Razer Blade battery issues and Windows feature
Hello, since my battery overcharging / bloating Razer locked thread and got in touch for a (chargeable) out of warranty repair because battery warranties only extend to 1 year and I was 2 and a bit years into my ownership.
I'd like to set aside whether this should require a chareable repair or covered under warranty, a thread on that will go no-where an I also suspect would be locked.
But on reflection and with the benefit of hindsight I missed several the warning signs of failure while I was still under warranty and I just wished I'd acted sooner so I am posting here some of the warning signs so that other users can perhaps catch in-warranty and not be caught as I was.
Kind regards
Chris
0) Usage:
On those other forums and looking across several threads the common feature seems to be laptops with battery issues are those used while permanently plugged into power. As mine always was.
1) Temperature:
Before - When charging my laptop at around area of the touchpad got quite hot. Not too hot to touch but much much hotter than normal.
Since replacing the battery - I've noted that now when plugged in area of the laptop around area of the touchpad is now much much cooler.
[note that area does get slightly warm still while charging even when relatively idle, but no-where near what it used to be]
Thoughts/warning for users. If you feel you're getting excessive heat build-up even while laptop idle, e.g. just browsing the internet or even completely idle, consider whether laptop battery isn't swelling up.
2) Fan :
Before - Possibly related to the above I noted my laptop in screen-off mode and unused would suddenly wake up and start spinning up the fan. I enabled some performance logging and then disabled virus scanners and background services and even tried safe mode to confirm this was NOT related to idle processing like Virus scan etc. I thought it was just laptop design but now fans were waking up to cool down a laptop being heated by the battery.
Since replacing the battery - Now the laptop will sit quite silently. Even as I type this with laptop fully awake the fans are hardly running.
Thoughts/warning for users. as above, laptop spinning up fans excessively when just browsing the internet etc. is not normal. Consider booting into safe mode perhaps to rule out other processes, and if it still does this consider if your battery might have an issue.
3) Trackpad
Definitely related to the expansion of the battery the trackpad lost efficiency. As noted I often used laptop connected to monitor, keyboard and mouse (screen always ajar before anyone asks) and hence I didn't use mouse for a very long time.
Before -
When travelling to family I noted that I couldn't use the trackpad to "click n drag" in the centre as I thought I was once able - only the very very bottom edge of the trackpad would respond.
It had been so long since I got laptop that I sincerely forgot that actually the whole trackpad should be clickable.
Since replacing the battery -
The trackpad is fine.
Thoughts/warning for users. loss of sensitivity of the trackpad? From now my first suspicions if a trackpad becomes unresponsive to clicks will the battery. See above.
4) Swapping memory/SSD.
Thoughts/warning for users. As I undid each screw holding the case the swelling of the battery caused the case to want to fly apart.
Thoughts/warning for users.
When removing the screws on even routine changes like upgrading SSD consider holding down / weighting the case to try to limit the likelihood of the screws being ripped out from the case as each, or the last one is undone.
I managed to survive with only one hinge-cover broken (not the bit that surrounds the metal hinge itself)
because that was the very last screw that I was removing and by then with all the screws towards the front removed the case was wanting to open an inch or so more than it's normal height.
The force is quite significant so be warned.
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