Laptop batteries

Our technicians use the following diagnostic software for the assessment of batteries. They allow for the assessment of batteries that have been stored away for a long time. The results for batteries, that have been stored correctly: fully charged, in a dry place and not connected, can be quit surprising. Oftentimes they suffered no loss of quality. With the Tool BatteryMon you can, among other things, see how quickly your battery is being charged and how long this charge will last:

BatteryMon
AIDA64

New batteries are usually shipped partially charged and should be fully charged before the first usage.

More information in the FAQ: "What do I have to consider with a new battery?"

Batteries cannot be disposed of like normal waste, because they contain substances like mercury and lead. They have to be returned at the appropriate place for example in a store or a municipal collection point.

When calibrating the battery, you first fully charge it, then fully discharge it, and finally charge it again. While discharging the battery, ensure that your notebook does not attempt to save energy as much as possible or go into sleep mode, as this will make the process of discharging the battery take a very long time. Calibrating corrects an inaccurate battery status display in Windows.

Please follow these steps on Windows 10 / 11:

1. Change the power plan for discharging: Open "Edit Power Plan" via Windows Search. Under "Turn off the display," select "Never." For "Put the computer to sleep," also choose "Never" to ensure the computer continues running even when inactive. Click on "Change advanced power settings."
2. Fully charge the battery: Charge the battery completely and keep the power adapter plugged in until the battery has cooled down (about 2 hours).
3. Let the battery fully discharge: Disconnect the power cable and let the notebook run until it automatically shuts down according to the power plan. The notebook can be used normally during this time.
4. Recharge: Plug the power cable in again and charge the battery fully. The notebook can be used normally during this process.
5. Change the power plan for regular use: Restore the power settings to their previous state.

After completing the charging process, Windows will be calibrated to the available capacity. These steps ensure an accurate battery capacity display and optimize your notebook's performance. Note that the exact menu titles may vary depending on the notebook model and Windows version. If the charge indicator is still inaccurate, please continue to use the battery normally. The charge display should improve after 2-3 additional charge cycles.

If the battery from your laptop is causing problems, a battery reset can help.

To do this, first disconnect the AC adapter from the device and turn it off. Then you will find the "battery reset pinhole" on the back. Use a paper clip to press the hidden button for about 4 seconds. To ensure an undistorted result, leave the device without power for about 5 minutes. Now you have successfully reset the battery of your laptop.

• If you mainly use your laptop while it’s connected to mains, you should remove your battery and only charge it every one to two months.
• Don’t fully discharge your battery, because this can lead to a depth discharge. Charge the battery again, when between five and seven percent of charge remain.
• If possible charge your battery while the notebook is turned off. The optimal temperature for batteries is between 10 and 30°C, this range is usually exceeded in a powered-on notebook.
• If you have multiple batteries for your device, rotate between them.
• After being uncharged for a while, the battery needs about two to three complete charge cycles to reach its full capacity again.
• Avoid high temperatures for example due to direct sunlight or being left in a hot car. High temperatures increase the self-discharging rate.
• Rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries, which are found in nearly all modern electronics, have a limit of somewhere between 500 to 1000 charge cycles. However, turning your laptop on and off while plugged in is one charge cycle. This is why we recommend removing the battery when using the device plugged in for a longer time.
• Furthermore, it would be optimal to never fully charge or discharge your battery, but rather to keep it between 20% 80% charge.

Some manufacturers integrate a battery protection function in their notebooks. This function only allows charging up to 80% capacity to prolong he lifespan of the battery.

The so-called memory-effect of a Lithium-Ion battery can be disregarded in normal use, a complete charge after a complete discharge is not needed.

On the contrary for many modern devices the opposite is true, it is best to keep the charge between 20% and 80%. This is due to the sensitivity of Lithium-Ion batteries to depth discharge and overcharge. However, in most devices control electronics prevent the user from making any grave mistakes. For example, Apple implements a function which charges the battery as fast as possible up to 80% but charging slows down a lot after that. This conserves the lifespan of the battery at the cost of charge time.

One thing that should be avoided though is leaving your device plugged in for many days in a row. The battery should be discharged once in a while to move the ions inside.

• Usually a complete charge takes between 30% and 50% longer than a complete discharge.
• Of course, the charge time depends on the capacity of the battery. A 2200mAh battery takes only half as long as a 4800mAh battery to charge.
• With a 2200mAh or 2400mAh battery this would result in about 2 to 4 hours.
• There are also high-performance batteries with up to 9000mAh of capacity, that can take up to 7 hours to charge.

This is a question, that is hard to answer, because it depends on a lot of different factors such as CPU, Display, GPU. Usually a 15.6" notebook consumes about 20W when using the battery. A 17" unit can also use a bit more.

With these 20W a 60Wh battery would last for 3 hours. t = W/P = 60Wh/20W

The energy stored in the battery can be calculated as follows:

W = U * i* t for a 6-cell battery with 4400 mAh this would be 11.1V * 4.4Ah = 48,4 Wh

With the 20W of power consumption this battery would last about 2.5 hours.

If you wish to conserve battery life, the following tips might help you:

• Use the energy saving function in Windows found in the system controls und the power options
• Reduce the brightness of your screen since it consumes most of the power in a laptop.
• Turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth when it is not needed.
• Disconnect external devices like hard drives when not in use.
• Deactivated unnecessary tools or programs, that are running in the background.

The life span of a Lithium-Ion or Polymer battery varies depending on usage between 500 to 1000 charge cycles (one and three years).

• How do I take care of and charge my battery correctly?

A depth discharge usually damages the cells of a battery and, depending on the electronics used in the battery it cannot be recharged afterwards. Before a long period of not using the battery it should therefore be fully charged to avoid a depth discharge.

Basically, a slight wear of up to 5% is normal. The battery actually wears out from the first charge, but it is only considered worn when it has less than 80% of its initial capacity. With most installed laptop batteries, this happens after at least 500 charging cycles. If the battery capacity is no longer at 100%, this is no reason to worry - on the contrary: it is completely normal, because after just a few charging cycles the first percent disappears until after a while the battery capacity is usually between 80-90%. settles down.

The Battery Life Cycle Extension Function prevents the battery from being charged more than 80%, this should extend the lifespan of the battery. This function can be turned on or off in the BIOS.

In this video, we show you the three most common causes and how to quickly identify them!