This is how you can find out how long your laptop battery can last – PCW

One of the most important factors when purchasing a laptop is how long it can last on a single charge. Manufacturers like to exaggerate here, the values ​​​​they indicate are usually ideal data measured in laboratory conditions, which you may never try. In real use, users install countless programs, do not pay attention to the ideal backlight level at all times, do not stop all processes running in the background, and do not open unnecessary browser tabs.

In addition, the devices also do not work in ideal conditions: the ambient temperature is different, there are several switches to sleep mode, Bluetooth is turned on but not used, etc. The biggest problem is that batteries lose capacity over time, and this manifests itself in a significantly shorter operating time. We'll show you how to check the status of your laptop battery and whether there's any hope of getting it back to its prime operating time.

Poll

If your laptop's uptime has dropped significantly, you can only use your device for 4-5 hours after charging it once instead of 7-8 hours, or even less, then you should suspect a software or hardware issue. Whatever the case may be, the first step is to find out the cause of the error. To do this, immediately get a hardware monitoring software, which is a software that specifically checks the battery of computers. the NirSoft BatteryInfoView Its application is very simple, and its creator does not care about appearances, but you can find all the most important information here.

At the moment, it doesn't matter what type of battery and its manufacturer, go directly to Battery Health: it will tell you how much your battery is draining. At 60-70%, this could mean cutting the runtime in half, but many people recommend replacing it when it reaches 85%. The calculation is relatively simple: the software compares the maximum nominal capacity with the relative value of 100% that enables the device to charge the battery. If your laptop supports this, you can also see the battery temperature and how often it has been charged or discharged. The latter does not cover reality in all cases, but it can be useful data.

If you find a value above 90% here, but the operating time is suspiciously short, you should use the built-in power supply in Windows 11. Chassis/system/power supply and battery tab, in addition to charging, you can also set sleep mode and screen off timer, as well as change the power usage profile. It is worth clicking on the Power Recommendations option, by reviewing the settings here, you can significantly increase the operating time of your device.

Perhaps the most useful part of this settings panel is the breakdown of battery usage for specific apps. Here it is immediately clear what program has burdened the battery in the last 24 or 168 hours and thus reduces the operating time. If you find an unknown program here in the top menu, we recommend that you investigate the programs further: it could be a stuck utility or even malware hiding on your computer. If the browser is dominant, try reducing the number of open pages.

The battery is dead

If, according to the inspection, your laptop battery is nearing its end, it should be replaced. In the professional service, they will do it for you for 20-40 thousand HUF (provided that your laptop is not under warranty), moreover, if you decide to do it, it would not hurt to ask for a thorough cleaning and re-gluing as an extra.

If you feel you can do the job yourself, find out the exact type of your device and battery, then order it from an online spare parts store. Before disassembling, you should also take a look at YouTube, there is a high probability that you will find a video that shows exactly how to disassemble your device.