Plugged in but not charging
My laptop is plugged in and the battery still goes down. What should I check?
Written by The CommonFixes team · fact checked by CommonFixes review desk
Last updated
Short answer
Most charging trouble is a tired cable, a dusty port, or a battery reading that has drifted and needs resetting. The quickest thing to try first: try a different socket and cable — Plug the charger straight into a wall socket rather than an extension board, and if you can borrow another charger of the same wattage, test with it. A frayed cable near the plug end is the single most common cause. Most people are done in about 10 minutes.
Full walkthrough below: 4 steps for Windows and Mac, rated easy.
Sounds like this
- •Charging light off
- •Battery drops while plugged in
- •Charger feels loose
Why it happens
Most charging trouble is a tired cable, a dusty port, or a battery reading that has drifted and needs resetting.
Work through these in order
0% done- 1
Try a different socket and cable
Plug the charger straight into a wall socket rather than an extension board, and if you can borrow another charger of the same wattage, test with it. A frayed cable near the plug end is the single most common cause.
- 2
Clean the charging port
Switch the laptop off and look into the port with a torch. Lint and dust pack in tightly. Lift it out with a wooden toothpick, never anything metal.
- 3
Reset the power hardware
On Windows, shut down, unplug, hold the power button for thirty seconds, then plug in and start. On a Mac with Apple silicon, simply shut down and wait a full minute before starting again.
- 4
Check the battery health report
On Windows open Terminal and run powercfg /batteryreport, then open the file it names. On a Mac hold Option and click the Apple menu, choose System Information, then Power. A battery past a few hundred cycles with low capacity is simply worn out.
If none of that worked
If a known good charger also fails to charge, the charging board inside needs a technician. Batteries and charge boards are inexpensive parts on most laptops.
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Who wrote this and how we checked it
The CommonFixes team
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We are a small group of people who spend our days repairing laptops and desktops for family, friends and small offices. Every guide here starts with a problem someone actually brought to us, and we only write down the steps that put the machine right.
- Everyday repairs
- Windows and Mac
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CommonFixes review desk
Technical editor
Before a guide goes live, a second person walks through it on a real machine and checks each instruction against the maker's own support pages. Anything we cannot confirm is removed rather than guessed at.
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This guide was last updated on 10 August 2026. If a step no longer matches what you see on screen, tell us on the contact page and we will test it again.
A gentle reminder: back up anything you cannot afford to lose before major repairs. If a step ever feels risky, stop and ask a technician. There is no shame in that.