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Portable chargers are highly useful pieces of technology. They allow you to keep your portable electronics charged when you are on the go. It is important to know how to diagnose and fix problems with your portable charger so that you can keep your electronics functioning properly at all times. One of the most common problems people encounter with their portable chargers is a flashing red light. 

What the blinking LED lights on a portable charger normally mean

Most portable chargers come with four red LED lights. These lights blink to indicate to the user how charged the portable charger is. You may notice these lights in the following situations:

1. Charging your portable charger

The red LED lights will blink when your portable charger is plugged into a power source. Under ordinary circumstances, these lights will tell you how charged the battery in your portable charger is. 

• If one of the four lights is blinking, it is between 0% and 25% charged.
• If two of the four lights are blinking, it is between 25% and 50% charged,
• If three of the four lights are blinking, it is between 50% and 75% charged.
• If all four of the lights are blinking, it is between 75% and 100% charged.

These lights will also come on when you check the battery by pressing the power button. If your portable charger is fully charged, four solid LED lights will show. 

2. Using your portable charger to charge another device

When using your portable charger to charge another device, you may see these same red LED lights blinking. In this case, they indicate to the user how much power is left in the portable charger. 

• If all four of the lights are blinking, it has 75% to 100% power remaining.
• If three of the four lights are blinking, it has 50% to 75% power remaining.
• If two of the four lights are blinking, it has 25% to 50% power remaining.
• If one of the four lights is blinking, it has 0% to 25% power remaining.

Be sure to keep your portable charger charged. Letting it die repeatedly can affect the battery’s ability to hold and deliver a charge.

If red lights are flashing but your power bank is not receiving a charge:

In this case, your portable charger will not stay on when unplugged from a power source. Without a charge, your portable charger will also not deliver a charge to another device. This can have several causes, including:

• Your power cable is not fully plugged in. Make sure that your power cable is fully inserted into your portable charger.
• Debris in your portable charger’s charging port. Check the charging port and make sure that it is clear of dust, lint, and dirt. 
• A defective charging cable. Sometimes charging cables can be defective or damaged in some other way. Try using a different charging cable to determine whether or not your cable is the source of the issue. 
• An inadequate power source. Laptops, for example, do not deliver enough power to charge portable charging ports and should not be used to do so.
• Your portable charger’s battery has died. Portable charger batteries have a lifespan of 300 to 1000 power cycles. This means that your portable charger can be turned off and back on 300 to 1000 times. In the case that this number is reached, your portable charger will no longer sustain a charge. Additionally, batteries can die as a result of damage caused by the user. If your portable charger is dropped, gets too hot, or gets wet, it could stop working.

If your portable charger’s battery is dead, you have a number of options. 

1. Contact the company from which you bought it and see if it is covered by a warranty. 
2. Contact the producer of your portable charger to see if they will replace your device. 
3. Take it to an electronics repair shop. Do not attempt to repair your portable charger by yourself. This can be dangerous and lead to further damage. 
4. Safely dispose of your portable charger at a designated electronics disposal center.

There are a number of reasons why your portable charger may be blinking red. In ordinary cases, this is a normal feature of the device. Sometimes, it is the result of a serious problem with your portable charger. A problem like this will require professional repair. Less serious problems can be dealt with by the user, such as replacing the power cable or cleaning the charging port.