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Alienware m17x R4 - Not charging.
The notification says - (plugged in, charging) but the battery is not charging and stays at the same level.
It will play the charging animation when I plug the AC adaptor in and turn the computer on, but disappears about 8 seconds afterwards. The adaptor is only 3 months old; I replaced the old one as it was intermittent due to wire damage.
The battery is 2 years old now but I very very rarely use the computer on battery, The laptop would be plugged in 98% of the time. I'm not sure if this is a factor in battery lifespan.
HWMonitor shows
Designed capacity - 93240mWh
Full charge capacity - 66700mWh
Current - 18440mWh
Wear level - 29%
I'm sure I just need a new battery, but wanted to be certain as they are quite expensive...
DELL-Milena M
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September 10th, 2014 15:00
The wear level its fine, normally you might need to change it when it is around 60%, you can try to flash the BIOS to the latest version and perform a power drain. As well I will recommend you to use the system on battery until its discharge and then start to charge it again from zero.
DELL-Milena M
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September 16th, 2014 14:00
Then I could say that there is something wrong with the battery and replacing it will be the best way to go.
Angelo Donofrio
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September 11th, 2014 02:00
Thanks Milena,
I've tried all of the above (discharging, power drain and flashing BIOS) and it still does not charge. I've also tried using the old AC adaptor, and that doesnt charge either.
*EDIT*
After repeating it again, the problem is solved, Thanks.
Angelo Donofrio
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September 13th, 2014 05:00
It appears that although the battery is charging, it will perform normally until around 60-50% battery life when I get the warning message [battery low, plug in AC adaptor (7% warning)], then the battery life is displayed as 7%.
It takes around 30 minutes for the battery to go from 100% to 7% when performing simple tasks like browsing and word processing (no gaming or demanding applications).
I assume this isn't normal
Angelo Donofrio
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September 13th, 2014 05:00
I feel I should also mention it takes around an hour to "fully charge"
Angelo Donofrio
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September 15th, 2014 03:00
bump
Mary1994
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September 19th, 2014 01:00
I've had problems with my chargers lasting less than a year since I got my Alien M17XR4 I'm now on yet another charger it keeps telling me that my charger isn't plugged in after I work with the charger by unplugging it from my laptop and then replugging it in it will recognize I don't have the money to keep ordering new chargers at the cost of 130.00 from Dell I've tried my charger that is an universal charger and it won't charge it but it will run it and tell me that its running on battery but my battery is very slow to drop from 100% and when it gets down to about 30% is when I start trying to get it to charge back up. Is anyone else having to constantly replace their chargers. I would think there would be a warranty on the charger but from what all I've been told they do not offer a warranty on them. Any idea's on how to make the chargers last longer cause this is getting expensive or if you know of a universal charger that will work on it please let me know cause this is for the birds. I love my Alien but I am thinking of getting rid of it due to the charger issues.
Angelo Donofrio
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September 19th, 2014 03:00
It turns out the wear level readings i was getting were incorrect. The battery was at about 55% wear level. so ive got a new official battery (£85 ebay) and it works perfectly.
@Mary1994 Ive replaced my charger once in the past 2 Years 2 months. The original still works but it will turn on and off depending on the angle the wire is at. It broke because i used to carry it around in my rucksack, which bent the wires.
I got a new, official dell replacement charger on ebay for around £55.
Also make sure its well ventilated, if its sat on the floor in carpet it wont be good for the brick.
Mary1994
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September 22nd, 2014 19:00
@ Angelo my charger is on the hardwood floor with nothing around it very well ventilated it charges when it wants to and if I will work with it for a while then it will start charging I've never bent the wires so I don't know what is going on its just odd this is the only Dell charger that I've had problems with the Dell's that I had before my Alien I never had problems with the chargers but this one is constantly going out. I wish they would warranty them out cause this one is only a few months old and already starting to do this. Here in the US the charger is 129 plus shipping oh well guess I'm going to have to look at getting a new one soon