Battery Issue in Notebook (T100)

[TromboneAl]

Lena's had her Asus T100 for 2.4 years now, and apparently the battery's health is poor.

It wouldn't be an issue, except that even when plugged in, it currently loses charge (when in use).

I've confirmed that she has a good power adapter and cord, so it should be getting the max charging power.

I'm currently having her run it in safe mode to see if there is some app that's using too much power. Unfortunately, in safe mode, you can't monitor the battery level.

I can get a new battery ($75), but I'll have to do major surgery to install it.

Asus wants $300 for a new battery (more than a new computer).

We're tempted to just get a new computer--one with a snap-in replaceable battery.

Tips or suggestions?

 

[ERD50]

Won't the "Task Manager" (or whatever they call it in Windows) show you % CPU for each application? I recall DD's MacBook was running fans full blast and short battery time because it was stuck trying to connect to some printer on some network that wasn't there, and running 100% CPU. Killed that process and the machine got quiet and battery life (per charge) was fine.

I also found this ifixit, a little involved, but doesn't look so bad:

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Asus+Transformer+T100+Battery+Replacement/25185

And batteries on Amazon are ~ $40-$50 bucks. search C12N1320

But yea, I like the old school snap in batteries.

-ERD50

 

[bjorn2bwild]

Remove the battery and see if that is the problem?
Yes, I know the tablet will need to be opened, I have an Asus T200. What do you have to lose?

 

[Sunset]

I would do more investigation, if it's a lithium battery, that is a short time frame to be dying.
Do you leave it plugged in all the time, or just charge it up and then run it to zero ?

If you do find the battery a goner, I'd be tempted to go with a new computer, in 2.4 years they have changed quite a bit. As for the plug in battery part, I have a small laptop that I upgraded the memory and (harddrive to SSD) . while doing so I saw the batter inside, it would be easy to change it once it's open.
So the battery replace ability is not a big thing for me.

Hey hope this does not happen to your car

 

[jonat]

I don't think replacing the battery is all that difficult. I replaced the keyboard in my mom's T100 and it was straightforward, even though I had to remove a lot of components. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Asus+Transformer+T100+Battery+Replacement/25185 has a guide.

 

[Sunset]

I don't think replacing the battery is all that difficult. I replaced the keyboard in my mom's T100 and it was straightforward, even though I had to remove a lot of components. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Asus+Transformer+T100+Battery+Replacement/25185 has a guide.

I agree this is fairly easy.
This is quite a bit less than I had to do to double the memory in my laptop.

It's so annoying all manufacturers don't make memory updates as easy as opening a special spot, pull out the old one and put in the new one.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I searched Amazon for Asus notebooks. They seem very reasonably priced. I think I'd replace the computer.

 

[TromboneAl]

Do you leave it plugged in all the time, or just charge it up and then run it to zero ?

She's actually been careful to not leave it plugged in all the time.

Hey hope this does not happen to your car

Right. That wouldn't be a DIY fix.

We'll look at computers at CostCo this weekend. You can take them back any time up to 90 days.

I'll be glad if she gets a larger machine. Every time I have to debug something on her ASUS, the smaller keyboard and screen bugs me.

 

[ERD50]

Originally Posted by Sunset View Post
Do you leave it plugged in all the time, or just charge it up and then run it to zero ?

She's actually been careful to not leave it plugged in all the time. ...

As we were discussing in another thread, where you tried adding a timer to your laptop charger, it isn't clear that unplugging it will extend the life of the battery.

Yes, it's true that leaving a Li-on battery near 100% charge all the time is bad for it. But it isn't clear that letting it discharge and charge up is any better. It's just a different wear-out mechanism.

The only sure-fire improvement that I know of is some charger firmware will allow the user to select what to use for the 'full' level. So if you select 80% instead of 100%, it charges to 80% and stops, but it stays plugged in, so the device runs from the line, so it isn't running the battery through additional charge-discharge cycles. Merely unplugging it will increase the charge-discharge cycles. You trade one issue for another.

DW leaves her MacBook plugged in most of the time, definitely overnight and through the evening almost all the time. The Coconut Battery app shows it is 88 months old (7.33 years), has run 521 'load cycles' , and is still at 78% of original capacity.

I assume a 'load cycle' is the equivalent number of full charge-discharge cycles, so 50% charged to 75% counts as 0.25 cycles? So she goes through a full charge cycle roughly every 5 days.


BTW, can't you plug a USB external keyboard into the ASUS?

