How Do I Keep My Laptop Battery in Good Condition

Welcome to the latest edition of Gary’s frequently asked questions. We would like to thank Gary’s mother, Joanne, for allowing us to create a series of answers to some of the questions she has asked us for help with from our time as her company’s external IT support specialists. We’ll take it from here, thanks, Joanne.

“Well, how do I keep my laptop battery in good condition?”

As we mentioned before Joanne, keeping your laptop’s battery in good condition is very important to extend its battery life. Most modern laptop’s run on lithium-ion batteries which can run far longer than old laptop batteries. A few simple tips can keep the juice flowing longer though.

After a laptop is fully charged, you should keep the battery cool and don’t leave it plugged into the mains electricity. This can be detrimental to the battery health especially when the battery gets hot. The best way to keep your laptop battery life running longer is to perform shallow discharges, meaning drain the battery to about 50% before your next charge cycle and repeat this as you use the laptop.

It is also recommended that you turn on your laptop’s power-saving mode when it is not in heavy use such as when you are working on documents or reading emails.  You can access this feature on most laptops by right-clicking the battery icon and selecting ‘power saving’ options. Of course, you can also turn the screen brightness down to help save power and give your eyes a bit of a rest too.

Once a month, most laptop manufacturers also recommend completely discharging the battery to 0% before initiating a full charge as this will reset the ‘smart battery’ feature that tells you how long is remaining before you need to plug-in. If you follow these tips, you’re bound to have a battery that lasts that little bit longer.

“Thanks. So, do you think you can help my son Gary find out why his office computers are running slow?”

Of course, Joanne. That’s what we’re here for. However, that sounds like another GFAQ in the making. We’ll answer this question (and many more, we’re sure…) next time.

In the meantime, if you or your IT department are looking for assistance with your IT services, consider giving us a call like Joanne and outsourcing to one of our experienced IT consultants. We can even be your IT department if you don’t have one. External or on-site, find out what AAG-IT can do for your IT services today on 0114 352 0688.