[Request] Sleep-and-charge ports

[maltfield]

The problem you're addressing (if any)

This ticket is a feature request to add Sleep-and-charge ports to NovaCustom laptops, which requires this feature to be added to Dasharo upstream.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_hardware#Sleep-and-charge_ports

Describe the solution you'd like

I should be able to charge my phone via the USB port on my NovaCusotom laptop when the NovaCustom laptop is completely shut down.

Where is the value to a user, and who might that user be?

Sleep-and-charge ports are a common feature in many laptop brands. This effectively makes the laptop’s huge battery a mobile charger – which is a very important feature for backpackers (and us digital nomads).

Laptops with this feature usually have a lightening bolt icon (a distinct icon from thunderbolt’s icon) next to their sleep-and-charge usb port or differentiate it by color.

• https://old.reddit.com/r/YouShouldKnow/comments/abkdyk/ysk_theres_a_usb_port_on_most_laptops_that_will/

Note that this feature goes by many names. Asus calls it “Charger Plus” or “Charger +”. Dell calls it “PowerShare”. Toshiba calls it “USB Sleep-and-Charge”. Acer and Packard call it “Power-off USB”. Lenovo calls it “always-on USB charging”.

This is important for digital nomads who can go many days without access to power. It allows us to charge our phones in our tent at night (eg when bikepacking) from our laptop for as many nights as possible (usually 3-10+ days of recharging, depending on the size of the phone and laptop's battery).

Describe alternatives you've considered

You can charge when the laptop is asleep, but that dramatically decreases the number of possible phone recharges because the laptop will actively require energy itself to maintain the sleep state (not to mention the time/drain required to boot the machine and put it to sleep, which is non-negligible on a system like Qubes).

Additional context

See also this discussion on the NovaCustom forums:

• https://novacustom.com/forum/d/297-usb-sleep-and-charge-ports

[wessel-novacustom]

@macpijan I believe the proprietary firmware already has such a feature? We should consider this for the next big firmware update for Q1/Q2-2025.

[mkopec]

Currently we shut down all power planes when the laptop is powered off and charger is not connected. We can change it to keep power to USB on, that would probably cause some battery life penalty so ideally it should be an option in the setup menu

[wessel-novacustom]

[ ... ] so ideally it should be an option in the setup menu

Correct!

[maltfield]

that would probably cause some battery life penalty so ideally it should be an option in the setup menu

I would really appreciate it if you would test this so we had some idea of what real-life drain enabling this feature would-be.

I'm curious, for example, if it would be more or less drain for either to:

1. leave this new option enabled for 24 hours or
2. at night, quickly boot the laptop to enable this option, then immediately shutdown + in the morning, quickly boot the laptop to disable this option, then immediately shut down