Chromebook C731T-C42N (Model N16Q13 - C731 Series) won't turn on.

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sburnett
sburnett Member Posts: 2 New User
edited November 2023 in 2018 Archives
I work for a school and we have purchased 130 of these devices.  I have had a couple that won't turn on.  I plug them in and they seem to charge until the light it green but will not turn on.  As soon as I unplug it, the light goes off.  Any ideas?

Answers

  • IronFly
    IronFly ACE Posts: 18,413 Trailblazer
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    I'm not an Acer employee.
  • sburnett
    sburnett Member Posts: 2 New User
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    I don't see a battery reset pinhole on this version of Chromebook.
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 32,520 Trailblazer
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    Light and power going off when unplugged says that very likely the battery is disconnected from the charging circuit. The typical fix for a battery reset involved doing full charge/discharge cycles. Needless to say a disconnected battery doesn't discharge very easily. :) If you have the expertise locally, open them and verify the battery cable is fully seated at each end. There are something like a dozen screws (maybe only 11?) to remove, then the upper case and keyboard come off as a unit. The battery should then be visible and accessible. Reassemble using the same set of screws and try charging again.
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • Dan_11
    Dan_11 Member Posts: 2 New User
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    I've got 1300+ C731s in my district and there have been endless battery issues with that model.  I've never seen a model of Chromebook with such a big flaw as this one.  It takes over a month to get replacement batteries and the batteries that we get are all the same design and model as the faulty ones that I'm replacing.  The batteries have 3 cells that are connected to a board and the solder points are coming loose on random tabs which lose connectivity.  I have brought this to my ASP reps attention, but have got nothing back in response except to just keep ordering more batteries.  I have asked for contact information for someone higher as well and have been ignored and told to just route things through him.  We are also seeing an increase in motherboard failures which could be due to running the system with low voltage or shorts in these batteries.  If anyone higher up sees this and can contact me I would appreciate it.

    @sburnett - If you have a battery issue (and self maintain your devices), cut open the middle and I guarantee you will see a loose contact.
    @Acer-Manny - Just to get the attention of an Acer employee :)

  • Manny-Acer_Retired
    Manny-Acer_Retired Newbie Posts: 4,453 Guru
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    Hi Dan_11,

    Sorry to hear that you’re having problems, please send me a PM with your contact information so i can have an ASP customer advocate follow up and help with this matter.

    Note: Please keep in mind, the Acer Forum Discussions were designed as a peer to peer support community where Acer users help other Acer users. Although this community is not a direct portal to Customer service so we are unable to access accounts or provide support and technical information, Acer employees/moderator can read the various topics posted here and you will notice that some Acer employees/moderators interact with members when appropriate. But primarily the community was made to be a place where members can exchange their own advice and ideas.


    Thanks,
    Acer-Manny
  • JK-Cov
    JK-Cov Member Posts: 2 New User
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    We purchased 300+ C731's and have had the same battery problem.  Have had 6 batteries like this within the 6 months of daily use (at a school).  I have not had any MB issues yet, but feeling big time discouraged if this is happening.  The C720 & C740 MB's were/have been a disaster.  As a buyer of Acer Chromebooks for 4 years, I am certain the issues are attributed to dropped devices.  If Acer would build a case that had rubberized screw gaskets for all internal parts, I think this would go a long way in terms of absorbing impact forces.  As for the C731 battery, sounds like dropped devices and dislodging the cell contact(s).  I did open one battery like the picture shown.  One contact was loose.  Anyone have a reliable solution to reattach the contact(s)?
  • Dan_11
    Dan_11 Member Posts: 2 New User
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    @JK-Cov - With the large number of issues we've had I don't believe that it has anything to do with drops as I'm probably in the range of 13% failure on batteries on my ~1320 devices since August of 2017.  I've done my best to escalate the issue and get to an engineering team as they really need to redesign the battery.  Their assembly procedure is *****.

    Manny did contact the ASP rep that had already dealt with (which had previously shrugged me off) and now that rep said that he would take some of my serials that had issues and send them over to the engineering team to investigate.  At this point I have no idea where this will lead, but I'm guessing no where.  Only time will tell.  Four years with my failure rate doesn't seem like a good option with 3 years out of warranty.  If I at least got an extension on warranty, that would be helpful.

    We used a soldering iron to fix one battery and have used it in a device with no issue.  As far as doing that in mass only cutting open the small section you need to access and soldering and then taping it shut would work, but you also open yourself to liability if something does go wrong unless Acer was to come out and say in writing that we can do this.  Attempting this fix would do nothing to hurt the integrity of the battery, but heaven forbid something did happen with a bad cell (#Samgsung)...you would regret it as it would open you up for attack with an altered battery.
  • dogcow23
    dogcow23 Member Posts: 1 New User
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    My school is also experiencing a 10%+ failure rate on C731 CBs.  The devices have been used for 5 months.
  • Manny-Acer_Retired
    Manny-Acer_Retired Newbie Posts: 4,453 Guru
    edited October 2019
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    Hi JK-Cov i think is a very good suggestion. I have also sent you a PM requesting your information for follow up.

    dogcow23 can you also respond to the PM i have sent you for better assistance?

    Thanks,
    Acer-Manny
  • BINNEYJ
    BINNEYJ Member Posts: 1 New User
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    I would have to agree with what dogcow23 is seeing, we have experienced a 10% failure rate on the c731 CB's as well. 90% of them being due to battery failures.