How to make sure your laptop battery lasts long

I have a question, is it good to leave the battery charger connected and still charging to laptop even though it has 100% battery life.

pizzapieguy said:

I have a question, is it good to leave the battery charger connected and still charging to laptop even though it has 100% battery life.

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If the battery is fully charged and you don't plan to use it anytime soon. I would suggest removing it as long as it doesn't pose a hassle to do so.

The reason being; heat is the enemy of the battery. The less exposure to it, the happier it will be. On the other hand, you could buy a laptop cooler and feel worry free. They will blow air under the laptop to help keep it cooler.

Anyone have any other suggestions?

I do have a question about trying to revitalize what appears to be a dead battery. I have this one battery that won't charge up. I read that putting it in the freezer over night could fix it. It's a Li-on type. Think it'll work? If not, you know what might?

Thanks in advance.

Good thread. I didn't know it was recommended to remove the battery if you plan on keeping it plugged in. I never move my laptop and it always sits on my chill mat plugged in and 100%. So just take it out at 100% and power it through the ac or should I discharge it first?

Please note that modding Li-ion battery packs is risky. Li-ion battery cells can EXPLODE or catch fire if overcharged or mistreated!

That makes them alot more dangerous than NiCd or NiMH batteries.

Bjm2587 said:

Good thread. I didn't know it was recommended to remove the battery if you plan on keeping it plugged in. I never move my laptop and it always sits on my chill mat plugged in and 100%. So just take it out at 100% and power it through the ac or should I discharge it first?

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I would take the battery out after it was fully charged until you needed it. Just don't leave it out for longer than a month without use. It's a good idea to use the battery up and recharge it at least each month. Keeps it in condition.

If it's on a cooler/chill matt, it should be fine to leave in all the time. But I would still use up the battery and recharge each month.

Oh man, you're not supposed to let the battery drain all the way every time these days? At least I know this now!

Switch to an LED screen, improves battery life by a ton!

great thread guys, i'm considering my 1st lappy, so this was helpful

Maybe I ask what constitute as a "charge cycle"? If I charge til 80%, use it on battery down to 79%, charge it back up to 80% again, is it charge cycle? Obviously I am not doing that... just wanted to get some answers here. Right now I am still really confused in what to do to keep my battery healthy.

Which one should I be doing, given the choices:
1. charge til 80%, unplug, use til 20%, charge back up to 80%, repeat
2. charge til 80%, leave plugged but not charging (it actually says "plugged in, not charging" in Windows)

I am thinking 2 is probably the right choice, but I also don't know if Microsoft is lying to me or not... and it'll be too late when I find out if it is.

Also, if I leave my laptop unplugged for a day, and it loses 1% charge while powered off and I plug it back in when I use it to get it back up to 80%, that's a charge cycle? (only get 400-500 of these according to OP)

Advice? Excuse my noobness on batteries....

Wow so much info to take in... perhaps Too Smart, if you're willing, can you do a summary and update your first post? in order of most important to least important? Or if anyone else is up to the challenge!?