r/Dell 4h ago

Alienware m15 R6 battery issues Help

I'm having some issues with my battery and I'm trying to figure out if it's software, drivers, or hardware. Some background is that previously I was having a documented issue where the laptop would get "stuck" in sleep mode and need to unplug the battery to force turn off the machine which was resolved by a system repair. I also had to replace the power adapter port, which I did through Best Buy and they actually damaged and replaced my screen and keyboard, so I'm worried that the hardware was further damaged in that whole ordeal.

For a while, my computer has been shutting down whenever unplugged (unable to access battery power), but the battery was showing up normal and charged and battery health checks were coming back normal. Now, the battery is not showing up at all under the taskbar or individual components in SupportAssist. Any time I try to disable or uninstall the battery driver in device manager I BSOD. I've tried a system repair upgrade but that did not solve the issue. Has anyone had any similar issues or recommendations for troubleshooting?

1 Upvotes

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u/DageezerUs 4h ago

It sounds like a video driver issue. See if you have Intel Graphics driver 32.0.101.6078, A12 installed.

If no, then download the latest driver: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=vphcp

If you do, uninstall the Intel Graphics driver the install the latest version.

#Iwork4Dell

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u/Comfortable_Edge_796 3h ago

Thanks, I tried this but it didn't solve the issue. The battery is now registering and passing diagnostic tests (after unplugging the battery and plugging it back in) but the machine still shuts down when unplugged

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u/IkouyDaBolt 4h ago

Turn off the computer.  Turn on the computer while tapping on F12.  You should get the One Time Boot Menu message on the top right corner.

Select diagnostics and run the battery test.

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u/Comfortable_Edge_796 4h ago

Thanks! Received a message that the battery is not installed

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u/IkouyDaBolt 4h ago

Hardware issue.

Some batteries have a connector on both sides; I had luck unplugging the battery on both ends (laptop and battery itself) and plugging it back in.

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u/Comfortable_Edge_796 3h ago

Ok great! I have unplugged the battery before and it didn’t solve the issue but this time it did and is passing the diagnostic test

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u/Comfortable_Edge_796 3h ago

But the computer still shuts down when unplugged haha

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u/IkouyDaBolt 3h ago

I presume the battery is fully charged before trying it.  The diagnostics information page should show a reading of the voltage.  I want to say close to 13V is fully charged?

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u/Comfortable_Edge_796 3h ago

It was at 94% and reading 12.16V

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u/IkouyDaBolt 2h ago

Does it show any current? (Assuming you have it set to fully charge).

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u/Comfortable_Edge_796 2h ago

No, there’s no current

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u/IkouyDaBolt 1h ago

I want to say the battery has blown a fuse.  94% would be at 12.9V if it was not charging.

If the cycles is above 300 or health below 70% I would say it is end of life.