If you pull out your Dell laptop at your local coffee shop and press the power button, you expect the screen to light up and to see a login screen. But what if nothing happens because of a dead battery? Thankfully, you may have a cord with you. But when you plug in the cord, the battery either isn't being detected or is simply plugged in but not charging. Is there an alternative to a new battery?
but the battery isn't that old or is brand new
What if you have a battery that isn't that old, worked perfectly fine yesterday, or is brand new? This might confuse you a bit. It did for us! We broke down and bought a new battery only to find out that the new battery didn't work, either. But the batteries worked in other laptops. To further complicate matters, the laptop's battery light was blinking, which we learned is an error code [number of flashes equaled a code number] but there was no information anywhere as to what the error code meant. Dell's technical support team also had no idea what the code meant.
It's Just a 'Temporary Battery Failure'
Dell's technical support personnel may tell you that the problem is a 'temporary battery failure' with no further explanation and that you will need to purchase a new battery for your system. You trust that Dell support representatives know what they are talking about, so you break down and purchase a new battery. But you may purchase a new battery and find that it exhibits the same exact symptoms as the "failed" battery. How can a brand new battery not work? The temporary failure simply means that the laptop temporarily can't communicate with the battery.
Laptop: I Can't Find You!
The problem with many Dell batteries relates to the laptop's failure to detect a microchip located inside the battery assembly. This microchip is responsible for saying, "Hey! I'm a genuine Dell battery. It's safe to charge me now." If the laptop does not detect this microchip, the battery may charge slowly, may not charge at all, or may not turn the computer on even if it's fully charged.
Why Won't The Laptop Recognize the Battery?
If the sensor isn't working properly, you may find that a fully charged and functioning battery won't power on the laptop or will flash error lights. If this is the case, you don't necessarily have to run out to buy a new battery if the sensor is just not correctly detecting the battery.
Why does the sensor stop reading the battery?
The problem can happen for many reasons, which can include the battery at one time not being properly seated in the computer, a power surge, or even being removed from the computer while charging. While the exact cause is sometimes a mystery, it can be fixed.
not the original battery
If the laptop won't recognize the battery, it's also possible that you do not have an original battery. It may be a counterfeit or an aftermarket replacement battery. Many aftermarket batteries, which are typically of much poorer quality, aren't built too the exacting standards as required by the computer manufacturers.
Why Do Batteries Have This Sensor?
According to Dell representatives, original Dell batteries have these microchips to help consumers detect counterfeit batteries. This could be a good thing for consumers. If you buy what you think is a genuine Dell battery from a third party, you should be able to know pretty quickly if you have a counterfeit. That is, unless the counterfeiters have taken a microchip from a dead genuine battery and have inserted it into the counterfeit.
It's Possible To Reset The Sensor
To correct this issue, you might just need to reset the system's ability to detect the battery. Unfortunately, however, many of Dell's technical support staff are either unaware of this procedure or are being pressured to sell new batteries. Of course, it is somewhat difficult for a technician thousands of miles away to know the difference between a battery that has truly failed and a battery that simply isn't being detected properly.
How To Reset The Dell Battery Sensor
You can follow the following steps, which take only minutes and require no tools, to attempt a reset of your Dell battery:
- Completely power down the laptop and remove the cord from the computer.
- Flip the laptop over.
- Push on the battery release button or buttons to release the battery form the computer and remove the battery.
- Power on the computer without the battery, allowing it to boot completely.
- Completely power the computer down and remove the cord once again.
- Reinstall the battery, plug in the power adapter and re-boot the computer.
My Battery Still Doesn't Work
If the battery sensor simply needed to be reset, the computer should now be correctly detecting the laptop battery. Unfortunately, if you are still having trouble with your battery, you may need further laptop and battery diagnostics or even a new battery.
Genuine vs. Aftermarket Batteries
If you do need a new battery, we always recommend getting an original battery from the manufacturer of your device as there is no way to guarantee a battery is genuine from a third party seller. Counterfeit batteries can catch fire or explode. Aftermarket batteries might be a very inexpensive option, but you get what you pay for. You may find that an inexpensive aftermarket battery won't hold a charge after just a few weeks. There's also the question of quality control and fires.
