Chromebooks are lightweight, easy to use, and less costly than other laptop devices on the market today. However, even the best Chromebooks can have charging problems.
It’s not uncommon to have your Chromebook plugged in for charging, but the battery gets stuck to a certain percentage and won’t charge over it. Sometimes it can also happen that your Chromebook won’t charge at all.
There are various reasons why this could happen, such as a problem with the charger or the battery, or an issue with the Chrome operating system. Fortunately, there are several simple fixes you can try before taking it to a professional repairman.
In this article, we’ll discuss five simple fixes to try if your Chromebook is not charging based on my research and personal experience.
Table of Contents
Consider using a different charger or power brick
After switching charging bricks and USB cables many times I found that some that I’ve tested don’t meet the specification to deliver the power. In that case, Chromebook may give you a notification “Low-Power Charger”.
As the general rule of thumb, the power brick should at least be able to deliver 10 watts of power, and the charging cable should be capable as well. Otherwise, the charging process would slow down or stop completely.
Turn off the Chromebook when charging
When your device is turned on and charging at the same time, it’s using a lot of power. This can cause the battery to heat up, which can shorten its lifespan over time.
Think of it like this: imagine you’re running a race and someone is constantly pouring hot water on you. Not only would it be uncomfortable, but it would also be harder for you to finish the race. Similarly, when your Chromebook is charging and powered on, it’s like it’s running a race while being constantly bombarded with heat.
Clean the Chromebook charging port from dust or dirt
Dust and dirt can accumulate inside the port, preventing the charger from making a proper connection and charging your device. The good news is that you can easily clean the charging port yourself to fix the problem.
Tools like a used soft-bristle toothbrush, cotton swab, and wooden toothpick can help tremendously. But if you want to get the cleanest result, a professional cleaning kit is available at a relatively cheap price. By cleaning the port, you’re essentially unclogging the straw and allowing the charger to do its job.
Leave it charging for a while
If you’re using a Chromebook, you might run into a problem where it won’t turn on right away. This could be because the battery hasn’t been charged in a while. Essentially, the battery drops to the absolute zero level where there is no energy left even for just turning on the screen.
This is quite a common problem in today’s electronics. I personally find that a laptop and phone suffer from the same problem. Thankfully, leaving it charging for about 20 minutes will usually bring the devices back to life.
Perform an EC reset on Chromebook
An EC reset, or Embedded Controller reset, is a hard reset of your Chromebook’s hardware. It can potentially fix a wide range of problems, including charging issues.
When you shut down your Chromebook, there is still a trickle charge that keeps the EC running. A hard reset drops all power to the EC, so when the power comes back on, it goes through a reinitialization. Performing an EC reset will not delete your files.
Since the EC controls the keyboard, touchpad, battery, and all other onboard peripherals, performing this can potentially fix a wide range of problems, including the charging issue.
To perform an EC reset, follow these steps:
- Make sure your Chromebook is powered down.
- Plug your charger into the wall and your Chromebook.
- Using the keyboard, press and hold the Refresh button and the Power button.
- Release the buttons when your Chromebook powers on. This would usually take 3-5 seconds.
These are a few simple tips that I could think of. There are possibly more fixes that you can try but I find them to be overwhelming and complicated for most users. Besides, the solutions above are the most common.
However, if none of these solutions work, it may be time to take your Chromebook to a professional for repair.
