Power management applet - showing wrong power status

[eastcat]

Using Cinnamon 3.2.7 (with Mint 18.1) on Asus UX410UAK laptop. This laptop will not charge the battery until its level drops below a given threshold.

When the device is plugged in but not charging the battery, the power applet shows "Using battery power" status and the same icon as if the laptop was running on battery. It should be something like "On AC power (not charging)" with a distinct tray icon.

Screen capture of the displayed status:

Commands showing the actual power status (AC adapter online):

mint@mint` ~ $ acpi -a -b -i
Battery 0: Discharging, 96%, discharging at zero rate - will never fully discharge.
Battery 0: design capacity 4240 mAh, last full capacity 4123 mAh = 97%
Adapter 0: on-line

mint@mint ~ $ upower -i /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/line_power_AC0
  native-path:          AC0
  power supply:         yes
  updated:              Sun 26 Feb 2017 01:21:35 PM UTC (1708 seconds ago)
  has history:          no
  has statistics:       no
  line-power
    warning-level:       none
    online:              yes
    icon-name:          'ac-adapter-symbolic'

mint@mint ~ $ upower -i /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/battery_BAT0
  native-path:          BAT0
  vendor:               ASUSTeK
  model:                ASUS Battery
  power supply:         yes
  updated:              Sun 26 Feb 2017 01:49:35 PM UTC (29 seconds ago)
  has history:          yes
  has statistics:       yes
  battery
    present:             yes
    rechargeable:        yes
    state:               discharging
    warning-level:       none
    energy:              45.531 Wh
    energy-empty:        0 Wh
    energy-full:         47.013 Wh
    energy-full-design:  48.336 Wh
    energy-rate:         0 W
    voltage:             11.4 V
    percentage:          96%
    capacity:            97.2629%
    technology:          lithium-ion
    icon-name:          'battery-full-symbolic'

[furui]

Similar result from my Asus GL702VM running Cinnamon 3.2.7 on Linux Mint 18.1.

user@GL702VM ~ $ uname -a
Linux GL702VM 4.8.0-44-generic #47~16.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Wed Mar 22 18:51:56
UTC 2017 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

user@GL702VM ~ $ acpi -a -b -i
Battery 0: Discharging, 96%, discharging at zero rate - will never fully discharge.
Battery 0: design capacity 5000 mAh, last full capacity 4776 mAh = 95%
Adapter 0: on-line

[scoronado12]

I am having this issue as well on Arch Linux, Cinnamon 3.2.8 . Since OP is using Mint, this is not a distro-specific issue. Also using an ASUS laptop.

Bug reported in Arch here

[DantesPop]

Same issue here, ASUS Q504UA running Cinnamon 3.2.7 & Mint 18.1.

[lufinkey]

Same issue. Asus G551JW running Linux Mint 18.2 with xfce

[weiju]

Same issue here, Asus ROG GL502-DS71 with Linux Mint 18.2 Cinnamon, Kernel 4.8.0-58-generic. Does it seem strange that these are all Asus laptops ?

[mycae]

Hello,

I am having the same problem on an Asus TP300. Upower and ACPI show the correct values. The user reports that previously the battery indicator functioned correctly.

Restarting the upower service however, does seem to update the battery indicator to the correct value, for the particular value given.

I am willing to troubleshoot this further, if anyone can provide some guidance on what to examine.

Kernel:

# ... SNIP ...  4.4.0-83-generic #106-Ubuntu SMP Mon Jun 26 17:54:43 UTC 2017 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

upower :

# apt list upower
Listing... Done
upower/xenial-updates,now 0.99.4-2ubuntu0.3 amd64 [installed,automatic]
N: There is 1 additional version. Please use the '-a' switch to see it
# apt list cinnamon
Listing... Done
cinnamon/xenial,now 2.8.6-1ubuntu1 amd64 [installed]

As a workaround I have placed a cron job that restarts the upower service every few minutes, to force the battery to update at those points in time. Its a hack, but it seems to "solve" the issue until a real solution is available

[hamidrezabstn]

same issue for asus x55v mint 18.1

[shakthizen]

Facing same problem in ASUS X556UQ
Does anyone have a answer ?
Opera Browser decreased framerate to save power because it thinks my laptop is on battery power 😄

[Atif8Ted]

Same issue with Asus -R542uQ. On ubuntu , Solus , Arch . On DE's like Gnome ,Xfce, Cinnamon, Mate .
It keeps on displaying estimating

[maj127]

Same issue is here. Cinnamon Power Management Applet is stuck on certain status and doesn't update, I'm using ($ acpi -a -b -i) to get the correct results. I've noticed that this issue is only appears if I'm using the hibernate feature and for long time (several day or weeks without shutdown or restart). Also removing and adding the applet will make it update it only once and it will stuck again, this applies if you added the remaining time or percentage.

My Environment:
Linux Mint 19.1 Cinnamon
Cinnamon 4.0.9
Kernel 4.15.0-43-generic
Lenovo B490
Intel© Core™ i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz × 4
16 GB Memory
Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller

[LinuxOnTheDesktop]

Same problem here - the applet says I am using battery power, but I on mains - at least occasionally, on this configuration:

• Mint 20.3 Cinnamon;
• using battery charge thresholds via the tlp program;
• on a ThinkPad;
• using kernel 5.13.0-51.

These things did not make the error go away:

• restarting the upower service;
• restarting Cinnamon;
• removing and reinserting the power cord.

The problem is a mere papercut, but one that has to do with basic functionality. Moreover, judging by the above reports the problem has been around for some years.

EDIT: the 'Battery Applet with Monitoring and Shutdown' (BAMS; webpage) does a better job with charging thresholds than does Mint's own applet: when the PC is on mains power but not charging because of a threshold, that applet reports the following.

