x201 dies suddenly

Has anyone experienced this: the battery meter shows a healthy supply (>80%) when it suddenly announces that it will soon shutdown or I need to plug it in.

A little background on my usage, I usually use the laptop plugged in during class, but would sometimes need to use the battery when a plug is inaccessible.

Is it possible that it's using the battery when it should be using the plug as a power source? Why isn't the computer recognizing the actual amount of power left?

Thanks for your input/advice!

 

What is the cycle count on your battery?

 

try to recalibrate your battery, using gauge reset function in Power Manager, it could help, or not, but it's worth a try

 

Thanks for the replies, my laptop is fairly new, and the cycle count is at 19. I'll try to reset the gauge to see if that helps keep better track of the actual power left

 

Your battery is most likely failing, probably something with the logic board. I've had this happen, but it's been with a series of cells used somewhere in the middle, so I'd drop from something like 67% to 33% instantly. Call Lenovo, and they should cross ship you a new battery since you're under warranty. If that doesn't work, well, good thing you're under warranty since I think the battery plugs directly into the motherboard.

 

Sanyo battery cells? It is probably couple of your cells dead. If you recalibrate the IC will test which of the cells actually works.

Given the age of your machine, you are still within 1 year warranty.

 

I'm not really sure whether my 6-cell battery is malfunctioning since it seems to be charging to its intended capacity:

design capacity: 62.16Wh
full charge capacity: 63.13Wh

Does Lenovo require any proof of a malfunctioning battery, or are they likely to just ship me one based on my experiences?

Thanks again!

 

The behavior will be proof when you call them. It's seeing the cells, and they're probably full, they're just not usable for some reason or another.

 

do a battery reset through the Thinkvantage power manager, this should detect faulty battery cells.