Acer Chromebook C731-C8VE Troubleshooting

Battery life drains way too fast after charging.

To change the brightness of your Chromebook, click the time or battery icon on the bottom-right corner to open the notification area. There should be a screen brightness slider. To lower the brightness, click and drag the slider to the left. Alternatively, you can lower the brightness by pressing the lower brightness key at the top of the keyboard.

Open up the task manager by pressing and holding down Shift and Escape. Once this opens, you can view what apps are running and how much CPU and RAM they are using. Try closing any apps you are not using to improve performance.

Battery health is bound to drain over the course of a long time. Press ctrl + alt + t on your device to open a crash terminal. Then input the command “battery_test”. If your battery health has dipped below 80%, it is generally a sign that your battery life has had a significant drop and should be replaced [guide here].

Wi-Fi signal is constantly disconnecting.

To ensure that Wi-Fi is enabled on your Chromebook, go into your Chromebook’s settings and look under the Network section. Once here, check to make sure that the switch next to Wi-Fi is in the on position.

Oftentimes Chromebook will automatically update themselves. However, on the chance that your Chromebook did not do so it will be important that you update your Chromebook to the latest OS version. To do this you will need to navigate to your Chromebook’s settings page. Once here, click About Chrome and then Check for Updates. After a quick scan, your Chromebook will either tell you that you are up to date, or it will show you the available update. If an update is available, follow the given steps to update your Chromebook.

The laptop is on, but the screen won’t respond to inputs.

Open up the task manager by pressing and holding down Shift and ESC. Once this opens, you can view what apps are running and how much CPU and RAM they are using. Try closing any apps you are not using to improve performance.

Reboot the laptop by holding down the power button until the device shuts down. Then press the power button once more to turn the laptop back on. Hopefully this will resolve the issue.

Removing the battery can often times solve a large majority of problems with your device. To remove the battery, unscrew the screws on the bottom of the laptop. You will need to pry the keyboard off with your fingers or a flathead screwdriver. The battery will be a large black rectangle with a cable connected to it. Unplug the cable for a few minutes and plug it back into the battery. Reattach the bottom panel. A step by step guide can be found [here]. Once this is complete, try turning the device back on. Hopefully, the screen will no longer freeze.

If all of the above methods fail, it may be necessary to wipe the Chromebook by resetting the device using Powerwash. This guide [Insert Guide] will show all necessary steps to reset your Chromebook.

The touchpad will not respond to any input or finger movement.

Clean the touchpad with a soft cloth to remove any dust or dirt that may be present. Alternatively, you can use compressed air to remove debris as well. If there is dirt between the sides of the touchpad, drumroll your fingers to create a vibration and loosen up any dirt causing the malfunction.

Restart the laptop by holding down the power button until the device shuts off. Press the power button once more to turn the device back on. Restarts like this can fix many problems with the computer.

Go to Settings> TouchPad and edit features like tap-to-click, touchpad acceleration, and touchpad speed. Changing these features might get the touchpad working once more.

My Chromebook won’t turn on, even after I charged it overnight.

A “blank screen” is when the device’s screen remains black even when the light on the power button is on. First, try turning off the Chromebook by holding the power button down for 6 seconds then turning it back on again. If this does not work, try pressing the reload key and power key until the computer returns to a blue screen. This may take at least 15 attempts.

The battery or charger may be the problem. Plug the device into its designated charger and let it charge for at least 30 minutes to an hour and try turning it on again. If the Chromebook charges, then the charger is the problem and you should replace it. If it does not charge, the battery is most likely the issue.

If the laptop is surely powered on but no lights turn on, the motherboard may need replacement. Check your device's warranty for motherboard coverage before starting this replacement process.

You may need to attempt a “hard reset” of your device. For more information visit ++https://support.google.com/chromebook/an....

Webcam doesn’t launch or work properly

If the webcam is disabled in Device Manager, the webcam will not work properly. To solve this issue, open up the Device Manager in the Settings to make sure your webcam is enabled. If not, click enable webcam.

An outdated or corrupted driver can prevent the webcam from working properly. To solve this issue, check your driver by using these methods. Go to the taskbar and click on the magnifying glass icon in the left corner. Type in Device Manager and click to open it when it appears in search results. Find your Camera’s name. Double-click on the cam for details. If the Device status shows “This device is working properly”, you don’t need to update the driver. If the device is not working properly, right click on the Cam Icon, uninstall it and Download the Driver to get the latest update. Restart your computer for updates to take effect.

If the above methods yield no result, it may be necessary to replace the webcam entirely. Follow the steps in this guide [insert guide here] to successfully replace your webcam.