Switch Alpha 12" does not turn on

Tarkus

My Acer Switch Alpha 12 does not turn on after last reboot. The blue light on button and it doesn't react on anything. What can i do? Thank you.

padgett

About all you can do is to hold the power button down for 30 seconds, release for 10, the try to restart.

 

Unfortunatly unlike my Switch 12, the Switch Alfa 12 does not seem to have a reset button.

Tarkus

It works now. After battery charge turn to 0% it turned off and than i've restart it.

Tarkus

it happened again... i think that it's a windows problem. cause it started after last update.

billsey

Normally when the update seems to cause an issue like that the problem is in the power management. The 'turn on' ends up waiting for something to start that has already started or some such. The long press on power does a full power off and it'll go ahead and boot up fine.

Tarkus

The worst thing that it doesn't react on pushing power button. Even if i hold it for a minete or more. The only solution is to wait until battery will turn to 0%.

Tarkus

reasonableman

I had the same problem.  I contacted Acer, and they say there is no pinhole to reset / disconnect battery, and holding the power buttond doesn't restart it.  

 

So, you have to wait until the battery dies.

However, to speed that up, I noticed that I could still charge my phone from the USB 3.0 port while the computer was otherwise dead, so I drained the computer battery by charging up whatever devices needed charging.  After it completely drained, the blue light goes out, then you can plug it in and see if it works.  Worked for me.

 

Acer was willing to repair it based on the symptoms though.

seggreeses

Hello,

 

I have the same problem. 
This is a windows 10 problem, or a hardware problem?

I spoke with Acer and they didn't hear about this problem...

My USB 3.0 doesn't charge in this "state" for faster draining. Any solution for this?

I have some days to return this "beauty" and get my money back, but honestly I don't want to return because I like it.
A fresh reinstall can solve this problem?

reasonableman

@seggreeses:  I think this is a Windows problem.  I have Windows computers that hang sometimes when coming out of hibernation or when there is some conflict or overuse of the CPU, so they need a hard reboot (usually pressing the power button for about 5 seconds).  However, this is a particular problem for the Switch Alpha 12, since there is no way to cut power from the battery.  

 

To prevent this as much as possible, I have turned off the hibernation function and I have not had the same problem since, but the battery dies faster if in sleep mode.  The good thing about this computer is that it only takes a few seconds to shut down and boot up, so I generally just shut down unless I'm just carrying it somewhere to use again right away.  I haven't had any other hanging issues with this computer.

Have you tried charging (discharging) from the USB-C?  I might have been charging from there, since my cel phone uses a USB-C to USB-C charging cable.

 

Hope you get yours working again.  Its a great little machine when it works.

 

seggreeses

Thanks for the answer.

I am totally shut down the Alpha 12 every time. I have the problem sometimes when I turn off the Alpha 12 and later I want to turn on. When I turn on, then the blue LED lights but Alpha 12 do nothing, only the blue LED lights and I need to wait 2,5 days for dying of the battery. So Alpha 12 turns on but nothing happening. When the battery dies I plug in the charger, and everything is ok again.

So maybe I will put Alpha 12 to sleep every time, because of USB will work in sleep mode  
I am not dare to switch off Alpha 12 again
I will try to reinstall a normal Windows 10, not the "Acer" Windows 10. Maybe that will help.
Do you know something about that Acer will repair this bug?

reasonableman

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@seggreeses

That sounds pretty bad.  It seems like you have some serious problem with Windows startup, but it could possibly be something wrong in BIOS (but this is very much less likely).  I'd first try a full reset of the system to factory settings, or see if I could return it and get a new one, if you still have that option.  Some of your power settings might be the issue, or other programs you added might be causing an issue when trying to load at startup.  From your description, a fresh install would be the next logical step to fix this if you are not going to return it.  We should try to get ACER to make the power button long press kill the power.  That would at least speed up the diagnosis times for these issues.  It is terribly inconvenient to wait a few days for a reboot on any hang.  Good luck!