Getting a Good Deal on a Genuine Dell Battery
If you're looking specifically for a Dell battery, you may be turned off by the high price on the Dell website. Don't worry! If you use the website's chat feature, you can almost certainly get a steep discount on a battery without even asking! This works for most of their replacement parts, as well.
Why does Dell discount so heavily?
They know you're shopping around and want to make the sale! You can even make the purchase from within the chat session. We requested a price quote on a battery marked at nearly $290 on the website. Our quoted price, including shipping, came to just under $85. That's still more than an aftermarket battery from $29-$59, but you can expect the battery to perform flawlessly in your machine or get a free replacement under the new battery warranty!
shopping by dell part number
It makes things a lot quicker and easier if you have the Dell Part Number, often abbreviated DPN or DP/N, from the back of the battery. Otherwise, you might end up getting the wrong battery. The replacement battery may have a new Dell Part Number, but you can be sure of getting the exact replacement you need.
It is fairly common for laptops to have battery-related issues and if your laptop only turns on when you have it plugged in then you are probably very frustrated. You can fix a laptop that only works when plugged in by disabling and re-enabling the ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery and restoring the default power schemes in your power profiles within Windows 10. These methods should work for HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, and other laptops that won’t turn on unless plugged in. Read to learn exactly how to perform these actions this step-by-step to get your laptop working with battery power fast! Unlike desktop PCs that must remained plugged in at all times in order to have power, laptops are able to run on both AC power [when plugged in] and battery power [when unplugged] so Windows has to juggle both of those power sources in real time as you use your laptop. Unfortunately, it is fairly common for issues to arise with the Windows 10 power controllers which results in a laptop that only works when it is plugged into the AC power adapter and will shut off when the plug is removed. To fix a laptop that won’t run or turn on without the AC power adapter, we need to reset the ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery device inside Windows 10 that controls the battery and reset the power schemes for your power profiles. By the way, if you would rather watch these solutions, check out the video version on my YouTube channel which I will embed below.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP00gEhcHtsHow to fix a laptop that only works when plugged in
Otherwise, let’s take a look at each solution one-by-one!
Disabling and re-enabling the ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery
Let’s check out how to do this step-by-step!
For this solution, we will hop over to the Device Manager within Windows 10 and look for the battery section. Open up the nested group and you should see this:
Next, you’ll right-click on the Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery item and then select ‘Disable device’
At this point, you’ll notice that your battery icon has disappeared from the bottom right corner of your taskbar. For all intents and purposes, your laptop is now running without a battery at all and is purely utilizing the AC adapter for power.
Right click on the Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery again and this time select ‘Enable Device’ to turn access to your battery back on.
You should now see the battery icon reappear on your taskbar and your laptop should be able to run on battery power without being plugged into the AC adapter.
If your laptop is still having issues, move on to the next solution.
Resetting the profile power schemes
All Windows 10 laptops will have a default power plan selected which determines the balance between performance and power-saving options within your system’s settings.
Power-saving profiles will maximize your battery life by lowering clock speeds, dimming your display, and putting your laptop to sleep automatically when not being used.
Maximum performance profiles, on the other hand, will keep clock speeds at stock, your display at full brightness, and generally not compromise on any performance-related settings.
Unfortunately, sometimes these power profile settings can cause issues with your laptop battery which causes it to only run when connected to the AC adapter and they should be reset back to the default, factory settings to help solve the problem.
Let’s walk through how to do that now!
First, open up the command prompt by searching for ‘command prompt’ in your Windows 10 search bar.
One open, you should see something like this:
From here, you will type “powercfg -restoredefaultschemes” without the quotation marks.
You won’t see anything obvious happen but if you typed it correctly then all of your power plan settings will have been reset back to default.
At this point, restart your computer and then check to see if your battery works by unplugging your laptop.
What if these two solutions don’t work?
If these solutions don’t work then it is possible that your laptop battery has become damaged or is no longer functioning properly.
Before you pay to have the problem fixed you should be sure that your laptop is completely up to date with the latest Windows 10, motherboard BIOS, chipset drivers, and other hardware drivers. Also, run the battery troubleshooter within windows by searching for ‘battery troubleshooter’ in the Windows 10 search bar.
You might also consider doing a fresh install of Windows 10 at this point.
At this point, you might want to call your laptop’s manufacturer or the place that you bought the laptop to see if they offer warranty support for this issue.
Hopefully this guide helped to fix your problem!