My battery on my Acer Aspire One notebook wont charge to 100 percent. It stops at 80 percent.
Would a BIOS update solve that problem for me?
Jason Waters, , Ireland
Almost certainly not.
Rechargeable batteries in notebooks and other sorts of electronic devices degrade over time. That time can be short or it can be long, depending on a number of things I'll cover in another Q&A.
In the meantime it would be interesting to check the warranty of the Aspire if it's still in the warranty period. I'd be surprised if the battery WAS covered against this sort of aging, though in many countries (especially in the EU) you would still have a claim under consumer law if the battery didn't deliver a reasonable life.
Do any readers have experience with Acer Aspire battery life?
And to answer your original question, a BIOS update would only achieve what you're after if there was a serious problem with the charging or monitoring circuits that had been corrected in a new BIOS update. Not very likely.
Just out of interest, are you experiencing lower battery life as well as seeing it on the gauge? Perhaps it's not so serious for your usage pattern.
Paul ZuckerCarlo SchisanoPosted: 12/03/2010
re: Will a BIOS upgrade fix my battery?
This is just from my limited experience, but could it be software that is causing this? Usually, when a battery is losing it's capacity, it'll still charge to 100%. It's just that it'll drop down to 0% much more quicker than a healthy battery.
There is software that could be configured on your computer that tries to protect the battery from reaching it's end of life too soon. It may stop charging once it hits 80% and then begins to charge when it hits maybe 5%, even when you are running on power the whole time.
You could also check the Acer website for help on how to recalibrate your battery. My Acer battery wouldn't even get to loading into Windows after a full charge before it cut out. Now it can play a whole DVD.
Hope it helps
JCPosted: 10/03/2010
re: Will a BIOS upgrade fix my battery?
If the battery charger is stopping at.......... 80%, the charger itself is faulty....not the battery.
Get that (the charger!) tested, first, then, you can safely complain....about the battery NOT holding the full 100% charge.
By any chance, are you putting that laptop.......on Mains power, when you're NOT mobile?
Let common-sense prevail here.
(No, you're almost certainly wrong Jeff. -PZ)