Travelmate power consumption issue (TMP614-51-50FJ)

Bios version 1.03 updates the thermal table. What is the version of uefi bios?

Thank you for your comment,
I updated to 1.03 (It was 1.01). The fan seems to run significantly less, but the issue persists. That will help power-wise in the long run, thank you for that.

Do you have any other potential solutions you can think of?

Best regards

I suggest you check this channel on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNJwGUHxSJ8FKqAhnOqQuAw

Hello,

Has there been any update on this? I've tried four different operating systems with kernel versions ranging from 4.19 to the brand new 5.3.2, but the issue still stands. It appears to be a bios issue, but I cannot prove that. 16 hour max battery life is hard to work with since it is 16 hours sleeping, and far less than that when in use.

I have been watching for new bios versions, but 1.03 is still the latest.

Best Regards,
Matt

Check here: https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2019/05/slimbook-battery-optimizer-ubuntu

egydiocoelho said:

Check here: https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2019/05/slimbook-battery-optimizer-ubuntu

Thanks for the comment, but this did not make a difference. I have the battery power consumption tied down pretty tight, except for this issue. I tried a few more potential solutions and the issue still stands.

Strangely, running this seems to help the solution until the next time it goes to sleep. This disables power management for the speakers, which in turn causes its own issue since power management is disabled, so it consumes additional current, albeit less.

echo "on" > /sys/bus/hdaudio/drivers/snd_hda_codec_realtek/hdaudioC0D0/power/control

Is there a place I can report this problem to Acer? Currently their bios is all closed source so I can't make my own changes. I need this laptop for light engineering work, so I need it to have a long battery life, and I need it to have Linux. Everything else besides this, USB PD-3 charging, (and sometimes the wifi timing out with error -110) are usable.

I'm almost at the point of desoldering anything related to the speaker drivers off the motherboard. I don't use the speakers often, but I use the battery everyday.

Thank you,
Matt

I will ask for help from a colleague who has more knowledge about the linux operating system.

Laptop power control and power savings features are still not Ubuntu strengths relative to Windows especially on laptops that are specifically setup and designed to run best on Windows. Have you posted your issue to the Ubuntu forums and gotten any responses yet? Jack E/NJ

Even with this speaker power management issue, my battery life is still about 2 hours longer on linux than on windows. (My old Acer laptop experienced >6 hours longer) linux is required for development on this laptop. The issue wouldn't be so bad if the speakers didnt reach ~60c (!) and the battery didnt last less than 20 hours when suspended.
I have posted on ubuntu forums about this before posting here on acer forums, but there were no replies.
Also, this issue is not limited to ubuntu, or any ubuntu-based linux distro, which is why it leads me to believe It is either a kernel issue, or a bios issue. I have tried kernels ranging from 4.19 to the brand new 5.3.2 on five different linux distros, so it isnt too likely to be a kernel issue

Thank you
-Matt

>>>he issue wouldn't be so bad if the speakers didnt reach ~60c (!>>>

Speaker temp? 60*C? Never heard of this? These aren't old electromagnet speakers. Are you sure it isn't something else heating things up? Jack E/NJ

Indeed. I plotted the speaker output on an oscilloscope, and it was pulse amplitude modulation with a max amplitude peaking near 13v. The temp rises up to 30c above ambient when the laptop is suspended (In sleep where the fan wont run) and less than that with the fan running. The temps were checked using a thermal camera. The speaker driver area heats up, but the speakers get the hottest overall.

Thanks,
-Matt

You should be hearing something thru the speakers if the amps are still on and hitting them with 13v spikes. And they should not be drawing enough power to heat up like that even when driven full tilt. What happens when you plug in a headset? Jack E/NJ

Sorry for the delay-
Viewing it on an oscilloscope shows most of the energy near 1.2 MHz, nothing seems to be audible, most of the audible noise is from the processor / processor power circuitry area.
Plugging in some headphones/headset does not make a difference unfortunately.

If you have any other suggestions, I would be more than happy to try them.
Thanks,
-Matt

>>>I recently purchased an Acer Travelmate P6 (TMP614-51-50FJ)>>>

The headset should disable the speakers. Seems like the proprietary mainboard amps aren't letting go of them. If it was mine, I'd return it to the vendor for an exchange on a different model before the vendor's returns period expires. I seriously doubt warranty repair will find a hardware problem. A future driver or firmware update might fix the leak but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it if it's not there already. Check here for the latest https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/7981?b=1

Jack E/NJ

JackE said:

If it was mine, I'd return it to the vendor for an exchange on a different model before the vendor's returns period expires. I seriously doubt warranty repair will find a hardware problem.

Thats a shame, its about 3 weeks past the 30 day return period.
Thank you, ill wait for an update (if there is ever one). Ive been watching for a bios update on the product page for about two months now, but nothing yet.

If there is no update by the time the warranty expires (in a year or two), ill manually desolder the speaker driver/controller. A usable battery is more important to me than usable audio.

Thank you,
-Matt