Proper Maintenance of Laptop Batteries
 

i just got a new laptop, and i am reading completely conflicting reports as far as proper ways to maintain battery life.

i was under the impression that if you leave the laptop plugged in most of the time it constantly cycles, hovering the battery around 99% shortening its life. i just read that nothing matters a significant amount to even worry about it as long as the battery is fully discharged/recharged every couple of months. i'd also read that discharging your battery to 30% then charging back to 100% is best, never leaving it plugged in except to charge.

so yeah, i don't even know what to think anymore.

would leaving the computer plugged in and on for most of the day and unplugging and discharging the battery fully once a day be okay, because ideally that is how i would like to use my laptop.

this should be fine if that's what you want to do, but it should only need to be discharged about once a month

I've heard the 30% thing too.

depends on what kind of battery, right? nickel cadium vs. something somethingium. i dunno

They're all Lithium these days are they not?

i still havent gone to buy a computer!

cool. i was just mostly wondering if 'trickle' charging still exists and if running my computer on AC for like 21 hours a day would totally decimate my battery in a matter of a few months.

yeah, as far as i know pretty much everything is lithium ion, or whatevs. even power tools.

well i'm clearly living in the past, excuse me while i flip through the yellow pages to find a number to dial on my rotary phone

dial? rotary phone?

#1 - when you first get your battery, drain it and recharge it a few times, fully.
#2 - if you don't need it in to charge, unplug it.
#3 - almost every laptop maker, if your notebook is under warrantee, will send you a free battery. simply call them and tell them the battery won't hold a charge for more than 5 minutes. assure them it reads 100% and was charging over night and that you want a new battery. everyone i know who has done this has gotten a new free battery without having to send the old one back. they don't want to pay shipping on something they then have to pay to recycle.

i should've taken better care of my battery. now it dies within a half-hour of being unplugged.