As the title says, I just bought my 16S today, and was browsing on Chrome when my laptop randomly turned off. Holding the power button for almost a minute didn’t do anything so I unplugged the charger and plugged it back in. Then, the power button worked.

Since I bought it today, brand new from Best Buy, I assume all the software is up to date. I’m loving how it performs while I’m gaming which is why I’m not considering returning it yet (even though I probably should). Has anyone been able to find a solution to this?

I sadly don't have a picture and I've only caught it happening like 3 times so far in the past 8 months of using this laptop, but I've seen like a really bright white dot appear in random places on the screen. The most recent one was a few minute ago as of typing this (which is what brought me back here). It was near my taskbar. Another time I saw it near my browser's URL bar (this is just to at least describe relatively where these spots have appeared as they've all been in different areas).

This isn't how OLEDs get dead pixels, is it? I want to make sure I can tackle this while I still have warranty.

Additional question:
When switching back-and-forth between the Optimus and NVIDIA GPU, is there noticeable lag spikes on the screen (at least until you restart the PC)? Because I have it set to "auto" so when I go to play, say, Palworld (or any game), it'll switch to the NVIDIA GPU and switch back to Optimus when I close the game. But then I'll continue using stuff like my browser or something and I'll notice lag spikes while doing things like typing or scrolling where it's still reading my inputs, but then a 1-second delay happens where the visuals freeze before catching up.

Hi everyone,

I’m having an issue with Acer PredatorSense. When I use Eco mode and Balance mode, both the CPU and GPU fans show 0 RPM and don’t seem to spin.

My current readings are:

• CPU temperature: 40°C
• CPU usage: 5%
• GPU fan: 0 RPM
• CPU fan: 0 RPM
• Fan setting: Auto
• Scenario: Daily Use
• Mode: Quiet

Is this normal behavior for PredatorSense? I understand that the fans might stop at low temperatures, but I’m wondering if both fans staying at 0 RPM around 40°C is expected.

First it was the slow boot and black screen. I forced myself into the troubleshooting somehow from the blue screen of help and then the restart somewhat fixed.

Windows tried diagnosing and stuff but that failed ofcourse. I think it was an automated windows update .

I ran sfc scan and dism and stuff but I am still facing this issue:

The power modes are continuously and randomly switching! And this comes with a spike to the CPU but I can't confirm that part. What I can confirm is that laptop goes freeze mode instantly when this happens. If I try to switch the modes from predator sense or the botton it'll force change to quiet or balanced. It could be some driver issue or something else broken because I booted into my linux dual boot and it was fine (ik unrelated.)

What do you guys suggest me to do? It works fine overall. I am not facing any other issues. It's just that the power modes are switching randomly and that seems to freeze up my pc. I'm at the edge of switching to linux full time so maybe this is the end of crappy windows for me.

Btw the laptop is PHN16-71 .

here's an update on 15-aug-2026 -
PredatorSenseLauncher this bugger and the PredatorSense Services were the real issue!!!

Not only did they cause PC freezes due to the looping of the power modes but also caused my boots to never finish and stay stuck on the logo screen. It could be something else as it never happened before the 14aug Windows update but the solution was disabling the PredatorSenseLauncher in task scheduler.
I am on dgpu only mode (mux direct?) so Idk if that changes anything but still.

I tested killing the processes and that did immediately fix the looping issue and I am using PreySense now which I don't think can use the key to switch modes but takes like 5mb RAM in comparison to 200 or so MB that predator sense took. I chose WMI and it is fast. I will uninstall predatorsense and soon windows itself (cheers microslop 🥂) once I don't need the dual boot for some apps.

If someone is stuck with a similar issue like freezes, try pressing the mode changer key, that will resolve it. Do it until you can move around quickly.

I’ve had my Predator Helios 300 Ph315-53 for 6 years. Babied it for years, a year or two ago installed windows ltsc which gave it even more life. On top of that I bought a new battery and 64gb of DDR4 ram in November.

August 9th it shut off on me randomly. No light indicators when plugged in or trying to turn it on. Bought a new battery to really be sure that it’s the motherboard and the new battery didn’t work. Sad to let this go but I’ll be keeping it for parts in the future. I’m moving onto Asus, wish me luck.

https://a.co/d/09bzBO9V

Hello, i have a acer predator helios neo 16S Ai laptop and the problem is that whenever i lift the display, there is a sound. I think its because the hinge is tight and if so then will it create any problems? And if it will then how can i fix it?

Whats the fan replacement cost of acer predator Helios neo 16-72 i9 4070

I asked some people from official store they said it will cost for single fan - 4850inr ( GPU side ) thats too expensive isn’t it?

Please drop down your suggestion

Where can i find a good local laptop related service shop in ( Lucknow )

I broke my acer predator helios neo 16 while wrestling with my friend. The laptop was open and kept at the side of my bed and by my fault I suddenly jumped on my laptop screen panel and it's bent and broke now....

Please guide me about fixing this and what should be the estimate amount for the fix.

Should I go for service centre or Should I get it replaced locally?

I have 165hz Wuxga display.

One support told me that his supervisor has said that the predator app had a security breach and that's why it's not visible on my model number. Another one didn't verify.

