Laptop battery longevity

[Poppy]

My desktop crashed and so I bought a notebook/laptop.

Since I got it a couple of weeks ago, I haven't moved it away from my desk, so I can plug it into and out of power at will. I try not to charge it fully, but sometimes I slip. I generally try to keep it between 65 - 85% charged. When I am actually using it, I'll usually plug it in, so that the battery isn't being drained, where it will have to use up a portion of its charging cycles.

Is there a better strategy?

 

[woodsmith]

My last laptop had both a removable battery as well as software that allowed me to set a limit on capacity. I would set it to charge up to about 60% and then I'd pop out the battery and keep it in my bag instead of in the machine. An always plugged in laptop is about the worst place in the world for a battery (hot and fully charged). I was pleased to think that due to my diligence the battery would last me five years or more, but then about 30 months into my ownership the main board burned up and I couldn't find a replacement. Thus ended my caring.

Any way, I assume yours is not removable as it doesn't seem like many (any?) are any more. You could try to find aftermarket battery management software that will do that for you? Mine came pre-installed so I've never looked.

Your new computer may serve you well for 6-8 years without any effort on your part, or it may die young for any of 100 reasons, battery or otherwise, and likely won't be worth repairing if even possible. I would just use it and not worry too much. I'm thinking of buying a Framework laptop next to see if I can get a longer life out of it (ok, I guess I still care). Good luck!

 

[Poppy]

woodsmith,
thanks for your response, it made me both laugh and cry.

I guess 6-8 years would be a good run.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Hi Poppy,

Like any Li-Ion battery, try not to leave it at 100% for a year and don't often discharge it down to near zero.

Most 'BMS--battery management systems' don't allow us to go to zero, even if the display says we're at zero, but that's not etched in stone.

I try and not let my iPhone XS Max go below 20% on the display and I try not to charge up past 90%, but since I'm a sinnner, that's not absolute; however, it's mostly the case.

80%>20% for the duration, is probably a good sweet spot for battery pack longevity, but I'm only an English Lit./Comm. major.

Chris

 

[3_gun]

Charge to about 80% & take it out if it will/can run w/o it. My IBM t43 XP(1.8 intel single core w/256mb vid, 4g ram & 40g hd) still runs for over 2 hrs on an 6+ year old battery. I'm done before it is so it's all good

 

[Poppy]

Hi Chris!
Thanks for responding. You pay more attention to batteries than I, so I appreciate your input for sure.

I try to keep my cell phone at about 80%. Since I am at home or in my car most of my life, I plug it in or not depending. It is just over three years old. I don't know if it drains faster than it used to.

My thought has been to keep it on external power when it is intensively using power, and that would put less stress on the battery. Do you have thoughts on that?

Charge to about 80% & take it out if it will/can run w/o it. My IBM t43 XP(1.8 intel single core w/256mb vid, 4g ram & 40g hd) still runs for over 2 hrs on an 6+ year old battery. I'm done before it is so it's all good

I don't understand... "take it out" do you mean remove the battery?
If so, my laptop is not designed to make a battery swap easy. IE it is not easily removeable.

 

[3_gun]

If the battery is not removable I'd keep it unplugged when not being charged & use it on battery power or battery+cord if needed while charging. Check the Mfgr web site/manual to see if they have a suggested "best practice" range for best battery life.

 

[hamhanded]

I have a feeling repeatedly discharging and charging between 65-85% while you're at your desk is worse than letting it sit at 100% if those are your only two options. I use Al Dente for Mac to keep the charge sitting at 60% since I'm at my desk most of the time. If I know I'm heading out somewhere, I'll top it up to 100% before leaving.

 

[Poppy]

I have a feeling repeatedly discharging and charging between 65-85% while you're at your desk is worse than letting it sit at 100% if those are your only two options. I use Al Dente for Mac to keep the charge sitting at 60% since I'm at my desk most of the time. If I know I'm heading out somewhere, I'll top it up to 100% before leaving.

I *think* battery university would disagree with your "feeling." I do however agree with keeping your charge at a lower than 100% level unless there is an anticipated need for more. I choose 80% because I am a bit of a prepper, but not full blown.

