Laptop Battery Charging But Percentage Not Increasing [Solved]

The battery is one component of a laptop that degrades over a period of use. This can affect its ability to store power and can lead to a situation of laptop battery charging but percentage not increasing.

Therefore, if you are faced with a situation where your laptop battery is charging but the percentage is not increasing try the following fixes:

If none of the above methods work out, then it might be time to get a replacement for your battery. When you get a replacement, ensure you follow these steps to preserve it:

How to Increase The Lifespan of a Laptop Battery

Laptop batteries have a length of time in which they can be used. It can range from 5 hours to 12 hours depending on the capacity. However, their ability to maintain this capacity will dwindle over time.

The battery within a laptop can maintain its original capacity for up to a year, however, it begins to dwindle steadily. But, luckily there are ways to guard against this through:

• Storing the laptop and laptop batteries in cool and dry temperatures.
• Staying away from activities that spike up the temperature of the PC.
• Removing the battery when the charger is in use.
• Partly charge the battery when it is not needed

4 Ways to Fix Laptop Battery Charging But Percentage Not Increasing

When faced with a non-charging laptop, what this indicates is that the battery is not storing up the energy remitted to it from the charging port. In such a situation, you have the following options for Windows and Mac:

General Fix for Laptop Battery Charging But Percentage Not Increasing For Both Mac & Windows 10

Option 1 – Restart System

The first thing you ought to do when faced with the issue of your laptop not saving energy is to try restarting it. The aim of restarting the system is to reset the operating system. 

Performing a restart requires:

Restarting a Windows 10 System

Step 1.1: Go to the “Windows” icon on the left side of the desktop

Step 2.1: Click it

Step 3.1: Select the “Power” menu

Step 4.1: Choose the option for “Restart” from the pop-up menu

Restarting a Mac System 

Step 1.2: Go to the “Apple” logo in the toolbar of your Mac.

Step 2.2: Click it

Step 3.2: Wait for a pop-up menu

Step 4.2: Choose the option for “Restart” from the pop-up menu

Fixing Laptop Battery Charging But Percentage Not Increasing On Windows 10

Option 2 – Hard Reset

If you restart a Windows 10 device and the issue of battery percentage, not increasing persists, the next thing to do is perform a hard reset. Restarting the PC is what we called soft rest. However, for hard reset, the activity here requires resetting the device that is running the operating system.

To perform a hard reset, follow these steps:

Step 1: Ensure the AC Adapter/charger is disconnected from the laptop

Step 2: Shut down the laptop

Step 3: Place the laptop on a table with the bottom up

Step 4: Remove the battery from the laptop

Step 5: Flip the laptop with the top up 

Step 6: Hold down the power button of the system for half a minute to discharge the capacitors

Step 7: Flip the laptop again with the bottom up and replace the battery

Step 8: Press the power button to put it back on

Step 9: Replug the charger and confirm that the percentages are increasing

Option 3 – Uninstall then reinstall the Battery Device Driver 

A software problem could be the reason why your laptop fails to store the energy from the power source. In this case, a driver connected to the performance of the battery may be affected. Therefore, check if you recently updated your drivers then try uninstalling.

The steps for uninstalling and reinstalling include:

Step 1: Ensure the AC Adapter/charger is disconnected from the laptop

Step 2: Go the “Windows” icon on the bottom left of the desktop home

Step 3: Place the cursor/arrow on the icon and right-click

Step 4: Wait for a pop-up menu

Step 5: Look out for “Device Manager” and select it

Step 6: Wait for a new window to open

Step 7: Look out for the menu tagged “Batteries”

Step 8: Right-click the drivers or adapters seen under the menu

Step 9: Wait for a pop-up menu

Step 10: Select “Uninstall”

Step 11: The computer will showcase a prompt asking you to confirm the uninstall action.

Step 12: Press the “Enter” key

Step 13: Once the adapter or driver no longer shows in the menu, restart the system.

Step 14: When the system comes back on, repeat Steps 2-9

Step 15: Select “Scan for hardware changes”

Step 16: Wait for your system to search for new updates and install a new driver.

Step 17: Plug back the charger to confirm if the problem has been resolved.

Fixing Laptop Battery Charging But Percentage Not Increasing On Mac

Option 4 – Reset System Management Controller on Mac

The System Management Controller (SMC) on Mac is responsible for a lot of functions inclusive of battery and thermal management. Therefore, for any issue relating to power and battery, this is the setting to go to.

To reset SMC, follow these steps:

For non removable battery

Step 1.1: Go to the “Apple” logo in the toolbar of your Mac.

Step 2.1: Click it

Step 3.1: Wait for a pop-up menu

Step 4.1: Choose the option for “Shut Down” from the pop-up menu

Step 5.1: Wait for the system to shut down

Step 6.1: Press and hold down the following hotkeys together “Shift+Control+Option”

Step 7.1: Press the “Power button” at the same time for half a minute.

Step 8.1: Release all the keys

Step 9.1: Put the Mac back on again and check if things are back to normal.

For removable battery

Step 1.2: Go to the “Apple” logo in the toolbar of your Mac.

Step 2.2: Click it

Step 3.2: Wait for a pop-up menu

Step 4.2: Choose the option for “Shut Down” from the pop-up menu

Step 5.2: Remove the battery

Step 6.2: Press and hold down the “Power button” for half a minute.

Step 7.2: Reinstall the battery

Step 8.2: Put the Mac back on again and check if things are back to normal.

How To Check Battery Capacity On Windows 10

You can check your battery health or its current capacity by going to Windows Powershell. Accessing this menu just requires the following steps:

Step 1: Use the hotkeys “Win + X”

Step 2: Select “Powershell”

Step 3: Type the command “powercfg /batteryreport /output “C:\battery-report.html”

Step 4: Locate the battery report by going to the “Windows (C:) drive”

What Type of Laptop Battery Do I Have?

Checking the type of laptop battery you have is relatively easy. Just shut down the system. Flip it so the bottom side is visible. Detach the battery and read the manufacturer’s information and relevant details of your battery.

Conclusion

If none of the above-mentioned fixes work, then the next thing to check is whether your charger is functioning well. You can borrow your friend’s charger or head to a retail store with your system to test the charger directly. But, if the charger is not the problem, it is time to take the laptop to a repair store.