Battery indicator light doesn't turn blue when charged 100% in Swift 14 AI (SF14-11T-X0VQ)

GregJ206
GregJ206 Member Posts: 7

Tinkerer

edited April 7 in Swift and Spin Series

Hey folks,

I just bought a Swift 14 AI (SF14-11T-X0VQ). When the computer is off and I plug in the adapter/charger to charge the battery, the battery indicator light on the side of the laptop doesn't turn from amber to blue (when the battery reaches fully charged) until I turn the computer on. This seems odd because, shouldn't it turn blue when it's fully charged so I know when it's fully charged without having to turn the computer on to check?

[Edited the thread to add model number to the title]

Best Answer

  • GregJ206
    GregJ206 Member Posts: 7

    Tinkerer

    Answer ✓

    UPDATE: So as it turns out, the way my laptop is behaving is indeed how it is supposed to. A tech support person explained to me that the computer is unable to check the battery level if the computer is off, so when it's off and plugged into a power source, the battery charge indicator light simply defaults to amber. So the laptop has to be either on or in sleep mode in order for the light to change from amber to blue when the battery reaches 100%. I charged it in sleep mode and verified this.

    Anyway, I hope this helps anyone else out there who might have the same question I did.

Answers

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 14,129 Trailblazer

    This is what your SF14-11T laptop light should be doing while charging and/or is critically discharged, this is from the SF14-11T service guide. if you are getting those symptoms from a new laptop then send your SF14-11T laptop back to Acer tech Support as your laptop could have a faulty DC_IN port or an adapter and get Acer to either replace these components so that the laptop charges 100% and properly. Do not let this go as it could affect the overall charging of your laptop later on and your laptop will not charge when its out of warranty, get this fixed asap and now. good luck and hope this helps you out.

    Side LED Charging light and description of all light patterns for the SF14-11T laptop.

    image.png image.png

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

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 14,129 Trailblazer
    edited April 7

    If you have a faulty battery a battery reset pin press will do nothing, you can press the reset button at the underneath pin hole of your Swift SF14-11T laptop or go a step further and do a hard reset, where you need to open the back cover of your laptop and take the battery out and the bios battery out and short its +&- pins to reset CMOS, which doing all this could void your warranty, so I don't suggest that you do that. but none of these resets will fix a faulty battery or a faulty power charging rail, its up to you as for a new laptop this should not be happening.

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

  • GregJ206
    GregJ206 Member Posts: 7

    Tinkerer

    I can give the pinhole reset technique a try as it seems pretty simple and safe (i.e. won't accidentally break anything or void the warranty), and if that doesn't fix it then I'll get in touch with tech support ASAP. Thanks for your help, it's much appreciated.

  • GregJ206
    GregJ206 Member Posts: 7

    Tinkerer

    UPDATE: I just called Acer tech support and explained what is happening. The guy I spoke with put me on hold for a couple minutes and then came back and said that this is how it's supposed to work. I asked him if he's sure about that, and he said he read it straight from the user manual. He specifically quoted the part that says, "Fully charged: The light shows blue when in AC mode.". I told him I thought "AC mode" simply means that the laptop is plugged in (to an AC power outlet), but he said no, it means it's both plugged in and turned on.

    If he's correct, this seems like a dumb design flaw because, of course, I shouldn't have to turn my laptop on just to see if it's fully charged or not.

    So, does anyone know for certain whether he's correct?

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 36,078 Trailblazer

    That's easy enough to verify. Does it turn blue when you plug the charger in when the laptop is turned on, after it has finished it's charge? When it's blue and you turn the laptop off with the charger still connected, does it change to amber? :)

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • GregJ206
    GregJ206 Member Posts: 7

    Tinkerer

    edited April 9

    Yes, but I'm not trying to verify if that's how my laptop behaves. I'm trying to verify if that's how it's supposed to behave. It just seems weird to me that Acer would have designed a laptop with a battery charging status indicator light that doesn't actually indicate the charging status of the battery unless the laptop is turned on. Afterall, since the battery charges faster when the laptop is turned off, it stands to reason that a lot of people would choose to charge it that way (turned off). So unless there's some technical reason why a computer has to be on (or at least in sleep mode) in order for it to be able to measure the battery charge level, then it just seems like a design flaw/oversight on Acer's part.

    If this is indeed how it's supposed to behave, then Acer really needs to fix the user manual to make it clear that the light will only change from amber to blue when the battery reaches 100% if the laptop is on (or in sleep mode). The way the user manual is currently written, that is not clear at all. I can't possibly be the only person who bought this laptop and, after reading the manual, just assumed that the light would turn blue when the battery reaches 100% regardless of whether it's on or off.

  • GregJ206
    GregJ206 Member Posts: 7

    Tinkerer

    Answer ✓

    UPDATE: So as it turns out, the way my laptop is behaving is indeed how it is supposed to. A tech support person explained to me that the computer is unable to check the battery level if the computer is off, so when it's off and plugged into a power source, the battery charge indicator light simply defaults to amber. So the laptop has to be either on or in sleep mode in order for the light to change from amber to blue when the battery reaches 100%. I charged it in sleep mode and verified this.

    Anyway, I hope this helps anyone else out there who might have the same question I did.