Switch Alpha 12--won't power up (no power indicator)

pjldrum
pjldrum Member Posts: 3 New User
edited November 2023 in 2020 Archives

Hope someone can help!

 

Woke up this morning to find that my Switch Alpha 12 won't power up.  The power indicator is off (i.e. no blue or orange), and I tried to hold the power button for 30 seconds as well as <volume up + power> for 30 seconds with no results.  This was done with both the power cord plugged in and unplugged as well as plugged into the keyboard or in tablet mode.  The unit itself is only like 3 - 4 weeks old, so it would seem odd for it to fail this quickly.  Would really suck if this was now a $700+ paperweight.

 

Any thoughts / ideas?  Any help appreciated.

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Answers

  • mrDisc0
    mrDisc0 Member Posts: 2 New User

    Funny, I was about to come post this exact message.

     

    I bought my unit from Newegg on 2/17/2017.  Love the machine, however the exact same thing happened to me when I tried to use it at work today.  No lights - can't do any of the power button reset methods to bring it back.

     

    I've tried leaving it hooked up to my power cord as well for a few hours, but still no change.

     

    =(  

     

     

  • pjldrum
    pjldrum Member Posts: 3 New User

    Yeah, I'm returning mine to Amazon where I purchased it and get a new one.  Hopefully the replacement fares better than the original.  Hopefully Acer takes note of this.  Do you happen to know how to crack open the case to have look around?  This thing is pretty tightly built, and I can't see any obvious screws that would allow for the case to be removed.

  • mrDisc0
    mrDisc0 Member Posts: 2 New User

    I'm going to start a RMA process with Acer, hopefully this won't be painful to get it back working again.  I really love the machine and makes doing my job so much easier.  Out of curisoty on your unit under the kickstand, on the sticker with the serial number it says MFG date, what is yours?  While i bought mine new from Newegg on 2/17/2017  - My MFG date was 2016/6 - Just curious if maybe there is an issue with systems build on the same MFG date.

     

    As for you question about opening it up - I did read someone on these fourms that has done it - but the process doesn't look very easy.  I wouldn't attempt on my own unit as it would void the warranty.

     

    http://community.acer.com/t5/Switch-Series/How-to-open-chase-and-upgrade-SSD-in-switch-alpha-12/m-p/461548#M129

     

  • pjldrum
    pjldrum Member Posts: 3 New User

    Yeah, mine was mfg'd on 8/2016.  Out of curiosity, are you using the USB Type-C port for power?  I found a Targus power adapter that uses the type c port so that I only have to carry a smaller adapter.  Wondering if that might have something to do with it--i.e. it fried something...

  • Gray_Apple
    Gray_Apple Member Posts: 2 New User

    Hi, I'm having the same problem here. Can someone please show me how to fix it because I'm just renting this computer.

  • dhahne
    dhahne Member Posts: 5 New User
    Same thing happened to me this morning after flawless use for over a year (yeah past the warranty now).  Working/charging fine yesterday this morning it was dead with no lights (orange or blue) when plugged in.  Power supply is putting out 19v so that is not the problem. Tried a bunch of things with tech support to no avail. Manufacture date on mine is also 06/2016.  Was planning on trying to power it through the USB-c port but sounds like that did not help pjldrum :(  Did anybody ever find out the problem?
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer

    dhahne---Disconnect the charger and keyboard. Try pressing and holding the power button for 2 seconds only. Jack E/NJ 

    Jack E/NJ

  • dhahne
    dhahne Member Posts: 5 New User
    Thanks but unfortunately that did not work either.  Since I am out of the warranty period I am considering opening it up and physically disconnecting the battery to see if that solves the problem.  Getting the case apart looks like a real challenge however :(
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    If you haven't done so already, google "switch alpha 12" "disassembly" with the quotes for videos. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • dhahne
    dhahne Member Posts: 5 New User
    thanks for the point
  • legalalien
    legalalien Member Posts: 1 New User
    Just spent 20 min on the phone with the tech support person troubleshooting the same problem, and they're having me ship the unit for repairs. :(  Luckily, it is still under warranty.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer

    dhahne>>>I am considering opening it up and physically disconnecting the battery to see if that solves the problem. >>>

    Have you tried this yet? Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • dhahne
    dhahne Member Posts: 5 New User
    Sent my Switch back to Acer for repair.  Their note under diagnosis/repair was "reseated the battery".  Seems to be working now although I still think the power jack is loose despite having noted that in my problem description.  Just thought I would post what at least one cause of this problem seems to be.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    Thanks for the update. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Seanbrigante
    Seanbrigante Member Posts: 2 New User
    Did anyone ever find a solution? Mine has the same issue
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    dhahne said>>>Sent my Switch back to Acer for repair.  Their note under diagnosis/repair was "reseated the battery">>> Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • lggmello
    lggmello Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer

    Same happened to me! First that ridiculous pen holder strip came out suddely in 2 weeks of usage, second I notice that sometimes the touchscreen worket like crazy, especially when I wasn’t touching in any of the metalic cover, and lastly, for finishing making ridiculous this piece of ***** that I wasted U$850,00, it completely died with just 1 year and 1 month of usage! When I tried to fix, of couse out of this stinky 1 year warranty, nobody, I said NOBODY (even ACER BRASIL) do not have components to fix the problem. Now I’m with my Acer ***** Alpha 12 2 months dead in a techinal assintence hoping for some mireacle to get another broken unit or something like that to replace the components. Sumarising: ACER NEVER MORE! I would not recomend this to my worst enemy. My fisrt and last product from this goat brand. Such a fustrating experience and waste of time and money. I already had notebooks from Samsung, DELL, Fujitsu, Apple and I can surely tell that I never regreted that much as I regreted on buying a Acer goat scam product!
  • lggmello
    lggmello Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer

    Guess what? After 2 months without notebook, and taking it to 3 repair shops, only the third one figured out the problem! It was a sort of simple and dummy thing that happened. They just opened the laptop and reconnected the power cable of the battery, that is it! Problem solved! 

    Acer really should urgently release a bios update for prevent this to happen again, as this problem has proved to be commom in this notebook model, because I already read about this in another topic and even guiding the first repair shop guy to try it b/f everything else as a fix tip, I guess they didn’t... 

    That’s a ridiculous issue, because of that they lost the screw lid that stays underneath the support rod of the notebook and hurt a bit its joint carcass. 

    SO ACER, TAKE A STEP FOWARD AND WORK ON THAT! Avoid making any disappointed users!
  • efjay
    efjay Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer

    Add another data point, same issue. In use one day, dead the next.
  • letnik86
    letnik86 Member Posts: 1 New User
    Hello, Everybody!
    I had same problem with my Acer Switch Alpha 12 (i7 8GB 256GB) Manufacture Date - 06.25.2016, in use 3 months, DualBoot with rEFInd (Windows 10 PRO + Kali)
    It helped me to put my laptop in freezer camera of fridge for 20 minutes at temperature -25C. Then after 2-3 hours i tried to plug in standard charger (NOT USB 3.1 PD) and blue light lit up!! After long-press power button, laptop turned off and orange light lit up, then it was turned on normally.

    Funny thing - time was freeze on date of laptop's "Death", but it is very easy to sync time in Windows or Linux system by NTP.