asked on Lenovo Flex 4-1480 Says 100% charged but Shuts Down When Unplugging from Power
Lenovo Flex 4-1480 registers 100% fully charged, but when unplugged, computer shuts off. Installed Lenovo Vantage and battery doesn't register although the computer indicates the power is plugged in but not charging. Outside of ordering a new battery, is there any other possible cause for this behavior and is there a fix somewhere?
Windows OSHardwareLaptops Notebooks
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John
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All rechargeable batteries lose capacity over time, ESPECIALLY if you have the battery installed while the laptop is plugged into AC power for long periods of time.
Basically, if a laptop is plugged into the wall while a battery is installed, then every so often, it has to "ping" the battery to see if it needs to charge. It's almost like topping off the gas tank when it's already full. Over time, this behavior degrades the battery and its capacity. It's like shrinking the gas tank by a little bit each time.
At a certain point, the gas tank will be so small that "100%" will be nothing more than a drop of gas. So if your battery degrades to that point, then there's nothing more you can do except replace the battery.
Some laptops will include "Battery Protection" modes that will basically stop charging your battery at 50% or 60% in order to try to prevent the AC power from degrading the battery as quickly.
But if you normally run on AC power, then the best thing you can do to extend your battery life is to remove the battery while the laptop is plugged in, and then on the rare occasions you want to unplug from the wall, just pop the battery in at that point. You'll get a dramatically longer lifespan on your battery if you do this. It's not as convenient as leaving the battery in, but if you want convenience, then you'll have to occasionally buy a new battery.
Now, if you haven't had the laptop for a long time, then there's a chance that there's just some simple driver or chipset failure that doesn't switch over to the battery when you unplug from AC power, but that would be a pretty rare scenario, ESPECIALLY if the battery has worked in the past. Most laptop users I know have theirs plugged in almost all the time.
If you have any other electronics with rechargeable batteries (regardless of technology - nimh, li-ion, etc...), the same principle applies. For example, I have an electric lawn trimmer and one year I accidentally left the battery on the charger all winter long and when I got it off the charger in the spring/summer, the battery was completely dead.
Basically, if a laptop is plugged into the wall while a battery is installed, then every so often, it has to "ping" the battery to see if it needs to charge. It's almost like topping off the gas tank when it's already full. Over time, this behavior degrades the battery and its capacity. It's like shrinking the gas tank by a little bit each time.
At a certain point, the gas tank will be so small that "100%" will be nothing more than a drop of gas. So if your battery degrades to that point, then there's nothing more you can do except replace the battery.
Some laptops will include "Battery Protection" modes that will basically stop charging your battery at 50% or 60% in order to try to prevent the AC power from degrading the battery as quickly.
But if you normally run on AC power, then the best thing you can do to extend your battery life is to remove the battery while the laptop is plugged in, and then on the rare occasions you want to unplug from the wall, just pop the battery in at that point. You'll get a dramatically longer lifespan on your battery if you do this. It's not as convenient as leaving the battery in, but if you want convenience, then you'll have to occasionally buy a new battery.
Now, if you haven't had the laptop for a long time, then there's a chance that there's just some simple driver or chipset failure that doesn't switch over to the battery when you unplug from AC power, but that would be a pretty rare scenario, ESPECIALLY if the battery has worked in the past. Most laptop users I know have theirs plugged in almost all the time.
If you have any other electronics with rechargeable batteries (regardless of technology - nimh, li-ion, etc...), the same principle applies. For example, I have an electric lawn trimmer and one year I accidentally left the battery on the charger all winter long and when I got it off the charger in the spring/summer, the battery was completely dead.
ASKER
Thanks for your thoughts. This computer is a school teacher's laptop provided by the public school where this individual works. I have seen some software solutions for this from Lenovo through BIOS upgrades and firmware updates. In this case, a battery replacement did fix the problem. Again, thanks to all of you for the information.
You are very welcome and I was happy to help
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Lenovo+IdeaPad+Flex+4-1470+Battery+Replacement/99840
The above article suggests the battery in this model can deplete, so you should get a new battery.