Laptop battery not charging: "Plugged in, not charging"

Check for a charge limit first: many laptops stop at 60 or 80 per cent on purpose to make the battery last longer.

What you seePlugged in, not charging / Slow charger / battery stuck at 60% or 80%

1. Is it a charge limit, not a fault?

Laptop makers include a setting that stops charging at 55, 60 or 80 per cent to extend battery life. It is found in the maker's own app (for example Lenovo Vantage, MyASUS, Dell Power Manager or MyDell, HP's battery care in the BIOS, Samsung Settings, Acer Care Center) and sometimes under Settings › System › Power & battery › Smart charging on Windows 11. A small heart on the battery icon means smart charging is active. If the battery always stops at the same round number, this is why. Turn the limit off when you need a full charge for travel.

Windows may also pause charging on purpose when the battery is hot.

2. Charger and connection

1. Check the wall socket with another appliance, and avoid loose multi-plugs.
2. Push in both ends of the charger: the power cable into the brick, and the plug into the laptop. Look for the charging light.
3. Look at the cable and pin for cuts, kinks and bends. A damaged charger must be replaced, not taped.
4. Use the original charger or one of the same wattage. A weaker one gives "Slow charger" or does not charge while the laptop is in use. With USB-C, use a charger and cable rated for the laptop's wattage, and try each USB-C port: on some models only the ports marked with a plug or lightning symbol accept charging.
5. Let a hot laptop cool. Charging stops above a safe temperature.

3. Reset the power state

1. Shut down. Unplug the charger.
2. If the battery is removable, take it out.
3. Hold the power button for 30 seconds.
4. Refit the battery, plug in the charger, start.

Some laptops with sealed batteries have a pinhole reset button on the base for the same purpose.

4. Refresh the battery driver

1. Right-click Start › Device Manager › expand Batteries.
2. Right-click Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery › Uninstall device. (Leave "Microsoft AC Adapter" alone.)
3. Shut down, unplug, wait a minute, plug in, start. Windows reinstalls the driver.

Then install updates: Settings › Windows Update, and the BIOS and chipset updates from the maker's support page or app, which often fix charging faults. Keep the charger connected during a BIOS update.

5. Check the battery's health

Open Terminal and run:

powercfg /batteryreport

It saves a file named battery-report.html in your user folder and prints the path. Open it and compare two lines:

• Design capacity: what the battery held when new.
• Full charge capacity: what it holds now.

A full charge capacity below about half the design capacity means the battery is worn out and needs replacing. If the report shows no battery at all, the battery is disconnected or dead.

Also run the maker's built-in hardware test (often F2, F12 or Esc at power-on) for a battery and charger test.

6. Signs that need the service centre

• A swollen battery: the base bulging, the touchpad lifting, the laptop rocking on a table. Stop using and charging it at once; do not press or puncture it.
• The laptop works only on the charger and shows 0 per cent.
• The charging pin or port is loose or hot.
• The battery percentage jumps or the laptop switches off at 30 or 40 per cent.

Making a battery last

Heat ages batteries fastest: keep vents clear and do not use the laptop on bedding. If it lives on the charger, use the 60 or 80 per cent limit. Avoid leaving it flat for weeks; store at about half charge.

For Windows 11 and Windows 10. Written in November 2026. Menus move between updates; use the search box in Settings if a name differs. Back up important files before any step that resets, repairs a disk or opens the computer. This is an independent guide, not connected with Microsoft.