K1 will not charge

[jzouck]

Anyone else have the charging problem I describe here?

After some hours on charge February 22, the K1 battery indicator indicated it was discharging. The wall receptacle was supplying electricity, so it seems that the K1 charging system had failed somehow. The most obvious suspect was the wall wart (power unit.) Not having a schematic I could not measure the output of the non-standard plug that connected it to the K1 to check that this was really the problem.

I called Lenovo and was told they would send out another power unit the next day, even though it might not be that unit (it could be the Ideapad itself.) They would charge me around $53 security deposit pending return of the failed unit. Now, the power unit is a standard 12V 1.5A wall wart, costing maybe $5.00 for a general purpose one without the non-standard Ideapad connector, so that would really be a rip-off if you had to buy one at that price. And, the power adapter on the accessories page cost "only" $29.00.

We spent the next week traveling, and when I returned home there was no power adapter. I checked their web site using the reference number they gave me, and it said that they were waiting for the returned unit(!) I called them and they then said they had not shipped yet, and would not do so until March 2. I requested a longer warranty to cover the time I could not use the unit. They were to reply later on this. It is not clear that  the power adapter is the real problem, so I may need another long wait to send the Ideapad back to Lenovo if it is not.

P.S. I tried charging the unit using the USB cable that came with the unit, plugged into a standard USB port, and it did not supply any charging current.

[callback79]

It happens two times for me this week.

Now I use Battery Solo Widget and I carefully watch the widget turns to blue indicating it is charging. For a reason I don't know, sometimes it doesn't charge when connected so I disconnect the power cable from the Ideapad and plug it again. When the widget turns blue I know it is charging. It is probably due to a bad connection to the unit and mine is brand new, less than a week of mild usage.

And you're right, you can't charge the unit via standard USB port.

[callback79]

Ok, don't pay attention to my last post, I just found something wrong on my Ideapad.

Even if I see the Blue widget, it seems to charge full to 100% but as soon as I unpluged the power it drops to its last battery level, let's say around 80%. I plug it again and as soon as I go to the setting section (don't know how they call that in English) it shows that the battery is full and do not seems to charge the unit anymore. But the battery is @80%.

Hope Lenovo has an answer for this one.

[callback79]

UPDATE:

The only way I've found to "really" charge my ideapad, I have to shut down the unit with the power adapter UNPLUGGED. Once shut down, I can plug it and there's a green meter that show the real % of the batery level. Now it will charge. If I plug the unit while the system is running, it will automaticaly show 100% and it will not charge the tablet. Same thing if I shut down the unit while the power adapter in pluged.

It is anoying to have to shut down the unit to begin the charging work.

I'm on Android 3.1

[Burger]

Somethin is definitely wrong with your k1. We can charge the k1 normally either on or off and shows the real % power left.

[jzouck]

I have tried various strategies suggested here, to no avail.

Since the deposit Lenovo required to send me a new power adapter was much higher than the price of a new adapter ($53.43 vs $29), I called and double checked that they were sending the right part. (Why insist on a much higher deposit than the price of a new part?) They said they were indeed sending me a new adapter, and not to worry about the higher deposit since it would be refunded when they recieved my old adapter in return. I can't see how that makes sense, especially since the actual adapter cost to Lenovo is likely less than $5.00, the price of a 12V, 1.5A adapter with a non-Lenovo plug.

[jzouck]

For price reference, here is a link to a typical12V, 1.5A adapter from Amazon. I've found units for as little as $5.00:

http://tinyurl.com/83t6zdl

[jzouck]

Well, it's March 6 and still no power adapter. I can't tell if it shipped or not since the case number on the Lenovo site only indicates the unit has not been received at the depot.

They have not charged my Visa card the $53 they said would be used as a security deposit (for a part they charge $29 for new...) , so it seems it has not been shipped yet, even though they said they would ship March 2.

Getting madder.Haven't been able to use the unit, since Feb. 22. Definitely need a warranty extension. And, it might not even be the power adapter, so I will be faced with another long delay.

[walter1313]

If they charge your card, refute the charges if you have not gotten the replacement.

If you still have the original adapter, there is a little diagram on the side to show you which pins are the + and - voltage.

The K1 cannot charge through usb in any way (besides, usb is 5V)

If it is the wart, you can splice a new power head to the connector as long as you are cognizant of the + and - pins (and it would be cheaper than a new supply).

I am still trying to source the proprietary plug to make my own car adapter as Lenovo's support - both technical, customer, and accessory support sucks big time.  I have made the decision not to replace my business' iPads with Thinkpads for that reason (would have been 15 Thinkpads).  It is beyond my comprehension how they are one of the biggest computer manufacturer.  They are quickly going the way of the once great and mighty Dell, who now flounders because they found out too late how important service and support is.

[jzouck]

I did think about doing as you said Re. chopping off the strange plug and attaching another adapter to the power leads, but thought better of it since the replacement seemed days away. I plan to call Lenovo tomorrow AM to stat the part. Thanks for the suggestion...