We all know how difficult it is to work on a malfunctioning laptop. It feels like dragging your way out but getting stopped every time. Don’t worry; you are not alone in this. 

Laptops are machines, and machines do encounter problems. And even though both software- and hardware-based issues are troublesome, the most costly are the hardware ones. They have the power to rupture your device and raise your bills.

In this blog, you will get to know some of the most common hardware issues with laptops and what can be done about them to minimize the damage.

Common Hardware Issues with Laptops, Their Symptoms, and Solutions

Overheating

No one can deny facing overheating issues on their laptop. It’s the most common and persistent hitch in laptops of all types. How does it happen? Let us explain to you:

Reasons for overheating:

• Dust accumulation on the device
• Clogged vents for any reason
• Work overload leading to a rise in temperature
• Failed exhaust fan or other hardware component, etc.

Symptoms that tell you your device is overheating:

• Hot surface, especially near the keyboard and mouse area
• Imprudent fan noise
• Sudden shutdowns
• Slow performance and system lag

What Can You Do?

• Ventilation: All machines require ventilation (including laptops) to emit the heat generated. It is part of the cooling process and must happen. In laptops, the air vents work as ventilation areas, so they must not be covered. You can keep your device on hard and flat surfaces that allow air to pass out. Avoid keeping your laptop on beds or cushions because those areas block vents and can lead to overheating.
• Placement: You should avoid using your laptop in hot places or directly under the sun because that will easily raise the machine’s temperature and make things worse. The optimum room temperature for a laptop to work smoothly is between 10 and 35 degrees. So, make sure you place your device within this range.
• Monitoring Usage: If you keep plenty of applications running, overheating is inevitable. Therefore, you should manage the tabs or tasks that run behind and ensure unnecessary ones and those consuming high CPU/GPU are closed. It will prevent your laptop from heating up.
• Regular Cleaning: As we have mentioned, dust buildup is one of the main reasons for laptop overheating. So, you should regularly clean your device and ensure it is dust-free so as to prevent issues like overheating and clogged vents.
• Inspecting Battery Health: Laptop batteries can become faulty over time and lead to problems like overheating. Therefore, you must keep an eye on its health and go for a replacement if needed to prevent such issues from happening.
• Updating Your Device: You can face overheating problems if your device is not updated. Old bugs and glitches can persist and lead to problems, which is why updating your device is a mandatory step to take. 

Keyboard Not Working

Another persistent trouble in laptops is a malfunctioning keyboard. It is true; keyboards are one of the most important components; hence, facing such a malfunction is annoying. 

Reasons for keyboard malfunction:

• Hardware damage or failure
• Dust accumulation under the keys, leading to unresponsiveness
• Water damage or a liquid spill
• Corrupted drivers or outdated software, etc.

Symptoms that tell you your laptop keyboard is problematic:

• Keys not working
• Slow response
• Sticky keys
• Key chatter

What Can You Do?

• Safety: Laptops, in all, should be prevented from harm or damage. They are sensitive devices and can face issues because of a single mishandling. Keyboards, being a part of the laptop, should also be used fairly. You should avoid accidental damage at all costs.
• Cleaning: Dust can accumulate over time and cause keyboard problems. Therefore, to avoid unnecessary fuss, you should clean it from time to time so that no dust particles enter and cause disturbance. We suggest that you use isopropyl alcohol to clean the keyboard keys. It is a non-harmful product that can smooth out the surface without any damage. Be gentle when cleaning the keyboard keys.
• Covering: When the laptop is not in use, you can cover the keyboard using a keyboard cover so as to minimize dust penetration and prevent further harm.
• Precautionary Eating: People should avoid eating or drinking near or around their laptops. It is a precautionary way to prevent any kind of accidental harm.
• Replacement: In case any of the keyboard keys do not work, you should first go for a single-key replacement. It will save you money and can restore normal functionality.

Battery Issues

No one wants to plug in their laptops time and time again. If your battery is draining faster than it should, then there is certainly a problem that you’re ignoring. Battery issues are subtle because they are not too visible. But you should be a little aware of them and take the necessary steps as soon as you notice something fishy.

