Acer Chromebook Won't Turn On

If your Chromebook is not powering on or showing signs of life, the issue may be related to the battery. Follow these steps to troubleshoot battery-related problems.

1. Check Battery Level: Connect your Chromebook to the charger and wait at least 15 minutes. Then, see if the charging indicator light shows the device is charging. If not, the battery might be completely drained or faulty.
2. Try a Different Charger: Use a different charger that's known to work with your Chromebook model. The original might be defective if the device starts charging with the new charger.
3. Remove External Peripherals: Disconnect external devices such as USB drives, headphones, or monitors. Sometimes, a faulty peripheral can prevent the Chromebook from powering on.
4. Reset the Battery: Some Acer Chromebooks have a small pinhole reset button on the bottom or side of the device. Insert a paperclip or a similar tool into the pinhole and press gently to reset the battery. Afterward, try powering on the Chromebook.

If the Chromebook still does not power on, proceed to the next section.

Sometimes, it's not the Chromebook but the malfunctioning display. Check with an external monitor to see if the Chromebook is working but not displaying anything.

If your Chromebook is on, but the screen remains dark, check out our Acer Chromebook Black Screen page instead.

Your Chromebook could have encountered an issue during a ChromeOS update, causing it to appear off or display a black screen. This is due to a lack of proper instructions from the software to boot up. To resolve this, you can restore ChromeOS by following this guide or the instructions below.

Note: Performing a ChromeOS recovery will erase all the data stored directly on the Chromebook.

1. Go to the Chromebook Recovery Utility website using a separate device.
2. Install the Chromebook Recovery Utility.
3. Prepare a USB recovery drive: Connect a USB flash drive (8GB minimum) to the computer and launch the Chromebook Recovery Utility. Select your Chromebook model from the list and click Continue. The utility will download the necessary recovery image to the flash drive.
4. To recover ChromeOS on your Chromebook, Insert the USB drive into the affected Chromebook. Please turn it off, hold the Esc and Refresh (F3) keys, and press power to start the recovery.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the recovery process. Your Chromebook will be restored to its original factory settings with a fresh installation of ChromeOS.

If the issue persists even after restoring ChromeOS, it may indicate a hardware problem. In such cases, continue to the next section.

Suppose your Acer Chromebook displays a black screen even after following the troubleshooting steps mentioned earlier. In that case, there is a high likelihood of a problem with the motherboard or the surrounding components.

1. Remove any accumulated dust or debris from inside the device for proper airflow.
2. Ensure that your device's CPU is adequately cooled. Specific Acer Chromebook models, such as the C712 Series, have encountered cooling fan failure caused by disconnected ribbon cables. If you have recently reinstalled your heatsink, double-check that wires are securely attached and that thermal paste has been appropriately applied.
3. Reset your device's BIOS Settings by uninstalling and reinstalling the CMOS battery. This clears any potential conflicts or misconfigurations.
4. Verify that the RAM module is installed correctly and functioning properly. If the RAM module is not properly seated, try reinserting or replacing the module.
5. Perform a thorough visual inspection of the motherboard for any signs of burns or damaged components. If you observe any visible damage, such as burns or parts that appear to be physically damaged, the motherboard likely needs to be replaced.