One of the biggest restrictions of laptops is the battery life. The more powerful a laptop is, the more power it consumes, and the more power it consumes, the faster your battery life drains away. If you want to stop this cycle and ensure your laptop lasts as long as possible, then read through some of our following tips:
Use the optimum charging procedure for your laptop: Depending on which type of battery your laptop uses, you may need to follow a certain charging procedure. A lithium ion battery, for example, should be charged fully immediately after purchasing the laptop. While some electronics come fully charged right out of the box, others don’t. Contrary to popular belief, you cannot “overcharge” your laptop. However, when using your laptop for the first time, allow the battery to completely drain out before recharging it completely. Try to do this roughly every 30 charges.
Don’t leave your laptop in a hot environment: Lithium ion batteries degrade over time. While your laptop may once have been able to hold a charge for 6 hours, two years later you may be lucky to have it last for half of that time. This is due to the fluid within the batteries, which is susceptible to changes in temperature. At room temperature, the battery degrades at a normal pace, but if you leave your laptop near a heat source, or allow it to heat up while sitting on your lap, then that fluid degrades at a higher than usual rate, which means that your laptop won’t be able to charge the same way.
Change your laptop’s power settings: Every laptop has a power settings menu. On some laptops, you can access this menu by hitting the function keys along the top of your keyboard (look for a logo that looks like a PC power button). If you can’t find the key, don’t worry: it should be accessible from within Windows itself. In Windows XP, check under your system’s Control Panel, while in later versions of Windows, these settings can be found by simply typing ‘power’ into the search bar. Make sure these settings are customized to your needs. You may want to reduce the time it takes for your PC to go into sleep mode after a period of inactivity, for example.
By following these three tips, you will be able to protect the lithium ion battery inside your laptop and ensure that it lasts for as long as possible on each and every charge.