USBC Charging the Surface Laptop Studio 2

Question

So I started with an Anker 737 powerbank block that's supposed to be able to do up to 140watts of charging. I've read that the SLS2 requires 120watts, and have been scouring the internet looking for usbc cables to use. However, every cable I've tried that's supposedly labeled as "240 watts!" usually can't even reach 100 watts with my charging block. Both cables that I've tried, both of which were supposedly IF certified, ended up with my block giving me a low voltage warning, and that I should stop using the cable immediately. The two cables I tried were by Monoprice and Cable Matters. Additionally, my computer gave me "slow charger warnings" as well.

After discussing with some people on reddit, they suggested that my particular powerbank model may be the problem. So I purchased the anker prime 27650mAh anker prime power bank. While it doesn't give me a low voltage warning, my computer still tells me that it's a "slow charger" and after trying a 240 watt cable matters wire, the 240 watt wire the anker comes with, a thunderbolt 3 100 watt apple wire, and a monoprice 100 watt wire, they all result in my computer giving a "slow charging" warning. Either the Anker brand is not compatible with my computer, or something is wrong with my computer. But my computer is brand new (bought it directly from Microsoft just last week).

Has anybody had any success using a charging bank to USBC charge a Surface Laptop Studio 2? What should I try / what am I doing wrong? I read in another post that it seems the firmware of the Surface Studio 2 is potentially an issue? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

***Moved from Surface / Surface Studio / Surface Studio 2 / USB-C***

Answer 1

Hello Veronica Coleman,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

Since you're using a Surface Laptop Studio 2 here, we've moved your thread to the correct location.

After reading through everything you've posted, I can confirm that you're trying to charge your Surface Laptop Studio 2 with USB-C.

Please let me share some official information here. The power adapter for the Surface Laptop Studio 2 is rated at 120W:

Surface power supplies and charging requirements - Microsoft Support****

No doubt you found the official specification information, but to make sure you have fully read the information on USB-C charging, I hope you will carefully read the information in the following support links:

USB-C and Fast Charging for Surface - Microsoft Support

You'll notice that in the official support link, customers are only recommended to use a USB-C PD charger, not any "Powerbank" even though it can provide 140W of power.

I then checked the official support link for the Anker 737 and noticed that it is a powerful powerbank that can support three-port charging, but it is mentioned in the official FAQ that if you want to reach 140W, you will need to use a PD3.1-enabled cable. However, this standard does not seem to be mentioned in your description:

Anker 737 Power Bank (PowerCore 24K) - Anker US

Disclaimer: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate and safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

So let me sort through all the information and give you a quick FAQ here:

1. Check whether the Surface Laptop Stuido 2 supports USB-C charging.

The answer is clearly yes, but it needs to meet a few conditions.

2. Why does the Anker 737 have a low voltage warning when charging the Surface Laptop Studio 2?

In simple terms, this is usually due to unsatisfactory charging conditions, and the problem may come from your Powerbank or cable specification limitations. However, let me kindly remind you that we do not know much about the third party Powerbank, and if you would like more information about it, we recommend contacting customer support at Anker 737.

3. Is the Surface Laptop Studio 2 faulty?

I note that this is a brand new device, so this is usually a very small possibility. But if you want to test the Surface Laptop Studio 2's USB-C charging performance, I recommend not using Powerbank, but directly using the USB-C PD charger connected to the AC power supply for testing. If you notice that everything is fine, it proves that the problem is not from the Surface, but from the Anker 737 or from the wire used.

Then the problem actually becomes how to meet the USB-C charging conditions of Surface Laptop Studio 2 when using Anker 737 to charge the Surface Laptop Studio 2. I think Anker 737 customer support might be able to give you some advice on how to get the Anker 737 reach to 140w.

Best Regards,

Mitchell | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 2

Hello,

Thank you for your fast reply. While I didn't mention PD charging in my original post, I was aware of it and tried to buy chargers that met the 3.0 PD specifications that the surface studio 2 requires. As you mentioned in your post, the Anker 737 is capable of up to PD 3.1. I tried 3 different cables that were all rated as being capable of PD 3.1 or greater - a 240watt cable by Cable Matters, which has PD 3.1, a 100watt thunder cable 3 by Apple, and a 100 watt Monoprice cable. None of these seemed to work.

