HP and Dell notebook adapters interchangeable?

Hi,

I was wondering if I could use my girlfriend's Dell Studio 15 adapter for my HP HDX 16 notebook. The connector looks te same, and the volts/amps are on both adapters approximately the same.

Is there a chance I'd damage my HP notebook or her Dell adapter? Or can an adapter never damage a laptop, it just works or it doesn't?
And if it is possible, is it also possible the other way around? (my HP adapter to her Dell notebook?)

Thanks !

 

The only sure ways to check are:

1) Use a multimeter and see how the tip is wired.
-or-
2) Try it. (I don't recommend this.)

That is all.

 

How do you mean: how the tip is wired?

 

Test the voltage coming out of the original tip with the black or red lead on the tip and the opposite around the outer ring.

Then test the Dell adapter the same way with the same colors touching the tip and ring.

HP: Touch the red multimeter lead to the tip, black to the ring. It'll read a positive or negative number.
Dell: Do the same thing, and it'll read a positive or negative number but it must match the HP's polarity (negative or positive number).

Hope this helps!

P.S. I found this image to show what I'm talking about:

 

Great, I'll test that monday at work, got a multimeter there
If the polarity is the same, but the voltage and amps are slightly different, it should be OK to switch them ?

 

I don't recommend interchanging the chargers.
If amps/volts are slightly different,they can ruin your battery or computer.
The brand of that charger is designed for that specific notebook.

 

Then I'd best don't do it I guess, if there's any chance it might damage my notebook or an adapter, I won't risk it.

It would just come in handy, because one of us sometimes forgets the adapter, and then we could use eachother's

 

Any AC adapter will work as long as the voltage is the same and the current is equal or greater than the stock adapter. (And the jack must fit and be wired the same.)

Example #1:
Stock AC Adapter is 19.5 Volts, 3.42 Amps
Another AC Adapter is 19.5 Volts, 4.63 Amps
** This will work just fine. **

Example #2:
Stock AC Adapter is 19.5 Volts, 3.42 Amps
Another AC Adapter is 16 Volts, 3.63 Amps
** This will NOT WORK. **

Example #3:
Stock AC Adapter is 19.5 Volts, 3.42 Amps
Another AC Adapter is 19.5 Volts, 2.9 Amps
** This will NOT WORK. **

 

I thought a lower amp number works, but isn't healthy for your adapter, because it has to produce more power than it is designed for (I used to connect my wireless router to an adapter with a lower amp value, and that worked fine, the adapter just got a little hotter than usual ).
Or am I wrong ?

 

Your laptop has been rated from the manufacturer for a certain input voltage (volts) and a certain current (amps). Both are healthy numbers for your laptop to operate at. It's on the sticker (usually) on the bottom of your laptop.

An AC adapter has both ratings as well. The voltage number is what is produced 100% of the time, but the current is only generated when the laptop pulls more juice from the adapter.

This is why an adapter with a bigger current rating (amps) is okay to use, because that's just what the adapter is capable of, not necessarily what will flow through the laptop at all times.

A laptop rated for 16V 3A will work with an adapter that says 16V 4A, but not with an adapter that says 16V 2A. The adapter that is capable of flowing 4A of electricity will only use 3A because that's what the laptop uses. You'll have 1A of "headroom" so to say.

 

But I assume nothing can go wrong when one of those numbers on the adapter is lower than what the laptop needs; the laptop just won't work when it doesn't get enough juice. Or am I wrong?

 

Some laptops will throttle devices back (CPU, GPU, power to the hard drive), some will shut off (if the battery doesn't hold a charge), some will just be hard on the battery because for a split second, the power adapter will cut out. Sometimes the motherboard just won't get adequate power across the board and eventually screw something up.

It's risky.

 

considering that, with a little shopping, a incorrect adapter will cost you just the same as a correct adapter, why take any chance at all??

 

Yeah of course, if I would have to buy a new adapter, I would buy the original one.

But I guess it's just best not to interchange them I guess, to avoid any problems