Spectre x360 13t-aw000 not charging from Thunderbolt after BIOS update to F.26

[desiato]

Hi @praveenbv,

I have BIOS F.26 which is the latest as far as I know. The phone support agent tried having me roll back to a previous version, but that didn't work as described in my previous post above. I tried to send you a private message but did not see the blue envelope, please advise how to contact you directly.

Thank you

[bshack]

FYI - My BIOS were updated to F.27 overnight... See if you can update if you haven't already. Hopefully they fixed the issue.

[desiato]

@Bshack Yeah I saw that as an optional download via Windows Update (not from HP Support Assistant) and installed it the other day. Testing over the last day or so doesn't seem to show any improvement in the charging issue ☹ It does seem to be better about quickly recognizing the TB3 enclosure connection and enumerating devices and stuff, but it still refuses to charge off of the TB3 connection.

A little strange that F.27 isn't shown on HP's drivers page (https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-spectre-13-aw0000-x360-convertible-pc-series/291...).

[praveenbv]

@desiato,

We have done the basic troubleshooting as per the document and the notebook needs to checked taking remote access so that get to know it's a hardware or software issue.

I'd suggest you contact HP in your region regarding the service options for your computer or HP Chat Support Team

[bshack]

So just to continue this saga, bios version F.28 was installed via Windows Update on April 1, but it hung at 0% while it was trying to install the firmware update for TPS65988. I had to perform a hard reset after which it said the update had installed successfully (hmmm...). After some web searching it looks like TPS65988 is a Texas Instruments USB power delivery management device for USB Type-C plugs. I'm guessing that may be the root of all our problems, but I have no idea how to manually check or update the firmware for that device.

I really wanted to avoid having to do a full factory reset, but that may be my best option at this point.

[desiato]

Interesting. I don't think I ever saw an update for the TPS65988 in any of the updates performed around the time of the BIOS update to F.26. Your analysis seems sound. I agree that I think a full system restore is about the only option left, though I don't think it will do anything. If the issue is in fact in the BIOS, it won't matter which windows drivers are installed, right? I think it's a BIOS issue because even with the system fully powered off, it won't charge from a TB3 source even though it can provide >=65W.

[Colee81]

I agree that the issue is probably with the USB C PD controller. It seems that I am lucky compared to you guys, because my Spectre does charge from the monitor via USB-C - but the connection intermittently causes keyboard lag. Interestingly, if I then connect the original HP power adapter, the keyboard lag goes away.

[desiato]

Well, I broke down and did a full system restore to see if that would have any effect. Unsurprisingly, it did not. I currently have a completely stock build of the laptop exhibiting the same issue, and have tested it with the original install of Windows 10 and set of drivers, as well as after updating via HP Support Center and Windows Update. Exact same behavior in all cases -- the laptop will refuse to charge when my TB3 dock is attached, even if the normal laptop charger is also attached.

I have also noticed the "keyboard lag" issue others have mentioned - when my TB3 dock is attached, there is a significant delay between each keypress of the laptop keyboard being recognized. This problem goes away when the TB3 dock is unplugged.

I am able to charge the laptop from the USB-C port of my monitor which is not a TB3 port. The specs for the monitor say this port can supply up to 60W and the laptop happily charges from this. It is only when my 100W-rated TB3 dock is attached that the laptop refuses to charge at all, again even if the standard laptop charger is also attached. I have even gone so far as to try a different TB3 cable just to make sure nothing has gone wrong with the cable.

So, that's it. I have exhausted every avenue available to me to address this problem and am now at the mercy of the people who make updates to this machine's BIOS to fix it. This is incredibly frustrating. I really, really liked this machine until this problem happened and now I may have to get rid of it because of the extreme lack of support from HP in acknowledging this is their issue and diligently addressing and fixing it.

@echo_lake @praveenbv there has got to be something HP can do to make this right.

@colee81 @Bshack thanks for keeping up with this thread. I wish I had better news.

[Colee81]

Dear Desiato,

I feel for you. Many thanks for doing all this work to try and investigate the issue! It seems that HP is not doing anything about it. At least your system restore has confirmed beyond any doubt that the issue is with the device firmware and that there is nothing on the OS level to be done about this. 

HP recently issued two BIOS updates through Windows update: F.27 and F.28. Not that they did anything to solve the issue... but have you tried them? Maybe they could do something good for you.

[desiato]

Thanks for the quick reply! I have had this issue with F.26, F.27, and F.28, sadly.