Why Is My Laptop Battery Not Charging?
Your Laptop battery is not charging? A non-charging laptop can cause many people to panic. A laptop that won’t charge can be troubleshooted at home and the problem can be fixed in a matter of minutes without having to buy a brand new charger or immediately visit a technician.
Laptop Battery Not Charging..Are You Plugged In?
Though it sounds obvious, you should firstly ensure that the AC outlets and laptop plugs are firmly plugged in. Removable plugs in the AC adapter brick should be correctly connected.
Try plugging the power cord into a different outlet. If your charger is connected to a power strip or surge protector, try plugging it directly into the wall.
Check The Battery
Check if your battery is legit or still has a working life. If you have a removable battery, shut the laptop down and take out the battery. Ensure that the laptop charger is also not pluged into the computer. Hold the laptop’s power button for 15 seconds to drain leftover battery power. Plug the power cable in then switch on the laptop again. If it powers on properly, then the issue is most likely a poor battery. Thats why your laptop battery is not charging
If you have a laptop with a built-in laptop, you could remove it yourself or take to a technician to have the battery tested.
Use The Right USB-C Port
USB-C is a popular standard for transferring data and charging your battery.
Sometimes manufacturers create laptops with more than one USB-C port. One of these ports may only be for data transfer and cannot charge your laptop. If your laptop comes with this type of connection and when your laptop battery is not charging, try using a different USB-C port if your laptop has more than one.
Check Your Battery Wattage if Your Laptop Battery is Not Charging
Compare the wattage of the charger that your laptop came with to the wattage of the one you are currently using. A charger with a wattage that’s too low may charge your laptop enough that it doesn’t drain while you use it, but not much higher than that. If it does charge your laptop fully, it will charge much slower than usual.
For laptops that do not use USB-C ports to charge, it is generally safer and more beneficial to stick the manufacturer’s choice of charger. This will resolve the issue of your laptop battery not charging.
Check For Damaged Hardware
Check along the charger power cord for any kinks or broken connections near the ends. Check for any plugs pulling loose or parts that may have been chewed by a pet or caught in a vacuum cleaner.
Check the power connector. If there’s some discoloration, widened or expanded parts or a smell like burnt plastic coming from it, that’s likely where the issue lies. You may have to replace the power connector if you find any defects and your laptop battery is not charging.
Check The Power Jack if Your laptop Battery Is Not Charging
The charger should have a fairly solid connection when plugged into the power jack. To ensure a clean connection, you can try cleaning the power jack with a toothpick and connecting the charger again.
If the power jack is wobbly where it should be firm, then it is likely broken inside the chassis. This will result the laptop battery not charging. If you are not comfortable with doing at home repairs, you will have to take your laptop to a repair shop.
Check For Heat Damage
Often with older laptops that do not have as advanced cooling systems as the modern ones, an overheating battery is the cause of a non-charging problem. If your battery is overheating the battery sensor may sense that the laptop is fully charged, or even missing. The system may even shut down to prevent overheating a battery and causing a fire.
This problem can be caused by blocked vents or using your laptop on soft surfaces such as a bed or couch. Allow the system time to cool down by switching it off, then check the vents for ay built-up debris that could be blocking the vents. Causing the laptop battery not charging.
Check Your Settings
It is import to be aware of your laptop’s battery, display and sleep settings. Your battery settings could cause issues if your laptop is set to shut down once the baterry level gets too low or if the low battery level is set at too high percentage (For example, your laptop may consider 50% as a low battery level and shut down.)
When your lid is closed, you can also assign actions such as sleep or shut down. These settings can make it easy to assume there is a power malfunction even when the issue may not lie with the power cable or the charger.
To Check Settings on Windows 10:
- Open Start Menu and search Power & Sleep Settings
- Click Additional power settings link
- Click Change Plan Settings
- Visually check that everything is correctly set
Mac users can open System Preferences and go to Energy Saver before reviewing your settings. These settings could help you resolve the laptop battery is not charging issue.
Update Drivers
On Windows 10 click on the Windows icon search Device Manager. There should be a list of options under Batteries. Right-click on all of them and select update driver. Once all of the drivers are updated, reboot the laptop and plug it in again.
If this doesn’t fix the laptop battery is not charging issue, you’ll want to download the latest driver from the laptop’s manufacturer’s website.
On Macs, you will have to reset the Systems Management Control. To do this, shut down power, remove the battery, disconnect power and press the power button for 5 seconds. Reinsert the battery, reconnect power and switch on the laptop.
If you have a newer Mac with a sealed in battery, shut down the laptop with the power adapter still connected. Press and hold the power button while holding the Shift + Control + Options keys on the lefthand side of the keyboard. Simultaneously release the keys and the power button before powering on the laptop.
Replace Cord and Battery
If none of the above tricks work, you may have to consider getting new power cord or battery. Your best bet would be to get a new power adapter or battery directly form the manufacturer however if you’d rather get new parts somewhere else, ensure that the hardware is legit.
Visit a Technician
If all other options are exhausted, the problem is likely inside the device. At this point, the best option would be to take it to a technician.
The most common parts that could malfunction are the motherboard, charging circuits and battery sensors.
You could contact your manufacturer to see what repairs are covered under your warranty or contact a local computer repair shop.
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