Acer Spin 3 Screen Going Black randomly while typing - Battery report run

The machine was delivered in 2/16/2023.

Acer Spin 3 14" Touchscreen

12th generation Intel i5 - 1080p

Recently the screen has been going black while I am typing.

I read the community and found the suggestion run the battery report. I did and it is attached. I am not sure I think it's the battery — in part because I keep the machine plugged in almost all of the time. And, this going blank situation seems so random.

To summarize:

I am happily typing along and all of the sudden the screen goes black and then shows the standby screen. When I hit the power key I can type in my access code and the screen comes right back on.

I realize that I didn't pay HUGE bucks for this machine, but shouldn't it last a little more than 29 months?!

Battery report.txt

Accepted answers

Puraw

Hi @lzunich64 , thanks again for the battery report and follow-up.

🔧 BIOS Version Your system shipped in February 2023, but the BIOS you're using appears optimized for Windows 10. For full Windows 11 compatibility—including proper sensor behavior and power management—you should update to BIOS version 1.51 (dated 2023/11/01). You can find it by entering your model (SP314-55N) at Acer’s official Drivers and Manuals page: https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/drivers

🧲 Lid Sensor Clarification billsey’s comment about metallic objects triggering the lid sensor is well-intentioned, but technically off. A Hall effect sensor requires a magnetic field to register lid closure—not just metal. So unless your belt buckle or suspenders contain a magnet or are near a magnetic clasp, they shouldn’t trigger the sensor.

💡 Sleep Behavior vs Crash Since your screen wakes with a trackpad click or power key, this points to Sleep mode activation, not a hardware fault. This could be caused by:

Misconfigured display timeout or sleep settings
A driver issue (especially Intel iGPU or chipset)
A lid sensor glitch that may be resolved with the BIOS update

⚙️ Optional Fix: Disable Fast Startup Fast Startup can interfere with proper sleep/wake cycles. To disable it:

Go to Control Panel > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do
Click “Change settings that are currently unavailable”
Uncheck “Turn on fast startup (recommended)”
Save changes and reboot

🗓️ Minor Correction Just a quick note: your Spin 3 is about 18 months old, not 29. Still well within expected lifespan—especially with proper updates.

Let me know if you’d like help walking through driver updates or checking Event Viewer logs. You’re close to resolving this!

All comments

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/726673/acer-spin-3-screen-going-black-battery-report-run

Hi @lzunich64 , Run a battery report, paste this in the command prompt: powercfg /batteryreport Open the report with your Edge browser, press Ctrl + P or right-click and select “Print to Microsoft PDF”, then attach that PDF to your reply. Type @Puraw or use Quote when you reply so I’ll get an alert.

Also, please let us know:

If the screen goes black while it’s plugged in or only on battery
Whether any keyboard keys or the trackpad still work when it happens
If you’ve changed any sleep or display timeout settings recently

That’ll help rule out whether this is tied to power plan behavior, a lid sensor misfire, or display driver hiccups.

Let me know if you want to tack on driver rollbacks or EC reset steps next.

billsey

You can also see that if you have something metallic near the laptop, the builtin sensors can see that as a closed lid, so they sleep the system. I've been able to cause the issue with both a belt buckle and suspenders. :)

lzunich64

@Puraw

batteryreport.pdf

Goes black while plugged in or not.

When it does I can click on the trackpad or mouse and it wakes up.

I'm wondering if I can do something to see if I need to update display or other drivers.

Appreciate your assistance.

Puraw

Hi @lzunich64 , thanks again for the battery report and follow-up.

🔧 BIOS Version Your system shipped in February 2023, but the BIOS you're using appears optimized for Windows 10. For full Windows 11 compatibility—including proper sensor behavior and power management—you should update to BIOS version 1.51 (dated 2023/11/01). You can find it by entering your model (SP314-55N) at Acer’s official Drivers and Manuals page: https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/drivers

🧲 Lid Sensor Clarification billsey’s comment about metallic objects triggering the lid sensor is well-intentioned, but technically off. A Hall effect sensor requires a magnetic field to register lid closure—not just metal. So unless your belt buckle or suspenders contain a magnet or are near a magnetic clasp, they shouldn’t trigger the sensor.

