Acer Chromebook CB315-3HT-C3FQ Troubleshooting

The battery has a short charge and won’t recharge when plugged into a charger

The Acer Chromebook 315 comes with a USB Type-C AC charger to allow the chromebook to have a 10 hour battery life. Having a defective charger is one reason that the battery isn’t holding a charge. If you notice that the battery is charging very slowly or never getting to full charge, this could be the cause.

The Acer Chromebook 315 comes installed with an AC14B8K battery. This battery, like all batteries, is known to fail after repeated use over a long period of time. A few ways to tell that the battery is failing is that the battery isn’t lasting as long as it once was, the battery never gets to 100%, or the battery dies before reaching 0%.

The connection ports are not being recognized by the computer when a device is plugged in.

Dirt and grime stuck in your Chromebook’s connection port may be preventing a clean connection between your device you want to plug in and the port of your Chromebook.

It may be the device itself that is causing problems. To see if this is the case, try plugging the device into another Chromebook or computer and see if there’s any issues with the device on those computers. If there’s no problem using the device on other machines, it probably has something to do with the Chromebook itself.

If the device works on other computers but not the Chromebook, then the device itself may not be compatible or made to be used on this device. To see if this is the case, try another device you have that uses the same port and see if that works. If not, research the compatibility of whatever device it is you’re trying to connect. Most devices that you purchase will have a description and compatibility list somewhere on the manufacturers website online or in the devices users manual.

A Chromebook usually updates automatically on its own, but if your Chromebook has gone a while without updating, it may have missed a key update which is not allowing the ports to work properly. Go into “settings” and see when your last update was. If your Chromebook hasn’t been updated in a while, try installing the new update.

If none of these solutions have worked out, it may be a hardware malfunction with the port itself. To see how extensive this may be, try the other ports on your Chromebook. This is simple if it’s something like a USB port, but if it’s something else like an HDMI port this may not be possible but it’s not required. Follow this guide to replace the daughterboard.

The keyboard is not outputting anything on the screen when you type on it.

One possible cause of a keyboard not outputting anything on the screen when you type is that the internals are dirty. A major sign to look out for is debris, dust, dirt, or crumbs on your keyboard. If the keyboard is dirty, it is likely that these little particles could get between the keys, and cause the keyboard to not output anything when typed on. The other major sign to look out for when diagnosing this issue is the keys not traveling. Typically when you type on the keyboard, the key will travel downwards and then spring back up. If this is not happening, then it is likely something has gotten between the keys in question.

If you are missing keys, or you have a key that is damaged beyond repair, then your best option is to purchase replacement keys. Some laptops have the keyboard entirely separate from the base of the machine, meaning you can replace the entire keyboard. However, this machine does not have that option as the keys are each individually placed in the base.

The Chromebook is unable to access or use the internet.

The internet connectivity on your Chromebook may not be working properly due to your wireless internet connection. The Acer Chromebook 315 does not include an ethernet port to give an option for wired internet, and is completely dependent on a wireless connection. If you do not see your Wifi as an option to connect to the internet, it may have something to do with the router or bandwidth of your internet connection. Try resetting and unplugging your router for 30 seconds to see if this allows your Chromebook to connect or at least see your connection. If your connection now shows up, it may have something to do with the router itself.

A Chromebook usually updates automatically on its own, but if your Chromebook has gone a while without updating, it may have missed a key update which is preventing internet connectivity. Go into “settings” and see when your last update was, and then check on google on a separate device when the last update was for your Chromebook. If there’s a significant disparity between these, you may have to update your Chromebook by downloading the update on another device, and then transferring the installation to it onto your Chromebook via a USB drive.

If none of the other options have helped your internet connectivity, it may be the network card itself. The network card for your Chromebook may be broken or has been disconnected. To check this, open up your Chromebook and look into the hardware. If you open the device and find that the network card isn’t disconnected, it may be broken. To fix this you can either buy a new network card online and follow our guide to replace it, or buy a USB network card and connect to the internet that way. The USB connected network will be much easier to download, however, you’ll lose access to that port when using the internet, and there’s only two USB ports on the Acer Chromebook 315.

The screen stays black even though I hear signs of the computer being on

The main cause of a black screen is a damaged one, which can easily be identified as cracks, holes, black splotches, and/or ink spots. Follow this guide to replace the screen.

If there is no physical damage to the screen, but it is still showing no color other than black, that means that there may be a faulty connection between the LCD screen and the motherboard. To check this, open up the top panel and look into the connector connecting the screen with the hardware in the bottom panel of the Chromebook.

Every time I try to use the camera on my Chromebook, the Chromebook wouldn’t connect

Some softwares that provides the option to use the built-in camera on the Chromebook will ask for permission to gain access to the camera. There will be a few softwares that will automatically have this setting off, but you can always go into the 'Privacy' setting on the Chromebook and change that option.

A Chromebook usually updates automatically on its own, but if your Chromebook has gone a while without updating, it may have missed a key update which is preventing internet connectivity. Go into “settings” and see when your last update was, and then check on google on a separate device when the last update was for your Chromebook. If there’s a significant disparity between these, you may have to update your Chromebook by downloading the update on another device, and then transferring the installation to it onto your Chromebook via a USB drive.

If you open the camera and see poor camera quality, the lens on the camera could either be dirty or broken. If the lens is dirty, you can use any sort of lens cleaner to clear out any dirt or smudges that may be affecting the camera quality. If it is broken however, you need to remove the front panel of the Chromebook and replace the camera lens.

Even though the Chromebook is on, there is no sound coming out of the speakers

A Chromebook usually updates automatically on its own, but if your Chromebook has gone a while without updating, it may have missed a key update which is preventing internet connectivity. Go into “settings” and see when your last update was, and then check on google on a separate device when the last update was for your Chromebook. If there’s a significant disparity between these, you may have to update your Chromebook by downloading the update on another device, and then transferring the installation to it onto your Chromebook via a USB drive.

Speakers are able to produce sound by vibrating thin diaphragms to disrupt the air around it and produce different sounds. If the volume setting on the computer is low, then the diaphragms will vibrate more softly compared to when the volume setting on the computer is at its highest. If there is any sort of debris or water covering the diaphragms, then the speakers will not produce sound since the diaphragms' movements are being restricted.  Follow this guide to replace the speakers.