this post was submitted on 08 Sep 2025
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No seriously, I always get blank stares when I ask people, I've called them wall chargers or power bricks, my friend called them plug chargers, my fiancee calls them dongles. What do you call these around your house, like when you're asking someone if they've seen any (______)'s

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[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)
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[–] FreedomAdvocate 4 points 1 month ago
[–] Tangerine@scribe.disroot.org 4 points 1 month ago

Wall block USB wall block

Most of the time, we just call it block , I’ve never heard of wall wart. Today I learned…

[–] resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Adapters for upgrading your home’s firmware.

USB wall adaptor

[–] papertowels@mander.xyz 4 points 1 month ago

Chargie boys.

The Dingus. Wall wart. And a whole number of colorful names if I step on one with the prongs up, or roll my ankle on one in the dark!

[–] CandleTiger@programming.dev 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

My family calls them charging doots

Edit: or also sometimes “wall-to-usb adapters”

[–] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago
[–] Valmond@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Isn't it a mobile charger?

[–] anothermember@feddit.uk 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'd call them USB adapters; "chargers" is probably slightly more common though never sat right with me since they can be used to power things other than charging.

Or more in the past we would call any kind of power adapters "transformers" but don't seem to hear that much any more.

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Technically they are power supplies.

A transformer can be a power supply, but on it's own it can only transform AC power between two different voltages, so it can only be an AC:AC power supply. The number of windings on one side vs the number on the other, will determine the ratio of your voltage change.

But a pure transformer AC:AC power supply is not particularly efficient. A transformer's power rating is based on the overall number of windings it has, and on the power frequency.

So if you're lowering the voltage, it's more efficient to use mosfets to chop up your voltage at a very high frequency, then run that high frequency voltage through a smaller transformer.

And with DC power supplies, they not only need to lower voltage, but also smooth it out to a single unchanging value, and this results in an even more complex circuit where you first rectify the wave so that it's all on one side, then you chop it at high frequency then transform it, then smooth it out.

So transformers are still involved, but typically they're just one part of a larger whole with these.

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[–] FarrellPerks@feddit.uk 3 points 1 month ago

Plug adapter - UK

[–] FreshParsnip@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago

Plugs?

It appears the manufacturers call them power adapters

[–] Zedd_Prophecy@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

USB chargers

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

In my house, we call them butt plugs.

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[–] quediuspayu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago

Now that you make me think about it I think I've been calling them different names depending on what I intended to use them for, most of the time (I'm translating) I call them phone charger but I also called the power supply or usb power supply when I wanted to power something else.

Never thought about it.

[–] crystalmerchant@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Charger block

[–] 7eter@feddit.org 3 points 1 month ago

USB-Power-Supply

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

USB bricks or USB chargers

[–] hogmomma@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Everything you said was except for dongle. I absolutely would not accept that in my household.

[–] bitwolf@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago

Chakra, Charging brick, power adapter

[–] rcbrk@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 month ago

Switchmode power supply.

[–] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 3 points 1 month ago
[–] grapefruittrouble@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 month ago

cube or charging cube

[–] paranoia@feddit.dk 3 points 1 month ago

Charger or phone charger

[–] pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago
[–] Leonixster@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Squares

The wonders of spanish

[–] Semjaza@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

USB adaptor

If context is unclear might add a "mains" or even "C" in the middle as needed.

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