what to do when laptop cord doesnt work

How many times has this happened to you? Y'all're minding your own business on your laptop, then suddenly the computer informs you the battery is nearly dead. You then have to blitz to detect your charger and plug it in before everything goes dark.

One time the power is connected, y'all should be skillful to become, but sometimes you plug in the AC adapter, and you get zippo. No glowing lights, no brightened display, and no "battery charging" icon in the corner. What could be wrong?

There are numerous ways to take care of your battery, simply between the wall outlet and your estimator at that place are several things that can neglect. Some are easy to set up yourself with a software tweak or a new bombardment, only other problems may crave a visit to a repair shop, or even a full-blown organisation replacement.

Knowing which is which can save you hours of frustration and hundreds of dollars in repairs. By taking an inside-out arroyo, yous tin quickly narrow downward where the trouble originates and find the most economic solution. Here's how to troubleshoot the issue.

Our Top-Rated Windows Laptops

Are You Plugged In?

(Photograph: Danicek/Shutterstock)

It sounds silly, merely you need to make sure the laptop is actually plugged in. This is a major reason a calculator may not even offset. No software tweak or hardware repair tin make a asunder laptop magically power on. So earlier y'all practise anything else, ensure that the Ac outlet and laptop plugs are firmly seated.

Check the Air conditioning adapter brick and verify that whatsoever removable cords are fully inserted. Next, make sure the battery is properly seated in its compartment, and that there is nothing incorrect with either the battery or laptop contact points.

Finally, observe out whether or not the problem fifty-fifty has anything to do with the laptop at all. Try plugging the power cord into a different outlet to meet if you've got a curt or a blown fuse. If it'south plugged into a surge protector or power strip, take it out and plug it directly into the wall.

At this point, if it notwithstanding doesn't piece of work, we've adamant that information technology's non just user error causing the problem. There is a real issue with powering the laptop; now it's simply a matter of figuring out where the problem may be. That begins with eliminating where information technology isn't. We'll start with the most common and easy-to-accost issues.

Lose the Battery

(Photo: Zlata Ivleva)

First, check the integrity of the battery. If your laptop comes with a removable bombardment, have it out, and hold the ability button down for almost 15 seconds to drain any residuum power from the device. Then, with the bombardment still removed, plug in the power cablevision and turn the laptop on.

If the laptop powers on properly, that ways the power adapter is working properly and the problem is likely a bum bombardment. You can always re-install the battery and try again—peradventure the battery was simply poorly seated.

If your laptop doesn't have a visible battery compartment on the bottom, it may be congenital into the laptop (similar most Macs are), and you'll either have to open it up yourself or take it to a repair specialist to test the battery.

Make Certain You're Using the Right USB-C Port

(Photo: Zlata Ivleva)

USB-C is a pop cross-platform standard for connecting peripherals, transferring information, and charging your bombardment. The new standard allows for thinner devices, but might likewise cause some confusion. Some manufacturers have opted to make certain USB-C ports data-only, so they won't charge your device.

In some cases, you may notice a device with two USB-C ports: one that tin be used for charging or data transfer, and one that is merely designated for data transfer. If you come across a non-charging issue, brand sure you are connected to the correct USB-C port. You may even be able to see a little icon on the side that indicates which port is meant for charging.

Is Your Charger Powerful Enough?

Similarly, just because a ability adapter fits into your laptop'south charging port doesn't mean it'southward powerful enough to charge your computer. This goes for any type of charger, only it'south an especially common problem with laptops that charge over USB-C—you tin technically plug in whatsoever USB-PD charger, but some may accept too low a wattage to properly accuse.

Check the wattage of the charger that came with your laptop—if it came with a 45W charger, you'll probably desire to stick with a 45W charger (or college) to power it, and and then on. A lower-wattage charger might keep the battery from draining while you use it, simply it won't exist plenty to charge it any college. If it does manage to recharge your computer, information technology volition do so much slower than usual. If you're going to use a third-political party USB-C charger, endeavor to use i that'due south been certified by the USB-IF.

For laptops that don't charge over USB-C, I generally recommend sticking with the manufacturer'southward official charger. Cheap, no-brand chargers can be low quality or even unsafe, then if y'all have one of those, try charging with the laptop's official charger instead.

Breaks, Burnouts, and Shorts

(Photo: Aleksandrs Muiznieks/Shutterstock)

Feel along the length of the power cord, bending and flexing as you become, to check for any kinks or breaks. Check the ends for any broken connections, such as plugs pulling loose or spots that may have gotten chewed past a pet or defenseless in a vacuum cleaner.

Inspect the Air-conditioning brick. Is it discolored? Are any parts warped or expanded? Give it a sniff—if information technology smells similar burnt plastic, that'south likely where the trouble lies. Y'all may need to replace the power connector. Contact the manufacturer and see if they'll send yous a new i under warranty. (Or, barring that, if they'll sell you lot one directly.)