💡 Sleep Behavior vs Crash Since your screen wakes with a trackpad click or power key, this points to Sleep mode activation, not a hardware fault. This could be caused by:

Misconfigured display timeout or sleep settings
A driver issue (especially Intel iGPU or chipset)
A lid sensor glitch that may be resolved with the BIOS update

⚙️ Optional Fix: Disable Fast Startup Fast Startup can interfere with proper sleep/wake cycles. To disable it:

Go to Control Panel > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do
Click “Change settings that are currently unavailable”
Uncheck “Turn on fast startup (recommended)”
Save changes and reboot

🗓️ Minor Correction Just a quick note: your Spin 3 is about 18 months old, not 29. Still well within expected lifespan—especially with proper updates.

Let me know if you’d like help walking through driver updates or checking Event Viewer logs. You’re close to resolving this!

Axxo

A black screen on an Acer Spin 3 laptop while typing can be caused by various factors, including hardware issues like a faulty graphics card or loose connections, software glitches like driver problems, or even overheating. Troubleshooting steps include restarting the laptop, checking for loose connections, updating graphics drivers, and potentially testing with an external monitor.

Possible Causes: Hardware Issues:
Graphics Card: A failing or faulty graphics card can lead to display problems, including a black screen.
Loose Connections: Ensure all cables, especially the display connector, are securely connected.
Overheating: If the laptop is overheating, it may shut down the display to prevent damage.
RAM Issues: Faulty RAM modules can also cause the screen to go black.
BIOS Issues: Incorrect BIOS settings or a corrupted BIOS can also lead to display problems.
Software Issues:
Driver Problems: Outdated or corrupted graphics drivers are a common cause of black screen issues.
Operating System Errors: Corrupted system files or recent software installations can also lead to this problem.
Malware: Malware infections can sometimes cause display issues.
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lzunich64

@Puraw - Thank you so very much for your help. The BIOS update significantly helped the situation. I also took a look at the sleep settings changed it to the recommended 5 minutes. I agree this seems more like a sleep issue.

I really appreciate your clear help and direction!

I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to update other drivers that may be out of date? I had hoped there would be a way to do a system check that would tell me current versions, but I haven't been successful in getting that to work.

One other thought — I wonder if the apple charging stand that is near my laptop often is contributing to something related to the Lid Sensor situation.

I would be grateful for additional suggestions to get my system up to date.

Thanks again!

Puraw

Hi @lzunich64 ,

Glad to hear the BIOS 1.51 update and adjusted sleep settings already improved things. To get the rest of your system current without introducing instability:

1️⃣ Driver updates — safest approach Use Acer’s Drivers & Manuals page for your SP314‑55N. Update in this order:

Intel Chipset Driver → ensures power management and sensors run on the intended timing.
Intel UHD/Iris Xe Graphics Driver → can fix wake/resume quirks tied to display output.
Intel Serial IO / Management Engine → also involved in lid‑sensor events and sleep states.Skip “driver scan” tools or generic Intel packages — they can overwrite Acer‑tuned versions.

2️⃣ Check Event Viewer for sleep triggers Press Windows + X → Event Viewer → Windows Logs → System.Filter for Power‑Troubleshooter events — these log the exact reason Windows thinks the system went to sleep.

3️⃣ About the Apple charging stand If it has magnets (common in MagSafe docks), it could briefly trip the Hall‑effect lid sensor if placed close to the palmrest/hinge area. Easy way to test: move it a metre away for a day or two and see if the random sleeps vanish.

4️⃣ Optional – Fast Startup If you haven’t yet, disabling Fast Startup (Control Panel → Power Options → “Choose what the power buttons do”) can smooth out wake behaviour.

Let me know once the core Acer drivers are refreshed and if the lid‑sensor test changes anything — from there we can decide whether to dig deeper into power plan policy or firmware EC resets.

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