Learn how to optimize battery life, troubleshoot battery problems, run laptop battery diagnostics, and find answers to some of the frequently asked questions about batteries in Dell laptops.
The laptop battery or charger is used to provide power for the laptop. Lithium-ion batteries are most commonly used in laptops and other digital devices. Dell laptop batteries are specifically designed for a specific Dell laptop model. Power problems on laptops are usually mixed, as a laptop has two power sources: a power adapter (charger) and a battery. The laptop battery supplies power to the laptop when the power adapter is not connected to the computer.
If you experience any of the following symptoms, follow the troubleshooting steps below to ensure that the power adapter and battery are working properly.
Battery... If there are the following battery related symptoms:
- The battery does not hold a charge.
- The battery light is off or flashing continuously.
- The battery is not recognized by the computer.
- The battery has stopped at a certain percentage.
Power adapter... If there are the following symptoms related to the power adapter:
- The power adapter cannot charge the battery.
- The power adapter is not supplying power to the laptop, and the lights are off.
- The power adapter light is off.
- Error message - Unable to determine the type of power adapter. In this case, the system will operate at reduced performance.
Expand the sections below for more detailed instructions for each troubleshooting step.
Expand all required sections before printing this document.
Battery Troubleshooting
Expand the sections below for more information on how to troubleshoot battery problems on Dell laptops.
To ensure that your Dell battery is charging properly, the power adapter must be working properly. Make sure the power adapter is correctly recognized by the computer.
To make sure that the computer correctly recognizes the power adapter, follow these steps:
- Restart your computer.
- When the Dell logo appears on the screen, press F2until “Entering Setup” appears.
- Check Power adapter type in BIOS settings.
- If the power adapter type is set to None, make sure the power adapter is connected to your PC.
- If the power adapter type is "Unknown", proceed. If the power adapter type is recognized correctly, proceed to the next step.
There are several operating system settings (such as power management options, device drivers, etc.) that can affect battery performance. Charging the laptop battery outside of the operating system will help isolate the hardware problem.
- Shut down your Dell computer.
- Try one of the following combinations of actions:
- While the computer is turned off, charge the battery for a while.
- Another way: restart your computer and press the key F2to enter BIOS or System Setup. Charge the battery in BIOS mode.
- Check if the battery charge level has increased.
- Restart your computer and proceed to the next step.
Performing diagnostic testing on the hardware can help determine what the problem is and provide actions to help resolve the problem. Dell offers built-in and online diagnostics. It is important to run a hardware test on the PC and / or battery to determine which device is causing the problem.
To perform an online battery hardware test visit.
To run the Dell ePSA built-in hardware diagnostics:
- Turn on the computer and press the key F12 .
- Choose from the menu Diagnostics.
Note.
- If diagnostic reports indicate a problem, the meaning of the code and any additional troubleshooting steps can be found in the section.
- If the diagnostic system does not report any problems, it means that no hardware problems were found. This most likely indicates a problem with the operating system on your computer.
Note. To perform an online diagnostic test on your PC hardware, you must download and install the Dell SupportAssist application.
For more information on running hardware diagnostics on a Dell computer, refer to Dell Knowledge Base article.
If the Dell ePSA or Online Diagnostic Hardware Test passes, go to next step.
If the Dell ePSA or Online Diagnostic Hardware Test fails, contact.
Checking the battery capacity of your laptop will help determine if the battery is working normally or if it needs to be replaced. The battery capacity can be checked both within and outside the operating system.
Notes.
- Battery capacity (or battery life) is the amount of time the computer can operate on a fully charged battery. It is natural for all types of batteries to have a slight decrease in battery life over time. Each time the battery is charged or discharged, it loses very little of its capacity. This is considered a normal characteristic of a rechargeable battery and not a malfunction covered by the warranty.
- Please refer to Dell Knowledge Base article for more information. See What Are the Best Practices for Handling Worn, Swollen Batteries and Replacing the Battery on a Dell Laptop?
If the battery capacity is normal, go to next step.
BIOS is firmware that is embedded on the system board of a computer. Updating the BIOS to the latest version can help the PC recognize the power adapter. To update the BIOS to the latest version, the laptop must be running on AC adapter and battery.
Warning. Before updating the BIOS on a Dell laptop, you must install the battery and connect the laptop to AC power. Some Dell laptops can only update the BIOS when the battery has at least 10% charge.
If the type of power adapter is not recognized by the computer, refer to Dell Knowledge Base article. Please read the disclaimer below before forcing a BIOS update.
Attention! If the battery has less than 10% charge, you might need to force a BIOS update from a DOS environment. Failure during this procedure can render the system unusable. Users perform this procedure at their own risk. Dell is not responsible for any loss, including but not limited to loss of data, profits or income, that customers may incur by following the procedures or advice in this article.
For more information, see the following article:
Dell QuickSet
Quickset is a collection of software applications that provide advanced functionality to your Dell computer. Dell QuickSet Utility provides easy access to configure power management settings, battery status indicator and other features on most Dell computers. It provides easy access to a number of functions that usually require several steps. Some of the features that can be accessed through Dell Quickset are listed below:
- disabling and enabling battery charging;
- changing the behavior of the Fn key;
- configure a keyboard shortcut for a wireless network.
Installing or updating the Dell Quickset app can help resolve battery charging issues. To download and install the Dell Quickset application, visit the Dell website. Dell Quickset is located under the category Applications.
Note. Dell Quickset is offered and supported on select Dell PC models only.
You can run the hardware and devices troubleshooter built into Microsoft Windows. The Hardware and Device Troubleshooter is only available on Microsoft Windows 7, Windows 8 / 8.1, and Windows 10.
