Surface Go USB-C Charging: We tested 3 USB-C PD chargers for comparison
In this article, we will record and analyze the charging behavior of different types of USB-C with Power Delivery chargers. You will see how fast you can charge your Surface Go with USB-C PD power adapters.
One of the key features of Surface Go is about getting the job done on the go. It is the most portable Surface PC that packs a ton of capabilities and features as its big brothers. However, one thing that most people don’t really happy about is battery life. The Surface Go definitely won’t last for a typical working day unless you did all our ultimate battery saving tips as mentions in our article.
At SurfaceTip, we have done two tests already for the Surface Go charging topic, the original charger testing, and a basic phone charger testing. However, we didn’t test another potential charging method using USB-C with power delivery yet. Today, we will test, not one but three, different types of USB-C PD chargers to find out how fast they can charge the Microsoft Surface Go compared to our previous tests.
- Can you charge the Surface Go with USB-C?
- How to charge Surface Go with USB-C?
- Surface Go USB-C chargers we’ve tested
- Surface Go USB-C chargers testing result
- What we’ve learned from the result
- Experiment Condition
- Recommended Chargers for Surface Go
Can you charge the Surface Go with USB-C?
In short, yes you can. The USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 port on Microsoft Surface Go does support smart charging along with data transfer and video out capability. It supports USB Power Delivery revision 3.0 which supports 4 different power rules (5v, 9v, 15v, and 20v) with the ability to supply power up to over 45W.
With that said, you will need a compatible USB-C with Power Delivery which rated at a higher wattage to fast charge your Surface Go. Fortunately, as we tested, the Surface Go can also be slow charged via standard USB charger as well. So, if you can’t find a USB-C PD charger, don’t panic, you can use any phone’s USB chargers or power bank to continue your work.
How to charge Surface Go with USB-C?
It’s really simple to charge your Surface with USB-C. Just like the Surface Connect connector, the USB-C connector itself is reversible, so you don’t have to worry about the wrong side plug-in. Anyway, there 2 ways to charge your Surface Go over USB-C depending on the available charger port:
- USB-A to USB-C: You can charge your Surface Go with any standard USB charger or portable power bank with a good charging rate (at least 5V/1.5A) by connecting them with the USB-A to USB-C cable.
- USB-C to USB-C: If you have a USB-C PD charger, which is highly recommended, and they are using USB-C port, then you can charge your Surface Go by connecting them with the USB-C to USB-C cable.
Surface Go USB-C chargers we’ve tested
To find out what type of USB-C PD chargers work best for Microsoft Surface Go, we have tested three different chargers with USB-C PD support. To help you understand more about each charger’s specifications, we have put them together in the table below:
| USB-C PD Chargers | Interface | Max Wattage | Power Rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Pixel 2 charger | USB-C to USB-C | 18W | 5V/3A9V/2A |
| Anker PowerPort Speed PD 30 | USB-C to USB-C | 30W | 5V/3A9V/3A15V/2A20V/1.5A |
| ZMI Turbo USB-C PD | USB-C to USB-C | 45W | 5V/3A9V/3A12V/3A15V/3A20V/2.25A |
For better comparison, below is the specification of the original Surface Go charger and a standard phone charger that we’ve already tested:
| Common Chargers | Interface | Max Wattage | Power Rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sony Standard Phone Charger | USB-A to USB-C | 7.5W | 5V/1.5A |
| Surface Go Charger | Surface Connect | 24W | 15V/1.65A |
Now we have an array of chargers with the power range from 7.5W up until 45W with different type charging interfaces. And now it’s time test it out, read on for the actual charging speed of those chargers.
Surface Go USB-C chargers testing result
The following table summarizes the speed, duration, and charging rate of each charger. We have ordered the chargers by maximum charging rate they can offer.
Note The following results are measured using a certain condition that is specified in the Experiment Condition section of this article.
| Battery Level | 20%-80% Rate/Duration | 80%-90% Rate/Duration | 90%-99% Rate/Duration | Total (20%-99%) Rate/Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sony Standard Phone Charger Max 7.5W | 4.0W - 3.6W 265 Minutes | 3.59 - 3.43W 47 Minutes | 3.42W - 2.37W 45 Minutes | 4.0W - 2.37W 5 hours 57 Minutes |
| Google Pixel 2 charger Max 18W | 11.2W - 10.2W 90 Minutes | 10W - 8W 16 Minutes | 7.8W - 2.5W 31 Minutes | 11.2W - 2.5W 2 hours 17 Minutes |
| Surface Go Charger Max 24W | 16.6W - 14.5W 60 Minutes | 14W - 8.2W 15 Minutes | 8W - 2.1W 33 Minutes | 16.6W - 2.1W 1 hour 48 Minutes |
| Anker PowerPort Speed PD 30 Max 30W | 18.0W - 16.4W 56 Minutes | 13W - 9W 13 Minutes | 8W - 2.6W 30 Minutes | 17.3W - 2.6W 1 hour 39 Minutes |
| ZMI Turbo USB-C PD Max 45W | 26.3W - 14.9W 46 Minutes | 13W - 7W 16 Minutes | 7W - 2W 37 Minutes | 26.3W - 2W 1 hour 39 Minutes |
What we’ve learned from the result
Now we’ve seen the result. Here are some facts that we can see:
- Battery below 80%: you can expect to get the peak charging rate of each charger.
- Battery between 80% – 90%: the charging rate starts to slow down to around 8W.
- Battery between 90% – 99%: the charging rate drop dramatically down to around 2.5W that takes twice as long as between 80%-90%.
- Battery between 99% – 100%: Our tested Surface Go took about 25 minutes to fully charge from 99% no matter what chargers we’ve tried.
