Swift Go 16 Model: SFG16-72T-95LG Main screen freezes, second screen works, any fix?

I have Swift Go 16 Laptop Model: SFG16-72T-95LG

In one month I've had 3 times when the main screen got frozen.

Last time it happened on Jan 6,2025.

The computer was running just a single application showing real-time charts from the Internet on two screens: main and an HDMI connected one.

Then it came to my attention that the mail screen stopped updating a while ago.

What I saw:

- Main Screen doesn't get updated -- frozen

- second screen attached via HDMI kept updating.

- mouse movements were seen on the second screen but not of the frozen screen

- Computer didn't lock itself up in 30 min like it was configured;

- Locking the computer by pressing Win-L worked but the main screen was still frozen;

- unlock via fingerprint sensor worked;

- Pushing power off (configured to turn the computer off) didn't work

- Long pushing Power OFF did turn the laptop off.

- Next boot produced two short beeps.

I communicated with Acer support. I hoped it's a known issue and they would offer a fix. But all they offered was to ship the computer to them for the repairs. Because the freeze happens rarely I don't think they will be able to fix it. And they would just ship it back to me as "fixed".

I really like the computer, but not the freezes.

Any ideas?

TIA, Ilya

Accepted answers

All comments

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/718991/swift-go-16-model-sfg16-72t-95lg

Hi, check in Device Manager or Windows Info if your BIOS version is 1.14 from 2024/09/27, if older update BIOS.

Ilyadorfman

Yes, I have 1.14. Thank you!

billsey

The chipset design for your SFG16-72T has two separate outputs for video:

With DDI x4 allocated for each (Note the DDI*4 for the eDP and another for the HDMI above), plus a single USB port for the touch screen. If just one is freezing, it pretty much has to be an issue with the chip itself, unless it only happens with the external screen, where it could be the TI chip that acts as the buffer to the HDMI port. Since your issue happens only on the internal port it can't be the TI chip shown. In Windows there are chipset drivers that handle things like this, and that's the direction I think we should look. Try going on Acer's support site, enter your model number (SFG16-72T) and download their chipset drivers and the chipset utility. Extract the zip and follow the instruction to reinstall those drivers. See if that fixes it or not…

Ilyadorfman

Thank you, Billsey. I really hoped it's a "known problem" and there is a "sure fix" for it. But there isn't. Because I bought at Costco I can still return it.

Axxo

Let us do the basic steps first. First of all, we need to find out whether it is a hardware or software issue. Here are some of the steps to speed up or increase the performance your computer. Try windows + r - on the run window - type msconfig - click ok click on servicescheck - hide all microsoft services click on disable allclick on startup disable all the startup items

click on apply - ok - restart the computer. Loading process will be very fast now..Note: You can always enable the services and startup items later or set it to normal startup from selective startup later on the General tab Try windows + r - on the run window - type appwiz.cpl - click ok it will show you the list of programsremove all the unwanted third party programs. Please don’t remove any drivers.

If you are not sure , please don’t remove it. Try windows + r - on the run window type temp - click ok - it will show you the bunch of files - try ctrl + a - select all files - press the shift key and click on delete files Try windows + r - on the run window type %temp% - click ok - It will show you the bunch of files - try ctrl + a - select all files - press the shift key and click on delete files If you are not able to remove some files - click on skip and then click click on continue.. Try windows + r - on the run window - type cleanmgr - click okclick on all the boxes except recycle bin and thumnailDelete the items which are checked Try windows x - on the menu - chose command prompt admin or power shell admin click on yes on the blue or black window type sfc /scannow It will be running till 100 %Try to do a chrome reset

open chromeclick on three dots on top right corner click on settingsScroll down - go to advancedclick on restore setting to defaultyou will see reset settings - cancelclick on reset settings Open chrome it will work faster nowIf it is still not working then we have to do a refresh and resetclick on start - settings - update and security - recovery - reset this pc - get started or on start - type here to search - type reset this pc - click on reset this pc on the top - click on get started It will show you keep my files and remove everythingchose keep my files