[evstigneevnm]

The same thing here.

Linux Mint 21.1 x86_64
20KGS2WB01 ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th
5.15.0-60-generic
Cinnamon 5.6.7 

acpi -a -b -i:
Battery 0: Not charging, 98%
Battery 0: design capacity 4476 mAh, last full capacity 3691 mAh = 82%
Adapter 0: on-line

upower -d

Device: /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/line_power_AC
  native-path:          AC
  power supply:         yes
  updated:              Fri 10 Feb 2023 09:39:53 PM EET (4465 seconds ago)
  has history:          no
  has statistics:       no
  line-power
    warning-level:       none
    online:              yes
    icon-name:          'ac-adapter-symbolic'

Device: /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/battery_BAT0
  native-path:          BAT0
  vendor:               SMP
  model:                01AV430
  serial:               3754
  power supply:         yes
  updated:              Fri 10 Feb 2023 10:53:53 PM EET (25 seconds ago)
  has history:          yes
  has statistics:       yes
  battery
    present:             yes
    rechargeable:        yes
    state:               pending-charge
    warning-level:       none
    energy:              46,43 Wh
    energy-empty:        0 Wh
    energy-full:         47,02 Wh
    energy-full-design:  57,02 Wh
    energy-rate:         0 W
    voltage:             12,739 V
    charge-cycles:       184
    percentage:          98%
    capacity:            82,4623%
    technology:          lithium-polymer
    icon-name:          'battery-full-charging-symbolic'

Device: /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/line_power_ucsi_source_psy_USBC000o001
  native-path:          ucsi-source-psy-USBC000:001
  power supply:         yes
  updated:              Fri 10 Feb 2023 09:36:57 PM EET (4641 seconds ago)
  has history:          no
  has statistics:       no
  line-power
    warning-level:       none
    online:              no
    icon-name:          'ac-adapter-symbolic'

Device: /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/line_power_ucsi_source_psy_USBC000o002
  native-path:          ucsi-source-psy-USBC000:002
  power supply:         yes
  updated:              Fri 10 Feb 2023 09:39:53 PM EET (4465 seconds ago)
  has history:          no
  has statistics:       no
  line-power
    warning-level:       none
    online:              yes
    icon-name:          'ac-adapter-symbolic'

My hypothesis is that the indicator pics up line_power_ucsi_source_psy_USBC000o001 for some reason.

[maxkolenko]

I have very similar issue with the power management on a fresh install of LM 21.1 Cinnamon on a laptop (Acer Aspire V5).

The battery indicator applet cycling through 'Using battery power' and 'Fully charged' statuses when the laptop is plugged in and runs from AC. The cycle duration is about 5-10 minutes.

But there's side effect of this issue. Which is messing up 'Power options' settings in the Power Management. Specifically the duration of inactivity will be used either from On AC or On Battery settings, depending on current status of the battery applet.

E.g., if the applet is in 'Using battery power' status then On Battery timings will be used for the screen turn off, suspend, etc. Also, the feature of 'On battery, dim the screen when incative' will be engaged.

I don't have those issues when I run Windows on the same laptop, hense the issues don't seem to be due to bad hardware.

$ uname -a
Linux aspire 5.15.0-60-generic #66-Ubuntu SMP Fri Jan 20 14:29:49 UTC 2023 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

$ acpi -a -b -i
Battery 0: Discharging, 0%, rate information unavailable
Battery 1: Discharging, 100%, 1387:30:00 remaining
Battery 1: design capacity 3560 mAh, last full capacity 2775 mAh = 77%
Adapter 0: on-line

upower -i $(upower -e | grep '/battery') | grep --color=never -E "state|to\ full|to\ empty|percentage"

It yelds for me this in charging and discharing phases:

state:               discharging
percentage:          100%

state:               fully-charged
percentage:          100%

[socketbox]

I'm not sure if this is quite the same issue, but I'm on 21.1 and the only way I can get the applet to update is by selecting it with a right-click, then choosing Configure... and then selecting an option (any option) from the Display menu. This causes the image in the panel to update.

Output of upower:

[2023-04-06 16:10:49]» upower -e
/org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/ups_hiddev0
/org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/DisplayDevice

[2023-04-06 16:10:54]» upower -d /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/ups_hiddev0
Device: /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/ups_hiddev0
  native-path:          /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1c.6/0000:0d:00.0/usb7/7-2/7-2:1.0/usbmisc/hiddev0
  vendor:               CPS
  model:                CP1000PFCLCD
  serial:               000000000000
  power supply:         yes
  updated:              Thu 06 Apr 2023 08:11:06 PM  (1 seconds ago)
  has history:          yes
  has statistics:       yes
  ups
    present:             yes
    state:               charging
    warning-level:       none
    time to empty:       1.4 minutes
    percentage:          10%
    icon-name:          'battery-caution-charging-symbolic'

Device: /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/DisplayDevice
  power supply:         yes
  updated:              Thu 06 Apr 2023 08:11:06 PM  (1 seconds ago)
  has history:          no
  has statistics:       no
  ups
    present:             yes
    state:               charging
    warning-level:       none
    time to empty:       1.4 minutes
    percentage:          10%
    icon-name:          'battery-caution-charging-symbolic'

Daemon:
  daemon-version:  0.99.17
  on-battery:      no
  lid-is-closed:   no
  lid-is-present:  no
  critical-action: PowerOff

[2023-04-06 16:21:07]» inxi -S
System:
  Host: Deluxe Kernel: 5.15.0-67-generic x86_64 bits: 64
    Desktop: Cinnamon 5.6.8 Distro: Linux Mint 21.1 Vera