Check the Connector

(Photograph: Arsa Ingin Moksa/Shutterstock)

When y'all plug in the laptop's power connector, the connection should be fairly solid. If there's dust or other buildup inside the jack, it may not be able to make a clean connection. Attempt cleaning out the jack with a toothpick, and plugging in again.

In more extreme cases, you lot may find the jack is wobbly or loose, or gives when it should stay firm. This could hateful the ability jack has broken inside the chassis, and yous'll demand to accept your calculator to a repair shop (or, if you're comfortable opening it upwardly, doing some at-home repairs).

Beat the Heat

(Photo: Iammotos/Shutterstock)

Batteries are susceptible to oestrus, and then if your laptop is overheating, that could cause a problem. As the temperature rises, the battery sensor may misfire, telling the system that the battery is either fully charged or missing completely, causing the charging problems. Y'all may even find that your system shuts downwardly to forestall overheating a bombardment and causing a burn.

These problems become far more likely when dealing with older laptops, which have lower-quality cooling than more modern devices—or if you tend to utilize the laptop on the couch or in bed, which can cake the cooling vents. Plow the organisation off, requite it some fourth dimension to cool downward, and take a moment to make sure the air vents are free of grit and unobstructed by blankets.

Cheque Your Settings in Windows or macOS

In Windows x, open the Start menu and search for "Power & Sleep Settings," so click the Boosted power settings link. (On older versions of Windows, open the Control Panel and search for "Power Options.") Click Alter Program Settings and visually check that all are properly fix.

Be on the scout for incorrect settings for the battery, display, and sleep options. For example, your bombardment settings may crusade trouble if you ready the computer to close downwardly when the battery level drops besides low or set the depression battery level at too high a percentage.

You lot tin also assign actions similar sleep and shut down when your hat is closed or the power button is pressed. If these settings have been changed, it'southward easy to suspect a ability malfunction even though there'southward no physical problem with the battery or charging cable. The easiest style to make sure that your settings aren't causing problems is to restore the ability profile to default settings.

Mac users can open up Organization Preferences > Energy Saver, then review your preferences. Mac settings are adjusted with a slider, letting you select the amount of fourth dimension the computer can sit idle until it goes to sleep. If the interval is too curt, you might doubtable bombardment bug when settings are the truthful culprit.

Don't forget to check these settings for both battery ability and wall power. You may desire to revert back to the default settings to run into if a alter in settings is causing the problem.

Update Your Drivers

Open up the Start menu and search for "Device Manager." Under Batteries, you lot should encounter a few items: usually one for the charger and one listed equally Microsoft ACPI Compliant Control Method Battery, though there may exist others. Correct-click each item and choose Update Driver.

One time the drivers are all upwards to date, reboot the laptop and plug information technology in again. If this doesn't resolve the problem, you may want to download the latest drivers from the manufacturer'south website. Y'all tin also endeavor uninstalling Microsoft ACPI Compliant Control Method Battery completely and rebooting, which should prompt Windows to reinstall the commuter from scratch.

On a Mac, you lot'll need to try resetting the System Management Controller (SMC). For laptops with removable batteries, this is as simple equally shutting downwards power, removing the bombardment, disconnecting power, and pressing the power button for 5 seconds. Reinsert the battery, connect power, and burn upwardly the laptop.

For newer Macs with batteries sealed into the chassis, shut down the computer only leave the power adapter connected. With the power off, press and concur the power button while pressing Shift + Control + Selection on the left-hand side of the keyboard. Release the keys and power push button simultaneously, and then attempt to power on the laptop.

Swap Out the String and Battery

(Photograph: Damrong Rattanapong/Shutterstock)

If the above software tricks don't work, and you lot aren't able to fix the trouble with the parts you have on mitt, you may have to purchase a new bombardment or power adapter (which ane will depend on what you were able to narrow down with the higher up troubleshooting steps).

You may be able to find a replacement power cablevision or bombardment on Amazon, merely over again, make certain it's a legitimate part from the original manufacturer. Using third-political party replacements for the real thing is never recommended, especially when it comes to power.

Your best bet is to contact the manufacturer directly and order a replacement part, if you lot can. It will exist a trivial more than expensive, but you'll know you're getting a quality component.

Problems Inside

(Photo: Mike_shots/Shutterstock)

When all of your options are exhausted—yous've tried other power cables and batteries, checked and rechecked your settings, stock-still whatsoever potential software issues—the problem is likely found inside the machine. This is probably a good time to contact tech support.

Several internal parts tin cause bug when they malfunction or neglect. Mutual culprits include a faulty motherboard, damaged charging circuits, and malfunctioning battery sensors. Your particular make and model of laptop volition probable have its own unique issues, and a seasoned tech support operator will take seen all of them.

The person y'all talk to will likely walk you lot through many of the steps outlined higher up, but will also be enlightened of software and hardware issues specific to your configuration, such equally what $.25 of hardware unremarkably fail.

Similar a sick person consulting a doc, internal problems require a specialist. Contact your manufacturer near what repair options are covered under your warranty, or call up a local estimator repair store.

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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/what-to-do-if-your-laptop-is-plugged-in-but-not-charging