If you come across something that supports your feeling, please post it. I'd really like to know.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I'm another person who tries to keep his phone between 35 and 85 percent charge rate but have on occasion charged it up full and discharged it into the teens while on a video chat.
Lithium ion batteries tend to age better when not fully charged and not fully dicharged unlike nicads. There is nothing wrong with discharging it below 60 percent at all but it can be hard to discharge it too far too often and leaving it discharged almost fully isn't very good either. Topping it off when you think you will need full charge is not a problem even though it likely will reduce battery life a little it is what it is designed for. Typically when charging lithium ion batteries when they near end of charge the temp rises dramatically which can be hard on them but todays smarter chargers tend to ramp down charging rates the closer they get to full charge minimizing damage from heat.
Some items are hard to not fully charge them as they often have indicator LEDs that if 4 LEDs you don't know if it is only 75% when the fourth blinks/lights up or if not caught right away I have several power banks and bluetooth speakers that even though it likely reduces battery life I always charge them up fully when either I'm going to need them away from home or discharge them deep enough.

 

[hamhanded]

If you come across something that supports your feeling, please post it. I'd really like to know.

I probably should have been more specific about what I meant by "worse". Each manufacturer's warranty is different, but Apple will replace the battery within 1 year if its capacity drops below 80% capacity in less than 500 cycles. Charging and discharging when you don't really need to will add to those charge cycles a bit faster, for what it's worth.

Also, from the documentation of Al Dente (the battery management software I'm using):

Since it is theoretically healthier for the battery to be charged 10% once instead of 1% 10 times, we have included the Sailing Mode feature.

Feature Explanation: Sailing Mode

Maximize your MacBook's battery health with AlDente Pro's innovative Sailing Mode. Learn how to prevent unnecessary cycling with our guide.

apphousekitchen.com

That's all I've got. If you don't have software automation and Battery University suggests cycling your battery while at your desk is better than letting it sit, I'm inclined to believe it, but I don't quite have the discipline for that.

 

[Poppy]

I don't really know what the answer is. It is generally known that keeping it at 100% is not healthy. BU states that a battery's life cycle is X number of recharges, and that 10 times 10% recharges is the same as 1 times 100% recharge. My thought is to keep it below 100% while keeping it with enough charge to be functional with sufficient capacity should I unexpectedly need to leave town with it.

 

[nbp]

My Lenovo machines have what is called "conservation mode". When you toggle that on, it keeps the laptop at 60% charge when plugged in. Since both of them spend basically their whole life plugged in, I have that toggled on to extend the battery life so that it is as good as it could be for their age if/when I have to unplug it.

As for my phone I usually charge to 80-90% in the evening and plug it in at the end of the day which is generally about 30% minimum. I only charge to 100% when I think I will have need for it. The iphone 11 has a large battery so I usually don't need the full charge every day anyways. I have had the phone for two years and the battery health meter in the settings still indicates 93% capacity so I would say that my methods are working fairly well for me. I have not had any Android phones but I assume most of the phone batteries are much the same.

I have two ipads, one old original Air I bought in 2013, and also a 4th Gen Air which I just got in August. The 8 year old iPad still will provide several hours of usage even after all this time. That one I usually charged fully but it was several days in between charges so it spent most of it's life at less than 100% charge as well.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

In the past, teacher's Apple computers at work had battery swelling failures because they left units plugged in all the time. Tech was telling them to turn off completely every night, but for me, success has been to stop charge after reaching 80% and begin charge at ~20%, adjusting on anticipated use. Maybe every couple weeks it gets turned off completely, otherwise it sleeps when not used. It is only plugged in for an hour per day or so under typical use.

Seems like a good idea to not charge a depleted battery while using the computer for heavy demands; video and such. Leaving a computer in a hot car for an extended time seems ill advised. Hopefully recent manufacture computers have more evolved systems to preserve the batteries. The idea of the battery being kept near 50% sounds appealing.
Anyone who has a way to get the iPhone to stop charging at 80%, I would be obliged...

 

[RCS1300]

Use your battery, enjoy your laptop. Your battery will begin to have less capacity in year 3 and you will likely want to replace it in year 4 or 5 when it will hold a charge for about half the original time. Nothing you can do to get around it. Rechargeable batteries have a limited life.

 

[hamhanded]

It could be worse. We could be running our laptops on CR123 primaries.