-ERD50

 

[bjorn2bwild]

If the battery problem surfaced after a Win 10 upgrade, I noticed this fix in the Aug 2 anniversary update -

"Addressed issues that cause high battery drain when a Windows 10 Mobile device is idle or the screen is off."

 

[Lakewood90712]

If used every day, thats not a bad battery life IMO. I'm real hard on laptop , cellphone, gps , etc batteries, charging 100 % and running down below 20 %. My device batts. get weak before 2 years.

In the Leaf " Driving Experience" ( Nissan Brainwashing for prospective Leaf buyers) event I went to several years ago, they made a big deal about LIon batteries longest life is never charge above 80%, and never discharge below 40%.

I haven't seen a portable device battery charge management program that lets you cut off charging at at 80% full.

 

[aja8888]

If the battery problem surfaced after a Win 10 upgrade, I noticed this fix in the Aug 2 anniversary update -

Al has a Asus T100 notebook which is an Android device. No Windows.

 

[aja8888]

I had a T100 and gave it away. Old tech, Android version not upgradeable (easily unless you root it). Makes sense to go new.

 

[target2019]

I see a lot of battery problems reported for that model. It probably can be fixed, but the costs would stop me from trying.

I'd look for a battery app, or system app, that would report useful information about the battery. Also, probably something in the BIOS that could prove useful. Maybe the BIOS battery is wacked, or the BIOS has a serious fault. Look for an update?

 

[bjorn2bwild]

Al has a Asus T100 notebook which is an Android device. No Windows.

OK, but then there is this post #308, pg 16 on the windows 10 thread -

After a lot of resistance, Lena upgraded her laptop to Windows 10. We got it started before we went to bed, and in the morning her screen said: "Welcome to Windows 10!"

IOW, it went off without a hitch. Main reason: She doesn't have a lot of add-ons and unusual apps as I do.

I have an Asus T200 running Win 8.1, I believe the T100 can also run 8.1

 

[Rustic23]

I got a Lenovo Ideapad at Best Buy for $100! It was open box, but everything was there. Not a machine you will play games on, but great for general purpose use. I think the regular price was short of $150. With this type of computer out there at that price I would replace the t100.

 

[aja8888]

I have an Asus T200 running Win 8.1, I believe the T100 can also run 8.1

Ahhh, I had one of the very early T100's and couldn't even upgrade to a better version of Android let alone Windows. I gave up on it and I never investigated trying to load Windows.

 

[TromboneAl]

If the battery problem surfaced after a Win 10 upgrade, I noticed this fix in the Aug 2 anniversary update -

I'll look into that. It is indeed a windows device, and we did upgrade to win 10.

Today, for $179, Lena got this: https://www.engadget.com/2014/11/28/hp-stream-11-review/

So now, the T100 is mine to play with. I'm going to buy a battery for it.

But I can't even get it to charge up when it is off. It has rapidly gotten worse.

 

[TromboneAl]

Although the salesman told us the HP Stream has a replaceable battery, it does not. That is, like the Asus, it's replaceable only via surgery.

 

[Sunset]

I'll look into that. It is indeed a windows device, and we did upgrade to win 10.

Today, for $179, Lena got this: https://www.engadget.com/2014/11/28/hp-stream-11-review/

So now, the T100 is mine to play with. I'm going to buy a battery for it.

But I can't even get it to charge up when it is off. It has rapidly gotten worse.

I have to wonder if it might be the connection where you plug it in to charge. I have a laptop that this happened to, the connection just inside the computer broke, so of course it would not take a charge most of the time unless you had the wire pulled in certain direction.

You could take out the old battery, and charge it directly, and see if it holds a charge, if it does, then it's not the battery itself.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

I have to wonder if it might be the connection where you plug it in to charge. I have a laptop that this happened to, the connection just inside the computer broke, so of course it would not take a charge most of the time unless you had the wire pulled in certain direction.

You could take out the old battery, and charge it directly, and see if it holds a charge, if it does, then it's not the battery itself.

A couple last tests to perform before opening would be to see if the battery charges normally with the computer turned off, and a voltage stress-test to check for intermittent current in the charger/cord/plug.

 

[TromboneAl]

I'm playing with it now, and I've gotten it to charge up for a change. One thing I did was get rid of an ASUS Web Storage app. I also wonder whether the OneDrive was continually trying to sync files.

I'm getting it all backed up, and will investigate more soon.

She says the HP Stream computer seems slower on the internet, so we might take that back.