The Playstation 5 Dualsense sense controller is a game changing peice of technology the has upped the level of emmersion games can offer. But it comes with one glaring draw back: it’s battery life is incredibly short.
If you play a game of Control, where the active triggers pump with every telekenetic throw and the haptics tap a rythem to your foot steps, the battery will drain to zero in less than 6 hours.
This got me thinking: could I charge my PS5 controller with my Macbook Pro charger? After all, it uses a USB-C connector, just like the PS5 controller. Excited by this prospect, I dug out my Macbook Pro charger and started doing some research. Here’s what I found:
Can you charge the PS5 controller with your Macbook Pro USB-C charger? Yes, a Macbook Pro USB-C charger will charge the PS5 Dualsense controller. A PS5 controller needs a charger that can deliver atleast 5 volts and 1.5 amps. A Macbook Pro USB-C charger delivers 20.3 volts and 3 amps. More than enough to charge the PS5 controller. However, the PS5 controller cannot fast charge.
In the following sections, I’ll talk about:
- How to charge the PS5 controller with a Macbook Pro charger.
- Is it safe to charge a PS5 controller with a MacBook Pro charger?
- The ideal amperage and voltage to charge a PS5 controller.
- Will a MacBook Pro charger fast charge a PS5 controller?
- Do you need to fully charge a PS5 controller to use it?
- Can you use a PS5 controller while charging from a MacBook Pro charger?
That’s a lot of sections I’ll be covering about charging your PS5 Dualsense controller with a Macbook Pro charger. Let’s crack on and answer the first question.
How to charge the PS5 controller with a Macbook USB-C Charger
Charging a PS5 controller with a Macbook USB-C charger is extreamly streightforward. In fact, it’s not much different to plugging in and charging your Macbook or your phone. However, I have included a complete method below on how to charge your Dualsense controller with a Macbook charger. Let’s a take a look
What you need (Links lead to Amazon products):
- PS5 controller
- A Macbook USB-C charger
The method
Step 1: Plug the Macbook Pro USB-C charger into the wall.
The first step is to plug the Macbook Pro USB-C charger into the wall outlet. You can also plug the charger into a multi-outlet extension plug and extend it to where you are sitting. I use a 3-plug extension cord that is 15 feet long, so the charger is right next to my gaming seat and easily in reach. You can proceed to the next step once the Macbook Pro charger is securely plugged in.
Step 2: Connect the USB cable to the PS5 controller.
The second step is to plug the USB-C end of the Macbook Pro USB-C charger you will use to charge the PS5 controller into the PS5 controller’s charging port.
The controller should immediatly start to charge.
Step 3: Wait for the controller to charge.
Once the PS5 controller start charging you can keep an eye on it’s progress in the the PS5’s main menu. You can check the progress of charging by looking at the battery icon at the bottom right of the screen. The battery icon will be full green once the battery is fully charged.
And that’s it. That’s how you can charge your PS5 controller with your Macbook charger.
Next, I’ll look at what voltage and amperage your PS5 controller needs to charge.
Ideal voltage and amperage to charge PS5 controller with a Macbook Charger.
In the last section, I explained how to charge your PS5 controller with a Macbook Pro charger.
In this section, I’ll be exploring the voltage and amerpage needed to charge the Dualsense contol.
A charger with a voltage of 5V or higher is required to charge the PS5 controller. If your charger has a voltage lower than 5V, your controller will charge very slowly, if at all.
The PS5 Dualsense controller, like most modern electronic devices that use lithium-ion batteries, has several safeguards in place to prevent it from overcharging or charging too fast.
Later in this article, I will discuss whether you can use a fast charger with the PS5 controller. For now, suffice it to say that using a higher voltage charger will not damage the PS5 controller.
Next up, I’ll look at the amperage the Dualsense controller needs.
When charging, the PS5 controller draws a maximum of 1.5 amps. After the 80% charged threshold is exceeded, the charging speed drops, and the amperage drops as well. Charging Li-Ion batteries quickly causes them to wear out. By charging slowly, you increase the longevity of your batteries.
In general, you won’t have a problem if you use a charger with higher amperage or voltage ratings. Fortunatly, the Macbook Pro’s charger, at 20.3V and 3 amps, far exeeds the power you’ll need to charge the PS5 controller.
In the next section, I will address whether or not it is safe to charge the PS5 controller with a Macbook charger.
Is charging a PS5 Dualsense controller with a Mackbook USB-C charger Safe?
In the previous section, I mentioned that the PS5 controller has several safeguards in place in order to stop itself from charging too quickly or overcharging.
So in this section, I would like to address all the safety issues in more detail regarding the PS5 controller and charging it with a Macbook Pro USB-C charger.
First, i think it important to say that the PS5 controller is safe to use with any USB charger, including the Macbook Pro’s USB-C charger. .