So then I bought a new powerbank - the anker prime 250watt, 27m650mAh powerbank. It's supposed to be able to give PD 3.1 and up to 140watts per USBC port. This one no longer gives me low voltage warnings. However, my computer still says its a slow charger. I have tried all of the cables at my disposal - the Cable Matters 3.1 PD 240watt cable, the Anker 3.1PD 240watt cable that came with the powerbank, the 100watt thunder cable 3 by Apple, and the 100watt Monoprice cable. None of these have worked.

You suggested connecting the usb c cable to an AC outlet to see if its a problem with my computer. However, I don't have a USB c to AC outlet converter that is strong enough to try this, and they are pretty expensive as well, so I'm hoping to avoid having to do this.

I noticed that the charging capabilities of the computer is rated at 120 watts (15 volts by 8 amps). However, these powerbanks are only capable of 5 amps maximum. Could this be the issue?

Answer 3

I apologize for intervening as a third party who is not the original questioner.

Isn't the core issue here whether the Surface Laptop Studio 2 actually supports USB PD 3.1?

USB PD 3.0 supports charging up to a maximum of 100W, so if the SLS2 does not support USB PD 3.1, it seems unlikely that it would be able to charge at 120W (127W).

According to official Microsoft information and the fact sheet PDF (see the URL below), it only states that the SLS2 supports USB PD, without specifying the version.

https://news.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/664/2023/09/Surface-Laptop-Studio-2-Fact-Sheet.pdf

Additionally, Microsoft's FAQs suggest that as long as a USB PD charger meets the wattage requirements, it can charge various Surface series devices.

Given these points, it seems the original questioner expected the SLS2 to support USB PD 3.1, since it was released after the USB PD 3.1 standard was introduced.

However, the discussion may have diverged because SLS2 support is not explicitly guaranteed by Microsoft.

Incidentally, the information provided, such as the 15V * 8A charging, seems to apply only to the standard proprietary charging method and may not necessarily apply to USB PD.

After all, does the SLS2 support USB PD 3.1 or not?

Answer 4

Hi Veronica Coleman,

After I have done some more research on this issue, allow me to present my findings here.

The conclusion is that this issue should be when you use Powerbank to charge the Surface Laptop Studio 2. The Powerbank does not meet the charging requirements of Surface devices.

The Surace is rated at 120W(15Vx8A), but since the Powerbank you're using only supports a maximum of 5A, meaning that to meet the Surface's rating, your Powerbank will need to support a 24Vx5A charging protocol. However, from the end result, it appears that none of the Powerbanks you are using support this protocol.

In addition, in the official Powerbank link, you can see the compatibility list for this Powerbank:

While they list a number of devices here, they don't specifically list Surface devices.

Therefore, I still think this issue is related to the Powerbank you are using, and you still need to contact their customer support and confirm some information:

1. Does this Powerbank provides 24Vx5A charging protocol.
2. Whether this Powerbank is compatible to charge the Surface Laptop Studio 2.

Best Regards,

Mitchell | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 5

Good question, Teru Miyake. Actually, that is the real question: DOES THIS PARTICULAR DEVICE SUPPORT USB PD at all? The documentation is lacking. But at least one of the configurations which Veronica Coleman used SHOULD work.

I have a Surface Laptop Studio (1) and a Surface Laptop Studio 2. For the whole time I have owned the SLS 1, it has been all messed up with any type of PD charging.

Like Veronica Coleman with her SLS 2, I tried everything to get the SLS 1 to charge with PD in the USB C port, with numerous chargers and power banks. I tried high wattage, and EVERY DAMN POSSIBLE CABLE in existence. But it still was messed up. Some times it would charge, and other times it wouldn't--with the exact same charging configuration. Most telling, if the device was over 80% charged already, it would usually charge. But under that, it often wouldn't. I would double check with a meter to see what kind of power was actually getting to the device, and whenever I did that, I could see that the device was fluctuating its negotiation with the power bank or the charger all over the place.

So it wasn't about the cable, or the power bank, or the charger. Those are just excuses. I know because they all work fine with my SLS 2. The USB chargers and power banks which the SLS 1 rejects all work great with the SLS 2. There clearly is something defective about the SLS 1 itself. I suspect something in the firmware. I also suspect the same thing in Veronica Coleman's SLS 2. She deserves a replacement, (though that's such a hassle to arrange).

And really, why would it need to be so picky anyway about the USB C PD charging?