HP laptops are generally seen as a great mix of affordability and reliability, but even the best major PC brand in terms of customer satisfaction can run into problems from time to time. Some problems are more common in certain HP laptop lineups, such as Pavilion and Envy models, due to their design or the suite of manufacturer-included software.

If you’ve noticed your HP laptop overheating or rapidly declining in performance as you use it more, you’re not alone. Similarly, if you’ve experienced spontaneous audio issues – especially after a Windows update – you may have a model that uses Bang & Olufsen and/or Realtek audio drivers, which can cause a known issue for some HP laptops.

Other issues reported on support forums, reviews, and repair shops stem from bloatware and mechanical malfunctions, but where there are common problems, there are solutions. Knowing about these common pain points can help you diagnose and troubleshoot the issues, getting your laptop back in working shape in less time.

Certain HP laptop models, namely the Pavilion and Pavilion Gaming lineup, push quite a bit of heat through their thin frames. Depending on the amount of stress you’re putting on the system, it can overheat, triggering the fans to run at a higher setting and leading to slower performance.

You can check your device’s temperature using a tool like Open Hardware Monitor to gauge how hot it’s running and compare it to the temperature range listed in your laptop’s manual or on the manufacturer’s site for the individual part. First things first: make sure you don’t have a case on the laptop that’s blocking its airflow, or that you’re not using it in a particularly hot, sunny area. If neither of those applies to you, it’s likely because of a stressful workload or dust buildup in the fans.

To check how many resources your PC is using at a given time, open the Task Manager by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting Task Manager (or pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del and clicking Task Manager). Then, click on the CPU or Memory column headers to sort the currently running programs by most usage. Check the top programs — do you recognize all of them? If not, there are apps or processes running in the background (or that you’ve forgotten to close) that are consuming resources and generating more heat. Verify that the app or process is not a vital Windows application (a quick Google search of the process name will usually identify it), and if it’s not, close it down. Then, look to uninstall the application to prevent further background usage. Not only will this reduce system heat, but it will also go hand in hand with fixing long startup times.

If you notice your HP laptop is particularly slow to boot after a restart, there’s a good chance bloatware is to blame. Bloatware is any software on your laptop or PC that you didn’t intend to install — and it doesn’t have to come from malware or shady websites. Many manufacturers of the best laptops you can buy, HP included, install certain suites of apps and processes onto laptops to improve the user experience and offer more features. But in many cases, and especially on budget laptops with less memory, these manufacturer-installed apps do more harm than good.

To remove bloatware from Windows 11, open the Windows search bar located on your taskbar and type “Add or remove programs,” then click on the Settings result. Once the Settings page opens, sort through the apps and remove anything you don’t recognize or want, keeping in mind that some apps and processes, such as Microsoft Windows Desktop Runtime, are important to your operating system’s functionality. So if you’re unsure whether an application is important, do a quick online search to verify.

And to aid in a faster startup time, go back to the Windows search bar on the taskbar and search for Startup Apps. This Settings page shows you all of the apps that start up immediately upon restarting your laptop. If you notice anything you don’t recognize, toggle it off to improve your laptop’s responsiveness on startup.

Batteries that don’t charge to 100% and “Plugged in, not charging” messages are among the most common complaints on community forums about HP laptops. In many cases, this is due to HP’s battery optimization software — Battery Health Manager and Intelligent Charging — which may intentionally cap charging at 80% to preserve battery health longer. If you have a ProBook, EliteBook, or ZBook, this feature is likely the culprit.

If your laptop still has some battery life left, try restarting it first. Power cycling your laptop can often fix small, one-off bugs. If you have multiple HP chargers, try using another one to test if the power adapter is the problem. If neither charger works, it’s likely an issue with the charging port or the laptop’s battery.

Inspect your laptop’s charging port with a flashlight for signs of wear and tear. Another sign of charging port damage is if your charging cable sits loosely inside the port and doesn’t connect firmly. If nothing is stuck inside the port and there’s no visual damage, your laptop’s battery may be the issue. Many HP laptops come with a hardware diagnostics tool called HP PC Hardware Diagnostics for Windows, which can help you evaluate your laptop’s battery condition. If the laptop is completely dead and won’t charge, you’ll likely have to send it or take it to a repair shop.

Hinges on the HP Envy and Pavilion laptops have been known to break after only a few years of light use. The problem usually starts with a subtle “click” or “crack” sound when opening the lid. Over time, you may notice that one side of the display feels stiffer than the other, the bezel starts separating from the screen, and the laptop doesn’t open as easily as it used to. These are precursors to a full-blown hinge failure, so if you notice these signs early, you may want to take the laptop into a repair shop to get it checked out and avoid opening and closing the lid to reduce further stress on the joint.

Interestingly, the hinge itself isn’t always the part that fails. Many repair reports blame broken plastic mounting brackets that connect the hinge to the laptop’s frame. Opening and closing the laptop’s lid places stress on these mounting brackets over time, which can eventually cause them to crack and break away from the chassis.

Most of the time, your only solution is to take the laptop to a repair shop or replace it entirely.

HP laptop models like the Spectre x360, HP Envy, Omen, and Victus lineups come out of the box with Bang & Olufsen (B&O) audio drivers as well as Realtek drivers, which are meant to provide enhanced audio and sound control. And in most cases, they work perfectly well. But in other cases, particularly after Windows or BIOS updates, these drivers have been known to malfunction, causing crackling, popping, distorted, and intermittent audio.

To make sure your drivers are up to date, open the Windows search bar on your taskbar and search for Device Manager. With this page open, locate the Audio Processing Objects (APOs) (or “Sound, video and game controllers”) dropdown, right-click each driver, and select Update driver. Then choose Search automatically for drivers to check for updates.

If all of your drivers are up to date, there are still a few things you can try. Reinstalling the Realtek audio driver, updating the BIOS, disabling audio enhancements, and reinstalling HP’s audio control software are all potential fixes.

We identified these HP laptop problems by searching community forum posts, HP troubleshooting pages, manufacturer documentation, and product reviews to find the most common pain points.

Complaints that appeared across multiple laptop families, rather than issues affecting a single device, such as those typically found in HP Pavilion and Envy models, received primary consideration. Solutions to the problems were researched on consumer tech repair websites and HP’s official support site, as well as pulled from expert background knowledge.

To qualify for a spot on the list, the problem had to stem from multiple user complaints or troubleshooting procedures across several sources. Issues common to all laptops, such as aging batteries or accidental damage, were omitted unless HP-specific software, design, or hardware contributed to the problem.