Is a five year old notebook worth repairing?F5-771G-70CK having issue with battery and screen freeze

Pygmalion

About five years ago, I bought a new 17-inch Acer Aspire F5-771G-70CK i7-7500U/16G/SSD 512G. Since I am not a gamer, this notebook is still good for my needs in terms of speed. However, there are two quirky problems:

1. The problem with the battery. The problem is that the computer suddenly switches off after 5 - 60 minutes on battery power. This is definitely not a battery capacity issue, as there is no warning that the battery is running low - the computer simply switches off suddenly and the timing of the switch-off is completely unpredictable. If I knew that changing the battery would solve the problem, I would probably do just that.
2. Sensitivity to vibrations. When I bang my fist on the table my notebook is on (yes, not on the computer, but on the table), the screen jerks and freezes and I have to restart the computer. This seems to be a problem with a connection. It's not a serious problem, but it scares the[Sensitive content] out of me every time.

Given the above two problems, I am wondering if it would be worth repairing the device as it otherwise works more than fine for my needs? Or should I just discard it and buy a new notebook?

Best regards

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JackE

Internal battery charge/voltage regulator has likely failed and can't communicate it's actually charge level to the operating system. A new battery costs about $35. It will likely fix the problem but not 100% guaranteed if that's what you need before wagering $35.

The vibration problem will likely be fixed by simply re-seating all the accessible cable connectors a few times to help clean their contacts. You can do this when you remove the bottom cover to replace the battery. Again, not 100% guaranteed if that's what you need before wagering $35 and removing the bottom cover.

If it was mine, I'd wager $35 on a new battery and re-seat all the connectors to the mainboard and boot drive. But it's not mine. So you'll have to decide for yourself if you feel lucky or not. 🙂

JackE

Internal battery charge/voltage regulator has likely failed and can't communicate it's actually charge level to the operating system. A new battery costs about $35. It will likely fix the problem but not 100% guaranteed if that's what you need before wagering $35.

The vibration problem will likely be fixed by simply re-seating all the accessible cable connectors a few times to help clean their contacts. You can do this when you remove the bottom cover to replace the battery. Again, not 100% guaranteed if that's what you need before wagering $35 and removing the bottom cover.

If it was mine, I'd wager $35 on a new battery and re-seat all the connectors to the mainboard and boot drive. But it's not mine. So you'll have to decide for yourself if you feel lucky or not. 🙂

Pygmalion

​35 dollars and (apparently) an hour's work seem worth a try. The question is which battery is the right one and what is the quality of replacement. Sometimes it's 14.6V, sometimes it's 14.8V, sometimes it's 2200mAh, sometimes it's 2800mAh. I found this one on Amazon, but it's not exactly the same model as mine (F5-771G-70CK) https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Compatible-F5-771G-54TC-F5-771G-58P2-F5-771G-596H-F5-771G-72Q0-black/dp/B08L9M4DV6

Pygmalion

And here is another one with higher capacity… https://www.amazon.de/-/en/AS16A5K-Replacement-Battery-AS16A7K-AS16A8K/dp/B09XXG3CN3

Pygmalion

I opened a computer and checked the battery model. That was much easier than I thought. I also cleaned the connectors for RAM and SSD with isopropanol and could not find any problems with vibrations. So let us keep our fingers crossed that a new battery will solve the problem.

JackE

Good for you! Batteries are commodity items from different manufacturers. Acer might slap their own label on a battery made by Sanyo, Panasonic, Lite-On etc. So searching by the model number is the best way to find a replacement. Good luck. 🙂

Pygmalion

First, a follow up. I received the battery six days after ordering it from Amazon. I was pleasantly surprised by the packaging, which was very professional. I replaced the battery and now everything seems to be working fine!

I have one more question. The problems with the original Acer battery started after only two years. This is a bit surprising as my computer is almost always plugged in, I only used it disconnected on occasional trips. Was I just unlucky or did I somehow use the battery incorrectly? Can you give me some advice on how to extend the battery life?

Finally, a service check would cost just as much as the battery and a new battery would probably be much more expensive, so all in all the whole operation was a great success. Thank you very much for your help!