NUC M15 Laptop EVO LAPRC710 - Buzzing Noise 95%-99% charging and no support for NUC Software Studio

[NUC_Limited]

Hello Fellow NUC Owners,

** Update: Made several edits after extensive testing and formatted the post from my previous submission.

** Update #2: I uploaded 2 files, one is when it's charging and not making buzzing and then one is the buzzing so you can compare the noise

Just bought this unit and the scenario of my testing is:

- Discharge laptop to 89% which causes the system to switch to "charge"

- The system will not charge at 90%-99% as it will sit on "idle"

- The system only switches to charge at 89% or under and it'll charge to 100%

- When charging an audible buzzing noise is heard starting at 95% and especially at 99%

- Buzzing noise seems to start at 95% but intermittently but not always consistent (eg. can start at 97%)

- Buzzing noise doesn't seem to occur on charge say 70%-95%

- Pulling the charging cable means the buzzing noise stops, plug back in it starts

What I use to test

- OCCT to discharge and monitor the battery

- INTEL Graphics Command Center to see the state of charge (idle, charging, discharge status)

What I have confirmed

- This happens in BIOS which rules out an OS/Software related thing

- This happens in both Win 11/10 as I have dual booted the machine for test

- This happens on Win 11 Pro, I upgraded it from Home to Pro (not for testing but personal)

- This buzzing does not happen when it's shutdown and charging to 100%

- This is not the fan causing the noise (unplugging adapter is a give away) and the fans don't run

- This is not the sound of coil whine

- This occurs on both thunderbolt ports for charging

- This occurs on different charging adapters

- This occurs on multiple power points

- When charging from 99% to 100% it takes a while almost 40 minutes in one test case (buzzing occurs)

- Both Win 11/10 has latest drivers and the BIOS is updated

What I believe this is

A defect in how a component like a battery controller is handling charging, like some other laptops would hit a threshold and trickle charge.

Another Problem I Hear

Regardless of charging I hear some electrical, static noises similar to old school hard drives doing I/O. It sounds mechanical not like coil whine but this laptop uses a M2 card, I read Intel states their CPU's do not make sounds and it's an integrated GPU.

I have no idea what I am hearing but the sound comes from the top middle of the board and this sound is also where the more audible buzzing occurs when the system reaches 99% charge.

I have contacted the shop about this

Well I'm not too confident in this because I have had terrible experiences with defected hardware going through warranty process. I'm also worried no one is going to spend the time to test this out as much as I've done but nonetheless it is the only option unless I risk using a laptop that may have battery related issues.

A band-aid patch but I failed

I figured if this system has buzzing issues at 95% charge and over to 99% before stopping at 100% because the system switches the battery mode to "idle" then the way you can stop the buzzing is if we can modify the BIOS Battery settings or use software to make it never charge over say 95%.

It's not a solution but a patch especially if I'm having issues with the store I purchased this from trying to get this resolved.

I've looked into the NUC Software Studio from the images it seems you can control the battery charge. Unfortunately it says it supports my model but on Windows 11 the software opens, closes, it doesn't even show up on desktop and in event logs it has a KERNELL.DLL error.

This is why I dual booted to Windows 10, I got the software to run but unfortunately it displays the error that is the device is not supported even though it states it should be. I presume this is supporting the older model and not mine which was released this year.

In the BIOS you can't set any battery options, it only tells you information and this is how I was able to see the word charging vs not charging vs discharging so if I did the 89% discharge, charge, shutdown, open and F2 into bios I can see battery charging and the buzzing noise happens during NUC loading before I enter BIOS.

My Request

Anyone with shared experiences or the same model can try to replicate the issue that be lovely. It be awesome to know if this is a defect in my unit or if it's a problem in manufacturing for multiple units.

Also would love to get this some traction so at least Intel can like update their BIOS for my device to add some battery settings (disable battery, set battery to never charge above whatever percent) or get the software working on this model.

Any other help would be lovely.

I'm pretty paranoid my interaction with the vendor I bought this from will yield negative results as my past experiences have been poor.

[NUC_Limited]

Update: I have taken a video of me unplugging the AC while it's buzzing.

You can hear the buzzing, sounds really electrical and once I take the AC off it stops and then I plug it in and it starts again.

Couldn't edit my post anymore so I replied to myself.

[Alberto_R_Intel]

NUC_Limited, Thank you for posting in the Intel® Communities Support.

In reference to this scenario, based on the fact that there are no reports about this issue with this specific device and on the details, you described previously, it seems the Buzzing Noise could be related to a hardware problem with the laptop itself. 

Regarding the Intel® NUC Software Studio, it is important to mention that the Intel® NUC M15 Laptop Kit - EVO LAPRC710 is not showing as supported by the tool as you can confirm here, under "This download is valid for the product(s) listed below." tab:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/19691/intel-nuc-software-studio-service.html?wapkw=nuc%20software%20studio

Still, I will do further research on both of these scenarios to confirm those details. As soon as I get any updates, I will post all the information on this thread.

In the following link, you will find additional details about your Intel® laptop including warranty support:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/products/225967/intel-nuc/intel-nuc-laptop-kits/intel-nuc-m15-laptop-kit/intel-nuc-m15-laptop-kit-evo-laprc710.htmlhttps://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/products/225967/intel-nuc/intel-nuc-laptop-kits/intel-nuc-m15-laptop-kit/intel-nuc-m15-laptop-kit-evo-laprc710.html

Any questions, please let me know.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[NUC_Limited]

Thanks for the response.

This machine has been returned and deemed as a hardware fault as well.

I've opted to get a refund not really because of the hardware fault.

Your post helped me out in this decision cause I thought being the current gen model for 2022 there be up to date support for it in a software/BIOS side but unfortunately I was wrong and misread.

Hopefully future products do have more BIOS options, software support to tinker with the laptop because it is a nice laptop in terms of price and build quality.

[Alberto_R_Intel]

NUC_Limited, You are very welcome, thank you very much for sharing those updates.

Perfect, it is great to know that you were able to claim your warranty on the machine in order to get a refund for the Intel® NUC.

For Intel® it is important all the feedback provided by all of our clients. For that reason, I will send your comments to the proper department for them to be aware of your observations in order to keep improving the customer's experience while using Intel® products.

Any other inquiries, do not hesitate to contact us again.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JoelHill]

Really appreciate the thorough response here. I've got the same issue and will return the laptop for warranty. It's such a shame as I love the laptop and fear I may wind up with a refund instead of replacement. Oh well.