Monitor Shuts Off Randomly - Acer Spin 5, model: SP513-52N-55LV

Why does this happen?

Other than problems with my stylus (resolved) and battery degradation (I've already ordered a replacement), I have had no issues with this laptop... until this.

When I'm working on the computer the monitor just shuts off and I can't get it to go back on. The rest of the computer seems to still be working, though, as evidenced by the fact I can still talk to people over Zoom. Pressing keys, the trackpad, and the touchscreen do not turn the monitor back on. Only force-shutting down the machine by holding down the power button, then turning the computer on again seems to work.

The random monitor shut offs occur when the computer is physically still. It has happened most often when I'm on Zoom, but just happened a few minutes ago when I was only using OneNote. It has occurred when the power cord is plugged in and when running only on battery.

What should I do?

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billsey

I'm going to guess by monitor you mean the laptop screen and not an external monitor... Could it be the power settings are strict enough to be shutting the screen down too quickly? Does is happen regularly enough that you could test for it to happen while in the BIOS? If it still blanks out while in the BIOS then it's not a Windows software issue. If it works fine in the BIOS and not while in Windows then we'll want to boot in safe mode to try and pin it down between drivers and applications.

WillQRogers

Yes, that's right, I did mean "laptop screen"... I didn't know there was any difference between that and a monitor.

I don't think I've made any changes to the power settings over the years. What should I look for there?

Also, I'm not even sure what BIOS is or how to see if the monitor blanks out there. Even if I knew how to get into BIOS settings, the monitor shuts off randomly - say 5 or 10 times per week and I can't predict when. So how would I know if the monitor is OK in BIOS but not Windows?

Lastly, how do I eliminate hardware explanations for the monitor shut offs?

billsey

A monitor is a display that attaches to a computer, on a laptop the screen is built in and typically can't be connected to a different computer.

You typically get into the BIOS by spamming the F2 key from the time you turn the laptop on until after the Acer logo shows up. It should indicate on the screen that you are entering setup. But if it's as infrequent as that we're not liable to learn much unless you get 'lucky' enough to have it fail while in there. Also, since it's so infrequent it's not likely to be power settings, they would be much more regular.

Is there any indication that something is getting too hot when the failure occurs? You could monitor the temperature with most any one of the apps that do that in the background. I use one called Core Temp on mine. Since the video chip is integrated into the CPU I would be surprised if the video shut down without the rest shutting down as well. How old is your laptop? If you are still covered by warranty it's probably a good time to contact Acer support...

WillQRogers

My laptop is from 2017 and no warranty applies any more.

It does get fairly hot, but I think I can recall times where the monitor shut off when it was not very hot... not sure about this, though. I will get a temperature app.