Problem with charging Acer SFE16-42. computer independently enters the battery calibration

AndreyS
AndreyS Member Posts: 12

Tinkerer
edited May 27 in Swift and Spin Series

Hi all. This is my first time using Acer products. I bought Acer Swift Edge 16. I really like it. But I have a problem with one of them. Some time ago I used the Care Center utility to calibrate the battery. She completed her work. But after this, several times I notice that the computer again independently enters the battery calibration mode without my consent. This happens the moment I unplug the charger. Afterwards, a system signal sounds and both indicators begin to flash. When you connect the charger, nothing happens until the computer is completely drained. Then the battery begins to charge normally. I don't understand how to turn this off.

[Edited the thread to add issue detail]

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Answers

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,234 Trailblazer

    You can just remove Acer Care Center as a blunt instrument to fix that. :)

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • AndreyS
    AndreyS Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    edited April 23

    Of course I did it. But the battery calibration continued…(
    I don't know how to stop this.

  • AndreyS
    AndreyS Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer

    Apparently the laptop needs to be repaired. And now I understand that it is almost impossible to get repairs under the International Traveler's Guarantee. It's a shame that the company that creates such good laptops organized the service so poorly.😒

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,234 Trailblazer

    The international warranties are usually good, but some locales can have worse processes than others. :(

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • AndreyS
    AndreyS Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer

    International guarantees are really good. If they are. But Acer ITW is just some kind of fake. This cannot be obtained under any conditions if the computer is purchased while traveling in a country without residence. That's what the support team told me

  • Puraw
    Puraw ACE, Member Posts: 13,389 Trailblazer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1277337#Comment_1277337

    Just uninstall all the Acer apps in Windows "Add and remove programs", click on the ellipsis (3 dots) at the end for each Acer program and select "Uninstall". You can always later download a newer version from Acer Support. After you have uninstalled these apps open Windows Services as sometimes programs don't completely uninstall and leave ACCAgent services running, stop these and disable the Startup type in Properties. Likewise check Windows Task Scheduler if there are still Acer Updater tasks or agents listed in the library, disable those too.

  • AndreyS
    AndreyS Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1277351#Comment_1277351

    Thanks for the advice, but I'm sure the problem is a hardware fault. This is probably a coincidence and I only noticed the problem after turning on the battery calibration mode. Or this mode just broke my computer. I tried booting the computer in BIOS setup mode without using any programs, and the problem with battery charging remains even in this mode. That's why I wanted to contact the service center.

  • Puraw
    Puraw ACE, Member Posts: 13,389 Trailblazer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1277354#Comment_1277354

    No, this is only software, if you have uninstalled all Acer apps and bloatware that monitor and control the battery charging there may still be program remnants in the Windows registry, Services and Task Scheduler that continue to interfere with BIOS and MS ACPI protocol.

  • AndreyS
    AndreyS Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1277443#Comment_1277443

    I removed all Acer utilities that could affect the battery, but it did not help. And as far as I understand, booting a computer in BIOS setup mode does not use any of the operating system system files, since the operating system in this case is not loaded.
    But of course, if you are completely sure that this is a software failure, then I will try to reinstall Windows. This should completely clear the computer of the influence of any previously running Acer utility processes.

  • Puraw
    Puraw ACE, Member Posts: 13,389 Trailblazer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1277495#Comment_1277495

    Why don't you first check Services and Task Scheduler for Acer services and tasks that are still running and if there is nothing then reinstall Windows, there are also recovery options you may want to try but most of these don't reset the Windows registry which is what you want.

    recovert options.png

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,234 Trailblazer

    How are you defining 'Battery Calibration Mode'? You may be misunderstanding what is going on…

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • AndreyS
    AndreyS Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1277545#Comment_1277545

    I don't understand what's going on with the computer at all. And I noticed this problem after I turned on the battery calibration mode, when the battery was automatically discharged without my intervention. This happened when setting up the computer before use. I always make possible upgrades for a new device. This time I updated the operating system, BIOS and, at the suggestion of the Acer utility, calibrated the battery.
    I think I’ve already written about what’s happening now, but I’ll repeat it in more detail. The laptop battery begins to charge normally only after the computer is completely turned off. If I turn on the computer when it is turned off, it does not matter when I connect the charger - before or after turning it on. Charging in this case will proceed normally. But if I unplug the charger while the computer is running, then when I plug it in again, the battery will not charge until the battery is about 6% discharged or until I turn off the computer. Only then will the battery begin charging again. In this case, when I first disconnect the charger from a running computer, a system signal is heard and the charging and disk LEDs begin to blink simultaneously. The flashing will continue until a new charge begins or the computer is turned off.

