Thursday, May 12, 2016

Tips To Extend Laptop Battery Life//Quick tips to improve laptop battery life

Laptop battery life plays an important role apart from hardware configuration when buying a new laptop, because laptop or notebook means portability and most of the time your laptop/notebook will have to run on battery. Even if you have a solid laptop specs, a bad laptop battery life will be considered as poor product and often disappoints users.
Every user desires the best laptop battery life but most of the laptop battery begin to die after an year or two until one day you will notice that you laptop backup lasts only for a few minutes and thats the indication to the end of the laptop battery life. So whats an average laptop battery life?, well it depends on a lot of factors like  hardware configuration, usage, battery care, operating environment, charge-discharge cycles etc.
Average laptop battery life!





Typically a laptop battery lasts for about two years until dead if you use your laptop regularly. As i said above the laptop battery life depends on a lot of factors so you can’t expect the same from every laptop. But to get the maximum benefits from your laptop battery you need to take good care of your laptop and follow some of the basic tips to ensure you get an extended laptop battery life.
Before you blame your laptop for low battery life, here are some facts you should know.
Reasons of a poor laptop battery life.





  • Constant charging on power adapter.
  • Using laptop in a too hot environment.
  • Not using your laptop for months.
  • Leaving the battery completely discharged.
  • Using Standby Mode for more than 2 hrs.
  • High LCD screen brightness.

How to extend your laptop battery life?






1.  Keep it away from heat -A heating laptop/notebook is not good for laptop battery life, always try to keep your laptop cool keet it away from hot places like near window under sun, leaving your laptop in a heating car or a mistakenly running laptop inside a bag.
2.  For older laptops – Older laptops suffered with memory effect which lead to reduced laptop battery life. If you have an old laptop that does not have a Li-Ion battery then you need to make sure that the laptop battery is completely charged and then discharged completely at least once in a month. Newer laptops come with Li-Ion battery which doesnt require such procedure.
3.  Don’t Leave Battery Idle – If you usually run your laptop on power adapter then do not let the battery in a charged state all the time, give a workout to your battery often, use the laptop on battery at least once every two or three weeks and most importantly do not let the Li-Ion battery on newer laptops completely discharge ever, as this will degrade your laptop battery life and will cause a small percentage of permanent wear to your battery charging capacity.
4.  Running laptop on power adapter If you plan to run the laptop for long hours anytime, it is suggested to remove the battery temporarily and run the laptop directly on power adapter. This might be possible only for those who have a power backup at home or office, since it may lead to data loss on power cut. Most of the laptops can be used directly on power adapter without battery but if your laptop is heating up then you have no option but to use it with battery.
5.  Storing Laptop battery – If the laptop will not be used for some time then you should plug out the battery from laptop after charging at least half and then store it in a cool dry place but make sure to use and charge the battery at least once a month, this will ensure your laptop battery life is intact. Do not let it die in the closet forever.
6.  Use the right laptop power adapter – Charging and running your laptop using a wrong power adapter is dangerous, it will not only cause serious damage your laptop battery life but can also permanently damage your laptop hardware. So never use a charger from someone else’s laptop. Only use the original charger or an aftermarket charger with absolutely same specifications.
7.  Plug off external devices – To ensure an extended laptop battery life you should avoid using external usb devices when running on battery. The external devices like Mouse, external drive, iPhone or iPod consume your battery a little faster and hence will reduce the battery backup.
8.  Using Hibernate Mode – Avoid using shutdown mode on laptops and notebooks, turning on the laptop again will drain your laptop battery until you see the desktop screen. As far as standby mode is concerned, use it only for short breaks while its best to hibernate the laptop when you are away for a while. Hibernation saves your last computer state on the HDD and restores it instantly consuming minimal battery when you resume your work again.
9.  Select the Power Saving plan – If you want more battery backup and can compromise a little on performance then you can use the Power Saver profile on Windows 7. Open Start Menu > Control Panel > Power options > select Power Saver profile. You can advance customize the profile clicking “change plan settings”.
       10.  Reduce LCD screen brightness – Did you know that the laptop display screen consumes the most of your battery? Try to use a lower brightness level on laptop screen to get the maximum battery backup.
Quick tips to improve laptop battery life and get a better backup
  • Disable Wi-Fi & Bluetooth on laptop when not in use.
  • Don’t leave a DVD or a CD in the drive. Take it out when the work is complete.
  • Make sure nothing is obstructing the air ventilation exhaust, a cool laptop will ensure a better laptop battery life. Avoid placing you laptop on places like bed, couch etc. Remember heating up will reduce your laptop battery life.
  • Use batter bar laptop battery meter or the battery matter to keep a check on battery stats.
  • If you have long working hours and excessively use your laptop or notebook then consider replacing your current laptop battery with a one with a larger capacity.
  • De-fragment your hard drive occasionally.
I think no one can be so conscious that they could follow all the steps explained above to get the best laptop battery life, but even if you follow half of tips explained above then you should be able to extend your laptop battery life more than expected. If you still have any queries regarding your laptop battery life don’t hesitate to comment below.