Recoil VI - charging via Thunderbolt 4 port?

[jonitfcfan]

Hi,

I recently bought a new laptop (specs below) and I was wondering if this can be charged via the USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 port. Apparently some laptops support this and some don't, and I couldn't see any obvious indication in the spec list to say if mine can.

Any ideas?

Chassis & Display	Recoil Series: 15.6" Matte QHD 240Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1440)
Processor (CPU)	Intel® Core™ i7 14 Core Processor 12700H (4.7GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)	16GB Corsair 4800MHz SODIMM DDR5 (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card	NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3070 Ti - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive	500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive	250GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 2300MB/W)
Memory Card Reader	Integrated SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor	1 x 280W AC Adaptor
Power Cable	1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery	Recoil Series Integrated 94WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste	ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card	2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless	GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 M.2 GAMING + BLUETOOTH 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options	1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 PORT + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard Language	PER-KEY RGB BACKLIT UK MECHANICAL KEYBOARD
Operating System	NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language	United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media	NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software	FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus	NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser	Microsoft® Edge
Notebook Mouse	INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam	INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty	3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee	1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Delivery	TIMED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND - MON-FRI (BEFORE 10.30AM)
Build Time	FAST TRACK 3 WORKING DAY DISPATCH
Welcome Book	PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland

 

[Scott]

I'm not going to say no, as I don't actually know with any certainty..... but I would be absolutely amazed if it did.

You're running some serious hardware in that particular package. TB/USB-C tends to only allow for up to a max around 200w IIRC (too late for me to bother googling). I think the standard approach is 100w max (my dock outputs around 70w). The components you have in play are way past that. You can see from your power adapter that you're looking for 280w.

 

[jonitfcfan]

OK I did some quick testing to see what would happen if I plugged different USB-C chargers into my laptop, including the 65W charger that came with my smartphone (I think it's PD compatible). As soon as I plug a charger in, I got the following message in Windows 11:

But then after this Windows doesn't seem to register any charging taking place if I click on the battery icon in the taskbar. It's as though just enough current goes through (even if for a split second) to make Windows think it's charging. After this it seems to stop any more coming through hence why it then doesn't show any charging indicator. Perhaps if I had a 100+W charger it might work? I don't know.

Either way I wouldn't necessarily use this to replace the 280W power adapter that came with the laptop (at least not while in use). I just thought it would be a neat way to slow charge it overnight after it gets to, say, 20% battery late at night. I sometimes slow charge my smartphone and tablet, for instance, to prolong their long term battery life.