Bottom-Right corner in the system tray, all those small icons next to the time/date is the battery charge icon. You can also adjust the power settings by here:So how do you see the battery charge on a laptop?
As I said, it came with no manual. Really have no interest in the thing and no desire to look it up online.
Easier to ask here.
How long should a laptop battery last-turned off and no use?
- Thread starter Jdeere562
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JHZR2
Staff member
Batteries self-discharge. There will be a higher drain on a laptop if you put it to sleep vs shut it down.
Three weeks is short. It should be months if it was put away more than 50% charged. If that’s the case, I’d look at if the computer has an issue with its power management or wake controls, and is somehow doing something in the background. I know my Mac computers can sit for months.
But overall, a Li-ion battery will self-discharge slowly. It is, as @wwillson said, better to avoid fully charging them often, due to materials stresses and electrolyte oxidation/breakdown. Some applications don’t have a choice, but if you do, avoid fully charging often. Once in a while is indeed helpful because it lets a management system balance the cells.
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My Asus gives me the option to cap charging at 80 percent. This is nice, allows me to leave it plugged in and not worry about being tapped out at 100% all the time. Lithium ion battery life worries are a bit overblown though. They're not your dad's NiCads.
I avoid storing li-ion at 100% for more than a day, but don't hesitate to charge to 100% if the run time is needed.
Some batteries need to be charged to 100% to (let the BMS) balance the series cells, a few times a year.
Another source on li-ion batt life:
https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-808-how-to-prolong-lithium-based-batteries
Some batteries need to be charged to 100% to (let the BMS) balance the series cells, a few times a year.
Another source on li-ion batt life:
https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-808-how-to-prolong-lithium-based-batteries
I guess it depends on who you ask. I would rather get 6 years out of an iPhone battery than 3 years. Careful charging can get you much more useful life from Lithium Ion batteries.
As with many things in life, including the topics discussed here, there is a gap between theoretical best practices, and pragmatic practical needs, that is reconciled as part of a personal choice.
Those with hobbies that involve the use of bare lithium cells, with no management systems or protective measures beyond what the user manually undertakes themselves, will agree that cells with such chemistries can benefit from avoiding the extremes in the SoC (80/20 rule), not charging them at a rate any higher than necessary, and maintaining their overall health by adhering to the "good," or "smart" practices.
The artificial, conservative upper charge limits aren't programmed into the BMS' software for no purpose, in either EVs, or your portable devices, but to enhance (though not guarantee) durability, and the lower charge limits (0% isn't really 'dead') are there for safety, to prevent real damage that increases the risk of unpleasant consequences. There is real science behind those practices, even if they are mostly passed around by word of mouth, passive acceptance, and the occasional research paper.
Like here, there are also those who take those practices to OCD-level heights, but in real life sacrifice a lot of practical utility for not much real benefit, except perhaps peace of mind.
Most people would not be willing to sacrifice 40% of a battery's capacity in the hopes that their device, or whatever, might last a little longer; they want to use their device to its full practical potential, don't care to know about the science, and will suffer no penalities because those devices will be replaced on a regular schedule anyway, and the rate of the battery's life consumption, even if higher than the expected norm, is irrelevant.
I keep the cells in my flashlights at full 100% charge for readiness, and maximum duty when called upon. But even if they do suffer premature deaths, it will be of little concern, because I can replace them for a few dollars each. But I would not treat my laptop, if I owned one, in the same fashion. Use cases are also part of the consideration.
In short, it's valid advice to heed, but at what practical sacrifice, and what actual benefit is hard to determine, and prove. OTOH, if such steps are easy to practice, like in the OP's use case, it wouldn't be a bad idea either. But there are no guarantees.
Doctors say a healthy diet and exercise will help one live longer. But people die young anyway, and those who subsist on poor diets and don't exercise do lead long lives as well. Live it as you please.
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I think it lasts very long--I still have one from 2015 that has both external and internal. I had gotten a battery warning as early as 2016 so Lenovo shipped me a new one. But then the warning went away and I still have the originals.
Nowadays it's a consideration since batteries don't pop out and are internal. But I think they last many years.
Nowadays it's a consideration since batteries don't pop out and are internal. But I think they last many years.
My laptop I kept plugged in all the time. Battery lasted about 3 years, I just replaced it and it would no longer charge to 100%. Probably bad before that but I never ran it on the battery.
Got a new one for $25 and easy to install. This one I put on a timer so it hits 100% in the morning when I first start to use it then is under 90% max dips to 30% for the lowest for the rest of the day and night. Still tweaking that.
Got a new one for $25 and easy to install. This one I put on a timer so it hits 100% in the morning when I first start to use it then is under 90% max dips to 30% for the lowest for the rest of the day and night. Still tweaking that.
For Windows laptops, if you want to know the health of your battery, open a cmd prompt and type: powercfg/batteryreport
It will tell you the path where a comprehensive report has been saved. click on the file to open it and will tell you amongst lots of other info, the current capacity vs it's design capacity and you will be able to see if the capacity has deteriorated over time.
It will tell you the path where a comprehensive report has been saved. click on the file to open it and will tell you amongst lots of other info, the current capacity vs it's design capacity and you will be able to see if the capacity has deteriorated over time.
When I worked as an IT network manager for a school we had 100 laptops for the teachers. I used to explain how to achieve the best battery life but it was a waste of time, they just left them plugged in the whole time and the batteries would fail long before the useful life of the laptop was up. The advent of programmable battery charging changed all that. With maximum charge set at 60% they would effectively last forever with near new capacity. Even setting them at 80% would more than double the battery life. Programmable battery charging is a game changer for lithium ion batteries.
I agree with the comment that charging to 100% is ok on the rare occasions when you need maximum battery life. It's exactly what you would do if you owned an electric car, charge it to 100% for the longer trips that needed max. capacity but routinely only charge to 80% for shorter trips.
That was probably the most professional and well worded response I have ever seen on here! Thank you for your reply and BRAVO!
