- Apr 10, 2018
- 4
- 1
- 10
To provide some background on the situation:
We’ve considered the possibility that the issue was BIOS related but we do not get any kind of light codes and the device just does not get power so we’ve scratched that idea.
We’ve done everything from unplugging all accessories components such as the speaker assembly, wireless card, daughter boards, only having the battery plugged in, removing the battery, any combination of that with the charging port. “Jumping” the system by quickly shoving the battery or charging port into its slot while being powered and have gotten zero results.
Using a Multi-Meter to probe the contacts where the adapter is seated into the main board shows just under 60w (19.5V @ 3.33A) which is the correct supply for this laptop. Probing further down the motherboard shows that most of the board is in fact receiving power, and is correctly stepping down the voltage to 5v and 3v where needed. During this point pressing the power button does nothing at all, no light anywhere, no screen flicker, the device just does not power on. Testing the battery in this way also shows the correct voltage.
As stated before we’ve contacted HP support regarding the problems we are having and they had simply told us “Contact your vendor,” when we had purchased the devices directly from a rep at HP according to my Boss.
This is where things begin to get weird.
During the time we experienced an interesting occurrence with the main boards marked, and thoroughly tested bad that sit on a shelf in a parts bin. It appears some of them are being “revived” on their own and the issue is resolved without our intervention. This typically happens between 2-3 months after we first deem the board bad. We understand the logic behind power being left in the system after removing power sources, and understand pressing the power button a couple of times helps remove this residual power. That being said we’ve done experiments where we leave the power button held down over night and that does not help the issue.
Our most recent discover is a test done with a USB load tester I ordered for a separate matter. Taking the tester and plugging it into a known good laptop does nothing until the device is powered on, and then the tester beeps and the display turns on showing the draw from the port. Switching over to the “Bad” system, we only have the power button and battery plugged in (since the charging port doesn’t work) and plugging the tester into the same USB port instantly turns it on even without turning the device one leading me to believe the board is constantly getting power and nothing is preventing it from being regulated.
I’ve had the theory that one the charging ports break and the bit of plastic inside of them comes out the pins get bent or move and touch each other causing some kind of short at the power connector. This theory however does not explain why after some amount of time some of the boards miraculously start working again.
Any ideas or knowledge would be greatly appreciated, Thank you.
We have approximately 400-500 HP Stream 11 (1st gen) Pro devices
We’ve contacted HP many times about the issue
We’ve spent close to a year working on this issue on our own
We are an HP certified repair center, and have access to replacement parts
We have tried searching for similar issues online
We’ve considered the possibility that the issue was BIOS related but we do not get any kind of light codes and the device just does not get power so we’ve scratched that idea.
We’ve done everything from unplugging all accessories components such as the speaker assembly, wireless card, daughter boards, only having the battery plugged in, removing the battery, any combination of that with the charging port. “Jumping” the system by quickly shoving the battery or charging port into its slot while being powered and have gotten zero results.
Using a Multi-Meter to probe the contacts where the adapter is seated into the main board shows just under 60w (19.5V @ 3.33A) which is the correct supply for this laptop. Probing further down the motherboard shows that most of the board is in fact receiving power, and is correctly stepping down the voltage to 5v and 3v where needed. During this point pressing the power button does nothing at all, no light anywhere, no screen flicker, the device just does not power on. Testing the battery in this way also shows the correct voltage.
As stated before we’ve contacted HP support regarding the problems we are having and they had simply told us “Contact your vendor,” when we had purchased the devices directly from a rep at HP according to my Boss.
This is where things begin to get weird.
During the time we experienced an interesting occurrence with the main boards marked, and thoroughly tested bad that sit on a shelf in a parts bin. It appears some of them are being “revived” on their own and the issue is resolved without our intervention. This typically happens between 2-3 months after we first deem the board bad. We understand the logic behind power being left in the system after removing power sources, and understand pressing the power button a couple of times helps remove this residual power. That being said we’ve done experiments where we leave the power button held down over night and that does not help the issue.
Our most recent discover is a test done with a USB load tester I ordered for a separate matter. Taking the tester and plugging it into a known good laptop does nothing until the device is powered on, and then the tester beeps and the display turns on showing the draw from the port. Switching over to the “Bad” system, we only have the power button and battery plugged in (since the charging port doesn’t work) and plugging the tester into the same USB port instantly turns it on even without turning the device one leading me to believe the board is constantly getting power and nothing is preventing it from being regulated.
I’ve had the theory that one the charging ports break and the bit of plastic inside of them comes out the pins get bent or move and touch each other causing some kind of short at the power connector. This theory however does not explain why after some amount of time some of the boards miraculously start working again.
Any ideas or knowledge would be greatly appreciated, Thank you.
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