0

I am looking for a laptop to buy and I am reading some pages about hardware and battery.
I read about lifecycles and that if I remove the battery and use it plugged, it will prevent battery from losing lifecycles.

The problem is: some laptops battery can't be removed.
If I just keep my notebook charging while I use it, will the battery still lose lifecycles?
Is there another way I can prevent battery from losing it?

3
  • Honestly, it's all marketing fluff... Batteries can ALWAYS be removed and replaced, some just take a little more work than others, but in general it is a pretty minor thing no matter what. Your battery should last 18-24 months no matter what, just replace it then regardless of these things.
    – acejavelin
    Sep 16, 2020 at 3:00
  • @acejavelin Sometimes they can be fairly major to remove, especially when they are glued in, and the phone is glued and clipped together. I'm not saying its impossible to replace, just quite a big PITA. Also, depleting a lithium battery below 5% routinely will kill it fairly quick
    – davidgo
    Sep 16, 2020 at 3:12
  • @davidgo Then maybe your buying the wrong laptop, if this is a concern for you (or the OP). It might be a PITA, but still quite doable for someone willing to be patient and do a little research even for the worst laptops, tablets and phones are a different thing though. :)
    – acejavelin
    Sep 16, 2020 at 17:05

2 Answers 2

2

The problem is: some laptops battery can't be removed. If I just keep my notebook charging while I use it, will the battery still lose lifecycles? Is there another way I can prevent battery from losing it

I have a Lenovo X230 beside me here that is always ON, charging to 80% max (and never drops below 70%). The cycle count was 450 cycles some months back and remains at 450 cycles. So cycle count largely does not increase while always plugged in. Starting from 80% shows remaining time of 2 hours unplugged. This is a 7 year old machine, second battery and design point was 3 - 4 hours when new.

On my production X1, I charge the battery to near full, use it, allow to discharge (not fully), charge, repeat. The cycle count has increased from under 350 a while back to over 400 now. So using the battery normally increases the cycle count. This battery is the second one (replace by my local shop) and is still good for about 5 hours or so of use before I need to charge it. Design point is 6 hours.

To your last question, other that the above, batteries will always wear out. No way to prevent that. Laptop batteries are mean to be used and not just left plugged in forever but you can do this without a lot of damage.

3
  • Interesting post. Your experiences match the reported specs of my phone (fastidiously kept between 74% and above 20% for 2 years). My impression though is that, while no doubt significantly improving battery life, the cycle count/wear values are lying to us and it is loosing capacity more then stated. Does this match your impressions? (I've also seen holding capacity go UP on my phone, but I don't see how this is possible) FYI, I'm using Accubattery + software to stop charging.
    – davidgo
    Sep 16, 2020 at 19:50
  • My cycle counts, from the Lenovo tool, and also resetting the battery to report well, are tolerably accurate. I think Apple engineers have worked had to keep iPhone batteries working well. Our phones (2 SE 1st generation) go pretty much all day.
    – John
    Sep 16, 2020 at 20:07
  • I was just studying Apple battery stuff. "A normal battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles when operating under normal conditions" I assume they are correct. My iPhone battery says max capacity is still 99% (68% charge just now after a day away from home in this lock down) . Our iPhones are 4 years old on the original batteries. My Lenovo X1 says (at near 100% charge just now) that I have 54 Watt Hours left whereas Design capacity is 56 Watt hours (96%)
    – John
    Sep 16, 2020 at 20:18
0

First off, any modern cellphone battery (ie lithium based) will loose capacity over time, even when disconnected. This rate of discharge can be minimized by keeping the battery cool, and storing it at about 55% charge. Realistically in these circumstances you can expect it to loos between 2 and 10% holding capacity per year.

If you want to prolong battery life, don't charge it above 80% and don't discharge it below 20%. (If you have to do 1 or the other, fully charging it is a lot less damaging then fully discharging it).

Look for a laptop with BIOS support to keep the battery charged at a user specified figure (about 65% is a good one). Most Dells have this, and many other brands as well. In theory if you can prevent heat buildup - ie good cooling - it will prolong the battery life as well.

2
  • Thanks, but you didn't answer what I asked in the title. If I use it while I charge, will the lifecycles be spent? Sep 16, 2020 at 3:28
  • Your title is a non-sequitur. You will not "spend lifecycles" while charging it if its on (the idea of lifecycles for a battery does not make sense, charge-discharge cycles are relevant, but the number depends on how you use the battery as per my answer). Using battery while using it will generate more heat. Heat is not great for a battery, so it will impact its lifespan, but the affect is very variable depending on what you are doing. Notably, just keeping your laptop floating between say 60 and 65% while you use it is probably the best thing you can do for it.
    – davidgo
    Sep 16, 2020 at 3:35

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .