Acer Switch One 10 SW1-011 battery

JohnBrel

Hi all, I'm a bit confused with regard to the way this hybrid notebook tablet works with DC and AC power. The battery has deteriorated rather rapidly, and Windows Powercfg suggests that the battery is now on 1/8 of its original capacity. I have mostly used this notebook on AC, and only now I've found that the manual says 
1) "In addition, the useful lifespan of the battery is adversely affected by the following usage patterns: • Using the computer on constant AC power.", and
2) "You are advised to follow the suggestions set out below:• Use AC power whenever possible, reserving battery for mobile use."

To me it sounds 1 and 2 are contradictory. Based on previous experiences with notebooks I assumed that whenever I work with AC, the battery isn't used. This is also suggested by the fact that the "battery saving" function can only be activated when the notebook is used disconnected from the mains. (Why wouldn't one be allowed to save the battery when the battery IS actually being used when on AC?!). However, Windows battery report suggests that the battery is actually being used at all times. That seems quite costly.

My question is whether anyone can confirm that this is actually the case (the -- non-replaceable -- battery being used at all times)?

Secondly, looking ahead I would be interested to know if there are any hybrid notebook models by Acer that use the battery intelligently, i.e. do NOT use it when it is connected to AC?

I've been looking for battery replacements, but the information is rather scarce. Is there any reliable information out there with regard to ordering and replacing batteries for these kinds of devices?

I would be much obliged if anyone took the trouble to answer (part) of these questions.
Cheers, 
John

JackE

CentralPoint may have a replacement if you can revive the old one. https://www.centralpoint.nl/niet-gecategoriseerd/acer/battery-poly-8200mah-main-bns-art-kt-0020q-002-num-6902335/

I suggest that you first try to cycle the battery. When fully charged, disconnect the charger and run the battery till about 10% level or when the low battery warning alert comes on. Then repeat this cycle a half dozen times. Then run powercfg to see if capacity is starting to  improve. Keep cycling until capacity seems to stabilize. Jack E/NJ

JohnBrel

Thanks, JackE. I will try your advice cycling it first. From what I've seen, replacing the battery is not for the faint of heart.

billsey

You can sometimes get a not-quite-bad battery to recover by going through several drain/recharge cycles. Give that a try before replacement, it'll also show you just how long it really lasts.

gbas4nie

I have ACER Switch One 10 similar to yours, and I also have the same problem with you, i.e., the battery drains pretty fast. Every time I connect it to AC outlet, the notification tells that the battery is fully charge; however, after using it on battery power for less than 10 minutes, it turns off because of run out of the battery.

I think this is a defect product on sale. I also have problem with storage capacity. It has 32 Gb ROM and 500Gb Hardisk storage. Just runnng the Windows 10 system alone it has occupied most of the space in the ROM. To make it worse, I cannot run program from the 500Gb storage which is located in the keyboard dock. I think I have wasted my money on junk gadget.

Karp-Acer_Retired

gbas4nie said:

I have ACER Switch One 10 similar to yours, and I also have the same problem with you, i.e., the battery drains pretty fast. Every time I connect it to AC outlet, the notification tells that the battery is fully charge; however, after using it on battery power for less than 10 minutes, it turns off because of run out of the battery.

I think this is a defect product on sale. I also have problem with storage capacity. It has 32 Gb ROM and 500Gb Hardisk storage. Just runnng the Windows 10 system alone it has occupied most of the space in the ROM. To make it worse, I cannot run program from the 500Gb storage which is located in the keyboard dock. I think I have wasted my money on junk gadget.

We are sorry your Switch One 10 battery is presenting an issue. Please click on the link bellow for battery information.

If the issue persist we suggest you contact Acer support for further assistance.

https://us.answers.acer.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2384

JohnBrel

Acer-Karp said:

We are sorry your Switch One 10 battery is presenting an issue. Please click on the link bellow for battery information. 

If the issue persist we suggest you contact Acer support for further assistance.

https://us.answers.acer.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2384

It's saddening that Acer personell is refering to the exact same text which is incorrect and/or ambiguous.
The link you provide has worthless information. It says 1) "In addition, the useful lifespan of the battery is adversely affected by the following usage patterns: • Using the computer on constant AC power.", and
2) "You are advised to follow the suggestions set out below:• Use AC power whenever possible, reserving battery for mobile use."

The advice is contradictory. 
Secondly, I'm disappointed that I don't get an answer to a simple question: is it possible to bypass the battery when working on AC? The advice under 2) seems to suggest so, but the advice under 1) doesn't. My own experience seems to suggest that the battery life span deteriorates after each use, no matter whether one connects to AC or not.

I hope to hear back from you, as my issue is still quite topical and relevant. I could buy a new battery, but it would be pointless if it is exhausted even when AC is used.

Cheers, John

JackE

Did you run powercfg /batteryreport from the elevated command prompt to see if there's some improvement after cycling? If the battery does not show any improvement from cycling, then I would contact CentralPoint for a replacement https://www.centralpoint.nl/niet-gecategoriseerd/acer/battery-poly-8200mah-main-bns-art-kt-0020q-002-num-6902335/

To answer some of your questions.

