Six tips on how to take care of your laptop battery
- Never allow your battery to drop to 0%
Don’t make a habit of completely emptying your battery before charging it. Allowing your battery to get below 20% is not recommended. Doing this regularly will shorten its lifespan, possibly rendering it faulty.
- Temperature & cleaning
Quite a number of people have a habit of placing their laptop on their laps or on a pillow. What this does is that it blocks the air vents, leading to the laptop heating up. In order to maintain your battery, make sure that your laptop is never heated, and its air vents remain unblocked every time you work on it. Also, the vents need to be cleaned off and on, with a can of compressed air, to keep them free of dirt and dust.
- Long periods of inactivity
If you must leave your battery unused for long periods of time, then make sure it has around 50 to 60 percent charge remaining. A depleted battery can die forever if not recharged soon enough. Generally speaking, keep using and properly charging your battery as long as you have it.
- Hot summer days
Summer is a great time of the year. However, extreme heat isn’t good for batteries and can cause them to degrade even faster. You need to make sure to keep your laptop cool. Store it indoors, avoid direct sunlight, and keep it out of hot cars during the warmest days.
- Display & power settings
Change Display and power settings to extend the life of your battery. Let Windows lend a hand. Windows can change some power settings for you automatically, so you don’t have to do it on your own. Select the Start button, and then select Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot >Power > Run the Troubleshooter.
- Battery charger
Only use a charger that is within the recommended wattage as chargers outside of the recommended wattage may cause potential damage.