Which method provides longer battery life in laptops?

christy4290

Member
Hi All,
I am using a laptop for the past 6 years. But I always try to use it in unplugged mode unless there is an emergency work. Recently my friend told me that plugged use of laptop is better for the battery. I always thought that the aforesaid procedure will charge and discharge the battery at the same time. Please advise on which one is good for the battery.
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Your battery will have longer life if you do a full charge then unplug it, use it until it reaches 10 to 15 percent and then charge it up again. If you can physically remove the battery then it's OK to keep it plugged in all the time. I've seen way too many batteries go bad by keeping it plugged in all the time.
 

beers

Moderator
Staff member
I've left some plugged in for months/years without any additional wear on the battery. Consider that it's a regulated charging circuit.

Usually charge cycles shorten the life, also constantly being at minimum charge tends to accelerate wear on the cells.

The charging brick should be enough to operate the laptop at full bore without having to dip into the battery.
 

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
Batteries going bad for being left plugged in all the time is borderline a myth anymore. They've had built in protection for this for 2 decades at least. Now it might not read very accurately when you do unplug it and use it, but you're not actually hurting the battery since it just runs off the plugged in power and doesn't touch the battery at all.

I would suggest doing a full drain and recharge cycle once every 6 months if not more frequently, though, just to keep it accurate.

Actively charging it, running till drain, then charging it again, will wear it down much faster than leaving it plugged in constantly.
 
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