Welcome to the Power Users community on Codidact!
Power Users is a Q&A site for questions about the usage of computer software and hardware. We are still a small site and would like to grow, so please consider joining our community. We are looking forward to your questions and answers; they are the building blocks of a repository of knowledge we are building together.
Post History
If it plugs in, you can use it. At least that's how it's supposed to work. Without doing anything, a device only gets a small amount of power at 5 V, assuming the host gives it any at all. That ...
#1: Initial revision
If it plugs in, you can use it. At least that's how it's <i>supposed to</i> work. Without doing anything, a device only gets a small amount of power at 5 V, assuming the host gives it any at all. That would make no sense for something like a charger. The small initial current at 5 V is 100 mA if I remember right, which is only 500 mW. If a device wants more current, then it has to negotiate for it. The device and the host communicate to make sure what is ultimately settled on is within the capability of both devices. It used to be that USB devices were limited to 500 mA at 5 V, so 2.5 W. Then charging options were added to the standard. These allow for both higher voltage and higher current, but <i>only if both devices can handle it</i>. My laptop, for example, came with a 65 W USB C charger. Since USB C is a standard, I can use any USB C charger that is rated for 65 W or more. The days of each laptop having its own proprietary charger are gone. Again, this is how it's supposed to work. Your charger is rated for 5 V at 2 A, which is 10 W. It shouldn't be getting unusually hot when doing this, as it should be designed for that. If a device wants more than 10 W, then it should refuse the request during negotiation. A properly designed charger should not let a device take more power than the charger can safely produce, and shouldn't get excessively warm in the process. Unfortunately, that doesn't prevent unscrupulous manufacturers and resellers from making and selling you products without proper protection and adherence to the standards. Scrupulous resellers don't carry chargers like this that aren't certified by UL or equivalent to be safe. I notice no such rating appears to be in your picture. If that's really true, toss it before it burns down your house. No, seriously.
