Iconia W3 DOES NOT CHARGE

iconia_user
iconia_user Member Posts: 4 New User

Like others on here, my Iconia W3 only works when plugged in.

 

As so many otherrs are having the problem, I think it must be one of two things:

 

1 - Acer is selling a faulty product, whether that's the chargers, the batteries or something else

 

2 - It's a software problem in Windows

 

Acer needs to get on here **bleep** quick and start responding to people having this issue as a lot of people are wasting £300 on what is essentially a door stop.

 

Thanks.

Answers

  • iconia_user
    iconia_user Member Posts: 4 New User

    Forget it. Dreadful, non-existent support from Acer. Returning my W3 in the post tomorrow. I'll be picking up an 8-inch Windows 8 tablet, whoever releases one next, just so long as it's not Acer.

  • padgett
    padgett ACE Posts: 4,532 Pathfinder

    Probably be a number released around Thankgiving. Suspect the z3770 tabs will be a bit better.

    http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2013/06/04/intel-readies-bay-trail-for-holiday-2013-tablets-and-2-in-1-devices

     

    May just be lucky but my two netbooks (one hotrodded), two tablets (W3 and W510), and a 23" monitor all are working just fine despite the torture tests I put them through.

     

    Certainly sounds like your problem is mechanical and not software, neither the BIOS nor the OS has anything to do with charging the battery, is just hardware. Personally, I'd probably try a different charger (W3 appears to have a 3mm x 1.1mm center positive plug) or just check the charger with a DVM first, should be 12-12.4vdc @ 1500 ma.

  • jim777
    jim777 Member Posts: 7 New User

    I know this is an old thread, but what can we do if the W3 only works when plugged in? Can I return it to Acer? I've only turned it on about 10 times since I got it in October, but I doubt i can bring it back to Walmart after 90 days. Very, VERY expensive for a paper weight!!

  • padgett
    padgett ACE Posts: 4,532 Pathfinder

    Should be able to get an RMA, did you register it with Acer ? If not go to http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support and select "register a product" (may need to create a login).

  • jim777
    jim777 Member Posts: 7 New User

    Thanks Smiley Happy

  • Spider124
    Spider124 Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    Did you update the BIOS to V1.07?

     

     

  • jim777
    jim777 Member Posts: 7 New User

    No, I bought it for my wife in October, and she never used it. I used it once or twice for a bit, and it has been turned off for since early November. I tried to turn it on and the battery was dead, so I charged it up overnight and started it up, but it dies whenever unplugged. I updated the OS and whatever else when I used it in October, but it has nop updates that may have been released since Nov. 4th.

  • Spider124
    Spider124 Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    Try running the Acer Live Updater on the device and see if it has the BIOS update 1.0

     

    You can find your current BIOS version by running msinfo32.exe at the command prompt.

     

    Mine did and the charge problem was solved.

     

    Good luck

  • jim777
    jim777 Member Posts: 7 New User

    Well, I got my RMA number, thanks for all the help guys folks Smiley Happy

  • acser
    acser Member Posts: 2 New User

    I solved this problem.

     

    This seems like a firmware issue.

     

    Plug in your tablet. Reset to Windows to the startup state (this is optional but you can never know how things can interact...)

     

    Go to the desktop and get the Acer Update app. Choose to download and update for the firmware (UEFI or BIOS or whatever it is). Make sure to NOT interrupt the process. It will reboot and will say that it's updating the firmare in 2500+ blocks. Wait for it to reboot (may have 2 reboot cycles). 

     

    This fixed my Acer Iconia W3 not charging problem.

     

    Also: do not upgrade to Windows 8.1 from the Windows Store. Not only will it kill battery life, but it will screw up the recovery process as Windows 8.1 recovery environment cannot restore a Windows 8 image - and no one tells you this ahead of time. You can still revert to Windows 8 from Windows 8.1 but not through the 'hold the power button and power on' method, but going to the Charms, settings then "Reset PC method to factory settings". This only applies to Acer tablets because Acer seems to have not just a backup recovery image preinstalled on the disk but also a complete installation media in the recovery partition.

     

    Use recimg.exe /showcurrent and reagentc.exe /info to check out more.

     

  • jim777
    jim777 Member Posts: 7 New User

    Thanks, I was able to fix the issue with the BIOS and OS update as well Smiley Happy

  • LinkDubs
    LinkDubs Member Posts: 1 New User

    I flashed the bios on this W3 and it still would not charge.  

    I ended up removing the all the entries under "Batteries" Device Manager and rebooted.  

    It is now charging.  

     

    I have also seen this work on a surface pro that would not charge.

     

    Hope this helps someone.

     

     

This discussion has been closed.