Laptop Battery Dying (78%) - Any Steps to Take?

[kyphysics]

Using Google, I've read that laptop batteries naturally die over time. Lots of factors. A big one is heat/overheating.

I never turn my laptop off, but will start. I've noticed the battery bar going down the past two months or so from 98% to now 78%.

I've taken steps to save my important files (cloud and flash drive). Beyond that, are there other things people do when their battery starts to die?

I'm preparing to just use my other laptop after this, but wondering what people do as they watch their laptop die. I did read you can still plug in your laptop w/ the dead battery, but that it'll be much slower (is that true)? I can't deal with super slow speeds, so my plan is to just throw this thing away when it dies.

 

[DaveE]

Beyond that, are there other things people do when their battery starts to die?

If you like that computer, then you should be able to just put a new battery in it (or pay a local repair place to do it for you).

I did read you can still plug in your laptop w/ the dead battery, but that it'll be much slower (is that true)?

Very unlikely. Laptops are designed to work well while they are charging a low battery, it how they are often used.

 

[anorlunda]

To extend the lifetime of your battery, never charge it more than 60%.

Your battery may be somewhat damaged already, but you can still get the most you can out of what remains.

 

[kyphysics]

To extend the lifetime of your battery, never charge it more than 60%.

Your battery may be somewhat damaged already, but you can still get the most you can out of what remains.

Yeah, after seeing it was dying, I lowered the usage level to the lowest to preserve its life. For the future, I now know to do this...previous laptops I literally just threw out before battery death, due to malware.

 

[hutchphd]

Aftermarket batteries are sometimes cheap (who knows about quality?) I just paid $13 delivered ...we shall see.

 

[kyphysics]

If you like that computer, then you should be able to just put a new battery in it (or pay a local repair place to do it for you).

Very unlikely. Laptops are designed to work well while they are charging a low battery, it how they are often used.

Thanks for the tip, DaveE.

One fear I have with taking it into someone like that is if they can "hack" my computer for information (like old financial transactions I may have done)?

re: your second sentence - Did you mean they are designed to still run on a dead battery (i.e, just plugged into a wall outlet) and still be okay to use for everyday purposes (like email, PF Forums, ...video)? ...Would they have any "significant" depletion of capabilities of just plugged into a wall (i.e., maybe cannot handle watching streaming or something like that)?

 

[hutchphd]

Battery replacement "how-to" can be typically found online. Not very complicated.

 

[DaveE]

One fear I have with taking it into someone like that is if they can "hack" my computer for information (like old financial transactions I may have done)?

Data safety is a relative thing. You are probably never 100% safe. If the CIA or KGB wants to get your data, they probably can. No one can prove that they can't. But, IMO, this is a very low risk, assuming you have taken simple measures, like passwords, to make it difficult. It takes a while to copy or even search a big hard disk, they won't want to spend the time or effort if your not a famous person. I doubt that they will need your OS password to change the battery anyway. If they do, maybe you could watch them while they reconfigure things. Honestly, your data isn't worth their time. They make their money doing repairs.

re: your second sentence - Did you mean they are designed to still run on a dead battery (i.e, just plugged into a wall outlet) and still be okay to use for everyday purposes (like email, PF Forums, ...video)? ...Would they have any "significant" depletion of capabilities of just plugged into a wall (i.e., maybe cannot handle watching streaming or something like that)?

Isn't this a repeat of your original question? It will work well when plugged into a power source. If you don't believe me, ask for other opinions.

I would actually expect it to work better when connected to a charger. Many laptops have different power configurations (which you can change) to extend short term battery life when unplugged by limiting the hardware to lower energy consumption modes, for example processor clock speed, screen brightness, etc.

A discharged battery acts very much like a failed battery. In any case, you don't have a failed battery, you have a battery that is losing capacity (OK, maybe partly failed). Yes, they are designed to run well when plugged into the charger when the battery is discharged and is being recharged. The computer hardware probably doesn't know* that the battery won't have much capacity or won't hold a charge while it's charging it.

* Maybe not true, since modern batteries have "fuel gauges", the computer may be able to ask the battery for settings or historical data. But that is a higher level of information/control than the charger needs or uses. Mostly it's only there to prevent overcharging and to show you how soon you need to plug it in.

 

[kyphysics]

Isn't this a repeat of your original question? It will work well when plugged into a power source. If you don't believe me, ask for other opinions.

