Just bought a UX31A Zenbook Prime, little problem...

This is hands-down the best laptop I have ever had and this is my 3rd day with it. I love everything about it expect for one little problem. IT WON'T CHARGE ANYMORE. It worked fine the first 2 days I had it, charged up every-time. Now it won't charge at all. It says "plugged in, charging" but it's not charging.

I have done a complete factory restore, changed outlets, tried to let it charge while turned off; all with no luck. I have let it install all updates and the little LED on the charger is lit so I know its getting power. Does anyone have an idea of what's going on with my computer and how I would be able to fix it?

I thought I got lucky and got one from best buy with the Adata drives, minimal light bleed & no problems, and now I feel like I am going to have to return it and go back to my x220.

I greatly appreciate any help anyone can offer. Thank you!

 

Have you tried another charger?

 

There are three possibilities for that issue, and it includes the charger, battery, and motherboard in terms of increasing severity. Since you should still be well within Best Buy's return period, have you considered simply seen if they will give you a new charger? If that doesn't work, you could exchange it for a new one, and I would bet if you asked nicely, they would be willing to let you swap the SSDs.

 

Scott, as a company representative are you saying that we can swap the Ux31a SSDs without voiding the warranty?

 

You might want to check the battery level. You will get the "Plugged in, not charging" message when the battery is above 95%. It will not charge until it dips below that. It states that in your owner's manual.

The SSD is proprietary. Good luck on a replacement.

 

Use the battery power first until it is completely out. Then try the AC Adapter again.

 

Thanks everyone for the responses! I had the battery all the way down to 15% and it wouldn't charge so I just returned the unit to Best Buy. Unfortunately they didn't have anymore with the Adata drive and I don't want to be stuck with a potential problematic PC that may be a future $1k paperweight.

I guess I will be sticking with my ugly X220 until the X1 Carbon comes out.

 

I had the same problem with my UX31A. Bought it 2 months ago, and after one month it just wouldn't charge. I sent the laptop to the RMA center in Netherlands and the answer I got was:
-it will take about one month and half for the spare parts to arrive(motherboard+keyboard).
So the problem was not the battery or the adapter, but the motherboard itself. Asus support was terrible, by the time I will get the laptop back, it will be 2months since I sent it for repair.
I should have got the MacBook Air....

 

I'm on my 3rd one from BB. So far this one seems good.
I'm a silver member, so I can still return it up to 60 days.
I will never deal with Asus RMA, having read the horror stories...1-2 months wait...come on...be real...and some still coming back not fixed?
I love the machine so far and was able to buy this one for $810...last week they had it on sale for $900, I found a store with an open box, when I got to the store it was't in stock. I made a stink and the manager gave me a new one at $900 less 10%, honoring the open box price.
At this price, I'm more inclined to keep it...nevertheless,I'm stil worried about how these maching will last...they all seem to break down within the first year...

 

I'm pretty much just gonna wait until samsung releases a 1080P IPS laptop and then buy that. Tired of playing around with asus.

 

I just got a mail from support:
"Thank you for your e-mail and we will like to inform you that after several unsuccessful attempts to repair, technical service has decided to make an exchange (swap) or refund (credit)."

Looks like after one month and half they gave up trying to repair the Zenbook(replacing the motherboard and keyboard). I think I'm gonna take the refund and buy the Vaio Z.

 

My wife's UX31A has started having issues with charging as well (purchase July 2012). At this point I think we'd go for a refund as well, even though it has been an exemplary laptop otherwise. We bought a replacement charger the first time on our own dime rather than ship it in since it's used *constantly* (the original charger's light stopped turning on, and wouldn't charge). The replacement charger now just turns green immediately and says "Plugged in, not charging.".

Looks like it's RMA for us. Not looking forward to it *at all* given the superior grammar skills of our last ASUS support contact. Will post updates for posterity, unless it spontaneously starts working again.

Wish me luck.

 

Well Good Luck! Please let me know how it goes. I'm in your shoes.

I bought the UX31A in Jan. Right out of the box it was stuck on 95% Battery charge and would die after 10 minutes. The RMA was 1-2 months but I run my business with this thing, I can't be without it for that long.

Anyone have any good news to report?

 

Update - A second power brick stopped working. I decided to go aftermarket and picked up a 45W 19V power supply replacement off ebay for 20 bucks including shipping, and so far it's working great.