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Chromebook Not Charging? Here’s How to Fix It

Dinsan

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A Chromebook that won’t charge is usually not a dead battery. It is almost always a stuck charging controller, and there is a simple reset that clears it up most of the time.

Try a Basic Power Reset First

  1. Unplug the charger from both the wall outlet and the Chromebook.
  2. Wait about 30 seconds.
  3. Plug the charger into the Chromebook first, then into the wall outlet.
  4. Check for a charging light near the port. It may be white, orange, or another color depending on your model.
  5. Let it charge for at least 30 minutes before turning the Chromebook on.

If you don’t see a charging light at all, try a different wall outlet and double check the cable for any visible damage.

Still Not Charging? Try a Hard Reset

With the charger unplugged, press and hold the power button for about 10 seconds, then let go. Plug the charger back in and see if charging starts.

Last Resort: Reset the Embedded Controller

Note: This resets a small chip that manages power and charging. It will not erase any files or settings, so it is safe to try.

  1. Turn the Chromebook off completely.
  2. Plug the charger into the Chromebook and into the wall.
  3. Press and hold the Refresh key (the circular arrow, usually where F3 would be) and the Power button at the same time.
  4. Release both keys once the Chromebook powers on.

This is the same trick that fixed charging on early Chromebooks, including Google’s original Cr-48 pilot model from 2010, and it still works on current Chromebooks because most models still use a similar embedded controller for charging.

Quick Tips

  • Always connect the charger to the Chromebook before plugging it into the wall.
  • Use the charger that came with your Chromebook, or a USB-C charger rated for at least 45W, if your model charges over USB-C.
  • If nothing here works, the charging port or battery itself may have failed, and it’s worth contacting your manufacturer’s support.

Most charging problems come down to a stuck controller, not a broken battery. Try the basic reset first, and work your way down the list if it doesn’t catch right away.

Dinsan Avatar
Dinsan

Founder & Editor

Dinsan Francis is the founder of Chrome Story, which he started in 2009 — the same year Google launched Chrome. He has covered the Chrome browser and Chromebook ecosystem for over 15 years and has used Chromebooks as his primary computing device since 2010. He’s always on the bleeding edge, running the Canary build of both Chrome and ChromeOS as daily drivers.

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Comments

21 responses to “Chromebook Not Charging? Here’s How to Fix It”

  1. Hottub Avatar
    Hottub

    Worked like a charm. Only needed 5 or 6 in and outs.
    Thank you very much!!

    Reply
  2. Vince Avatar
    Vince

    Worked like a charm. Only needed 1-2 times.

    Wonder why this happens.

    Reply
  3. Judy Blaisdell Avatar
    Judy Blaisdell

    Didn’t work so I assume it is the adapter. Ordered one for 10 cents! With shipping it will still be less than $7. Nice.

    Reply
  5. haley Avatar
    haley

    2nd chromebook in 3 months and now the charger won’t work. This tip didn’t work.

    Reply
  6. sailshark Avatar
    sailshark

    I have had this chrome book book for about 2 years and it just started acting up. This worked for 2 minutes and the light was blinking green for my Chromebook I will try again later. Any other advice?

    Reply
  7. Niall Avatar
    Niall

    Hi,

    This worked perfectly for me on a Samsung Chromebook series 3 – I believe the problem was due to my battery running down completely, then when the Chromebook was plugged in the power light continued to flash green and then orange, but the battery wouldn’t charge and the Chromebook wouldn’t run from the mains either.

    Plugging it in and out every second about 10 – 15 times showed an orange charging light only and the Chromebook fully charged overnight. It then worked off mains and battery as normal

    Thanks again

    Niall

    Reply
  9. jim Avatar
    jim

    Whenever I charged my chromebook, I used a extension cord so I could move around. So I’m talking over 2 years of doing this. Then yesterday (Sunday) I had it plugged in, but for some reason it didn’t charge my chrombook. So I disconnected the extension cord and plugged it in without it and it charged up. The adapter was on when connected to the extension cord, so I don’t know why it didn’t charge my chromebook. Maybe I’ll try a different extension cord.

    Reply
    1. Dinsan Avatar
      Dinsan

      Thank you for the comment! Hope that you’ll get that charger issue figured out soon.!

      Reply
  10. charliesturdivant Avatar
    charliesturdivant

    Yes I have a Chrome book but I just replaced the cord and it still doesn’t work. HELP!!

    Reply
  11. Joseph Teply Avatar
    Joseph Teply

    I have a chromebook 13 cb5-311-t677, it was working fine 2 days ago. I tried to charge it and the amber light for the battery does not come on??? Can anybody help?

    Reply
    1. Maryann Jordan Avatar
      Maryann Jordan

      Mine is doing the same thing — did you find an answer?

      Reply
      1. Joseph Teply Avatar
        Joseph Teply

        Maryann, my chrome book is back up and running. The issue was the charger. The part that plugs into the chrome book. I bought one at amazon for 15 dollars with tax.

  12. Harley From Arkham City (Jacki Avatar
    Harley From Arkham City (Jacki

    My chromebook won’t charge at all and the light on the charger not the one on the back of the chromebook keeps blinking. How can I make it charge again?

    Reply
  13. Christine Avatar
    Christine

    Only had my chromebook xe303c12-a01us for 9 months. It was working fine now it won’t turn on. The charger light is on but not the light on the book, any ideas?

    Reply
    1. joyce hammond Avatar
      joyce hammond

      I have the exact same problem from the exact same model. Did you find a solution yet?

      Reply
      1. Kevin Glover Avatar
        Kevin Glover

        The logic board needs repair/replacement. I repair ~30 Chromebooks a month with this issue.

  14. Tyne Avatar
    Tyne

    This trick didn’t work with my chromebook. It was really fine yesterday….

    Reply
  15. systemBuilder Avatar
    systemBuilder

    We had a generic charger. It started doing the orange blinking light thing and the laptop would try to boot, run out of power, and power cycle, over and over again.

    We tried the original toshiba charger which produces 5w more (45w vs. 40w) and the charging light turned orange and stayed orange. We threw away the generic charger.

    Reply
  16. William Avatar
    William

    My Acer Chromebook book won’t change or turn on is it the bug or is it the charger it’s been doing this for a month what do I do

    Reply

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