HP is one of the leading manufacturers of laptops, and for good reason. HP, originally commonly known as Hewlett-Packard, was actually the manufacturer of the earliest personal computer device, all the way back in 1968, and they have been going strong ever since. HP is still making laptops to this day, and their laptops only get better as they go along. One thing that some HP laptop users wonder about, however, is whether there are ways to turn off their HP laptop without the power button.
Before the power button stops working, set up alternatives on the BIOS. Access this by pushing F2, F10, or Delete when you power on the laptop. Go to Power Management, and enable Power on by Keyboard. Exit the BIOS by pushing F10, ensuring that any key can power the laptop on.
But what other ways can you power on the laptop? And what do you do about a broken power button on a laptop?
How to Turn on HP Laptop without Power Button:
Enable your laptop’s keyboard to power it on in BIOS
This is a highly convenient method of powering your laptop, just as convenient as using a power button. However, in order for you to actually set this up, you need to enable it before you lose the ability to power it on normally. Thankfully, the process of enabling this feature is both fast and easy. All you need to do is power the laptop on normally, and when it starts up, press either F2, F10, or Delete to go to the BIOS screen instead of the normal startup process. There will be multiple options that can be changed to affect how your computer powers on and operates.
In the BIOS menu, select the Power Management section, where you will find the Power on by Keyboard option. It may be called something similar, so keep an eye out if you do not see that option. Enable this option, and then press F10 to save and exit BIOS and start your computer normally afterward.
Use Wake on LAN
This is another feature that can be enabled using the BIOS function. To get to the BIOS section, do the same steps listed in the above section. Once you enter the BIOS, go to the Power Management section, and enable Wake on LAN. Once you are done in BIOS, press F10 to save and exit. This will cause the laptop to power on as normal. Once the startup process has completed, go to Device Manager by searching for it in the Search Icon in the Taskbar. You can also access the Device Manager by pressing Win Key + X and selecting it from the menu.
Right-click Network adapter, and select Properties, and navigate to the Advanced tab. Select the option to enable Wake on magic packet option, which will allow you to power the laptop on using a supported router via the LAN connection.
Go into your computer and interact with the motherboard
A more complicated, but still viable alternative method is to use the motherboard. To access it, however, you need to open your laptop, which you should not do unless you know what you are doing. Use an appropriate screwdriver to remove the motherboard once you’ve managed to remove the bottom cover of the laptop with a screwdriver and prying tools. Be careful to ensure that all components are still connected, however. This next step should be done with care, and we reiterate – do not do this unless you can do it safely and well. Use either a wire or a metal screwdriver to remove the power button connection, and then create a short between pin 1 and pin 3 on your motherboard to power it on.
Use the clock battery
This step could potentially reset your laptop’s BIOS, so take extreme caution – both with potentially doing that and being harmed in the process. Next, disconnect the battery cable (distinct from your laptop’s charging cable) from the motherboard. Remove the clock battery from the motherboard, and then reconnect the battery cable. This should power it on automatically. Once again, to be clear, it is not recommended if you do not have experience with this kind of thing.
Take it out of sleep mode
You may be able to get into your computer without pushing the power button by taking it out of sleep mode. Sometimes, the sleep mode may be on rather than the computer actually being off, so if that’s the case, you can usually use your mouse, keyboard, or just open the lid of the laptop to take it out of sleep mode.
What do I do if there is no way to power on my HP laptop?
If you have not enabled the BIOS setting before the power button ceased to work, you may be wondering about what your options may be. In this scenario, the best way to do it would be to mess with your motherboard, but again, do not open your laptop to do such a thing without experience with doing so.
Another issue may be if your laptop’s keyboard and power button are both non-operational, which means that, even if you enable the laptop to work with Power on by keyboard function, it will not work without extra effort. Much like if you did not make the change in the BIOS in time, however, there are methods you can take to fix this issue. You can use the motherboard method, but there is a safer way to power your laptop – assuming you have the tool needed, or the budget to afford the tool. This tool is an external keyboard.
There are two types of keyboards you can use in this scenario. The first, and most obvious, is a USB keyboard, which works simply by plugging into one of your HP laptop’s USB ports. This should be used to power the laptop by pressing any key, as there is a direct connection between the two devices (the cord). However, if you want to use a Bluetooth keyboard, that is not likely to work, even if you previously connected it to your HP laptop. The issue is that, when the HP laptop is powered down, the Bluetooth functionality will not be enabled, and thus, your Bluetooth keyboard is not able to make the connection. So, when looking for a keyboard, make sure that you choose a USB keyboard over a Bluetooth one.
Is there any way to get my HP laptop repaired or replaced?
If you have a broken keyboard and power button – heck, if you have even one of these not working – the sensible decision would be to just get it repaired or replaced. But how feasible a solution is this? Well, depending on the circumstances of the damage, and the status of the warranty it came with, it could be much easier or much harder.
If the damage occurs as a result of a defect, and the item is still within warranty, this should be a relatively easy problem to fix. All you need to do is get in contact with HP customer service to take advantage of the warranty. Despite this, you may have to deal with frustrations during the process, particularly since they will likely want to verify whether the damage was actually their fault and not yours.
In most cases, your warranty will probably not get you a free refund or return if the damage was your fault, or if the issue came about outside of the warranty period. The only way to extend the warranty beyond the initial period, on top of covering accidental damage, is to pay for an extended warranty on the item. You could theoretically do the repairs yourself to the keyboard and/or power button, but it would be highly unadvisable if you did not have experience working with electronics.
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