You plugged a MacBook into a USB-C KVM so one cable could carry video, peripherals, and power. The screens light up. The keyboard works. The battery icon still says not charging, or it shows a bolt while the percentage drops.

This is usually Power Delivery. The switch is passing video and USB data. It isn't passing enough watts, or any watts.

The rule is simple: count the watts the switch actually delivers to the host, not the size of the brick on the table and not the USB-C shape of the port. If that host path has no PD, the MacBook won't charge through the KVM. If the path is 60W, it won't replace the brick Apple ships with a current 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro.

A USB-C cable is not a charger

USB-C can carry three jobs on one cable: DisplayPort video, USB data, and USB Power Delivery. Those jobs share the path. A KVM can do the first two and skip the third.

Many switches are built that way. Video and USB switching are cheaper than a PD controller plus a large enough power supply. The host cable looks like the cable that came with your Mac charger. It isn't doing the same job.

If the switch has no PD path, the MacBook runs on battery until you add a separate charger. If the switch has a low-watt PD path, macOS can show charging and still lose battery under load. The icon reports that some power arrived. It doesn't report that the watts match what the machine is drawing.

No-PD switches: the Cable Matters 201085

The Cable Matters 201085 is the clean no-PD case. Cable Matters states that this KVM does not support USB-C Power Delivery pass-through and cannot charge host computers. Use each laptop's own charger. The Micro-B port only powers the switch and its connected USB peripherals.

That's not a defect. The 201085 is a video-and-USB switch for two laptops. The USB-C host cables carry DisplayPort Alt Mode and USB. They don't carry laptop charging.

If your MacBook is plugged only into this switch, it will run down until you add MagSafe or a USB-C PD charger on another port. Don't buy the 201085 expecting the KVM cable to charge a MacBook. Cable Matters says it won't.

60W is common. It isn't the Pro brick.

Many USB-C and Thunderbolt KVMs advertise 60W Power Delivery. That number is the host-port rating, not a promise that every MacBook will hold a charge.

Apple's current included adapters, from Apple's own spec pages:

  • 13-inch MacBook Air (M5): Apple includes a 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max. Fast charge needs 70W or higher.
  • 14-inch MacBook Pro (2021 or later): Apple includes a 70W or 96W USB-C Power Adapter, depending on the chip. Apple's UK spec for the current 14-inch Pro lists 70W as the minimum wattage required to charge. Fast charge needs 96W or higher.
  • 16-inch MacBook Pro (2021 or later): Apple includes a 140W USB-C Power Adapter. Fast charge needs 140W or higher. Apple's UK spec lists 140W as the minimum wattage required to charge.

Apple also says a USB-C Mac can charge from a lower-wattage USB PD source, just more slowly. That's why a 60W KVM can look like it's charging and still lose ground.

Don't treat 60W as enough to hold a current 14-inch MacBook Pro, especially under load. It sits below Apple's included 70W and 96W bricks. Don't treat 60W as a charge path for a 16-inch MacBook Pro. That machine ships with 140W.

The AV Access iDock C20 is the 60W two-laptop case. AV Access rates it at up to 60W to each USB-C laptop. AV Access's C20 FAQ says 60W is not high-speed charging and tells buyers who need more power to keep the original laptop adapter connected.

The TESmart HDC202-X24 is the 60W Thunderbolt case. A Thunderbolt 4 label does not raise the wattage. TESmart rates laptop charging at up to 60W (20V 3A) on the Thunderbolt host port. The desktop input doesn't charge a laptop. TESmart's English FAQ says a machine that does not accept 20V, or that needs 90W to 120W or more, will charge slowly, and to keep the original adapter connected. TESmart's German HDC202-X24 listing still warns that a laptop whose charging protocol does not negotiate 20V can fall back to 7.5W, and that some ThinkPad Yoga and T-series models may not get 60W. We have no hands-on. Treat that as a manufacturer warning, not a Mac measurement.

When a switch can charge

Count the watts delivered to the host.

The AV Access iDock M10 lists up to 100W Power Delivery to the connected MacBook. That sits above Apple's 70W and 96W 14-inch bricks. It's still below the 140W brick on a 16-inch MacBook Pro. The M10 is a MacBook plus desktop dock, not a two-laptop KVM. Don't point a 16-inch shopper at it as if 100W will cover export or compile load.

The Cable Matters 201478 lists up to 85W to each laptop, or up to 100W when only one host is attached, from its included 180W adapter. Cable Matters says the rate varies by system demand. 85W to 100W covers current 14-inch Pro bricks. It doesn't match the 16-inch 140W brick.

The MINIX K1 accepts a USB-C PD 3.0 input rated 20V at 5A (100W max). MINIX lists 5W to 10W of conversion loss, so the active laptop receives less than the charger you plug in. A 100W brick on the K1 isn't 100W at the MacBook. Power goes to the active host only.

The Anker Prime DL7400 is a single-host DisplayLink dock, not a two-host KVM. Anker rates the upstream port at up to 140W (PD 3.1, 28V at 5A). Full 140W needs a laptop that supports PD 3.1 and no more than one extra device on the front USB-C ports. That is the wattage that matches Apple's 16-inch brick. It isn't a KVM, and it isn't a reason to buy a 60W switch for a 16-inch Pro.

When a switch cannot do the job

A switch can't charge the MacBook if it has no PD path. The 201085 is that case.

A switch can't replace the 16-inch MacBook Pro brick if it tops out at 60W, 85W, or 100W. Those numbers are manufacturer host-port ratings. Under sustained load, a 16-inch Pro can draw more than those ports deliver. The battery then drains while the icon says charging.

A 60W USB-C or Thunderbolt switch is also below Apple's current 14-inch Pro bricks (70W and 96W). It may trickle. It isn't the charger Apple ships with those machines.

If you need the MacBook to stay on the KVM cable and still charge, pick a switch whose published host-port watts meet or beat the brick Apple includes with that model. If the listing is silent on Power Delivery, assume it doesn't charge.

Keep MagSafe or a second USB-C PD brick available when the switch cannot meet the wattage. That's the reliable fallback. A different USB-C cable won't invent watts the switch doesn't have.

Where to go next

This page doesn't add a pick list.

For USB-C host pairings and the charging notes on the ranked switches, read the USB-C KVM guide for Mac and Windows.

For the Thunderbolt 4 switch and its 60W laptop path, read the Thunderbolt KVM guide for Mac and Windows.

If both monitors show the same image, that is a display-stream problem, not a charging problem. The MST explainer covers that.

If the laptop is not charging, start with watts. If the switch doesn't deliver enough to the host, a new cable won't invent Power Delivery.