How to Fix Plugged in Not Charging

Last Updated on May 1, 2024 by Daniel Lawrence

Imagine working with your laptop and you notice your laptop battery is about to die, you quickly reach out for your laptop charger, plugged your laptop and you get a “plugged in not charging” notification. You take out your charger and try plugging it in again, and still you get the same plugged in not charging notification. Well at this point if you don’t know what to do,simply turn off your laptop and seek for help.

The error ‘plugged in not charging’ can be caused by various reasons such as a faulty adapter or a faulty charging board or the laptop battery. The plugged in not charging error may also be power management software that has become corrupt.

Whatever the cause of this error might, the tips giving below will be able to resolve the issue. To fix the plugged in not charging error, follow these tip

How do you fix plugged in not charging error?

1. Unplug for a few minutes, then try a different outlet
2. Examine the cord
3. Inspect the connection
4. Restart the computer
5. Let the computer cool down
6. Start up your laptop without a battery.
7. Replace the charger.

Other ways to fix plugged in not charging are:

• Check if your power cable is damaged

To check if the cable is damaged, take a closer look at the cables and search of any physical damage or burn.

• Use a new AC adapter to charge your battery

If possible, get another AC adapter to charge your laptop battery. If this issue persists, maybe this issue is caused by a bad battery. If the battery is charging, it suggests that there is something wrong in your AC adapter.

• use your current AC adapter to charge a new battery

You can also use your Ac adapter to charge another laptop battery. This will help determine if the adapter is still working or not. If it charges, then your battery or the charging circuit might be fault. But before concluding, you can still try these other steps

• Turn off the battery charge threshold

Some laptops have the battery charge threshold feature. This feature allows laptop users to customize the battery charge threshold so that when the battery reaches that threshold, the battery won’t charge.

This is a useful feature if you primary use your laptop with the AC adapter attached and only infrequently use the battery power.

• Perform a power reset on your laptop

To see if the battery will charge, try performing a power reset on your laptop.  Here is how to do it:

• Shut down your laptop and disconnect the AC adapter.
• Remove your laptop battery, press and hold the power button for 30 seconds and then release the power button.
• Put your battery back in and plug your charger into your laptop.
• Turn on your laptop.

Check if the battery is charging. If so, you’ve fixed this issue. If the issue reappears, don’t worry. Try the next fix.

• Uninstall, reinstall AC adapter and battery driver

Sometimes battery and adapter drivers need to be reinstalled because they stop working properly and result in plugged in not charging error even when a charger is plugged in.

To do this effectively, you should follow these steps in the correct order:

1) Plug the charger in your laptop and then press Windows and R simultaneously and then Run will open.
2) A box will open where you will have to type devmgmt.msc in the blank space and press Enter.

3) Device Manager will open on the screen. Click on Batteries and once the settings have expanded, right-click on Microsoft ACPI Compliant Control Method Battery and then click Uninstall.

 

4) After uninstalling is completed, wait for a few seconds and take the battery out of your laptop.
5) Wait for 10 seconds then replace the battery and plug in the charger. Then go to Device Manager and select Scan for Hardware Changes. This will scan your laptop and after finishing the battery it will suggest reinstalling battery drivers.

6) The reinstalling of battery divers will take some time and then you will have to restart your laptop. This will remove any problems and your laptop will begin charging.

• Update the driver for your battery management device

This issue is also probably caused by a missing or outdated driver for your battery management device. Try updating the driver for your battery management device to see if this issue can be fixed.

There are two ways to update your driver: manually and automatically.

Update the driver for your battery management device manually

You can go to the manufacturer’s website to download and install the latest version of the driver for your battery management device. Be sure to choose the driver that’s compatible with your exact sound card model and your version of Windows.

Update your drivers automatically

If you don’t have the time, patience or computer skills to update your drivers manually, you can do it automatically with Automatic driver software.

You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to risk downloading and installing the wrong driver, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing. there are lots of automatic driver software available just pick one and install.

Restart your Windows system after updating the driver for your battery management device. Check if the plug in not charging error has been fixed. Hopefully, it should then be charging now but if not, then try this last tip below.

• Corrupt operating system files

Another possible cause for a malfunctioning  is corrupt operating system files. While you would notice other issues as well due to corrupt system files, this could result in the plugin not charging error.

Fixing this requires you to either activate a restore point at a date before it stopped working, or you may need to perform an operating system repair installation. The repair installation will require you to access a restore partition on the hard drive or use an operating system install disc. If the repair doesn’t fix it, you could do a system reset.

•  Replace the battery

If you have tried all the above methods but the problem of laptop plugged in not charging prevail then you need to resort to this eventual method. You must replace the battery with a new one since it most likely has stopped working properly and is obstructing the process of charging. Replacing the battery is the last option, but it is sometimes the only solution.

Does leaving your laptop plugged in ruin the battery?

Actually, the answer to this question is yes and no. Depending on the type of battery your laptop uses, leaving your laptop plugged in may or may not destroy it. A lithium-based battery can not be overcharged even if you leave it plugged in at all times because as soon as it is fully charged (100%), the internal circuit prevents further charging until there is a drop in the voltage.

While overcharging isn’t a possibility, keeping your laptop battery discharged is an issue. So it’s best to keep your laptop charging than leaving it to drain off completely all the time.

How do I prolong the life of my laptop battery?

When you just bought a new laptop, the battery may last for up 7 hours or more depends on the spec. But as time goes on, the battery begins to degrade. The degradation however differs from system to system depending on how its being handled by the user. So for your battery to last longer, here are some tips you need to consider:

• Dim the screen. By far the biggest power drain on most laptops is the screen
• Change the power settings
• Disable WiFi and Bluetooth
• Don’t leave your laptop on permanent charge
• Disconnect remove unnecessary peripherals
• Get a second battery
• Buy a new battery
• Upgrade to an SSD

HOW TO REPLACE YOUR LAPTOP BATTERY

• Turn off your laptop and disconnect the AC adapter
• Release the latch or other attachment devices that hold your battery in place
• Slide the old battery out of its compartment or storage bay
• Take the replacement battery out of the box
• Slide it into the notch or bay
• Close the safety latch to lock it into place.
• Reconnect the AC adapter and give the battery a full charge