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,234 Trailblazer

    OK, you say you have a Swift Edge 16, but don't give us an actual model number, so we don't know for sure which one you have. Your full model number is usually on the same sticker as your serial number, it should look something like SFE16-xxx-xxxx. They have been making the Swift Edge 16 series for a few years now, with literally hundreds of different SKUs. We mainly need to know which version you have to give us an insight into what hardware is installed. We don't yet have access to a service guide for the absolute latest versions (SFE16-44) but do for the previous versions. I assume yours is using a USB-C power adapter?

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • AndreyS
    AndreyS Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1277706#Comment_1277706

    This is SFE16-42. And yes, charging by USB-С connector.

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,234 Trailblazer

    OK, so the first year model. There isn't anything in the BIOS dealing with battery settings that I can find, so that's unlikely to be involved. Two thing I can think of to test with. First remove and reinstall the AMD chipset drivers from the Acer support page to make sure they haven't be updated by Windows update. Then reinstall the Acer Care Center app and redo the calibration. Not that I believe this calibration is just used by Windows to estimate time available while running on the battery. The manual process for that is to run on battery until it shuts down due to low battery, then charge with the unit off until you show a full battery. Each time you do that Windows gets a little better with it's estimates. Once ACC thinks the calibration is complete turn it back off and see if it goes back to normal.

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • jtd_tdg
    jtd_tdg Member Posts: 3 New User
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/704616/problem-with-charging-acer-sfe16-42-computer-independently-enters-the-battery-calibration

    I have the same model SE 16, and I'm having intermittent charging issues as well. Fyi, I also have a 2nd SE 16 that is about 10 months older:

    1. Newer SE 16's model #: SFE16-42 (Fedora 40 Workstation)
    2. Older SE 16's model #: SFA16-41 (Windows 11 Pro)

    Strangely, I have ZERO charging issues with my SFA16-41

    I sent the SFE16-42 to Acer's Repair Center earlier this month (May 2024), and they replaced the motherboard. However, within a couple of days of receiving the 'repaired' laptop, the same charging (or lack thereof) returned. I'm using it right now, connected to the Acer OEM adapter that came with the unit, but it's not charging. I thought maybe my portable 2nd display's power-on-USB draw was a factor, but no: intermittent non-charging still shows itself wit4h laptop only.

    I wish Acer or someone would solve this SFE16-42 issue; I like the laptop, and riding the warranty repair merry-go-round leaves me without my dedicated laptop for a particular project that requires one. (No, dual booting nor VM Fedora on the SFA16-41 is NOT an option.)

  • AndreyS
    AndreyS Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1277909#Comment_1277909

    I bought two identical laptops of the SFE16-42 model. So far only one has had problems with charging the battery. And it always depends only on when the charger was connected (as I described earlier).

  • AndreyS
    AndreyS Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1277891#Comment_1277891

    I remembered that I had a usb ssd with linux mint and booted the laptop from this disk. This did not affect the charging problem. So now I am sure that now this problem is only hardware. Perhaps I was wrong in thinking that this happened due to battery calibration. This problem was probably there initially, but I noticed it only after setting up the computer.
    There is also a possibility that the problem occurred after updating the BIOS. In any case, I will not update the BIOS on the second laptop.

  • Puraw
    Puraw ACE, Member Posts: 13,389 Trailblazer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1277718#Comment_1277718

    What type of USB-Charger are you using, the laptop comes with a 65-Watt barrel plug adapter, if you are charging with a universal phone charger that will be the problem.

  • AndreyS
    AndreyS Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1278445#Comment_1278445

    This is the standard 65-watt charger included in the package. And this problem does not depend on the charger. I also tested this with a charger from a second computer and from Lenovo.

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