Acer Swift 3 Random Shutdown/Possible Battery Issue

DarkNumbers

Hello everyone,

I've encountered a serious issue with my Acer Swift 3 laptop and I'm really hoping someone can help. I believe it is software related but I can't yet rule out hardware either- I hope I'm posting in the right place.

The Problem:

Last night, in a tired state, I unplugged my Acer Swift 3 laptop during the shutdown sequence. I don't believe this should cause an issue but I usually don't do it as I prefer to wait until the machine is off. Anyway, the laptop was fully charged by this point. The moment I pulled the cable the system shut off (any difference from the normal completion of the shutdown sequence was almost imperceptible but nonetheless alarm bells rang).

I tried to turn my laptop back on but nothing happened. I followed up by plugging it back in and trying again. Whilst plugged in the laptop booted up fine but Windows presented a "Windows didn't shut down properly" alert and I instructed it to load into Windows proper. Once I reached Windows 10 the system behaved abnormally in two ways:

1. The battery icon in the task bar seemed...confused. It presented as empty for one moment, then full.

2. The system seemed to shut down after a few seconds (around a minute, roughly). I say "seemed" because it's plausible that it is going into some sort of low power mode- either way it goes through the normal booting process when I press the power button again (only to once again shut down a short time later).

Obviously the second issue is more concerning. Repeated attempts have yielded variations on the above result; on a couple of occasions I've received a "low battery power" warning (despite the machine being plugged in) before the shut down. Trying to turn the machine on without plugging it in yields no result- it stays completely dead. I also note that the orange light for charging does not seem to light on the side of the laptop when it is plugged in. This might be simply because the battery is charged but I always remember it lighting up orange. I should also add that, in the brief time during which Windows 10 runs, Hardware Monitor is not showing any overheating issues.

I have tried a few things to troubleshoot this myself and discovered some strange nuances to the problem:

1. Booting into BIOS whilst plugged in seems to circumvent the issue; the machine stays on indefinitely whilst in BIOS (although I have no way of knowing for sure if it is running off of the mains or draining the battery- either way it must be plugged in to work, suggesting that it uses the mains).

2. I have also managed to activate Windows 10 safe mode and this also circumvents the problem- the machine keeps working in safe mode indefinitely whilst plugged in.

Attempted Solutions:

In trying to solve this issue I have performed a System Restore to a week ago (there was a Windows 10 update tonight so I was concerned that this might have been a possible contributor to the issue). Sadly, System Restore has had no effect on the problem.

I have also tried the battery reset method I have seen posted for similar issues; I pushed the reset button on the bottom of the laptop in with a pin for 5 seconds, left it for 10 minutes then attempted to boot it. No change to the problem.

Other Possible Solutions:

Something I may try next is updating the BIOS. I believe I'm on 1.07 at the moment and I have heard of similar problems being solved with a BIOS update. The trouble is I'm not particularly adept at this and I don't want to make it worse by tinkering with the BIOS. Nor am I sure about how to update the BIOS safely without using Windows 10.

I could also perform a full reset of Windows. As System Restore didn't work I'm not sure if that would help but it could be worth a try.

Finally, I've noticed one forum post out there where someone noted laptops often alternate between the battery and the mains when plugged in and that this feature can be disabled. I figure that if the battery has a hardware problem, it may be shutting down after switching to the battery? Anyone know how to prevent this from happening in order to test?

The Plea for Help:

I'm somewhat stumped on how to proceed. It feels like some sort of communication breakdown between Windows 10 and the battery, but I'm not sure. Perhaps some sort of driver issue? Surely that would have been solved by the System Restore, though. The fact that the charging light doesn't come on when the machine is plugged in also points towards a hardware problem, right?

Any help that anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated! 

Thank you so much in advance.

MaClane

Good Morning DarkNumbers !

First of all you must inform the EXACT model of your laptop.

CharlesAllen

1.Unplugg the battery, remove the battery completely.  Plug in power.  Start up computer.  Does it work without the battery?
2.  Unplug power cord and plug in battery.  Without power cord attached.  Does it power up and work?
If you had problems with #1 then the system board may be bad.
If you had problems with #2.  Then you have a bad battery.

JimmyNeutron

I am experiencing a similar Issue laptop is acer swift 3 SF314-52

MaClane

Good morning JimmyNeutron !

To keep the forum organized and your question to have greater visibility, please avoid posting on topics already solved, opened by other users or inactive.
Always open a new post, just as it was guided by the moderators.
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