 

reasonableman

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@seggreeses

That sounds pretty bad.  It seems like you have some serious problem with Windows startup, but it could possibly be something wrong in BIOS (but this is very much less likely).  I'd first try a full reset of the system to factory settings, or see if I could return it and get a new one, if you still have that option.  Some of your power settings might be the issue, or other programs you added might be causing an issue when trying to load at startup.  From your description, a fresh install would be the next logical step to fix this if you are not going to return it.  We should try to get ACER to make the power button long press kill the power.  That would at least speed up the diagnosis times for these issues.  It is terribly inconvenient to wait a few days for a reboot on any hang.  Good luck!

 

abhi_123

I am facing the same issue on my Acer switch alpha 12. It doesn't wake up from sleep. 
After consulting the local Acer authorised service centre in Bangalore, they say it's a motherboard issue and needs to be replaced. 
Whereas in some posts I read it's a microsoft issue.

Can someone pls help me regarding this issue and how it could be resolved?

It's just 2 months I purchased it from Malaysia and I am on Intl. Traveller's warranty which, unfortunately, I wouldn't be applicable as I am Indian citizen and not Malaysian. Now I dont know whether I have to shell out extra 20k+ bucks to replace the motherboard or wait for another resolution

Need help folks

seggreeses

I had the same issue. I sent back to Acer and they replaced the motherboard.
That was 1 month ago and everything is perfect

Swe_Gi

I have exactly the same symptoms , Acer have agreed to send it go service. Fingers crossed it Will work when they return it.

Dirgenator

I'm going to jump in here. Simalar problem just popped up. 

 

I have a top spec Acer Switch Alpha 12 with i7, 8GB Ram and 512 SSD. Yesterday the laptop was working flawlessly after 6 months of flawless work. I flipped the keyboard lid shut to put it to sleep. A few hours later when I went to turn it on, nothing. No power light, no charging light. Totally dead. The battery was about half way charged if I remember and it was not plugged in when it went to sleep. 

 

So, I have tried holding the power, the power and the volume +, and the power + F5, in all combinations for 10, 30, 60, and 120 seconds, and I have tried all of these options with all peripherals removed, with and without keyboard, and while plugged in and while not plugged in. So basically every possible option. Nothing I have done has had any effect on the machine. It's like a brick, no lights no matter what I do. 

 

Acer support wants me to ship it in for repairs, but I am traveling for a month, and working, so this is incredibly inconvienient. Any magic solutions?

 

-Dirge

ctatum_user

Regarding the "magic key sequence" another user posted - I just had an issue where I think my Switch Alpha 12 was trying to install the Creators' Update for Windows 10 at the same time I was trying to reset my computer (wipe of everything).

 

I figured there must be something like that and what appears to have worked for me was the following:

 

1. Ensure the Switch Alpha 12 unit is completely shut down (no blue light, you tried a 30-second long press, all that).

2. Press and hold the power button until the blue light comes on.

3. Almost immediately after that, begin tapping the Windows button repeatedly, perhaps 2 to 3 times a second. The Windows button is the button with the Windows logo that's below the Volume rocker button.

 

This got me going again. I wish Acer had designed this unit with some kind of pinhole reset like many smartphones but I guess they figured this kind of bricking would never happen.

 

Frison

I had the same problem this morning but I found the solution unintentionally. I removed the power cable, USB hub and the keyboard, pressed again the power button and it turned on, after several times unsuccessful attempts.

lggmello

Hello,

My notebook problem is exactly as what happened with the Disgenator’s. My Acer Alpha 12 is completely dead, after 1 year and 1 month of use, suddely it stopped turning on, even a single light turns on anymore. I’m very upset with this problem. Already makes me feel like I throwed U$$800,00 in the trash.
Tomorrow I’ll be taking my Alpha Switch 12 to the Acer technical support that they have in Brazil for see what they can do.
As I see I’m not the only one with this nightmare Acer experience . If the solution is to replace the motherboard the trash can might be a better new place for my device, since I’m not covered by warranty anymore. Such a shame, very frustrating experience Acer. I think those kind of “premium” notebooks should be more durable... I really hope for a easy fix, such as a master reset or power charge replacement. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be updates about my case. I will post if so or as soon as I get it.

Riphunter

@Tarkus How long did it roughly take?