Hey all, my 4 year old Acer Aspire laptop is doing that thing where you have to jiggle the charger cord around for it to work.
It's a new charger so I believe it needs a repair on the charger port. Maybe a broken solder? Just wondering if anyone has an idea what they might cost to get repaired. Wondering if it's worth doing or just getting a new one
Cheers
Do you have access to another charger, to test?
Where did the new charger come from? There are plenty of dodgy units out there on Ebay. I had a 'genuine' Asus melt after @ 4 weeks.
Otherwise, you can try charging via USB-C as per @jv but not all devices support this. If you do try using USB-C, it will need to be a decent unit to charge properly, but even a basic Samsung Phone charger should show that it is receiving power.
Otherwise, if it's the mainboard, you might be better off buying a New unit. It depends on who you know, and how experienced they are. Some units are easier to assemble and disassemble than others. It's most likely the case that the Power Socket, has come loose. It may be easy to re-solder, but they may suggest ordering a new part to play it safe. It may take a week or 2 to obtain a part from Acer, or Ebay.
Disassembly and reassembly, will take up most of the time and cost, especially if other items need removal like Cable, Wfi card, keyboard + cable, screen display cable etc If you can get it done under $120, you are doing well. I don't know how much your unit cost, but being 4 years old, and the battery is detreriorating, it's probably best to buy a new unit. I'd stick with Acer. Screen replacements are cheap.
Cheers. I can't see any USB c port as in the Samsung phone charger shape. Just USBs HDMI etc.
Do they do any type of wireless chargers?
It's definitely the port because it's really loose when you jiggle the charger around.
Thanks for the tips though. Will get a quote from the local tech guy.
If it is just a solder dry joint, the local phone repair kiosk will probably fix it for $50.
Otherwise, try asking at the library or Men’’s shed if there is a repair cafe type thing near you.
You can get a USB A to USB C, adapter, but your device may not have it, due to it's age, especially if it was entry level.
If it only has USB-A, then no power delivery. :(
in Australia repair is generally very expensive,
i suggest just get a new cheap one if your nearby shops cannot fix for cheap price like <$70
some repair shops may straight up refuse to serve that old laptop also btw so be prepared for that too
Yes they may not want to be responsible for anything else.
Not sure what shape your socket is but we DIY'd this type.
https://tinyurl.com/LaptopChargeSokt
If you can dismantle laptop body,solder and use a Dremel, job done
Great idea, but i think op may not have the great or confidence.
I did a similar thing back in 1998 with a unit Gerry threw out. ;)
Well they did buy an Acer….
Acer are a very long surviving manufacturer and have made devices for other well known brands. A pc usually had a lifespan of 2-3 years before being redundant, due to os demands, + battery.
So op got 4 years out of their device.
Out of all the manufacturers, acer usually offer the cheapest screen replacements compared to Apple, Asus, HP + Lenovo.
On a side note i still have a 10+ yo Acer i use for some tasks (i also have 2 old macbooks of a similar vintage). I had to use this the other day to access a nas, that nothing wanted to connect to, and ithas an rj45 port. Regrettably the trackpad don't work, but usb does. :)
@BewareOfThe Dog: Like all things tech.
I think Acers reputation for reliability has faded over time. ( Not in a good way )
@Protractor: They were really bad in the early 90s.much better these days.
I worked for hn, and saw many hp, lenovo and apple sent away. Not ad many acer. They had the quickest turnaround as well.
For a few years hp was sent to Singapore using DHL.
It was probably a rebranded Foxconn made unit.
Start with the model … sometimes the port is a plug in part
Can you just charge via the usb-c port?