If you are a laptop user, there is a great chance that you have experienced a frustrating situation where your laptop turns off automatically. The possible reasons your laptop dies while plugged in are faulty power adaptors, nonfunctional power outlets, or defective batteries.
I have faced this annoying situation where my laptop screen goes dark without warning. I had to go through several community forums and blogs to solve this issue. But it was disappointing not to find a helpful guide for this dying battery problem.
So finally I have decided to write an article to find the actual reasons. And the possible fixes for your laptop dying while plugged in.
Stay tuned!
Why Is My Laptop Dying While Plugged In?
Your laptop is dying while plugged in, mainly for an inoperative power adapter, defective power outlets, worn-out batteries, or faulty cables and ports. More internal problems, including malfunctioning motherboard, HDD, SSD, or RAM, can cause this trouble.
There are also some other problems that lead to your laptop dying. To know more in detail, keep reading.
Here are the reasons why is your laptop dying while plugged in:
1. Faulty Power Adapter
The power adapter, also known as a charger, delivers power to your device. A faulty power adapter is unable to transport power from outlets. As a result, your laptop will shut down for the lack of electricity.
A faulty power adapter means your laptop isn’t charging. By giving an error message, some laptops make it easier for users to detect the problem faster.
However, don’t forget to check your laptop charging indicator if you don’t receive any warning.
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2. Malfunctioning Power Outlets
Though a laptop can run with battery power for a long time, when the battery drains out, you need to connect your laptop to a power outlet to recharge. A faulty power outlet can lead you to not charging correctly.
The power outlet could malfunction because of a faulty circuit breaker or a bad power connection.
3. Defective Batteries
Every battery has a life span; over time, it becomes weaker and loses its capability to store power. A defective battery makes your laptop unable to charge and maintain power. Faulty batteries could even lead your device to overheat or an unexpected shutdown.
4. Malfunctioning Hardware
The hardware is also another malefactor for this issue. If you are adding new hardware to your device, it can also lead you to a dying battery issue.
5. Faulty Cables and Ports
A faulty cable or port cannot provide enough power to the laptop. As a result, you can encounter the dying laptop issue.
What to do if Your Laptop Dies While Plugged in?
I have already pointed out the key reasons why your laptop is dying while plugged in. Now let’s dive into the possible fixes for this problem.
Here are the steps to fix your laptop dying while plugged in:
1. Check the charger connection
Every device needs the power to run. For a laptop, a charger is mainly used as a permanent way to supply power. So make sure your charger is entirely functional.
Try using another charger to check if it works for you.
In case you face this issue while using a new charger, there is a chance that your new charger is faulty or incompatible with your laptop model.
2. Check the power outlets
Sometimes malfunctioning power outlets can cause this problem. If the power outlet faces a circuit breaker or a bad power connection caused by wear and tear, it can lead you to a dying laptop case.
A faulty power outlet can make all the nearest power outlets lose power. In that case, changing to a new socket won’t give you any solution. First, fix your house power supply, and then try if that works for you.
3. Make sure you are using the correct charger and port
Sometimes a minor change in your charging port can lead you to this problem. If you encounter this issue after changing your charger, make sure your device and ports support the charger.
So check your laptop charging port to ensure it is working fine. Changing your charger and fixing the charging port can resolve this issue.
4. Decrease resource uses
When a computer is overloaded with many power-hungry applications, it will discharge faster than usual, leading to a power problem.
If the charger cannot provide enough charge to restore the battery as quickly as it’s discharging, the laptop will die soon.
To avoid this problem, close all the power-hungry applications and wait until it cools down. Allow time to recharge the battery and avoid using multiple heavy programs simultaneously.
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5. Check Battery Health
When you are done checking your power connection, it’s time to check your battery. Most of the removable batteries wear out very quickly and need periodic replacement.
Here are the steps to check your battery health:
- Remove the battery from your device and drain all power by pressing the power button for 15 seconds.
- Plug in the laptop and turn it on without the battery. If the device starts, that means the problem is with the battery, and your device is functioning correctly.
- Re-install the battery, and let’s see if that works. If it still doesn’t work, replace your battery.
Some devices have a non-removable battery; in that case, contact a professional to replace your laptop battery.
6. Restart your Device
Restarting your computer can solve a lot of problems that are caused by a cache or corrupted files. So try a restart and check if that works for you.
When rebooting your device, entering the CMOS setup will help reinstall the operating system. If your device powered back on successfully, the problem could have been the operating system downtime.
Still, facing the same problem? It could be for a malfunctioning motherboard, HDD, Power Supply, or other internal components.
7. Conflicts between hardware and software
Installing new hardware to your device can often lead to this problem. The best solution is to remove the hardware.
An automatic update to your internal hardware also can cause the problem. Sometimes a new plug-in extension for your browser can cause this issue too.
The Beta version of a computer program is volatile and consumes more power than the charger can recharge your device.
8. Overheating
If you face overheating, turn off your device and wait until it cools down. Remember, if your device suddenly doesn’t turn on and turn on when cooled down, it indicates that you have a faulty cooling system.
Make sure your device is immaculate from the inside out. If the device still has heat problems, try changing the cooling fans.
9. Update your Drivers
The battery is an external component of your laptop. Windows uses various drivers to interface with it. Updating your battery driver might kickstart your charging process if none of the above fixes works for you.
Here are the steps to update your battery driver:
- Right-click on the Start button or press Win+X.
- Select Device Manager from the menu.
- Expand the Batteries
- Right-click on Microsoft AC Adapter and choose Update Driver.
- Right-click on Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery and press Update Driver.
If the updating didn’t work for you, right-click on each driver and select Uninstall Device. Now reboot your device to update the drivers automatically. That should fix your problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my computer battery going down while charging?
This could happen for numerous reasons. It could be that your battery health is down, or the charger you are using is faulty and unable to provide enough power.
Why is my laptop not charging when plugged in?
Your laptop is not charging when plugged in because of a faulty cable connection or a damaged port. An interrupted power supply is also responsible for this issue.
Does leaving your laptop plugged in all the time ruin the battery?
When your battery is fully charged, it will stop charging. So leaving your laptop plugged in all the time will not ruin your battery.
A final thought
Throughout the article, I have described all the possible reasons why your laptop is dying while plugged in. Finding the cause is the first step to solving your problem. Try to understand what is causing this problem on your device.
Don’t forget to remove your battery from the device, it is the easiest way to resolve your problem. Checking your cables and power outlets is also a must to do. However, try every fix I have described in this article.
I hope this article was significantly helpful and fascinating for you. If you still have any queries, feel free to mention them in the comment below.
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