No, no. Not that I didn't believe - I actually didn't understand what you were saying from your wording. Wasn't sure if you meant that's how things work as in you can still run it OR they actually do die and/or don't work as well (w/ significant decline).

Sorry, have been re:'ing "on the go" (doing bunch of other tasks atm)...so maybe not the most precise with my wording back to you. But, thanks for the answers!

 

[kyphysics]

Battery replacement "how-to" can be typically found online. Not very complicated.

Interesting. Might check it out.

IF I decided to do this, would it be a good idea to "save" some battery life before it gets to 0 to do the switch out?

 

[DaveE]

IF I decided to do this, would it be a good idea to "save" some battery life before it gets to 0 to do the switch out?

That probably doesn't matter either way.

After you change the battery, your PC may be a little confused about the battery state. A couple of cycles of full charge followed by full discharge is probably a good idea to reset things. Don't panic if the new battery seems to have lower than expected capacity for the first couple of uses.

 

[MikeeMiracle]

Batteries are a bit like mechanical devices in that they need usage in order to stay healthy. If you only allow your battery to drop down to 80% before charging it up up every time then that's 80% of the battery which will never get used and will die because of it. It's healthy to periodically run batteries down to close to 0% charge before charging them again. This applies to all rechargeable batteries.

Another factor is they can only be recharged a certain number of times. I believe the latest batteries lose 20% of their overall charge holding capacity after 300 charges. This is why it's criminal that mobile phones don't have user replaceable batteries anymore, it's built in obsolescence.

 

[Keith_McClary]

Battery University article
You would need software to optimize as they suggest.

 

[sysprog]

Another factor is they can only be recharged a certain number of times. I believe the latest batteries lose 20% of their overall charge holding capacity after 300 charges. This is why it's criminal that mobile phones don't have user replaceable batteries anymore, it's built in obsolescence.

My LG V20 has a 'user-replaceable' battery, and I have multiple spare batteries for it, and an external charger for them. I know from painstaking experience that you almost have to be a jeweler to replace the battery in a Samsung or HTC phone -- they put it right forninst (next to / up against) the screen, and you consequently have to disassemble past the motherboard to get to it.

 

[DaveC426913]

I've noticed the battery bar going down the past two months or so from 98% to now 78%.

Can you clarify?
Are you saying that, when you charge it each time, it will only charge to 78%?

I think that would be highly unusual. In my experience, a computer cannot tell that a freshly charged battery contains a less than ideal charge. It'll say 100% at first no matter how near-death a battery might be.

Granted, if unplugged, that % will drop precipitously as you use the computer, but it should say 100% to start.

 

[kyphysics]

Can you clarify?
Are you saying that, when you charge it each time, it will only charge to 78%?

I think that would be highly unusual. In my experience, a computer cannot tell that a freshly charged battery contains a less than ideal charge. It'll say 100% at first no matter how near-death a battery might be.

Granted, if unplugged, that % will drop precipitously as you use the computer, but it should say 100% to start.

Hi, Dave

The battery's charge percentage bar is gradually getting lower and lower (even though my laptop is fully plugged in and charging - even the bar says it's plugged in and charging). I am interpreting this as it's dying.

The highest it will go NOW is 76% (it's lost a couple points since my last posts). I am assuming when it gets to 0 that my battery is dead? Or, am I just off on how this works?

 

[DaveE]

Hi, Dave

The battery's charge percentage bar is gradually getting lower and lower (even though my laptop is fully plugged in and charging - even the bar says it's plugged in and charging). I am interpreting this as it's dying.

The highest it will go NOW is 76% (it's lost a couple points since my last posts). I am assuming when it gets to 0 that my battery is dead? Or, am I just off on how this works?

yes, your battery is dead, at least partially, right now. If you are going to replace it, do it now.

 

[Tom.G]

yes, your battery is dead, at least partially, right now. If you are going to replace it, do it now.

Or possibly the charger is dying.

Here a a couple sites that have some useful information.

https://itstillworks.com/test-laptop-battery-1638.html

https://www.scienceabc.com/innovati...stimate-the-state-of-charge-of-batteries.html

And of course the usual Gold Standard for all things battery:
https://batteryuniversity.com/search/article-results?q=state+of+charge+test(above found with: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en...q=how+sense+battery+state+of+charge+in+laptop)

Cheers,
Tom