Laptops are one of the best devices that help you maintain your workflow right from anywhere. But what makes them portable? The simple answer is the battery. Yes, the battery of your laptop is the major component that allows the users to work from anywhere.
What if the battery stops holding a charge? As a result, you won’t be able to continue your work smoothly till you charge your laptop or fix the persisting issue. However, before you implement a fix, you need to determine the actual problem.
So how to tell if laptop battery or charger is bad? Read this article to understand what you can do if the laptop battery is at fault and what the options are if the charger is damaged. Let’s first discuss the battery problems.
Signs That Show Your Laptop Battery Is Dead
A bloated battery is a quick sign that shows it’s not working and is dead. Check if the battery inside your laptop is bloated or puffed. If yes, you should remove it immediately and should never use it to avoid permanent damage to the laptop.
To test if the battery is flattened or bloated, spin it by keeping it on a table. If it spins, it’s puffed. If not, check for any cracks and other signs of damage. Well, if the battery is in good shape, place it back inside the panel, and try to charge it.
If your laptop has a permanent battery that cannot be removed, check for signs of swelling on the chassis. Other than that, if you see any cracks or rifts along the chassis, trackpad, or keypad, it’s time to get it replaced.
A removable battery can be replaced by yourself, but a permanent battery cannot. In that case, you need to visit the nearest service center. In both cases, don’t forcefully remove the battery if you are a novice user.
The laptop battery usually lasts 4 to 5 hours, on average. If your laptop is nearly 3 years older, you can expect a shorter battery life, particularly when using resource-consuming apps or gaming. You can optimize your computer battery to ensure longer performance.
If you keep wondering why, for example, your Mac battery draining fast is a prominent issue and gives you 15 to 20 minutes of performance, check battery health by navigating to the Apple menu. Next, click System Settings and click Battery in the sidebar. You can see the battery health condition on the right side of the screen.
Let’s move on to another section of this article that explains how to know that the laptop charger is not working.
Signs That Show Laptop Charger Is Not Working
Unlike your laptop batteries, the chargers may never show any particular sign of damage. When the laptop charger stops transmitting charge from the socket to the battery, you may not be able to tell easily without performing several alternate solutions.
You can take the charger of your laptop and try connecting it to another laptop of the same brand and model. If the laptop starts charging, the charger and the adapter are in good condition. If not, the charger is at fault, and you need to replace it.
When the charger stops working all of a sudden, check for any cracks or damages carefully. If no signs of damage appear, there might be internal damage that’s not visible. You can take the charger as well as your laptop to the nearest service center for thorough testing.
Before seeking professional help, troubleshoot the hardware by plugging in the charger to another power outlet. Also, remove the battery from the laptop for a minute and then place it again to test if it starts to charge normally.
Additionally, perform a power reset to tune up the device. To do this, shut down your laptop and remove the battery. Hold down the laptop’s power button for at least 30 seconds and release it firmly. Place the battery back into the laptop and then restart your laptop.
If nothing seems to work, update the battery driver. This applies to Windows laptops as the battery might not detect the charger. In addition to this, you may also check that the battery charging port is working appropriately before you decide to replace the battery or charger.
What Else?
When you don’t know how to tell if laptop battery or charger is bad, try updating the BIOS, as it works equally to solve problems with both components. Be careful while performing this step to avoid adverse circumstances, such as any hardware-related damages beyond repair.
The steps to update BIOS differ based on the operating system you are using. So, read online guides and tutorials before you initiate the process. If possible, backup data to Cloud storage or move important files to an external SSD so that you can restore it easily.