Reasons for battery issues:

• Age of battery and performance degradation
• Excessive overload on the laptop, leading to quick battery draining
• Incorrect system settings
• Outdated software, causing trouble, etc.

Symptoms that tell you your laptop battery is failing:

• Quick draining of the battery
• Slow charging despite correct peripherals and connection
• The battery is not charging at all
• The system shuts down even with some battery percentage

What Can You Do?

• Declutter: Minimize background performance and close unnecessary applications to ease the burden on your laptop battery. Too many tasks can cause the battery to drain quicker than usual. Hence, try this method and check if the issue is resolved or not.
• Decrease Brightness: Quick draining can occur due to high brightness levels. Try reducing it to a moderate level and check if the battery drains quickly or not.
• Check Peripherals: If your laptop battery is not charging, there must be a hardware fault. In most cases, peripherals and ports turn out to be the real culprit. Therefore, do check the peripherals of your laptop and go for a repair if needed.
• Change System Settings: Your laptop might be running in “high performance mode,” which is causing quick battery draining. So, do check that and make sure the settings are fixed to normal.
• Replacement: When no other methods work, replacement becomes the only option. For batteries that have become old, it is best to replace them with a new one. There’s no need to unnecessarily spend money on repairs because an older battery will always have problems, no matter how much you fix it.

Screen Problems

Flickering screens are really a mess. They hinder workflow and can lead to bigger issues if not checked and repaired in time. If you have tried to work on a flickering or damaged laptop screen, then you know what we are talking about here. It’s a pretty critical situation.

Reasons for screen problems:

• Corrupt system files
• Software issues leading to screen flickering
• Loose or damaged internal cables of the laptop
• Physical damage and hardware failure, etc.

Symptoms that tell you your screen is malfunctioning:

• Visible damage on the screen
• Dead pixels or distorted visuals, indicating screen damage
• No display even after turning on the laptop
• Cracks on the screen

What Can You Do?

• Fix Settings: For software-based screen problems, you can check system settings and amend them as needed. However, you will have to attach another screen to do so.
• Check Brightness: Do make sure that the laptop brightness is correctly set. Because of zero brightness, a blank screen can show up and make you think that your screen is faulty or damaged.
• Update Drivers: Outdated drivers and operating systems can lead to screen failures in rare cases. Therefore, do make sure that drivers are always up-to-date to avoid such a fuss.
• Replace the screen: A physically damaged or cracked screen needs to be replaced. You can contact our laptop repair Dubai team to replace your screen at the best rates.
• Additional Prevention: It is important to use your laptop carefully and prevent it from physical harm. Screens are sensitive, and they can get damaged easily. Therefore, being a bit cautious is important.

Touchpad Issues

Apart from screens, touchpads are also sensitive and can get damaged easily. If you go online and search for touchpad problems, you will find hundreds of people suffering from issues related to it. So, do not worry if your laptop’s touchpad isn’t working. Solutions are there.

Reasons for touchpad issues:

• Hardware failure
• Software bugs or glitches leading to unresponsiveness
• Water or liquid damage
• Outdated software

Symptoms that tell you your touchpad is failing:

• Unusual cursor movement
• Slow or no response from the touchpad
• Visible damage or cracks

What Can You Do?

• Manual Cleaning: The first thing in case of unresponsiveness or trouble is to clean the touchpad manually. Dust accumulation could be the main cause; hence, you should clean it and recheck if the issue persists.
• Updating Software: Updates are released so that previous bugs can be fixed. Hence, people should not avoid them. If there is a software-related problem with the touchpad, try updating your system and rechecking things. 
• Disable and Re-enable: Sometimes, turning off and then turning on a setting again can cure the problem. So, try that as well.
• External Mouse: One can use an external mouse if the touchpad issue does not get resolved. However, that is only a temporary solution.
• Professional Help: You can reach out to our laptop technician in Dubai to solve your touchpad problem. We have licensed individuals who can find the root cause of your issue and provide the needed fix.

Speaker Problems

Suppose you play a song on your laptop, and there is no audio output. What would you think? Sound muted? Anyone would think that. But what if the speaker does not emit a sound even after the audio is set to unmute? Now, that is a speaker problem!

