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For maximum battery life, should I plug my laptop in at every opportunity, or occasionally let the battery drain?

My instinct is to plug it in whenever I get the chance, even if I'll only be at a coffee shop or something for an hour. I don't know why this is my instinct. Perhaps it's because I'm used to having an old crappy laptop with a battery that lasts 10 minutes. Then again, Perhaps my old laptops always ended up with short battery capability because I never let it drain?

Anyway, I'm operating on a fairly new laptop, and I'm wondering, to make the battery last, should I operate on AC power as much as possible, or do these things work better if you drain and refill them more frequently?

soundslikepuget asked in Tech Support 7 months ago | Report

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  • Qlandav2ex_small
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    Depends on the battery technology (chemical makeup) being used. With a fairly new laptop you must be using a Lithium-ion battery.

    In general you can recharge a Lithium-ion battery whenever you want in the battery discharge cycle without causing any problems with ability to hold a charge or the battery's depth of charge, that is there is no such thing as "memory effect".

    Here is some text from Apple that explains the versatility of this type of battery.

    Of course, what you want is to not run out of power when you are working, so in any case, be sure to have some type of battery monitor installed that gives you plenty of warning if you are running low so you can get it plugged in or save your work and close it down in time.

    If you are using some other type of battery this story will be different.

    Russ Campbell, NWEBS answered in Tech Support 7 months ago | Report
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  • Bierce1_small
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    Leave it plugged-in. Discharging and re-charging with modern notebook batteries does not affect battery life.

    Black Beetles in Amber answered in Tech Support 7 months ago | Report
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  • Zzjamesdeanbillcosby_small
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    NiCad batteries are the ones that benefit well from draining all the way down and then charging all the way up (they have charge 'memory').
    This is why you (should) tape the trigger on a Makita so the motor empties the battery and then charge it overnight or longer before using again. When you don't go fully from bottom to top, the battery starts to lose its ability to 'stretch' to that same 'range' again when recharged, and each subsequent recharged use time gets slightly shorter.

    FormerRebelTurnedParentalUnit answered in Tech Support 7 months ago | Report
    5 comments by Black Beetles in Amber, FormerRebelTurnedParentalUnit, and Black Beetles in Amber…
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