If the charger is plugged in and the battery is at 100% charge level, then the laptop should be running off the charger and the battery only maintained at the 100% level and not really being used.

If the battery is disconnected inside, some models will --- and some models won't  --- run on the charger alone. This property is usually not described in the specsheets available to us. So the bottom line is you must try it and see.

Laptop, tablet and phone batteries are designed mainly for deep-discharge cycles. They usually benefit from cycling instead of keeping them constantly at 100% charge with the charger plugged in as if they were designed for standby function only.

Jack E/NJ

JohnBrel

Acer-Karp said:

We are sorry your Switch One 10 battery is presenting an issue. Please click on the link bellow for battery information. 

If the issue persist we suggest you contact Acer support for further assistance.

https://us.answers.acer.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2384

It's saddening that Acer personell is refering to the exact same text which is incorrect and/or ambiguous, as I pointed out above.
The link you provide has worthless information. It says 1) "In addition, the useful lifespan of the battery is adversely affected by the following usage patterns: • Using the computer on constant AC power.", and
2) "You are advised to follow the suggestions set out below:• Use AC power whenever possible, reserving battery for mobile use."

The advice is contradictory. 
Secondly, I'm disappointed that I don't get an answer to a simple question: is it possible to bypass the battery when working on AC? The advice under 2) seems to suggest so, but the advice under 1) doesn't. My own experience seems to suggest that the battery life span deteriorates after each use, no matter whether one connects to AC or not.

I hope to hear back from you, as my issue is still quite topical and relevant. I could buy a new battery, but it isn't worth it if the battery is used even when working on AC.

Cheers,
John

billsey

It's not really contradictory, and is the best usage model for long battery life. Leave it plugged in as much as feasible and do discharge/recharge cycles periodically. I find that I tend to run on battery a couple of times each month and consciously run it down enough to get into the automatic shutdown at least once in six months. My home use is almost all on AC though.

Whether a system can run without the battery installed is not obvious without someone actually trying it. It's certainly not supported officially by the manufacturer, or else they'd have a supported way to remove the battery. I believe your SW1-011 has the charger port soldered to the motherboard and the battery connected with several wires, in at least four different colors. If I were to guess I'd think the connection has several wires each for Vcc and Ground, plus a couple of sensor wires. That would mean voltage conversions are mostly handled by the MB and you could potentially run it without battery. The problem could be though that those sensor wires are needed by the charging circuit to allow those voltage conversions to happen. The only way to find out is to try it. It doesn't sound like you have tried that yet.

Most, if not all, new notebook models have batteries that aren't removable by the general public. That allows the notebook to be much thinner and allows the manufacturer to more closely integrate the battery usage into the design so they can fine tune it to last longer. I would expect that trend to continue, since consumers want longer battery life and thinner, lighter systems. That means designers are less likely to take running a laptop sans battery into their design specs.

JackE

Heb je powercfg / batteryreport uitgevoerd vanaf de verhoogde opdrachtprompt om te zien of er enige verbetering is na het fietsen? Als de batterij geen verbetering vertoont tijdens het fietsen, zou ik contact opnemen met CentralPoint voor een vervangende https://www.centralpoint.nl/niet-gecategoriseerd/acer/battery-poly-8200mah-main-bns-art-kt-0020q -002-num-6.902.335 /

Om enkele van uw vragen te beantwoorden.

Als de lader is aangesloten en de batterij 100% is opgeladen, moet de laptop de lader uitschakelen en moet de batterij alleen op 100% worden gehouden en niet echt worden gebruikt.

Als de batterij binnen wordt losgekoppeld, zullen sommige modellen --- en sommige modellen --- niet alleen op de lader werken. Deze eigenschap wordt meestal niet beschreven in de specificaties die voor ons beschikbaar zijn. Dus het komt erop neer dat je het moet proberen en zien.

Batterijen voor laptops, tablets en telefoons zijn voornamelijk ontworpen voor cycli met diepe ontlading. Ze profiteren meestal van fietsen in plaats van ze constant op 100% te laden terwijl de oplader is aangesloten alsof ze alleen voor de standby-functie zijn ontworpen. Jack E/NJ

Did you run powercfg /batteryreport from the elevated command prompt to see if there's some improvement after cycling? If the battery does not show any improvement from cycling, then I would contact CentralPoint for a replacement https://www.centralpoint.nl/niet-gecategoriseerd/acer/battery-poly-8200mah-main-bns-art-kt-0020q-002-num-6902335/

To answer some of your questions.

If the charger is plugged in and the battery is at 100% charge level, then the laptop should be running off the charger and the battery only maintained at the 100% level and not really being used.

If the battery is disconnected inside, some models will --- and some models won't  --- run on the charger alone. This property is usually not described in the specsheets available to us. So the bottom line is you must try it and see.

Laptop, tablet and phone batteries are designed mainly for deep-discharge cycles. They usually benefit from cycling instead of keeping them constantly at 100% charge with the charger plugged in as if they were designed for standby function only. Jack E/NJ