Reasons for speaker issues:

• It could be physical damage
• It could be a software issue
• It could be because of outdated drivers

Symptoms that tell you your laptop speaker is not working:

• Distorted sound
• No sound
• One of the two speakers does not work

What Can You Do?

• Update: The audio drivers should always be up-to-date to avoid speaker issues. 
• Rectify Settings: You can go to the audio settings and check if everything is okay or not. The audio output should be set to laptop speakers. Also, make sure no Bluetooth device is connected because that will lead to sound emitting from the Bluetooth device and not the laptop speaker.
• Safety: You must prevent your laptop from any kind of damage. Speakers can malfunction in case of an accidental fall or mishandling.
• Moderate Sound Level: Do not always keep the speaker volume at full. This can cause a blowout and damage. Listen to music at a moderate sound level to avoid such damage.
• Prevention: Do not let any liquid spill go inside the speaker. Droplets can enter and cause physical harm. They can even lead to other issues in your laptop.

Connectivity Issues

There could be a hardware or software issue, which is why you are unable to connect your laptop to Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Connectivity problems are quite common, and they can hinder productivity.

Reasons for connectivity issues:

• Incorrect settings
• Router or modem problems
• Outdated drivers
• Network overload or congestion
• Malware issues

Symptoms that tell you your laptop has connectivity issues:

• Unable to connect to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
• Slow internet speed
• Frequent disconnection
• Error messages are displayed on the screen

What Can You Do?

• • Update: You must always keep your device updated with the latest OS. It can help prevent connectivity issues.
  • Check Manually: Due to physical damage or loose peripherals, connectivity issues can occur. If your laptop is not able to connect to the Wi-Fi, first make sure that the problem is associated with the laptop or the router. Hardware issues with the router can lead to connectivity trouble. Other than this, a failed hardware component in your laptop can also be the reason behind the issue.
  • Monitor Network Traffic: If there are too many devices connected to the same Wi-Fi, problems can arise. Therefore, do check the network congestion, minimize it, and then try to reconnect. The problem might get solved.

• Reset the settings: You can try resetting both the router and laptop settings and checking again. Sometimes, due to a small bug, problems can arise.

• Restart: A simple restart can solve issues in rare cases. So, do try restarting your laptop once and check if the problem gets resolved.

Slow Performance

No one wants to work on a slow-performing laptop. It feels like a waste of time and can significantly impact productivity. If your laptop is taking more time than usual to open applications and files, or if it is lagging for no specific reason, understand that there is a problem that needs to be checked and rectified.

Reasons for laptop slow performance:

• Overloaded background 
• Insufficient RAM
• Overheating
• Malware or Virus
• Outdated software

Symptoms that tell you your laptop is underperforming:

• Programs and files are taking too much time to open
• Constant lagging even with minimal background activity
• System freezing
• Overheating even with simple task

What Can You Do?

• Free Up Storage Space: Laptops can underperform if there is not much storage space left. It is one of the most common reasons why people have such problems. Therefore, do keep an eye on the storage space and make sure to remove unnecessary files from time to time.
• Do Not Overload: People often forget about background activity and then complain about their device lagging. It is better to keep an account of what is running behind the screen and close unnecessary tabs so that your laptop can perform tasks without taking on too much burden.
• Avoid overheating: A rise in the temperature of an electronic device significantly impacts its performance. The situation is the same for every electronic device, including the laptop. Therefore, do ensure there is proper ventilation and no overheating, as it can easily lead to slow performance and other issues as well.
• Update: Develop a habit of updating your device as soon as an update comes. Companies release updates to fix older bugs; hence, you should not miss or ignore them.
• Install Antivirus: It is better to take precautions rather than preventive measures after an issue has happened. Antiviruses are tools that eliminate viruses and malware from the device, and they should be installed on laptops to prevent problems like slow performance, etc.

Summing Up

Hardware problems are common in laptops, and there’s a boatload of people who face them on a daily basis. If you encounter anything that you are not aware of, do not attempt a fix. Novice people should avoid resolving issues and reach out to a professional.

In Dubai, you can contact our team to solve your hardware or software problems at the best rates. We are among the leading service providers in the city and have extensive work experience in this field. 

That is it for now. We hope the information helped you understand the root cause and symptoms of the most common hardware issues with laptops. Thanks for reading!