FreeBook N150 boots into flickering black screen

Laptops Freebook i3/i5/N100/150
1

S/N: JFreeBCY1I250500317, bought at Chuwi online store on 04/06/2025, delivered 16/06/2025.

Yesterday I’ve encountered this issue for the first time: after a reboot, Windows doesn’t display anything. Here’s a video of what it looks like: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Dw8S5e3Hrk7ijk2r8 (alternative link: https://youtu.be/piQZYSDsncg).

The screen itself is working, as can be seen when entering BIOS, or just by the CHUWI logo being displayed. It’s just that, after the boot is complete, nothing is showing.

Initially I thought that it was caused by some Windows update or something, so I used System Restore function to go back in time, and it indeed booted fine. But, after a couple more reboots the issue came back — and, again, System Restore was used to fix it.

Then it got worse: instead of booting into flickering screen, it started BSODing on boot. Then System Restore got locked behind BitLocker (had to go to the online account to find restore keys), and then System Restore stopped working at all. Worse, it was even unable to reset my Windows installation (probably due to BitLocker).

So, I tried reinstalling Windows from official installer. It worked, but I quickly learned that it’s missing required drivers. I still went on to install some apps, and then after a reboot I’ve encountered the black screen issue again…

I then downloaded the OS from Chuwi Support Page, and tried installing it. First attempt failed: it booted into my flash drive just fine, but after the initial scripts have executed and the laptop rebooted, I was greeted by the black screen once again.

I tried again, and my second installation went smoothly, and I was able to properly log in to Windows. First thing I tried after that was rebooting — and, guess what, black screen again.

So, it seems that something is definitely faulty, and it looks like it’s not hardware. Moreover, as the issue is somewhat random and tends to get worse over time, it seems like some gradual data corruption is taking place. I’m not sure which component could be responsible for this though. My hunch is that it’s SSD, but it’s hard to tell for sure.

So, I’m lost, and don’t know what to do. My biggest worry is that, if I were to send it for repair, Chuwi would simply reinstall the OS, confirm that it booted (after all, it does succeed occasionally), and send it back — only for me to bump into this later again a few reboots later.

2

You can find tutorials on Google.

I press Esc to enter the BIOS.
Or it can be Del or F2.

You can try booting in safe mode.
You can try booting with a Linux live USB.
Look for an app to test the hard drive.

3

I know how to enter BIOS, I wouldn’t be able to reinstall Windows otherwise. :wink:
I did try booting in Safe Mode and checking the drive – it seems to only perform a quick check, with no errors found. I’m also not sure if those tools are able to detect data corruption (reading altered data, as opposed to not being to read at all).
I guess another option would be “sfc /scannow”.

4

Another option is DISM

5

Still, it wouldn’t solve the main problem: sooner or later, installation will break. Every time.

6

Maybe is the SSD that is in bad status? it seems to be hardware not software
Many times we are not able to know the exact reason, so we also recommend to go any repair shop you may have near and ask to see if its hardware or software and depending on it, you can send to repair if its still under warranty to our centers, Germany or HongKong

@manonegra222

7

Welp, bad news so far… I’ve tried replacing the SSD with a known good one (Samsung), and after running Windows install, updates and some tests, I’ve eventually still hit the same issue.
I’ve tried running a memory test, and it came back with no errors, so it’s not RAM either. So, it’s probably something more obscure. I could really use some help.
The laptop was delivered less than two weeks ago (see the original post for dates), so the warranty has to be there.

On a somewhat unrelated note, there’s a bug in BIOS: I can’t turn off Secure Boot. If I set it to “Disabled” and reboot, upon entering BIOS it is showing as “Enabled” again. This prevents me from running anything that’s not Microsoft-signed, so things like Memtest86, Ubuntu, and SystemRescue are impossible to run. This may or may not be related with the original issue, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it is actually caused by malfunctioning UEFI.

8

You have 14 days to return the devices.

I haven’t had to disable any BIOS options to boot from a USB drive.

9

Good to know, but I’ve basically got 3 days left since the delivery date (it doesn’t help that delivery date was 12 days after the order date), and it’s already Friday night.
@ChuwiESnotactive @manonegra222 I hereby declare this device non-functional, and want it either replaced or refunded (I don’t want to deal with repairs, as it’s been less than 2 weeks). What should I do to achieve that?

Good for you. No live image was working for me, claiming “Secure Boot Violation”. Again, could be yet another symptom of the device being non-functional (e.g. malfunctioning UEFI, like I’ve already mentioned above).

10

First of all, we should always try to determine or at least rule out a software problem, either in the BIOS or the operating system. If we can rule this out, we’ll be sure the problem is hardware-related. To do this, I would reinstall the BIOS (Chuwi should provide the auto-executable program) and then test if everything works again, always with the original SSD.

1 Like
11

Definitely not an operating system issue, as proven by numerous reinstallations (please do read all my posts above, as I’ve tried a lot of things already). BIOS is one of my suspicions as well, though reflashing might be tricky as it requires a stable execution environment that I just can’t achieve. And even so, it wouldn’t just be a bug in software as such, though it might be some issue with the flash where BIOS is stored…
So, how do I get hold of the aforementioned auto-executable to reinstall BIOS, just to make sure? Also, how much time do I have left to replace or refund the non-working laptop?

12

bonjour
sur chauffe de votre systeme refroidissement
il faut changer la patte thermique
cdt

13

It’s not overheating though.

14

@ChuwiESnotactive @manonegra222 I still haven’t heard back from support, I wonder if they receive my emails at all. What should I do?..

15

Since it is a new device, I think you should return it and get an exchange or refund.

16

@ChuwiESnotactive Why am I getting no response from Support? What should I do?

17

Support answered you , they will help you return back. Give them a few days

18

Thanks, yes, they did answer eventually (took them a week to respond though). The laptop is already delivered back to the warehouse.

1 Like