Laptop will not charge

You are watching the battery drop and the charger does not seem to be doing anything, and if it hits zero before a hand-in or a working day you are stuck. Take a breath, because a laptop that will not charge is one of the most common faults there is and it is usually one of three inexpensive things, not the whole machine. The trick is telling the charger, the port and the battery apart before you spend money on the wrong one, and the tests below will do most of that for you without a screwdriver or a penny. Tell us what it is doing and we will find the real cause, say plainly whether it is worth putting right, and give you one fixed quote before anything is opened. If we cannot fix it, you pay nothing for the repair.

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No fix, no fee on the repairIf we cannot fix it, you do not pay for the repair. In writing, on every job.
Free advice by messageDescribe the fault and we will tell you what it sounds like and whether it is worth doing, before anyone travels.
We come to youAcross Leeds, West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire, or we collect and return.
A real person repliesNot a call centre, not a ticket queue: we read every enquiry, day and night, Sunday to Friday. The fixed quote you agree is the price you pay.

The short version

It is usually the charger, the port or the battery.
Rule out the charger first: it is the cheapest by far.
Charging only at a certain angle points at the port.
Plugged in and not charging points at the battery instead.

Try this first

Four tests that tell the three causes apart

None of these need tools and none of them cost anything. Do them in this order, and stop at the first one that gives you a straight answer.

Look at the light on the charger itself, both unplugged from the laptop and plugged in. A brick whose light never comes on at all is the charger or the cable, which is the cheapest of the three to put right. If the light is steady, power is at least leaving the charger, so the fault lies further along.
Borrow a known-working charger made for your model, and mind that the voltage matches. If the laptop starts charging, you have found the fault and it is the cheapest of the three. If nothing changes, the charger was never the problem and you have saved yourself buying a second one.
With the cable connected, move it gently where it meets the laptop and watch the charging light. A light that flickers on and off as you move it, or a laptop that only charges held at one angle, is a worn charging port rather than a tired battery. Gently is the word: forcing a loose barrel plug or USB-C connector is how a wobbly port becomes a broken one.
Read what the battery icon actually says while the charger is connected. Plugged in and not charging means power is arriving and the battery is refusing it, which points at the battery. A machine that still thinks nothing is connected means power is not getting in at all, so it is the charger, the cable or the port.

What it usually means

Why a laptop stops taking a charge

The charger or the cable has failed, or the wall socket is off, which is the cheapest thing of all to rule out
The charging port is worn or cracked, so the cable no longer seats and only pulls power at a certain angle, if at all
The battery has aged out and will no longer hold or accept a charge, even though the charger is fine
The wrong or an underpowered charger is plugged in, which on USB-C can run the laptop yet never actually charge it
A stuck charging state, where the machine reads plugged in and not charging until the power is properly drained and reset
Less often, the charging circuit on the mainboard, which we prove before we ever name it

Not sure which is yours? Describe it in a message and we will tell you, free. Tell us what it is doing and we will work it out.

At a glance

Charger, port or battery: what the signs point to

The three cost very different amounts to put right and look almost identical from the outside, which is why people so often replace the wrong one. What the machine does when you plug it in separates them faster than anything else.

What you see	Usually means	What that involves
No light on the charger	The charger, the cable, or a socket that is switched off	The cheapest of the three, and often not a repair at all
Charger lit, no charging light	Usually the port, though a charger can light its own LED and still fail under load	A port job, and whether it lifts out or is soldered decides how big
Only charges at a certain angle	A worn port, or one working loose from the board	A port job, and a loose connector tends to get worse rather than better
Plugged in and not charging	The battery will no longer accept a charge	A battery, and its real health can be measured rather than guessed
Drains even while plugged in	Not enough power arriving: the wrong charger, or a port barely in contact	The supply side first, the battery last
The case has started to bulge	A swollen battery, which can itself be why charging stopped	Stop using it and stop charging it, and say so when you get in touch

If yours is the last row, do not keep charging it. A battery that has swollen needs replacing and the machine checking over, and that is a different job from everything above it. The signs are a laptop that no longer sits flat, a trackpad that stiffens or lifts, or a gap opening at a seam.

What we do

How we tell the charger, the port and the battery apart

You tell us in your message what it actually does: a light on the charger, a light on the laptop, or nothing at all
If it only charges held at an angle, say so, because that one detail usually names the port before we have arrived
We come to you across Leeds, at home or at work, or we can collect the laptop and bring it back if that is easier
We rule out the charger and the cable first with a known-good unit, so you never pay to replace a working port or battery
We check the port for wear and movement, and whether the connector has worked loose or cracked away from the board
We test the battery's real health and whether it is still accepting a charge, rather than guessing at its age
We check whether your port lifts out as a module or is soldered to the mainboard, because that decides how big the job is
We prove the charging circuit before the mainboard is ever named as the cause
You get a fixed quote before any work starts, and if it cannot be fixed, or is not worth it, you pay nothing beyond any call-out you agreed

Is it worth fixing?

