PLUGGED IN NOT CHARGING PROBLEM IN DELL

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<THIS IS THE REAL REASON WHY THIS HAPPENS>

I've noticed everyone finding a solution to this, but THIS answer is mainly for those who tried this fix but still have the issue.
This is also for anyone curious as to WHY this happens.

Most of you with this issue will notice that you have a DELL. Your chargers... for the most part... are actually fine. The problem is the stupid way DELL designed their AC adapters. If you were to look inside the charger cable, you would find likely 4 colored cables inside. However, hidden in between these cables is tiny single wire that runs to the center pin in the jack of the charger.
While it is possible that many of you fixed this by cleaning or blowing dust off of this pin, the pin itself is not actually what provides the power. Instead, this pin exists purely for the purpose of DELL identifying and ensuring that you are using a DELL ac adapter. If it is unable to detect this identification wire it not only prevents the laptop from charging, but it also forces you to boot with a throttled cpu. You may notice that your CPU cannot exceed a certain amount. For me that amount is 23%. Frustratingly slow.

Just bending your cable too much can cause this little wire to break.

You can test this easily. If you're noticing major frame drops during games or videos, just go ahead and unplug your adapter. You'll notice in a few seconds it will run at normal speed again. Plug it back in and the choppiness resumes.

This way, DELL users are forced to use only DELL ac adapters and in my opinion it also gives them an excuse to trick you into buying a new battery when you call them for support. Only AFTER you buy a battery and realize you still have the problem do they suggest you buy a new DELL ac adapter. This wire is so thin that just bending the cable near the jack can sever it.

There ARE ways to bypass this. Though without some direct tampering with the AC adapter, most will only fix the throttling issue and restore your speed.
Just google. "Bypassing dell laptop charger detection" or adapter or something to that degree to see the different methods. Some involve actually modifying the charger physically, and others just turn off the cpu throttling with programs like RMclock and throttlestop.
You'd do best to research it yourself.
I hope this brought someone one step closer to a solution.

NOTICE: These bypasses will likely only fix the throttling issue and bring your computer back to normal speed. Unless you physically fix the connection of this wire, it will likely still refuse to charge. Your only hope is to either replace the AC adapter, or build your own PCB and spoof the data that normally runs through the wire. And even then, the break is most likely close to the neck of the jack making the PCB difficult if not impractical.
 


 
It worked!! Thank you so much! I unplugged it, blew in the back & the end of the plug and BAM! It is now charging :) Happy Camper Here!!
 


After frustrations galore I found this simple solution for my Inspiron - maybe it will work for you. Slowly rotate the power chord going into the computer counterclockwise while you have the battery icon displayed from the bottom menu bar. When I do this, the "not charging" disappears and the battery shows that it is taking the charge. For months I was doing this from the BIOS at start up (F2), and this worked too - going from "unknown" to 65w, but I just tried it from WIndows 10 and it worked too.

 


Oh my God!!! I've been trying to fix this problem for weeks because it was making my laptop real slow (.48GHz instead of 2.60 GHz) whenever I got the not charging message (even when I took the battery out, I got the message and the system was slow). This was happening on both power adapters I have. Best Buy Geek Squad said they'd have to send the laptop out for repair (2-3 weeks.) That's a non-starter, so I tried finding a local laptop repair place. No luck. (What happened to local computer repair places?) One guy that did respond back, when I explained my problem, he passed and said he didn't do this type of repair. Huh? So, I tried to fix it myself. Here are the steps I took:

- I uninstalled the Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery driver
- I ordered a new, and replaced, the DC Power input jack
- I tried the BIOS reset by removing and resetting the CMOS battery

Nothing worked. I got to this message board, so I decided to try the blowing method by blowing into the end of the power adapter head. (I recall blowing sometimes worked on video game cassettes.) And my system which was just at .48GHz (and not charging) is now charging and is at 2.60 GHz! This is f'ing crazy. So, I'm going to find a way to clean out the end of the adapter head so I don't have to keep blowing into it.
I'm soooo glad there are internet forums like this. Saved me from getting a new laptop.
 
The power brick for my Xps 13 9350 died. I bought a new 3rd party one and got this error. Thinking it was some sort of proprietary issue, I got the OEM charger and had the same issue. I was scared that the brick's failure lead to a motherboard issue. Not wanting to sit on the phone with Dell. I found this forum. I was pretty sure you were all nuts. I used an air compressor to blow everything out. For good measure I also gently rubbed a toothpick around and in each receptacle and then blew it out again. Voila. It worked. Unbelievable!
 
I was having the same issue for several months with my Dell XPS 12. Tried all the suggested solutions, but to no avail. My fix: I realized the pin inside the charger port was bent. I used a small flathead screw driver to gently guide the pin back to the center. It worked like a charm!
 
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