Lenovo X240 Battery 0 Not Detected by Windows 10

[AlTech]

Hi,

 

My used eBay Thinkpad X240 just arrived today and I was fairly happy with it until I found out that Windows says Battery 0 was not detected.

 

For those who don't know: There are 2 batteries on Thinkpad X series notebooks. An internal 3 cell battery and an external 6 cell battery.

 

Battery 0 refers to the Internal Battery.

Battery 1 refers to the external Battery.

 

Basically Battery 0 (internal battery) was not detected by Windows and the second battery (external battery) is fine.

 

Windows 10 knows that there are 2 batteries in the laptop but couldn't detect the internal battery.

 

Unplugging the external battery causes the laptop to power off immediately.

 

I'd like for battery 0 to actually work and yeah.

 

How can I get battery 0 to be detected by Windows and work properly?

 

Thanks much.

[RozRocks]

I'm not super familiar with this model of notebook but you could try installing/reinstalling the Lenovo Power Management Driver.

 

Driver Download

 

If that doesn't work make sure all Windows updates are installed (Check for related optional ones as well). It could always be a bad battery as well.

[Xander Cousins]

You said it was used, If I where you I would check if it look like there was any tampering that could show signs the Battery 0 may have been removed.

 

If their is no sign of tampering I would contact the seller and ask if this was an issue prior to the sell or not. 

 

Other than that I ain't too familiar with Lenovo devices  

 

[AlTech]

8 minutes ago, RozRocks said:

I'm not super familiar with this model of notebook but you could try installing/reinstalling the Lenovo Power Management Driver.

 

Driver Download

 

If that doesn't work make sure all Windows updates are installed (Check for related optional ones as well). It could always be a bad battery as well.

 

Alright, I've installed the Driver and restarting Windows.

 

3 minutes ago, Alex Colson said:

You said it was used, If I where you I would check if it look like there was any tampering that could show signs the Battery 0 may have been removed.

 

If their is no sign of tampering I would contact the seller and ask if this was an issue prior to the sell or not. 

 

Other than that I ain't too familiar with Lenovo devices  

 

The internal battery would need to be physically removed from the device for it not to be there.

 

Most likely a driver problem or the internal one is dead.

 

I'd find the latter hard to believe because Battery 1 is in good shape according to Windows.

 

Edit; I have contacted the seller and will include any responses from the seller here.

[kb5zue]

My gut tells me the internal battery is either dead or non-existent.

[AlTech]

1 minute ago, kb5zue said:

My gut tells me the internal battery is either dead or non-existent.

Why would the internal battery be removed? 

 

Also, why would the internal battery be dead if the second battery is in good shape?

[Theguywhobea]

1 minute ago, AluminiumTech said:

Why would the internal battery be removed? 

 

Also, why would the internal battery be dead if the second battery is in good shape?

The secondary battery is a lot easier to replace, they could have popped in a new one there so that the machine would work, and said forget about the internal battery. You should open the machine up and take a look.

[kb5zue]

Just now, AluminiumTech said:

Why would the internal battery be removed? 

 

Also, why would the internal battery be dead if the second battery is in good shape?

No telling why someone would intentionally remove the internal battery unless they intended to replace it but for some reason didn't.  As for the second question, the internal and external batteries are two different sizes, therefore, there must be two different charging circuits inside the machine.  No telling, maybe the charging circuit for the internal batter does not work as it should which could lead to a dead battery (battery 0) while the second charging circuit for the external battery (battery 1) is okay.

 

Just thinkin...............

[AlTech]

1 minute ago, Theguywhobea said:

The secondary battery is a lot easier to replace, they could have popped in a new one there so that the machine would work, and said forget about the internal battery. You should open the machine up and take a look.

Yeah I would right now but I don't have a screwdriver set handy and my amazon order of them is arriving tomorrow.

 

1 minute ago, kb5zue said:

No telling why someone would intentionally remove the internal battery unless they intended to replace it but for some reason didn't.  As for the second question, the internal and external batteries are two different sizes, therefore, there must be two different charging circuits inside the machine.  No telling, maybe the charging circuit for the internal batter does not work as it should which could lead to a dead battery (battery 0) while the second charging circuit for the external battery (battery 1) is okay.

 

Just thinkin...............

 

In the scenario that the internal battery is not present, what should I do?

 

Also, in the scenario that the internal battery is present but probably dead, what should I do?

[NetTechGuy]

Based on the above, I would have to agree with the others that the internal battery is likely dead or damaged. I would find it unlikely that the internal battery was removed, but the X series laptops are designed so that they discharge the removable battery first, then the internal once the external is depleted. This allows you to hot swap the external battery without the system shutting down. If the prior owner left the laptop plugged in most of the time or rarely depleted the external battery, the internal is probably degraded due to non-use. You could always check the internal battery connection, but I would suspect it is time for a new battery.