Choose the account - type the password - click on local reinstall - click on reset It will be in progress.. login to computer and start using the computer. If it is still not working click on start - settings - update and security - recovery - reset this pc - get started chose remove everything click on local reinstall - just remove my files - click on resetIt will be in progressNote:If you do refresh ( keep my files ) - all your personal files like pictures, music , documents , videos will still be intact. Only the applications will be lost. If you do reset (remove everything) - you are doing a factory default. It will become like a day one computer. It will wipe out everything and take your computer to day one like a new computer. You can also do the recovery in an alternative way..There are two alt keys on the keyboard. If you look at the bottom row of keyboard you can see the one on the left side of space bar and the other on the right side of space bar. The alt key on the right side will be looking like alt, alt gr or alt car.

Turn off the computer. Hold the alt key on the left and tap f10 continuously. It will go to repair mode. It will show you chose an option, continue, troubleshoot. If it is not going to repair mode, turn off the computer. Turn on the computer. Hold the right alt key ( alt gr or alt car or alt ) and then tap f10 continuously. It will go to chose an option continue and troubleshoot..It will show you chose an option, continue, troubleshootGo to troubleshoot - click on reset this pcclick on keep my files ( only applications will be lost ) chose your account and type your password - click on local reinstall - click on reset

It will be in progress If the keep my files option is not working Go to troubleshoot - click on reset this pc – click on remove everything – click on local reinstall – just remove my files – click on reset It will reinstall windows. If the just remove my files is not working..Go to troubleshoot - click on reset this pc – click on remove everything – click on local reinstall – Fully clean the drive – click on reset It will reinstall windows. Note: You can also go to chose an option , continue , troubleshoot by holding the alt key + tapping f10 or alt gr + tapping f10 on the keyboard while turning on the computer. Once you see the troubleshoot option, you can stop tapping the f10 and stop holding the alt key. Then you can try the keep my files and remove everything ( just remove by files and fully clean the drive ) by following the steps which was mentioned above.

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Ilyadorfman

Thank you, Axxo. It's a brand new computer, very clean and fast. I love it, but I'm going to return it. And I've already ordered a new one, exactly like that last one.

betatester

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1319854#Comment_1319854

Hi Ilyadorfman and Moderators,
I am very interested to hear if your replacement computer works because I had the same problem on the same model (purchased in October 2024), and my replacement (received in December 2024) also has the same problem unfortunately. Aside from this issue I too like the laptop's configuration so I'd like to keep it, but if the bug isn't fixed within 2 months I'll have to return it to COSTCO for good.

FYI, this is not a Windows problem because it also happens on Linux; I tested Ubuntu 22.04.5 and Ubuntu 24.04.1 with both Wayland and X11. Additionally, I tested BIOS versions 1.14 and 1.12 (and another earlier version which I don't remember exactly). But the problem persisted in all of these cases.

Because I can unfreeze the frozen laptop screen by refreshing the display (for example by changing display settings via a functional external monitor), it is probably not a hardware problem. In addition to the screen freezes, less frequently I have also experienced screen blackouts lasting anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes, which can be dealt with the same way as screen freezes or by just waiting it out. I also noticed that the laptop screen sometimes (but not always) ignores display settings like never dim screen and instead dims out after 1 minute (meanwhile the external monitor never dims out), further leading me to believe that there is a firmware bug.

ACER needs to patch this bug ASAP because it is probably widespread. In the meantime, I would be grateful if someone can show me how to manually override faulty firmware and fix/reduce the screen problems.

Ilyadorfman

Hi betatester, thank you for the message.

If it happens once a week I certainly can tolerate it. But couple times per day would be bad.

Did you try to bring ACER support's attention to this matter? When I reported it to them I hoped it was a known bug and they had a fix for it. But they said ship it to us which is bad.

If I had to guess I'd say it's in the video driver or the screen firmware. But they are not unique to ACER as they are supplied by Intel.

betatester

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1320536#Comment_1320536

If it happens once a week I certainly can tolerate it. But couple times per day would be bad.

It's a couple times per day for me unfortunately.

Did you try to bring ACER support's attention to this matter?

