C720 chromebook won't charge

ultrasnd

A C720 chromebook only a few months old and it won't charge.  It had charged many many times prior to leaving on travel and after being on travel, but yesterday, it suddenly would not charge and the battery gradually depleted to 0% with the final few hours of use.  I am currently in Bangkok, thailand and desparately need this computer in my travels.  I suspect but have no proof that the power adapter 19VDC has no output but again not sure.  I would like to know if anyone else has had such a new computer has failed so soon with these symptoms and what they found.  Also what is the input from Acer.

Tommy-Acer

If you not able to charge the system, it could be an issue in either the ac adapter, battery, or the mainboard/power jack.

At any rate, I'd not be able to diagnose such on the Community.

 

My best recommendation would be to contact your regional Acer service center for assistance.

jescott418

Read some other posts on how Acer has already dropped the C720 2800 model and won't be re supplying. Something might be up with the quality of these Chromebooks? Just a guess right now, but I suspect some problems brewing. 

Tommy-Acer

Random conjecture does not help the original poster with their issue.

 

All computer products, regardless of manufacturer, have a finite lifetime and window when they are sold. 

Acer is continually making new products and attempting to innovate on those ideas that our customers wish to see.

democto

Acer-Tommy it is nice of you to tow the company line.  We have spent a small fortune to outfit our children with the Acer Chromebook c720 model.  Much to our disappointment we have had two of these machines go out (won't hold a charge) from normal use and they are less than two months old.

 

So instead of stroking yourself and your company have some sympathy for the customers that are now inconvenienced because they are either stuck with a product you gave massive discounts to get rid of or they have to send the product in to have it fixed.  Either way if you can't provide useful information to get our product fixed I don't want to read anything you have to write.

Tommy-Acer

I'm sorry that you're having issues.

Sounds like you need to contact your local Acer service center for assistance.

hetchie

I know I'm about a month late, but I came here with the same problem looking for answers, and the way this Acer employee responded to you guys may have just set me off of the company for good. Solid response on your part, though!

 

bendelvaux

I'm having the same issue lately too. Except i have a C710 and it won't charge at all and only turns on when the charger is plugged in. I haven't had any luck finding any solutions. Any suggestions and help would be much appreciated.

aross777

My chromebook is not charging and only works when plugged in. Due to the lackluster reply from acer, I can assure you that I will NEVER be buying another acer product. I was going to research rhem to replace my primary laptop that I use for business and then I saw that they offer no advice ro help in correcting problems. 

 

The chromebook worked for about two months, went in storage while I traveled and moved. I decided to pull it out of the box and use it and no battery life. Now I have a paperweight for my desk. Super.

 

Goodbye acer. Your deep discounts will not encourage me to buy another paperweight!

billsey

Sounds like it was in storage long enough for the battery to get fully discharged. When these types of batteries discharge beyond a certain point they will not recharge. If I were to make a guess I'd guess it was put away while in sleep mode rather than with a full shutdown.

 

If you are still under warranty you can contact Acer support and they'll get you fixed up. If you are out of warranty then it's time to purchase a new battery and either have a technician replace it for you or open her up yourself.

CluelessWonder

I have a similar problem, I took my computer travelling and it worked fine until I got home, the computer is only 8 months old and it will no longer turn on or charge. I will not be getting another acer computer I have already ordered a new computer to use for my schoolwork that I used to do on my chromebook, I came on here to see if I could fix it up to use as a travelling computer, it disappoints me that it just stopped working as it wasn't even a year old. 

billsey

Sounds like it's still in warranty. What does Acer support recomend?

Carrie82554

thank you for your post...I thought I was the only one taken by Acer......my c720 is only 4 months old and won't power up.....Acer told me it would cost me 299.00 to fix it......good grief, I paid 199.00 on Amazon......no way I'm paying $299.00 to them to repair a computer that is only 4 months old......

lmyers

I had an Acer 720 that would not hold a charge, it only would work if plugged into an outlet. My Chromebook was out of warranty so I thought that I would have to purchase a new battery. I heard from a friend that sometimes reinstalling the OS helps resolve strange problems that start occurring with the Chromebook, so I reinstalled and Voila! It is now charging just fine and working like normal.

 

Hope this helps!

dartlady1971

my chromebook is only 2 months old and i am having battery issues...this is totally unacceptable...i bought this online and it will be difficult to send back

billsey

Best to contact Acer support, you are still under warranty and they can make it reasonably painless.

Burgett

I work in a school as a port of the technology department. We have a large fleet of Acer 720s, 730s, and 740s, all of which have at some time or another experianced this issue. In the case of the 720s, the only fix I have found for the issue is to replace the motherboard entirely, as replacing the battery does not tend to solve the problem. My theory is that the actual port on the motherboard that the battery plugs into is the part that breaks. 

There is the other possibility that this is a software problem, however, in the cases I've delt with the computer is already out of power and off and thus I cannot really test that theory (except of course if the motherboard replacement is solving the software issue. 

ChromeAce

C720 ACER HERE....same dead battery problem. No fixes in 3 years it seems?

My cable is good at 20V....so no charge. 

ctrl+alt T

says batterys 80% and discharging......seems if I leave it plugged in for 3 days or so it will charge up...but drains quickly too.

adamalexander

I have a fleet of these at a school. In my experience the most common causes are:
1. Bad battery ($15 on ebay) (careful when removing; the bad ones are often inflated and can burst into flame if punctured)
2. Bad power jack (usually easy to solder back into place if you're into that. Often the center pin has fallen out of the jack entirely and is sitting in the case somewhere.
3. There is a little black momentary switch next to the hinge closest to the power jack. This switch seems designed to cut out the battery charging circuit when the bottom case is off. However, sometimes the switch fails to get depressed far enough by the case even when it's on. The switch can be either soldered short, glued down (pro tip: baking powder catalyzes superglue), or some kind of shim can be added to the case to depress it.

If you have the change and your unit is on warranty, contact them to send your unit for repair. It would be better. 

Laproch

I came here with the same concern and now that I see so many have the same problem I must say I am on my third cord. I guess the cord is the issue. Luckily, amazon has a compatible one. I guess I should buy two as this will no doubt happen again.