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Fix

Laptop not charging

Step 1 of 3

Try another wall socket

Plug the charger into a different socket. Is the light on the charger or the laptop on?

  1. Try another wall socket

    Plug the charger into a different socket. Is the light on the charger or the laptop on?

  2. Push both ends in firmly

    Push the cable firmly into the laptop and into the charger box.

  3. Restart with the charger plugged in

    Click Start, then the Power icon, then Restart.

    StartPowerRestart
    Stops at 80%? Some laptops do that on purpose to protect the battery. That is normal.
  4. Charger very hot, smells burnt, or the cable is damaged? Stop using it.
Technician fixes (advanced)

The simple steps didn’t help? A technician would try these next, in this order. Stop as soon as the problem is fixed. Commands marked “as administrator”: right-click Start › Terminal (Admin).

  1. Check the battery’s health

    In the report on your Desktop, compare Design capacity with Full charge capacity. A very low full charge capacity explains a battery that “charges” but empties fast.

    powercfg /batteryreport /output "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\battery.html"

  2. Reinstall the battery driver

    Device Manager › Batteries › right-click “Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery” › Uninstall device › restart with the charger plugged in. This often fixes “Plugged in, not charging” stuck at a percentage.

  3. Battery care limits in the maker’s app

    Lenovo Vantage, MyASUS, HP and Dell apps have a “battery health / conservation” mode that stops charging at 60–80%. If the laptop stops there on purpose, it isn’t a fault.

  4. Charger, port or board?

    Try a known-good charger with the same wattage. If the light on the charger or laptop doesn’t come on, the charger is likely faulty. If it charges only at certain cable angles, the port is loose: a repair shop can replace it.

Technical details (for the curious)

“Plugged in, not charging”

This isn’t always a fault. Many laptops deliberately stop at 80% to protect the battery (a setting in the maker’s app). Also check the charger’s power: a 45 W charger on a laptop that needs 65 W can be too weak.

The battery driver

Device Manager › Batteries › “Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery”. Uninstall device, then restart with the charger plugged in; this sometimes fixes a stuck percentage.

Battery health report

Type powercfg /batteryreport in Command Prompt. The report it creates shows Design capacity and Full charge capacity. If the full charge capacity is below 50%, it is time for a new battery.

Coming soon

Still not fixed?

In the next update you can tell us what happened, and our AI helper will suggest another way. Until then, restart the device and go through the steps once more.