There is a tiny microchip inside the PS5 controller that acts like a little brain, controlling the charging process of the controller. When you plug the charger into the controller, the microchip detects the amount of current flowing into the controller, moitors the flow of energy, and acts accordingly depending on how much power is flowing in or out.
When the controller’s battery is charged to 80%, the current begins to push back against the current going into the battery. The microchip senses this resistance and interprets it as a sign to decrease the amount of electric current entering the battery.
From the 80% mark onwards, the microchip slows the flow of power into the battery as it approaches 100%. This is in order to protect the battery form checmical wear.
No matter what charger you use, the microchip in the controller will not allow the controller to charge faster. However, this microchip can do a lot more than that.
For example, the chip does not open the controller to a higher amount of power flow than it’s supposed to. The controller can only ever charge at a maximum of 1.5 amps and 5 volts.
The controller will cease charging once it is 100% charged. This is to prevent the controller’s battery from being overcharged and becoming a hazard. Once the controller battery is fully charged, the microchip limits power draw to the minimum levels required to keep the controller at 100%.
When the controller is fully charged, it stays at 100% because the microchip switches from battery power to USB power.
In addition to being very intelligent, the controller you hold in your hand is very safe to charge, regardless of what charger you use.
Next, I’ll explore whether fast chargers can be used effectively with the PS5 controller in the next section.
Will the high wattage Macbook Charger fast charge the PS5 controller?
In th elast section I looked at whether charging a PS5 controller with a Macbook pro charger was safe, given the fact that the Macbook Pro charger is so powerful. I discovered that the internal microchip that controls the PS5 controller charge cycle prevents from over charging or charging to fast.
Does this microchip that controls the PS5 controllers charge speed limit the controllers ability to fast charge?
Sadly, Yes, the microchip does limit how quickly the PS5 controller can charge.
The PS5 controller is not capable of fast charging.
The PS5 controller’s microchip charge controller sets a hard upper limit of 1.5 amps and 5 volts, making fast charging impossible.
My Macbook Pro’s USB-C charger is capable of charging at 20.3 volts at 3amps which is far higher than the 5 volt, 1.5 amps that the PS5 controller can charge at.
But Why didn’t sony include fast charging? Surely it would be more conveniet for gamers?
The simple explanation is that charging a Li-ion battery faster results in faster degradation. A controller like the PS5 Dualsense can typically be charged 500 times before its battery capacity drops to 80% of its original maximum charge.
However, using a fast charger to charge the PS5 controller’s battery every time would cause the battery to degrade much faster. After 150 charges, the battery capacity would drop to 80% if a fast charger were used every time.
Fast chargers damage Li-Ion batteries because the current is forced into them. The chemicals in the battery are broken down as a result of the force. The faster and stronger the current is, the faster the chemicals are broken down.
Fast charging is incredibly Convenient. However, it also comes with the massive disadvantage of considerably shortening the useful lifespan of the Dualsense controller.
In the next section, I’ll look at whether you need to fully charge a PS5 controller before using it, or not.
Do you need to fully charge a PS5 controller with a Macbook charger before using it?
In the last section, I sadly discovered that it’s impossible to fast charge a PS5 controller.
So, if you can’t fast charge the controller, can you use the controller while it is partially charged?
Yes, you can. Regardless of the percentage of the controller’s current charge, you can use it.
If you charge the controller to at least 20%, you should be able to play for at least an hour. i recommend a minimum of 20% because the last 10% of Li-Ion battery power tends to discharge very quickly.
If you charge the controller to at least 20%, that should give you at least one hour of gaming time before the controller discharges completely and needs recharging.
That brings me to the last section of the article: can you keep playing while your controller is charging with Macbook Pro USB-C charger? Let’s take a look…
Can you use the PS5 controller while charging on a Macbook Pro charger?
In the last section, we learned that you can happily play with your PS5 controller even if it’s partially charged. But, can you use the controller while it continues to charge?
You can charge your Dualsense with your Macbook Pro charger while playing games.
However, it’s worth notting that controller will charge slower. This is because most of the power coming down the USB cable will be used to power the controller’s functions. Only a small percentage of the power trickling into the controller will be used to charge it.
To make life easier you should buy a multi-plug with a long cable(Amazon Link) and place it near your gaming seat. That way you can plug your Macbook Pro charger into it.
Yes, you can use your controller while it’s charging. In the last section, I will briefly summarize the article’s main points.
Summary
As always, we have covered a lot of information in this article about charging your Playstation 5 Dualsense controller with your Macbook Charger. I will summarise the main points below.
- Yes, you can charge your PS5 controller with your Macbook Pro charger.
- The Macbook Pro USB-C charger offer 20.3 volts and 3 amps of power. More than enough to charge the Dualsense controller.
- The Macbook Pro charger will not fast charge the Dualsense. However, it is safe to use and will not damage your controller.
- You can use your controller even when it’s partially charged.
- You can safely charge your controller while playing it.