Will the Universal docking station charge my laptop battery?

Hello, I am considering purchasing your Plugable USB Universal laptop docking station. I have seen the good reviews, but have one question: Will it charge my Sony VPCZ1 Series laptop as I use it?

Hi Tom,

Thanks for posting! No, I’m afraid - USB laptop docking stations can’t charge laptops, so you’ll definitely still need that second cable (your laptop’s power supply) whenever you dock and want to charge at the same time.

The background and reason on this, by the way, that every laptop can have a different type of physical power connector and adapter specs - so there isn’t a way to create a completely universal charger. And for a USB connection, power for charging goes from your laptop to the USB devices you connect, but not in the other direction. So any power heading back to the laptop would have to be on its own special cable.

Thanks for the question!
Bernie