Not all cables are created equal

By Nine Volt

Not all cables are created equal

Some are even advertised as 100W USB-C Power Delivery cables when in reality the most they can deliver is 60W. Your MacBook Pro is too smart for the cables. Some power supply makers will even claim its the Mac OS that is at fault and not their product. The Mac OS has no problem with full power delivery if you provide it with proper spec equipment. These are all 60W cables that were advertised as 100W and a couple look exactly like Apple’s USB C cable. How do you check? In the MacOS:

  • Click the Apple menu
  • then click About this Mac
  • then click System Report
  • then click Power in the Hardware section

At the very bottom it will tell you how many watts you are getting from your AC charger. Obviously, you will only get the maximum amount of wattage that your power source can deliver. But if you have a 100W power source with a 100W capable cable, that number should be 100. If is says 87, 60 or worse (sometimes 40), that cable is not a 100W capable cable.