To run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter, follow these steps:
- Press the key Windows + R on keyboard.
- Control and press the key Enter on keyboard.
- In the upper right corner in the box search on the control panel enter Troubleshooter and press Troubleshooting.
- In section system and safety press the button Nutrition.
Note... You will need to log on to Windows with an administrator account. If the User Account Control window prompts when you run the Hardware and Device Troubleshooter, click Yes.
If Microsoft Fix-It or Windows Troubleshooter doesn't fix the problem, go to next step.
- Press the key Windows + R on keyboard.
- In the Run dialog box, enter devmgmt.msc and press the key Enter on keyboard.
- IN Device manager click > or + next to Batteries.
- Right-click Microsoft ACPI Compliant Battery, and then click Delete.
- Click the button OK to confirm the removal of the driver.
- Restart your computer.
The Dell Product Bulletin website can help you check if your battery model is included. Verify the specific battery PPID (Dell OEM Part ID) is included in the software. This step is required to determine if your battery is included in the program. If the battery is included in the recall program, a replacement order form will automatically open.
You will need your Service Codes and / or PPIDs for this procedure. You may also be asked to provide contact information and address for delivery or service.
- Visit the Dell Product Bulletin website.
- Click the button Search.
- Enter Battery PPID (cm. Figure: 1), then enter security code.
- Click the button Furtherto check if the battery is covered by the replacement program.
If so, you will be prompted for contact information.
My Laptop Battery is Plugged In, But Not Charging (The battery on my laptop is plugged in but not charging) - (01:46)
Even on new netbooks and laptops from Dell, MSI, Toshiba, Samsung, Asus, Aser, HP, Lenovo, etc., more often with Windows 7 and Windows 8 there is a problem with the battery charge indication. This problem is most often solved very quickly, without third-party intervention, whether it be a service center or a local kulibin with a soldering iron. Usually a message appears in the tray, “available, not charging” on the battery charge icon “available, not charging” and any% available charge.
It is solved as follows:
Method 1.
- Start -\u003e shutdown
- Disconnecting the laptop power cord
- Remove the battery carefully
- Press the power button and hold it down for twenty seconds (this procedure without a battery in a netbook / laptop)
- Take your finger off the power button)
- Put the battery back
- Turn on your laptop
- After loading the operating system, look at the battery charge icon, if the charge is low, connect the power cord.
Method 2.
- Disable PSU
- Turn off laptop
- Pull out the battery
- Connect PSU
- Turn on laptop
- Go to the Device Manager, Batteries section and delete from there "Battery with ACPI-compliant management (Microsoft)". If there are several of them (although usually one), then delete all.
- Turn off laptop
- Disable PSU
- Insert battery
- Connect PSU
- Turn on laptop
Method 3.
The power management utility from the laptop manufacturer interferes with normal battery charging. In particular, Lenovo G 570 just yesterday from the store, I draw your attention to 50%, etc. not charging. Among the pre-installed software there is a manager that rules the battery modes. There are two main modes: 1 - "Optimal battery life" and 2 - "Best battery life".
Mode No. 2 does not allow the battery to charge, we switch to the first, and immediately the icon began to move, - the charge went. In XP, such managers have probably not been written yet. And if they did, they gave it separately on disks. This is not even a conflict, but a misunderstanding ...
I hope the problem is resolved. And do not forget to remove the power cord when the battery is fully charged, at least sometimes, so the battery will last longer.
If the problem persists, download the Bios update from the manufacturer's website.
Author Dmitry Stepanov asked a question in the section Software
QUESTION. Battery with Microsoft ACPI Compliant Control. and got the best answer
Answer from Andrey Blagov [expert]
you do not need to disconnect, in principle it is not necessary to put firewood, but you need to look.
best of all in the device manager look at the properties of the device and on the information tab copy the device code and enter it in the search engine on the devid.info website and there you will find a driver for it
Answer from Evgeny Zarudny[newbie]
Microsoft ACPI Compliant Battery
This driver is responsible for operating the laptop on battery power. If the battery controller tells this driver that the battery is running out, the system will warn you about this and offer to connect the charger. If you do not have time to use the charger, the computer will go into hibernation mode, that is, the next time you turn on the computer, continue to work from the same place as before entering hibernation mode.
Well, if this driver is disabled, then the battery will not be managed.
In my case, the battery controller glitched and my laptop began to run on battery for 10-15 minutes, I disabled the "Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Battery" driver in the device manager, now the computer runs for about 2 hours. The only drawback is if the battery runs out, then the computer is cut down and all the data with which I worked is lost.
Windows 10 is a fairly feature-rich operating system. However, some users have experienced various issues after upgrading to Windows 10. If you don't see the battery icon in the taskbar after upgrading, it's easy to fix.
Battery icon is missing from the taskbar
Before proceeding with the steps described in this article, you should know that this only applies to laptops with Windows 10 Anniversary Update.
Open up Windows settings10. Just click Win + I to open them. In Options go Personalization → Taskbar.
In section Notification Areaclick on the link Turning system icons on and off.
In the window that opens, find Nutritionand move the slider to position On
If you are unable to do this and the power button is inactive, then do the following.
If the Power button is inactive.
Open up Device Manager... You can click Win + Xand click on device Manager... After opening it, you will see this window:
Windows Device Manager
In section Batteries... You can find two different Devices.
- AC adapter (Microsoft)
- ACPI Compliant Battery (Microsoft)
Right-click on both in turn, and select Disable device(Disable ) ... Now, right click on them again and select Enable device(Include ) .
Having done this, restart your computerand check.
You should get a battery icon or power icon on your taskbar.
