I have a Dell Latitude laptop and just recently (like, the last 3 days) when I plug it into the mains it starts charging but as soon as it connects to the wifi the charging bar ceases to 'seesaw' and it only charges about 1% each hour it's plugged in.
Could it be the battery itself is knackered and not taking a charge?

Possibly. I never unplug mine. It's basically switched on all the time

It's possible, but that's an unusual failure mechanism for the battery, which would more commonly not hold a charge. On the presumption it is still holding a charge ok then it's more likely to be the charger, or the charging port.

Quote from: Bealman on March 07, 2025, 09:58:09 AMPossibly. I never unplug mine. It's basically switched on all the time

I never leave anything on charge when I'm either asleep or not here

If you're on Windows 10 or 11 then there's a battery health report you can run. I do it once a year or so just to see if the battery is deteriorating.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/caring-for-your-battery-in-windows-2db3e37f-5e7d-488e-9086-ed15320519e4

Quote from: Newportnobby on March 07, 2025, 09:55:05 AMbut as soon as it connects to the wifi the charging bar ceases to 'seesaw' and it only charges about 1% each hour it's plugged in.

What happens if you disconnect wifi? It seems a bit odd that it stops charging properly at that point, possibly something is drawing a lot more power than it should.
If it still does the same, then it might be the battery manager being funny and it's just kicking in around the same time as the wifi connection.
Either way, resetting the battery manager sounds like something worth trying.

That or maybe your ISP has worked out a way to reduce its electricity bill by stealing it from their customers by sucking it out through wifi.

Quote from: Bealman on March 07, 2025, 09:58:09 AMPossibly. I never unplug mine. It's basically switched on all the time

   I wouldn't. I really really wouldn't. If either the charger or the laptop develops a fault it could be a fire risk.

Cheers,

Chris

Have you tried opening task manager, and looking to see if something is thrashing the processor (or hard drive if you don't have an SSD) when you turn wifi on? That should at least help you decide if you've got a charging problem, or a wifi configuration problem.

- Andy

Battery report states my browser is using 84% of my battery with the remaining 16% being lots of 1%s. Whilst I appreciate the replies some of them just whizz over my head
Just in case it's my browser sucking the life out of my battery I've installed another browser but get the same result.
I've noticed since being switched to full fibre my battery does not perform too well

There was a Windows update recently that upset power management on some of our work laptops (all affected were Dell).
The symptoms were different in that charging was fine but when fully charged then switched off and left overnight, when restarted they reported <1% charged. It turned out that 1% was actually a false reading - they lasted 4-5 hours on that supposed 1% which is about expected for a near full charge.
Are you sure it is really only charging at 1%/hour or is it similarly giving a false reading of the charge? How long does it actually last when unplugged from the reported low-charge?

The fix in our case was to reinstall the Battery Management drivers.

 

A bit 'left field', but knowing the age of your laptop, have you fed the hamster?

 

Sorted.
Release static build up. More powerful charger. Laptop fully charged in a couple of hours now
No charge

Quote from: Newportnobby on March 20, 2025, 01:23:17 PMSorted.
Release static build up. More powerful charger. Laptop fully charged in a couple of hours now
No charge

So......is it charging or is it No Charge?