23

my Lenovo N581 detects the battery, but it doesn't charge it (as soon as I unplug the AC, it turns off).

When i type upower -i /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/battery_BAT0 into the terminal I get:

native-path:          BAT1
vendor:               LENOVO
  model:                PABAS0241231
  serial:               41167
  power supply:         yes
  updated:              So 01 Jul 2018 14:48:33 CEST (59 seconds ago)
  has history:          yes
  has statistics:       yes
  battery
    present:             yes
    rechargeable:        yes
    state:               charging
    warning-level:       none
    energy:              0 Wh
    energy-empty:        0 Wh
    energy-full:         0 Wh
    energy-full-design:  0 Wh
    energy-rate:         0 W
    percentage:          0%
    capacity:            100%
    technology:          lithium-ion
    icon-name:          'battery-caution-charging-symbolic'

What I tried:

  • buy a new battery
  • reset the cmos battery (unplug; remove battery; press power for 30 seconds)
  • appears on windows (8, 10) and ubuntu (16, 18)

Does anyone have an Idea what to do next? Do I have to buy a new mainboard?

Thanks for helping!!

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4
  • 1
    You have done everything I would have done. There is a very big possibility that the charging circuit could be bad on the motherboard.
    – Terrance
    Commented Jul 1, 2018 at 14:43
  • Do you know how I could fix this without buying a new mainboard? Is this possible?
    – gxor
    Commented Jul 2, 2018 at 19:12
  • I am not aware of any software settings that can cause a system to not want to charge a battery when it is plugged into the charger. I guess you could try another charger for the unit as it might be bad. Unlikely though if the system runs fine with the charger plugged in but it is still a possibility. If the motherboard is bad, then if you were good at soldering and reading schematics and find them online, then you could fix it.
    – Terrance
    Commented Jul 2, 2018 at 19:17
  • Thank you for your question. I tried all steps from all the answers and at some point it worked again but I cannot figure out which answer was the helpful one.
    – Sebastian
    Commented Oct 17, 2023 at 14:29

5 Answers 5

Reset to default
39

The following steps fixed my battery charging on a Carbon X1 5th gen. Your BIOS might be a bit different, but the principle might be the same:

  • shut down notebook
  • go to BIOS (to enter the BIOS, I pressed ENTER at boot, and then F1)
  • in the BIOS, go to Config, then selecte Disable Built-in Battery. This disables the battery completely (i.e. disconnects the battery circuit logically)
  • unplug the charger
  • press the power button for about 10 seconds
  • plug the charger back in
  • boot up

Now my notebook is charging again.

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20
  • 1
    Worked for me on a Lenovo P52s. Thanks!
    – dgnorton
    Commented Feb 6, 2019 at 2:44
  • 1
    T580: the first time it didn't work. I ran the same steps again after removing TLP Thinkpad battery settings now battery charging indicator is working. Thank you!
    – Hatem Jaber
    Commented Dec 28, 2019 at 18:30
  • 1
    Worked on Lenovo X1-Extreme after installing Arch and having battery issues. Thank you!
    – mjd2
    Commented Oct 4, 2020 at 21:14
  • 2
    Yes, worked for me too! Thinkpad T460s here.
    – Matt Baer
    Commented Aug 6, 2021 at 1:39
  • 2
    Worked for my Lenovo P1! Thanks
    – kappamaki
    Commented May 16, 2022 at 16:50
4

Run this command to refresh upower and show the charging battery icon.

busctl call --system org.freedesktop.UPower /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/battery_BAT0 org.freedesktop.UPower.Device Refresh

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2
  • Thanks this worked for me. I dont know what is the issue. Now the battery indicator is updating after this command.
    – Pranu Pranav
    Commented Jul 22, 2022 at 7:18
  • Thanks! This works.
    – HimalayanNinja
    Commented Dec 15, 2022 at 6:39
3

For me worked truncated version of Benedikt solution

  • shut down notebook
  • unplug the charger
  • press the power button for about 10 seconds
  • boot up
  • plug the charger back in

The last two steps' positions changed compared to the original.

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1
  • Worked for me: ThinkPad P14s, Ubuntu 20.04
    – Denis
    Commented Jul 11, 2023 at 10:43
1

For Lenovo Thinkpad T460 what fixed this for me was

  1. Remove the AC adapter
  2. Put a paperclip in the emergency reset hole in the bottom of the laptop and held it for about 30 seconds.
  3. Started the laptop without AC adapter plugged in
  4. Then plugged in the AC adapter

And then the battery started charging again. Not sure if #3 and #4 made a difference but those are the steps I took

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1
  • Similar with HP x360 1040: turn off, keep pressing Power Button for ~10 seconds until it blinks (= reset). Turn it on again, and it works
    – ianaz
    Commented Aug 31, 2022 at 18:30
0

My system, Lenovo Yoga, didn't have the BIOS setting for battery mentioned in the answer above. What fixed the problem for me was loading Ubuntu in Recovery Mode (from "Advanced Setting for Ubuntu" from grub boot loader) and rebooting.

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