Power pass through with XPS 9310

Question

I have a new XPS 9310 (with a 45W charger) and have connected to an Anker 11-1 hub that supposedly supports pass-through power (and uses 15W for operation). The hub receives power and other hardware I connect to the hub works (including iPhone charging) but the pass through charging to the laptop doesn't.

Is this an issue of the charger simply being too small and is the easy solution a higher powered laptop charger?

Thanks!

jphughan · Accepted Answer

@THS007  Happy to help, and sounds good.  I'll note that there are occasionally interoperability glitches between specific combination of equipment.  For example, I have an older fantastic Satechi multi-port travel charger (2x USB-C, 2x USB-A) that for some reason won't charge a particular generation of 13' MacBook Pro, even though it works on all other laptop and non-laptop USB-C devices I've worked with.  And the newer, higher output version of that charger won't work with the power passthrough feature of my Lenovo ThinkVision M14 display, even though the total output is plenty and that feature of the display works with other power sources.  So it's possible that there's something going on with your Anker hub and your XPS 13.  I would have expected that if you had nothing except your wall charger connected to the Anker hub, your system would at least display a 'Slow charger' warning, but if it's not detecting a power source at all, then I'm not 100% sure that a higher wattage power source will solve the issue.  But it might, since unfortunately tech products don't always work the way they should.  Good luck!

jphughan · Answer

@THS007 Anker's product pages for those hubs often specifically say that you should not connect high-powered devices to them, such as USB-powered hard drives or devices that charge batteries over USB. An iPhone would be able to draw at least 10W all on its own (or more depending on iPhone model, USB-A vs. USB-C, and support for USB PD on the source port), so either you're consuming a significant additional percentage of your XPS 13 charger's 45W power budget to charge it through that hub, or else that drain is being mitigated by reducing power output to the iPhone and thus reducing your charging speed. Either way, that's not a great solution.

Yes, a higher output USB-C wall charger would help with this. The 15W "skim" that hubs like this introduce is fairly significant in scenarios where you've only got a 45W source to begin with. A 60W source is fairly inexpensive, small, and easy to find, and would result in 45W being able to get through to the system even after that 15W skim. But you might still want to make other arrangements for your iPhone. One option might be something like a dual port charger that has enough total output to support your laptop (plus its Anker skim) AND your iPhone simultaneously. For example, I have the RAVPower RP-PC128, which is a dual port 90W output charger, and it can split that output across its two ports as 90/0, 60/30, or 45/45. That middle setup would be perfect for having your XPS+Anker hub on one port and your iPhone on the other. RAVPower now even has a dual port 100W charger (RP-PC151).

THS007 · Answer

Thanks for that - I don't/wouldn't as a matter of course attach an iPhone to the hub for charging purposes, I did it in this case to see if the hub otherwise worked and it seems to, other than the power pass through issue. The Anker hub meets my needs for expandability, and it's certainly cheaper than current Thunderbolt 4 hubs out there.

Much appreciated.

klosset · Answer

I know this is a dated post. But I encountered the same problem today with a multi/function hub attached to my XPS 9310.

the diagnostic says that 40 watts is being provided. I would think that’s enough to charge a battery but perhaps not.

Did a higher wattage adapter fix it? If so, can you tell me exactly what adapter you used? Was it one available from Dell? It’s not clear to me how to choose an adapter since they only state a wattage and not a voltage (though being a USB-C perhaps it’s standard). I don’t want to damage me XPS with the wrong adapter.

Tatolino · Answer

Hi,

40W is likely enough to charge your laptop while you're using it, probably slower than the usual, but that's it. Are you seeing anything that makes you say the battery is not being charged? Or do you see any performance throttling while using it?

In any case, if you want to avoid any of the above, you can definitely change your AC adapter, there are 65W and even 130W USB-C chargers by Dell. Voltage is always 20V, amperage varies accordingly, in any case you don't have to worry, your laptop won't be able to draw more than 45W from it, leaving the remaining wattage to any other peripherals you have attached to the USB passthrough hub.

XPS

Power pass through with XPS 9310

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