The panic of running to plug your laptop in before you lose all your work is a dash that’s familiar to most of us. If your laptop isn’t charging, it’s a problem that needs urgent attention — essentially you’ll only have a few hours to sort it out before you’re left with an unusable device!
Assuming you’ve checked that the cord is plugged in properly, both at the wall AND the laptop port (and believe us, a lot of people have been caught out with this!) there are a few reasons why your laptop may not be charging.
Let’s talk about what the problems could be and from there run through some possible solutions.
Why is my laptop not charging?
There are many possible reasons why your laptop isn’t charging even when plugged in. Here are a few of the more common ones.
- If your laptop is plugged in but not charging, it’s possible that your battery is just getting old! Just like a car battery that will eventually wear out, if you’ve taken great care of your laptop, there’s a chance it will outlive your battery and need replacing.
- Check that your power pack hasn’t been damaged in some way. Is the jack staying in the port properly or is it loose? Is the cord damaged? It could also be that your charger port or cable has dust or dirt in it, preventing it from properly connecting and charging.
- Maybe your laptop is overheating? As the temperature rises it’s possible that your battery sensor will misfire and tell your laptop that it’s already fully charged. Or it may even cut off the power intentionally to avoid a fire. You’ll be able to tell your computer is too hot in a few ways. If it’s too hot to touch, then that’s definitely a red flag, but the fan in the laptop might also sound really noisy like it’s working overtime to expel heat. This often happens if you sit with it in bed or on the couch with a blanket, as it can block the vents, so be mindful of that.
- Check that you’re using a proper quality charger (preferably from the manufacturer directly). If you’re using a cheap knockoff, there’s a good chance it is low-wattage or just generally bad quality.
- If it’s something more serious to do with the hardware, like a blown fuse or faulty battery sensor, you may need to call in a professional to repair it (but more on that later).
Quick fixes to try
Test the power outlet
It might sound obvious, but it’s possible that your power outlet is the problem, not your laptop. So, try plugging your laptop into a different power outlet. You’ll be kicking yourself if it’s something as simple as that that’s the issue — but what a great quick fix if it works!
Replace the battery
If you think your battery may have come to the end of its life, you may want to look at replacing your battery pack, as this is normally a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a brand-new laptop.
Check the power settings
If neither of these quick fixes do the trick, it’s worth considering that it might not be an issue with the battery pack, but the laptop itself. It’s possible that somehow your power settings have changed and that is what’s causing the issue.
If you’re a PC user, go to the Start menu and search for ‘Power & Sleep Settings’. Then click ‘Additional Power Settings’, then ‘Change Plan Settings’ to check that nothing looks amiss. You can normally see what level your ‘low battery percentage’ is set at, so make sure this isn’t unreasonably high. If you’re not confident you know what is going on with the settings, the smartest thing to do is click on the option to restore the power profile to default settings — that way you can be sure nothing strange has somehow been activated.
If you’re a Mac user, head on over to ‘System Preferences’, then click ‘Energy Saver’. You can adjust the amount of time until your computer goes to sleep by adjusting the slider. If it’s a really short amount of time, that could be the issue. Same as with the PC, if you’re unsure, just revert back to the laptop’s default settings and see if that does the trick.
Call in the experts
If you’re not sure what might be causing your battery-life issues, or you have a crack at fixing the laptop yourself to no avail, we might be able to help! Booking a consultation with Geeks2U is always an option and our Geeks are available to provide onsite or over-the-phone support seven days a week.
Contact Geeks2U today on 1300 323 196 or via our website.
