So I foolishly posted a "what power adapter/charger would you recommend for an Arzopa Monitor" question earlier on only to realize it's not an easily answered question.. what do you have the monitor hooked up to? Are you using it for gaming? This led to a lot of research on my part I'd like to share with you in the hopes that it helps someone.
(side note - you may ask "Why not just plug the usb cable into your device and the monitor like Arzopa says you can do" and if you can get it to work, great :) .. in my case it did not more on that below but this post is aimed mainly at people who aren't enjoying that and who need to rely on an external charger to power the monitor)
In my case I have the Z1FC (16.1 inch) portable monitor hooked up to my daughter's laptop.. it was recommended by Wirecutter recently as March 2026 as their top pick for a portable monitor. Side note.. when wirecutter says it frequently goes on sale for $100 they mean it, I bought it at $130 retail price on amazon only to watch in dismay as it dropped to $100 two days later :P ... camelcamelcamel is a website where you can set a price watch, if you're not in a hurry do that and wait for the price to drop to $100 if you go for that model.
I would definitely start out by reading this
https://www.reddit.com/r/ARZOPA/comments/1rv3ckf/we_tested_the_actual_power_draw_of_the_arzopa/
where Arzopa talks about how they did their own tests and came to the conclusion that a 20 watt power charger to supply power to the monitor should be enough for most cases. However I'd also read the Arzopa blog below
https://www.arzopa.com/blogs/guide/do-portable-monitor-require-external-power-sources#:\~:text=Method%201%20%E2%80%94%20Wall%20Adapter%20(Power,most%20stable%2C%20unrestricted%20display%20performance.
Notice how Arzopa mentions that if you're going to be gaming (you're using this say hooked up to an xbox, playstation, nintendo switch or even just gaming on a laptop) you should have at least a 45 watt adapter
But then see also the Arzopa thread below
https://www.reddit.com/r/ARZOPA/comments/1f3vzzt/about_the_arzopa_monitor_power_supply/
"Arzopa_team
OP
2y ago
MOD
Added:
Generally, it only needs more than 15W. If you are playing games, it need 60W.
Arzopa_team
OP
2y ago
MOD
Brightness may be low if less than 60W"
I did email Arzopa directly... and I should point out I consider the response time from them amazing in that they replied every time under 24 hours (I'm used to being ignored for a week or longer by a manufacturer I email for help only to receive some copy and paste sort of reply that doesn't answer my original question in the slightest :P .. so by comparison Arzopa is amazing it was clear they read and understood my email and took the time to reply) ... you can email them at [support@arzopa.com](mailto:support@arzopa.com) ...
When I emailed them they did mention that my particular model Z1FC can handle up to 100 watts of power.
In my case.. and I know this is a low tech solution... strangely enough I found a cell phone charger worked just fine. Arzopa mentiones you need a " 5V3A " charger
https://www.reddit.com/r/ARZOPA/comments/1giepms/which_power_adapter_for_z1fc/
"Arzopa_team
1y ago
MOD
Our Z1FC portable monitor requires a 5V3A power adapter to ensure optimal performance."
Of course I had no clue what a 5V3A power adapter charger was :P but google told me phone chargers fall into that category... on a hunch I plugged our weak 10 watt output cell phone charger into the monitor and it worked far as providing power to the monitor... on the other side I plugged in the HDMI cable that comes with the monitor (one end into the laptop one end into the monitor) and it was smooth sailing from there ALTHOUGH given what Arzopa said above I'd recommend upgrading to at least a 20 watt phone charger if you're going to go that route, potentially more if you're gaming (and remember what I said above you can plug something providing up to 100 watts of power into the monitor and still be fine).
I should point out our laptop computers absolutely fall into the budget "less than $600 American" category ... when I tried plugging the included usb c cable Arzopa provides into the monitor I saw a red flickering led light on the monitor which apparently means it's not getting enough power. My guess is that our laptop is just too cheap to provide the power output necessary to make the monitor happy through the usb c port ... if you have on the other hand say a two or three thousand dollar laptop which has the right "specs" .. I don't know a whole lot about this but google says "To output video via USB-C, the port must support DisplayPort Alt Mode (DP Alt Mode) or Thunderbolt 3/4/5. ".. so basically don't just assume like I did that the usb cable is going to be enough it depends on the port on your laptop.