I have not yet. Instead I contacted Costco several times but they told me that they have not received similar complaints about this laptop. In light of that, I thought it was highly unlikely that I'd get 2 duds in a row (and with the exact same problem), so I was led to believe that it was caused by software on my end.

But now I know there are other Costco customers that do have this problem. Also, I found out over a month of intense experimentation that it still happens when I'm not running many software at all; for example it happened while I was just running Youtube on Firefox and nothing else.

But they said ship it to us which is bad.

I'm returning one soon. I'll ask Costco/ACER if I should send it directly to ACER instead.

But they are not unique to ACER as they are supplied by Intel.

We can probably rule out Intel because I also tested a similar spec DELL laptop i7640-9237BLU-PUS loaded with the exact same Intel CPU that has been running without this issue for over a month.

My guess is that far more people have this issue but most don't realize it because their display is set to turn off and/or sleep after a short time, which would unfreeze the screen and mask the issue. Indeed, I myself did not realize this issue for nearly a month because my screen was set to turn off after 3 minutes.

Ilyadorfman

Please contact ACER and tell them that other customers are having this problem. Based on your experience they will be able to reproduce it.

When I contacted them via texting it wasn't a technician talking to me. It was some customer support.

The freeze happened again today when the laptop was basically idle — showing charts from the Internet. Both screens froze and the unit was hot. May be the temperature goes out of control in some rare cases.

Ilyadorfman

I hoped that it was just a bad unit, but you showed up and it means all of them are potentially bad. I'm going to return and buy a new one from a better company. Recently I was only buying Lenovo and they were Okay.

billsey

Based on what we have seen here with the SFG16-72T models, it's not a widespread issue. I am wondering if it was a batch of systems that Costco had with the issue, and still tend to believe the root cause is a chipset problem. Costco has a great return policy, but a replacement from them is likely to be from the same batch. Sending it to Acer for repairs is more likely to work, they will probably replace the motherboard.

Ilyadorfman

Thank you.

Acer didn't acknowledge the problem. Since the problem is intermittent they could say "didn't see the problem" and just ship it back to me. I don't trust Acer. I need a reliable computer, not a Russian roulette "hope". Will order a ThinkPad.

ERTW

i have the same problem, SWIFT SFG16-72T, also purchased from Costco. for me, the screen and mouse freeze but the audio still is OK including live stream audio from discord. i found that closing the lid and then opening the lid resolves the issue but it also means i have to break connection to live stream which sucks. that is with just the laptop and while using a headset (not sure if that's a factor or not).
I have also had the same issue when using HDMI to connect to a 2nd monitor, both screens freeze. i have checked power settings to make sure there is nothing that would ever shutdown laptop, and also some deep settings associated with removing any sort of energy efficiency shutdown. didn't help.

Ilyadorfman

Thank you.

Acer refuses to acknowledge the problem which is appalling. Because what if it begins freezing every hour?

«closing the lid and then opening the lid resolves the issue»

It means the fix is possible and not complicated but apparently Acer is not capable of making it.

I own the laptop for two months so I can still return it.

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1321449#Comment_1321449

Take the SFG16-72T back to Cosco and get another Swift or a similar laptop as there are other better options than the Swift model laptops that are even better and more powerful.

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

Ilyadorfman

Thanks for the advice. I waited for November sales and got that Swift for $700. With 32GB and 9-185H it was a deal of the year. Right now there are no sales. I guess I'll get some plain vanilla Thinkpad for $1200. After all you can't be fired for buying IBM. 😁

billsey

Except, of course, if you buy a Thinkpad you aren't buying from IBM. They sold off their consumer products many years ago to a Chinese manufacturer…

Ilyadorfman

I know, they sold in 2004. I worked in the industry at that time. If you ever had a computer with Phoenix BIOS then you had my code in it. Success of Lenovo is in part in customer service. Thinkpads come with 1 year on site warranty. I've owned many laptops but this is the first time I need support. I'm not sure how would DELL or HP would behave but I can't trust Acer as they don't want to own up to their mistakes. When I called them I was 100% they would had a fix for it.