 15 9520 is usb-c charger, it isn't compatible. If i get the adapter for it, then I could use my 2 old powerbanks with the new laptop.

Winuser · Oct 14, 2022

newmann said:
I want the adapter that will allow me to use my 2 old Dell PW7015L powerbanks... with this new dell xps 15 9520 laptop.

Then you just want the cable that will plug into your battery and also has a USB C end that will plug into your laptop. It's very possible that the cable I linked to will work. Look at your old cable and see what size the end is that plugs into the battery. All the other info you posted doesn't mean a thing unless you are replacing the power adapter (the adapter that plugs into the wall outlet) and even then, a universal adapter would work.

newmann · Oct 14, 2022

Winuser said:
Then you just want the cable that will plug into your battery and also has a USB C end that will plug into your laptop. It's very possible that the cable I linked to will work. Look at your old cable and see what size the end is that plugs into the battery. All the other info you posted doesn't mean a thing unless you are replacing the power adapter (the adapter that plugs into the wall outlet) and even then, a universal adapter would work.

Hey. What do you mean the size the end of that plugs into the battery? The PW7015L came with like 2 different plugs and 1 of them worked with the 9550.

I checked and there is a list of laptops it work with and didn't see one with dell. I saw one post by someone that uses an HP Omen and say it isn't compatible. So the only way is to order it and test it then? Yea if the dell is not out of stock, I could just get that one. But does that PW7018LC work with the dell xps 15 9520 though? I don't plan to buy it but i assume that has to work even though it doesn't list it in the compatible list?

Winuser · Oct 14, 2022

newmann said:
Hey. What do you mean the size the end of that plugs into the battery? The PW7015L came with like 2 different plugs and 1 of them worked with the 9550.

You want A to fit the battery and B to fit the computer. If this doesn't help, I'm out of ideas.

Winuser · Oct 14, 2022

Thinking about it more and looking at the pics in the link I posted, I think I should clarify it better. They are selling a USB charging cable and only the cable. The stuff in the other pics is their attempt to over hype the cable they are selling.

newmann · Oct 14, 2022

Winuser said:
You want A to fit the battery and B to fit the computer. If this doesn't help, I'm out of ideas.

View attachment 42368

Well I would need the part B. The part A ... is what I already have with the PW7015LC correct? It actually had 2 of these.

I just don't know why they dell or any other site not selling something like this in stock.

Winuser · Oct 14, 2022

newmann said:
Well I would need the part B. The part A ... is what I already have with the PW7015LC correct? It actually had 2 of these.

I just don't know why they dell or any other site not selling something like this in stock.

If you buy just a cable, you are going to need end A and end B. How would you plug the cable into your battery and laptop?

newmann · Oct 14, 2022

Winuser said:
If you buy just a cable, you are going to need end A and end B. How would you plug the cable into your battery and laptop?

I thought if i was able to buy the dell adapter for this... well don't I just need that adapter and the powerbank and that is all? I do have the end A... I actually have 2 of them that it came with. I remember I read it came like that because some laptops use a different A.

I would still obviously need my old xps 15 9550 laptop charger with me right since I need it to charge the old PW7015L powerbank once it runs out of battery? Or do I actually not need it?

I was told that if you are able to get that dell adapter cable, that was all I need since I already have the old PW7015K powerbank.

Winuser · Oct 14, 2022

The cable I linked to is only to attach the powerbank (which is just a fancy name for an external battery) to the laptop. You would still have to use the same power adapter you have been using to charge the battery.

hsehestedt · Oct 14, 2022

Let me see if I can help demystify this a bit.

Let me start by apologizing for the length of this post. There is a lot to cover, so if I confuse you, please feel free to ask questions!

The first thing you need to be keenly aware of is that up until EXTREMELY recently, a 130W USB-C adapter was considered "non-standard". Let me explain....

Laptops that use USB-C power connections are very different from laptops that use a barrel connector. On laptops using a barrel connector, all that matters is that the AC adapter has the right voltage and that it can put out sufficient current to satisfy the needs of the laptop. With USB-C, there is a lot more involved. Yes, the AC adapter has to also support the correct voltage and have sufficient power output, but the adapter that you are using must support the PD or "Power Delivery" protocol. Put another way, a USB-C power adapter can typically output multiple different voltages such as 5V, 9V, 15V, and 20V. When you plug that adapter into the laptop, it uses the PD protocol to communicate back and forth between the adapter and the notebook to negotiate the voltage that will be used.

You can purchase AC adapters that can output different amounts of power. Some might support something like 20W or 30W. These are typically used for smaller devices like phones. For laptops, the typical chargers are 65W, or 90W, 100W. If you use an adapter with a lower wattage rating it MAY work, but it obviously charge the battery more slowly. For a laptop that is very busy, drawing near peak power it's possible that using an underpowered charger may not keep up with the amount of power being drawn by the laptop, in which case it simply will not charge, or it may charge very slowly.

Let me give you an example:

I have an HP laptop. The original USB-C charger for it was a 90W charger. It died. I started using a 65W adapter with that laptop, and it worked fine, it just took longer to charge.

Now, here is another wrinkle. Remember that we said that the USB-C adapter should be capable of supplying enough power to the laptop. With USB-C you also need to make sure that the cable is capable of delivering enough power! Yes, that's right, the USB-C cables have a chip built into them, known as an e-marker, that communicates with the charger and tells it how much power it is capable of delivering. These cables are typically rated for either 65W or 100W.

So, let's use another example: I have my HP laptop and a USB-C charger that is capable of delivering 100W of power. I connect the charger and the laptop with a cable capable of 65W. This means that even though my charger is capable of delivering 100W, the most power that will ever be sent to the laptop is 65W.

Now, we introduce yet one more layer of complexity: Up until EXTREMELY recently, the USB-C power delivery (PD) spec only allowed for 100W max. The brand new PD 3.1 spec allows for up to 240W but you need cables and chargers capable of this. How new is this standard? The very first products to support this standard are only just now hitting the market.

So, the fact that Dell is using a 130W adapter makes me a little worried that it may potentially be proprietary. My guess is that a 90W or 100W charger / cable will probably work fine, but I would urge caution.

Since you are working with something that has the potential to be non-standard, you might want to inquire directly with Dell about this. You could also check with the Manufacturer of USB-C power adapters since they test their adapters with literally hundreds of devices. In particular, I would suggest checking with the company "Anker". They sell more USB-C adapters than probably anyone else and they should be able to tell you what works with your laptop.

As for the barrel to USB-C adapter you are looking at, I would not suggest it. It is rated for only 65W max, so, if it works at all it would be slow and a sub-optimal experience.

Same is true for the that power bank you were looking at.

Once again, Anker makes power banks that can supply a lot more power - I just got their latest yesterday that can supply 140W of power.

As for the maximum size of a power bank allowed on a plane, you are looking for a rating or 100WHh or less. Note that this is a different value than the number of watts that the adapter can supply.

Example: The Anker power bank I referenced can supply up to 140W, but the capacity it something like 89Wh, which is under the max allowable of 100Wh. Note that if the manufacturer does not supply a rating in Wh, look for a rating in terms of "mAh". The max allowable for this value is just over 27,000 mAh.

I realize that I'm throwing a lot of info at you, so please ask questions if you have any.