No Power after Shut Down Using the Incorrect AC Adapter on Alienware Gaming Laptops

Alienware laptop shuts down and does not power back on

You may find that your Alienware gaming laptop has shut down and is not turning back on. This has been reported under the following conditions:

• The AC adapter connected to your laptop is not original to the laptop. It is a third-party non-Dell AC adapter.
• The AC adapter connected to your laptop is not original to the laptop. The AC adapter capacity is less than 130 W, and your laptop is under a heavy load.

Affected Alienware Gaming Laptops:

• Alienware m16 R1 and m16 R1 AMD Laptops
• Alienware m18 R1 and m18 R1 AMD Laptops
• Alienware x14 R1 and x14 R2 Laptops
• Alienware x15 R2 Laptops
• Alienware x16 R1 Laptops
• Alienware x17 R2 Laptops
• Alienware m16 R2 Laptops
• Alienware m18 R2 Laptops

The following laptops list the capacities of the AC adapter that they are sold with:

• Alienware m16 R1 and m16 R1 AMD Gaming laptops ship with a 330 W AC adapter
• Alienware m18 R1 and m18 R1 AMD Gaming laptops ship with a 330 W AC adapter
• Alienware x14 R1 and x14 R2 Gaming laptops ship with a 130 W USB Type-C AC adapter
• Alienware x15 R2 Gaming laptop ships with a 240 W AC adapter
• Alienware x16 R1 Gaming laptop ships with either a 240 W or 330 W AC adapter
• Alienware x17 R2 Gaming laptop ships with either a 240 W or 330 W AC adapter
• Alienware m16 R2 Gaming laptops ship with either a 240 W or 280 W AC adapter
• Alienware m18 R2 Gaming laptops ship with either a 280 W or 360 W AC adapter

Your Alienware laptop requires that the AC adapter supplies enough wattage to keep the power consumption high enough for normal operations to run.

When the AC adapter does not supply enough power, the laptop drains the battery to keep running. On certain laptops, it triggers the Under Voltage Protection (UVP) once the battery is empty.

You are using an AC adapter or external power bank that did not come with your laptop. Either the AC adapter is too small to supply the laptop, or the AC adapter is a third-party replacement.

Dell Technologies recommends that you find the AC adapter that came with your laptop. The following instructions take you through how to reset your laptop:

1. Plug your original AC adapter to your laptop and charge your laptop battery for at least 30 minutes.

2. Press and hold the power button down for between 30 to 35 seconds. The Power LED flashes three times, to indicate it is resetting the Real-Time Clock (RTC).

3. Find out more about how to reset the real-time clock on the following link:

   • Dell Knowledge Base Article: How to Reset the Real-Time Clock (RTC) to Recover Your Dell Laptop

4. It is chargeable to book an on-site service call for an out of warranty issue. You must use the steps listed in your manual to go inside your laptop and reseat your battery cable if your laptop does not restart.

5. Find the required specifications of your AC Adapter and the steps to remove and reseat your access panel and battery cable in your laptops service manual:

   • Alienware m16 R1 Laptop Documentation Page

   • Alienware m16 R1 AMD Laptop Documentation Page

   • Alienware m18 R1 Laptop Documentation Page

   • Alienware m18 R1 AMD Laptop Documentation Page

   • Alienware x14 R1 Laptop Documentation Page

   • Alienware x14 R2 Laptop Documentation Page

   • Alienware x15 R2 Laptop Documentation Page

   • Alienware x16 R1 Laptop Documentation Page

   • Alienware x17 R2 Laptop Documentation Page

   • Alienware m16 R2 Laptop Documentation Page

   • Alienware m18 R2 Laptop Documentation Page

6. Once the battery cable has been reseated, go back to Step 2 to run through the reset instructions for the RTC again.

7. Confirm that your power problem is resolved.

8. It can take between 60 to 90 seconds for the laptop to first boot up after the RTC is reset.

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