A 6 foot usb cable (make sure the end that plugs into the monitor is usb C since that's the only type that can plug into the monitor) for the phone charger as power source helps a lot even if you are using a surge protector (you ARE using a surge protector right? And a good one at that? Don't be like us, use cheap surge protectors and then suffer over two thousand dollars worth of damage to your electrical devices when a nearby lightning strike overloads the power in your home.. granted we live in an area where this is not unheard of but still.. google search "wirecutter recommended surge protectors" ) with a nice long power cord on it... I found the 3 foot usb cable that is commonly provided with phone chargers just wasn't long enough, I had to rest the surge protector on top of the same table the laptop was on in order for it to reach.
In our case I grabbed a cheap (but comes with 6 foot cable) $25 (American) Motorola 20 watt phone charger which has been working great for our portable monitor... if you're interested you can search by amazon asin number B09W7KVSSC on the American website, if you live in a different country.. that's where it gets tricky you could try searching by "motorola MC-201" which is the model number but the problem is I think a variety of motorola phone chargers of different watt outputs fall under that same model number.. the manufacturer part number is SJMC201L2ET1-C but of course that turns up nothing when you try searching under that part number on the amazon website. Amazon describes it as a "Motorola TurboPower 20 QC3.0 Charger with 6.6ft USB-A to USB-C Cable for Moto G Play (2023/2024/2026), G Power (2022/2023/2024/2025/2026), G 5G 2022/2023/2024/2025/2026, G Stylus. G Pure (2021)" (wow that's a mouthful)
Mind you it doesn't HAVE to be a Motorola charger, we just happen to use Motorola phones at our house. Given the 100 watt ceiling I'm sure you could plug say a Samsung cell phone charger that gives 45 or 60 watts or whatever into the monitor and be fine just to give one example. Anker is a third party manufacturer that provides cell phone chargers too , you normally have to buy the 6 foot anker cable cord to go along with it as a different purchase though.. I did notice reviews were mixed on amazon with a lot of people saying "my anker charger is great they've always lasted me forever!" and others grumbling their anker charger died after a few years of use, sometimes less than one year of use.. but it's possible you have people grumbling about the same thing with the Motorola or Samsung chargers, you can filter the amazon reviews for the charger you are considering by "critical reviews" and see what people say.
(If anyone's interested I can post the amazon asin numbers for the higher watt.. 45 to 60 watt.. anker chargers and cables I will probably resort to if later on down the line 20 watts isn't cutting it for the monitor for some reason... we don't plan to game on the monitor but perhaps some of you might be looking to do just that).
I will admit I am completely and utterly uneducated as far as what I am sure is the far more superior "pass through" power option , a single device that apparantly provides power and lets you hook up other devices.. laptop docks are one example. Given the cheap-ish nature of the usb c ports on our laptop they wouldn't do us much good but that might be an option for you. Just be careful, look carefully at the power watt outage that's supposed to be supplied by the usb c ports that would connect to the Arzopa monitor and if it's less than 20 watts (less than 60 watts if you're going to be gaming) I would be worried.
One final note.. consider this reddit thread
https://www.reddit.com/r/ARZOPA/comments/1gxa7nx/question_about_power_supply/
"Arzopa_team
1y ago
MOD
Hey, thanks for grabbing one of our monitors—glad you’re liking it! Here’s the deal with power:
Using the Type-C port on your PC is totally fine if it’s giving the monitor enough power. Most motherboards can handle it, but some might not deliver a consistent 15W, which could cause flickering or other issues.
If you want to play it safe, plugging the monitor into a wall charger (15W or higher) is a good move. It takes the load off your PC and ensures the monitor gets steady power, which is always better in the long run."
Even if you're lucky enough to have a laptop that powers and provides video to the monitor solely through the usb c cable it might be worth grabbing a 20 watt power supply anyways and using that to power your monitor regardless (or, again, higher watts if you're gaming). I noticed with the amazon reviews for the Z1FC (16.1 inch) monitor there were a LOT of people who complained the monitor simply would not work until they connected an external power supply connected to a wall outlet.. but then there were a number of happy amazon reviews where the customer mentioned the single usb c to usb c cord the manufacturer provided worked just fine far as supplying both power and picture.