My old charger stopped working, and I’m not sure which charger is best for my iPhone 17 Pro Max. I want something safe, fast, and compatible, but there are too many options online and I don’t want to buy the wrong one. Looking for advice on the right wattage, cable, and whether Apple or third-party chargers are better.
Get a USB C PD charger from a known brand. For your iPhone 17 Pro Max, aim for 20W to 30W. That hits fast charging without wasting money.
Best simple picks:
Apple 20W USB C Power Adapter
Anker 20W or 30W Nano
Belkin 25W USB C PD
UGREEN 20W or 30W USB C PD
What you need:
USB C PD support
At least 20W output
A USB C to USB C cable, or the cable that came with your phone
What to avoid:
Random no-name chargers
Listings with fake watt ratings
Old USB A bricks, they charge slow as heck
Fast charge numbers are usally around 50 percent in about 30 minutes with the right charger and cable. If you want one charger for phone plus iPad or MacBook Air, get a 35W to 45W model.
If your old charger died, I’d replace the cable too if it looks worn. Bad cables cause a lot of issues.
I mostly agree with @stellacadente, but I’d add one thing: don’t overthink wattage too much. The phone will only pull what it wants, so a quality 30W, 45W, or even higher USB-C PD charger is fine if you want something more future-proof. Bigger isn’t dangerous, cheap junk is.
What I’d actually buy:
- Apple 20W if you want zero guesswork
- Anker Nano 30W if you want small + reliable
- Belkin or UGREEN 30W to 45W if you might charge other stuff too
What matters more than people think:
- UL listed or sold by a real retailer
- USB-C PD, not just “fast charge” marketing fluff
- Decent cable, because a bad cable will make a good charger seem broken
One small disagreement: I wouldn’t buy the absolute cheapest Apple-style brick on Amazon even if the pics look legit. Tons of fakes. Buy from Apple, Best Buy, target, etc. Saves headaches later. If your old charger died outta nowhere, test the cable too. That’s often the real culprit tbh.
One thing I’d push a bit differently from @stellacadente: if you keep your phone for years, I’d skip the 20W brick unless price is the main goal. It works, sure, but a good 30W USB-C PD charger gives you more flexibility for basically the same everyday experience and can also handle earbuds, iPad, battery packs, etc.
My short version:
- Best safe pick: Apple 20W USB-C Power Adapter
- Best value pick: Anker 30W USB-C PD charger
- Best one-charger-for-more-stuff pick: Belkin or UGREEN 30W to 45W
What I’d check before buying:
- USB-C PD support
- Reputable brand
- Foldable prongs if you travel
- Included cable or budget for a new USB-C cable
Also, don’t ignore heat. A charger that gets mildly warm is normal. A charger that gets hot fast, buzzes, or drops in and out is trash.
Pros for the ':
- Easy to pair with the right charger if it supports USB-C PD
- Can be a convenient replacement option if sold by a legit retailer
Cons for the ':
- Hard to judge quality if the listing is vague
- No-name versions are a gamble
- Fake safety claims are common online
Honestly, if your old charger died, replace both brick and cable once and be done with it. That solves a lot of “charging issues” people blame on the phone.
Simpler option: visit an Apple Store or authorized service shop with your phone. Ask staff to test it using their charger and cable. This confirms whether the brick, cable, or charging port failed before you spend money.
If charging works, buy the tested setup there and keep the reciept. If it still fails, request a port inspection. This avoids confusing listings, fake products, and ordering the wrong cable. It also takes about 10 minutes in most shops.
The 20W recommendation is a bit behind on this particular phone. The 17 Pro Max isn’t capped where the older models were. Apple pushed the peak charging speed up on this generation, and it can pull noticeably more than 20W when the battery is low and cool. So @stellacadente and @sterrenkijker aren’t wrong that 20W works, but on this model you’re actively leaving speed on the table. If you’re buying new anyway, there’s no reason to aim that low.
Where I land closer to @reveurdenuit: get a 35W to 45W USB-C PD charger and stop fussing. The phone regulates its own intake, so a higher-rated brick won’t cook it. What it does give you is the full fast-charge curve on the Pro Max plus enough headroom for an iPad or a small laptop. Apple’s own 40W adapter fits this phone well, but a solid Anker or UGREEN in that range does the same job for less.
One thing worth being blunt about: peak wattage only happens under specific conditions. Low battery, cool phone, and a real USB-C to USB-C cable that supports PD. If your phone is warm from gaming or sitting at 70 percent, it throttles the draw no matter what brick you plug in. People buy a fast charger, see it ‘only’ pulling 20-something watts at 80 percent, and assume the charger is defective. It isn’t. That’s normal behavior.
The cable point everyone made is the real one though. A tired or cheap cable will quietly bottleneck a good charger, and that’s probably what killed your setup as much as the brick did. Replace both at once. And skip anything that inflates its wattage in the title but hides the actual PD spec in the fine print, since those numbers are often fiction on the no-name listings.
The store-test idea from @capt_probe is genuinely smart if the port itself might be the problem, but if your old charger just died on its own, that’s a ten minute detour you probably don’t need. Swap the gear and move on.