[kb5zue]

Just now, AluminiumTech said:

Yeah I would right now but I don't have a screwdriver set handy and my amazon order of them is arriving tomorrow.

 

 

In the scenario that the internal battery is not present, what should I do?

 

Also, in the scenario that the internal battery is present but probably dead, what should I do?

In either case, I would replace the internal battery(ies) with something new.  That way, if it works, great.  But then again, if it doesn't, you know the guy sold you a lemon.

 

[RozRocks]

A lot of older batteries tend to deteriorate over time, it may just be a bad battery. From personal experience I've found that Lenovo doesn't always use the best batteries.

 

A quick look at the machine tells me you could probably replace the internal battery if you feel comfortable doing so.

Lenovo Battery Replacement Guide

 

I cannot stress this enough... If its still in warranty, contact Lenovo.

[AlTech]

1 minute ago, NetTechGuy said:

Based on the above, I would have to agree with the others that the internal battery is likely dead or damaged. I would find it unlikely that the internal battery was removed, but the X series laptops are designed so that they discharge the removable battery first, then the internal once the external is depleted. This allows you to hot swap the external battery without the system shutting down. If the prior owner left the laptop plugged in most of the time or rarely depleted the external battery, the internal is probably degraded due to non-use. You could always check the internal battery connection, but I would suspect it is time for a new battery.

 

1 minute ago, RozRocks said:

A lot of older batteries tend to deteriorate over time, it may just be a bad battery. From personal experience I've found that Lenovo doesn't always use the best batteries.

 

A quick look at the machine tells me you could probably replace the internal battery if you feel comfortable doing so.

Lenovo Battery Replacement Guide

 

I cannot stress this enough... If its still in warranty, contact Lenovo.

The only warranty I have is from the seller on eBay.

1 minute ago, kb5zue said:

In either case, I would replace the internal battery(ies) with something new.  That way, if it works, great.  But then again, if it doesn't, you know the guy sold you a lemon.

 

 

So who's job is it to pay for a replacement internal battery? Cos the seller should have sold a product with working batteries in it.

 

And I literally just bought it and it should have worked at the time I bought it.

[RozRocks]

You could try and reach a resolution through ebay. They tend to side with the buyer more often than not and I've seen them give a refund to the buyer even when the seller doesn't agree to it. If it were me I would try to negotiate a partial refund and fix it myself. A quick search on ebay has the part for $25.

[AlTech]

I'm re-installing Windows 10 on it now. If it was a bad driver then it'll be fixed after the re-install.

 

4 minutes ago, RozRocks said:

You could try and reach a resolution through ebay. They tend to side with the buyer more often than not and I've seen them give a refund to the buyer even when the seller doesn't agree to it. If it were me I would try to negotiate a partial refund and fix it myself. A quick search on ebay has the part for $25.

 

But what should I say? that the internal battery doesn't work?

[RozRocks]

What I generally say is something along the lines of the product did not arrive as described and it has a faulty battery. I also usually include a photo of the issue, in this case showing the machine not detecting the battery.

[AlTech]

1 minute ago, RozRocks said:

What I generally say is something along the lines of the product did not arrive as described and it has a faulty battery. I also usually include a photo of the issue, in this case showing the machine not detecting the battery.

Also, for what it's worth I think the Function key (if not the LED for it) on the laptop is broken.

[AlTech]

34 minutes ago, RozRocks said:

What I generally say is something along the lines of the product did not arrive as described and it has a faulty battery. I also usually include a photo of the issue, in this case showing the machine not detecting the battery.

 

55 minutes ago, kb5zue said:

In either case, I would replace the internal battery(ies) with something new.  That way, if it works, great.  But then again, if it doesn't, you know the guy sold you a lemon.

 

 

55 minutes ago, kb5zue said:

In either case, I would replace the internal battery(ies) with something new.  That way, if it works, great.  But then again, if it doesn't, you know the guy sold you a lemon.

 

 

56 minutes ago, NetTechGuy said:

Based on the above, I would have to agree with the others that the internal battery is likely dead or damaged. I would find it unlikely that the internal battery was removed, but the X series laptops are designed so that they discharge the removable battery first, then the internal once the external is depleted. This allows you to hot swap the external battery without the system shutting down. If the prior owner left the laptop plugged in most of the time or rarely depleted the external battery, the internal is probably degraded due to non-use. You could always check the internal battery connection, but I would suspect it is time for a new battery.

So the seller responded. fml. "Internal Battery is optional" . It sounds like they removed the f*cking battery. Omfg I'm really pissed off. ...............

[kb5zue]

3 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

 

 

 

So the seller responded. fml. "Internal Battery is optional" . It sounds like they removed the f*cking battery. Omfg I'm really pissed off. ...............

If the seller responded with "Internal Battery is optional", there is no doubt that he intentionally removed it.  Can't imagine why other than it was probably dead.  Other than that, your guess is as good as mine.