Is a laptop that will not charge worth repairing?

Nearly always worth a look before you buy a replacement. The three usual causes, a charger, a worn port or a tired battery, all cost little next to a new laptop, and most machines that will not charge turn out to be one of them. A charger is the cheapest fix there is and a modular port lifts straight out, so those are easy yeses. The honest turning point is a port soldered to the mainboard on an older laptop, where the work is slower and more delicate and the machine may not have long left in it anyway. If that is where yours has landed we will tell you plainly, so you are not spending repair money on a laptop that a replacement would serve better.

This is a laptop repair job. Advice by message is free, then you get one fixed quote before any work starts. If we cannot fix it, there is nothing to pay for the repair.

Send an enquiry and describe the fault

Where we work

We come to you across Leeds, West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire

Home or work, day or night, Sunday to Friday. There is no walk-in shop, so we come to the machine, or collect it and bring it back. Start at computer repair in Leeds, or pick your area.

Questions

Laptop charging questions we get asked

My laptop says plugged in and not charging. What does that mean?

It means power is reaching the laptop but the battery is not taking it in, which points at the battery or the charging control rather than the charger. On an older machine it is most often a battery that has aged out and will no longer accept a charge. Sometimes it is a stuck state that clears once the power is properly drained and reset, and occasionally it is an underpowered charger that can run the laptop but not fill it. Those are different fixes at very different costs, so the free advice by message is there to tell them apart before you spend anything.

How do I know if it is the charger, the port or the battery?

From the outside you often cannot, which is exactly why people replace the wrong one. There are hints: if the charger light is off or the cable is frayed, start there, as it is the cheapest by far. If it only charges when you press or hold the cable at an angle, that points at a worn port. If the charger is clearly working and it still says plugged in and not charging, the battery is the likelier culprit. The four tests and the table above walk you through the same order we would, cheapest first, so you never pay to swap a part that was never broken.

The battery drains even while it is plugged in. Is that the same fault?

It is related but usually worse, and it tells us something useful. If the laptop runs down with the charger connected, the charger is not delivering enough power to keep up with the machine, which normally means a failing charger, a port that is barely making contact, or the wrong adapter for your model. On USB-C especially, a charger that is underpowered will hold the screen on while the battery quietly empties. Tell us that detail when you get in touch, because it points us straight at the supply side rather than the battery.

Should I just buy a new charger and try that?

If your charger is a common type and you can borrow or buy a genuine one cheaply, trying a known-good charger is a fair first step and it is the same thing we would check first. Two cautions, though: use the correct adapter for your model, since an underpowered or wrong-voltage one can run the laptop without charging it or, worse, damage it, and if a new charger does not fix it the fault is the port or the battery, not something more chargers will solve. If you would rather not guess, advice by message is free and we will settle it in one go.

The case has started to bulge. Is that connected?

It usually is, and it is the one finding on this page that means stop rather than carry on. A battery that has aged out can also swell inside the case, and the signs are a case that rocks on the desk, a stiff or lifting trackpad, or a gap opening at a seam. If that sounds like yours, unplug it and stop charging it, then say so when you get in touch so that we treat it accordingly. It needs the battery replaced and the machine checking over, rather than anything to do with the charger or the port. The overheating page in the related pages below goes into the same fault from the other direction.

Can you fix it today?

Sometimes, and we will be straight with you rather than promise a slot we cannot keep. A stuck charging state, or a fault that a spare charger sorts, can often be dealt with on the visit. A charging port or a battery for your exact model is a specific part, and how soon it reaches us can take a few days, so anything hardware-led depends on that. Tell us what it is doing when you get in touch and we will give you a realistic answer, not an optimistic one.

Is it worth fixing, or is the laptop too old?

It depends on the cause and the age of the machine. A charger, a modular port or a battery is almost always cheaper and quicker than a new laptop, so those are usually worth it. The point where we start being cautious is a port soldered to the mainboard on an older laptop, where the job is more involved and the rest of the machine may not have long left. If that is where yours is, we will tell you honestly rather than sell you a repair that is not worth the money, and you decide with the real fault and a fixed quote in front of you.

Sound more like one of these?

Tell us what is wrong.

Send an enquiry and describe the fault. We will find the fault properly, give you a fixed quote before any work, and if we cannot fix it there is nothing to pay for the repair. A real person who does the work, not a call centre.