M15 R?, shuts down with battery connected?

Question

Hi there,

I have been having this powerful machine (i9, 32GB, GTX 2080 MaxQ) for a few years, was perfectly stable and fast BUT currently started to develop an issue.

The laptop shuts down under load (let's say if i start a game) if the battery is connected to the motherboard. If this happens the laptop won't turn on afterwards until I physically disconnect and reconnect the battery cable.

It works perfect (can play whatever games) if I unplug the battery and just use my machine with the my original AC adapter.

Interestingly, this started happening a few weeks after I reapplied some new thermal paste on the CPU/GPU. Although it was working fine for a few weeks right after the process.

I have an original Dell 60W battery in my laptop, but because of the issue above I bought a new 90W battery as well. That's a compatible, but not Alienware branded XRGXX model. The issue is the same with the new battery. It just shuts down when playing games, but works fine for normal day to day tasks or even video editing. (just like with the original 60W battery)

I have the latest BIOS (2.5) installed and already reinstalled Windows 10 battery drivers, and restored BIOS default settings.

I also double checked cables/connections inside and just in case reapplied thermal paste as well, but the shutting down issue still present if i use the machine with battery.

Any ideas what this could be?

Thanks guys!

crimsom · Accepted Answer

Hi @djkutasi guess that your M15 is R1, if support detects it as M15.

Alienware M15.jpg

The Alienware M15 has a Hybrid Power Design that requires power from both battery and charger for power hungry games and the power hungry i9, 32GB, GTX 2080 MaxQ system. There are occasions when the power hungry game takes more power than can be consistently delivered, the battery power drops below the threshold that the game requires and the M15 system shuts down.

Getting a 90W battery was a good move, but seemingly the gaming power requirements are still not being delivered. Some users have reported getting a more powerful charger as their solution.

djkutasi · Answer

Anyone any ideas?

Since then i tried a BIOS update, but didn't solve anything.

Although once when I was playing around and checking things inside of the laptop managed to get the system running fine with the battery+AC combo without shut down.

I was happy to be able to fix it, but the machine was partially dissembled and after putting the cover back and the screws my M15 started to do the same shut down issue.

I think this must be some sort of connection problem (DC cable?) or maybe the charger itself or connector?

Although I can not tell anything wrong with them...

I know that the M15 uses/and drains the battery even when connected to AC and the laptop is not running at full speed without the battery connected. Games go much slower without the battery.

crimsom · Answer

Hi @djkutasi  if a more powerful charger is not your M15 solution. Consider getting a gaming Desktop with a Power Supply Unit (PSU) that can deliver your existing and future gaming power requirements.

Alienware

M15 R?, shuts down with battery connected?

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