Experiment Condition
Of course, the actual charging speed depends on your device’s settings and usage. It will be much faster to charge your device when it’s off, and it will be slow as you play games or use any heavy tasks.
Below are our testing condition that we used and think most people would use in the general situation:
- Turn off the display: Never (Always-on display)
- Display brightness: 50%
- Auto brightness: No
- Bluetooth: On
- WiFi: On (connected to the internet)
Tracking Tools
The tool we used to track the battery capacity, speed and duration of the charging is BatteryInfoView. Besides that, this tool also has the ability to display more detail information about your device’s battery.
We also use our favorite tool BatteryBar to view real-time charging stats right from the taskbar. You can download both tools for free from the links below:
Recommended Chargers for Surface Go
Since Surface Go is compatible with both the Surface Connect and the USB-C charging interface, you have many options when you want additional chargers to be used while on the go, at home, or at the office.
More powerful chargers for Surface Go The following Surface Connect chargers are more powerful than the 24W original Surface Go charger. If you want a better charging speed, it's a good choice for you. | ||
|---|---|---|
 | Microsoft Surface 65W Power Supply for Surface Book, Surface Laptop, Surface Pro By Microsoft $54.00 Was: $79.99 | |
USB-C chargers with Power Delivery for Surface Go The chargers here are relatively small in size, easy to carry around, and powerful enough to fast charge your Surface Go. Especially, since they're using USB-C interface, you can charge all your USB-C devices without carrying additional chargers. | ||
|---|---|---|
 | Anker USB C Charger 30W with Power Delivery, PowerPort Speed PD 30 for MacBook Pro/Air (2018), iPad Pro (2018), iPhone XS/XS Max/XR/X/8/Plus, Nexus, LG G5, Pixel, MateBook, and More. By Anker $22.99 | |
![iClever 45W USB Type-C Wall Charger with Power Delivery Adapter for Nintendo Switch, Samsung Note 8, Pixel C, Nexus 5X/6P, Apple MacBook 2015/2016 and More[Contains a 6.6ft USB C to C Cable]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41MWWHH--oL._SL160_.jpg) | iClever 45W USB Type-C Wall Charger with Power Delivery Adapter for Nintendo Switch, Samsung Note 8, Pixel C, Nexus 5X/6P, Apple MacBook 2015/2016 and More[Contains a 6.6ft USB C to C Cable] By iClever Not Available | |
![[NOT Ideal for Note10+, which Calls for a PPS Enabled Charger] ZMI Turbo 45W Wall Charger USB-C PD AC Adapter Laptop Charger for New MacBook Pixelbook/Pixel XL Fast Charging Galaxy S10/S9/S8/Note9](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31ThQSsNOpL._SL160_.jpg) | [NOT Ideal for Note10+, which Calls for a PPS Enabled Charger] ZMI Turbo 45W Wall Charger USB-C PD AC Adapter Laptop Charger for New MacBook Pixelbook/Pixel XL Fast Charging Galaxy S10/S9/S8/Note9 By ZMI $15.99 | |
Portable power bank with Power Delivery for Surface Go Chargers required the electrical outlet, but it isn't always easy to find one. So, if you are a student or a person that needs to stay in a class or attend a long hours meeting, you should pick a portable power bank. | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ZMI USB PD Backup Battery By ZMI $85.95 | |
 | Anker PowerCore Speed 20000 Pd, 20100mAh Portable Charger & 30W Power Delivery Charger Bundle, Input & Output Type C Power Bank for MacBook Air/Ipad Pro 2018, iPhone 11/ Pro/X, Macbooks, S10 By Anker $65.99 | |
More Surface Go Resources
Make sure to check out our tips and tricks for Microsoft Surface Go here:
COMMENTS
Let us know what you think!
We appreciate hearing your thoughts, questions, and ideas about “Surface Go USB-C Charging: We tested 3 USB-C PD chargers for comparison”.
Great article!
What if I use their stock charger and a USB c type charger simultaneously? Does it charge faster?
Very useful article. As a result, I have bought a Tommox PowerTravel 3 Pro charger which delivers up to 60 watts and works very well on my Surface Go. Thanks to its’ separate cable, it is also easier to pack away in a very small laptop bag with than the Microsoft one.
From what I’ve read if you have both plugged in it will respect the input from the surface connect charger and not the usb-c
Sorry your wrong and I cant figure out how to fix that. There is no windows setting.
I was using a usb c to usb adapter that provided
Monitor and is. Mouse and keyboard. While in use, the Microsoft charger did not chage , and the drain caused the battery to be depleted. Bummer that you can’t just turn usbc charging off in the power settings.
Are these safe as replacements to the original charger?
Any update for the Surface Go 2? It seems a bit different that the original Surface Go in that it will not charge with USB c with a standard 10 W phone charger. With the one USB c PD charger I had, the Surface Go 2 seemed to draw more than the budgeted amperage when less than 80% charged so the charger shutdown the connection. This may be the result of quick charge which Microsoft says is by design. Above 80% charged the Surface Go 2 would charge but still seemed to cycle between charge and drain as if it was incompatible with the charger.
This is a really useful article but I agree it would be great to see this repeated for the Surface Go 2. I tried using an Anker 24W charger (with USB-A to USB-C cable) and the Go2 fails to charge. The 45W power supply for my Lenovo Laptop works but nothing else I possess does including my handy Xiaomi power bank. The Microsoft site says the charger for Surface Go2 is the same as original Go (24W, 15V/1.6A) but clearly the Go2 is more fussy. (The Anker is 12V/1.6A)
The ability to charge from USB-C is really useful as it means you only need one power supply when travelling for all devices even if charging is slower. Any news on this would be very helpful!