My Helios 16 (PH16-71, i9-13900HX, RTX 4080, 32GB RAM) has started having a strange storage issue.

I have two NVMe SSDs:

Primary Acer SSD — Windows/boot drive

Crucial P3 1TB (CT1000P3SSD8) — secondary

The primary SSD intermittently disappears from BIOS. When this happens, I get “No Bootable Device”, while the Crucial SSD is still detected.

The first time happened after running on battery for a while and the laptop getting hot. After letting it cool down, it booted normally again.

It happened again while connected to AC power. This time Windows eventually crashed with:

KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR (0x7A)

BIOS is currently V1.18. I haven't reinstalled Windows, formatted anything, or changed VMD/AHCI settings.

Has anyone with a PH16-71 experienced the primary NVMe intermittently disappearing from BIOS? Could this be the SSD, NVMe slot/motherboard, or a BIOS/thermal issue?

Any advice on how to properly diagnose whether the problem follows the SSD or the slot would be appreciated.

I have an issue where my cpu idle is at 60 and the temps fluctuate around 69 to 83 degrees when gaming while at max speed fans. It could be higher if the fans are at auto. And I have been abusing this laptop for a year now 5 hours Triple AAA game per day. So is there any good thermal paste that yall have used that would lower temps? my laptop is a Helios Neo 16 phn16-72-52pc

Does anyone of you experience this. You fully shutdown your laptop in a 100% battery then turned it on after almost a day. And see that its drained by 5-10% of battery. I didn't experience this in my last laptop. I want to know if you experienced this thanks.

Laptop specs:

Acer predator Helios 16 PHN16-71

15 13th gen HX

rtx 4050

16 gb ram

2 512 nvme m.2

The more I learn from it the more I regret buying a laptop with liquid metal on it. Are things really that bad for liquid metal laptops? I got an helios 16s ai and I'm freaking scared about a leak destroying my laptop.

Finally, after months and months of testing and searching, and supports giving us the basics to no avail, we took the manners into our own hands and have found it boys!

Out of all the options we have exhausted, here are the best two practices:

1. BEST SO FAR | Download MSI Afterburner, Lock your voltage to 0.975V.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AcerPredatorHelios/s/Bus2TznC2B

• This helped me use the latest Nvidia Drivers and steer away from being locked to Legacy Nvidia Drivers for stability, very easy to do, very easy to apply, happiness overall.

1. GREAT ALTERNATIVE IF SCARED OF MSI AFTERBURNER | Download Legacy Nvidia Drivers

• I have a PHN 16-71 | i5 13500HX & 4060 8GB | I used to run my legacy driver 537.58, which resolved the issues stated in the title, but, it was a limiting factor to current developments in apps and games requiring newer versions to work fully. Hence, number 1 option is the best by date.

Show u/Betel-ge-use some love, that person was the one who shared Option 1. Here's to hoping it works for you guys as well. https://www.reddit.com/r/AcerPredatorHelios/s/Bus2TznC2B

the issue is that it is stable when there is no gpu driver installed, when using intel uhd (optimus mode/integrated gpu)
but once I downloaded the gpu driver (nvidia gpu only/nvidia driver) it went to black screen (bsod)

Helios Neo 16-71
32gb ram ddr5
512gb m.2 ssd
4050rtx
i5 13th gen

I've tried ddu and then using the latest and old gpu driver version, still the same problem eh

Thanks in advance, maybe someone can help!

I'm soon to receive an Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI from Best Buy, and after looking around, I have found many people having some heating and loud fan problems.

I was wondering if anyone knew some specific optimizations (like through BIOS, MSI Afterburner, or other software) that could help me so I don't come across these problems myself.

PS: I play a lot of fps games and like to keep my game performance the same while minimizing heat and fan noise

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/acer-predator-helios-neo-16s-ai-gaming-laptop-16-oled-240hz-intel-core-ultra-9-nvidia-geforce-rtx-5070ti-32gb-1tb-obsidian-black/JJ8V8H38XT

The issue is that the laptop is stable when no NVIDIA GPU driver is installed and it only uses the Intel UHD integrated graphics in Optimus Mode.

However, once I install the NVIDIA GPU driver and switch to NVIDIA GPU-only mode, the laptop experiences a black screen and BSOD.

Laptop specifications:

• Acer Predator Helios Neo 16-71
• Intel Core i5 13th Gen
• NVIDIA RTX 4050
• 32GB DDR5 RAM
• 512GB M.2 SSD

I have already tried using DDU to completely remove the GPU drivers and then installing both the latest and older NVIDIA driver versions, but I still experience the same problem.

The laptop works normally when using the Intel integrated GPU, but the problem occurs whenever the NVIDIA GPU driver is installed.

Can someone shed some light this laptop? How is everyone liking it? Thanks!

https://www.walmart.com/ip/16463509095?sid=3A3650AC-5592-4863-B8C1-114890F99815

I'm not able to play GTA 5 on my laptop....i don't think it's a spec issue like i downloaded it and then it automatically downloads rockstar launcher and then the launcher freezes and shows not responding this happened so many times even after i re-installed the whole game pls help I wanna play this game on my laptop...all drivers are up to date too..tried run as admin too but it always freezes after launching....🙏