If you are a laptop user, you will agree that one of the downsides to having a laptop is its short battery life.
The laptop comes in different brands and models, but they all have one thing in common: shorter battery life than desktop computers. This means you won’t be able to use your laptop for an extended period without being plugged into an external power source.
The age-long explanation for this sad reality has always been “well, it depends on how much time the manufacturer has left for this model,” due to the upgrade cycle set by technology companies that come out with new models every 6 months or so, while the other factor would be the kind of applications used by users nowadays.
According to many experts and product manufacturers, some tips and tricks can help you increase laptop battery life by up to 50% (the sky is the limit) if done correctly.
You need to know what drains your laptop’s power or battery to achieve this goal. Since every laptop model comes with different specifications, it’ll be difficult to mention each one here. But I will mention some guidelines on how you can figure out which elements eat up your laptop’s power.
Here are some suggestions on how to maximize your battery life:
1. Use Battery Saver Mode
If you’re doing simple word processing, surfing the Internet, or checking email, your computer’s default power mode will work just fine and last between 3 and 5 hours before needing a recharge.
However, if you want better battery life, especially gaming, use the “Power Saver” mode. This mode puts less stress on the machine’s graphics card and CPU by reducing their performance (CPU throttling) while also dimming the screen more than normal (LCD dynamic throttling).
2. Use Apps That Analyze Battery Health
This is a newer development in maximizing laptop battery life and makes use of smartphone technology to monitor how the battery is performing over time and warns users when there may be problems with it.
For example, one such app called Battery Life Pro will tell you not only your current battery power level but also give you an idea of how much juice you have remaining. It depends on the percentage of charge is required for certain tasks like watching videos or listening to music should require more battery than other things like word processing. Plus, it’s free.
3. Disable Unused Devices And Ports
Gadgets that are not being used should be turned off to save battery life. Things like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cameras, and other computer ports that you don’t use to connect external devices but keep on “just in case” contribute to the total drain on your laptop’s power source.
The unnecessary devices plugged into your laptop can sometimes cause a drop in battery life. These include CD-ROMs, DVD/CD-RW drives, and USB speakers or headsets. Some of these may be required for work purposes, but it is still recommended that you unplug them when not being used to save some juice from your battery.
Printers and webcams are usually the most significant power hogs on a computer. So make sure to unplug when not used.
4. Reduce Monitor Brightness
You may have noticed that when you dim the screen brightness of your laptop, it has a significant effect on how long your battery lasts between charges. The brighter the screen, the faster it will consume power. So if you want longer battery life, reduce your screen brightness or even turn it completely off when not needed.
5. Charge Before Laptop Dies
If you are using an Apple product, make sure you charge your battery before it dies out. The lithium-ion batteries found in apple products do not have high memory and cannot be discharged and recharged periodically like nickel-cadmium batteries.
So if you always wait for the battery to drain completely before charging it, your battery will last longer than using a “cycle” method of discharging the battery fully and then charging it back up again.
Also Check: How to Make Your iPhone Battery Last Longer
6. Keep It Cool
Laptops can suffer from performance problems and decreased battery life when they overheat. To keep cool enough to prevent such issues, don’t use your laptop on a pillow or comforter, which will block air circulation and cause overheating.
Try keeping your laptop on a clean surface, and make sure there’s good ventilation by placing it on a stand with an open area underneath. It’ll prevent battery drain and will save laptop battery power.
7. Avoid Working On Multiple Programs
Exiting programs that you’re not using can go a long way in increasing your laptop’s battery life. The more programs you have running, the more stress is on your CPU and graphics processor, which leads to a faster power drain.
So if you’re not doing something processor-intensive like playing video games or editing HD video, exit out of them. They aren’t using power in the background when they don’t need to be.
Also, close the background apps to conserve battery power. The applications, browsers, and processes running in the background consume battery power which means that closing them down will help improve its life by a significant amount if done regularly.
Closing all unnecessary apps will also allow your laptop to run much faster since fewer things are getting in the way of essential tasks like file transfers, media playback, or even surfing for fun.
8. Have Enough RAM
Too little RAM accounts for poor laptop performance and causes computer games and other applications to crash because there isn’t enough memory for what you’re trying to do. The more RAM you have, the more tasks your machine can handle at one time without slowing down or crashing. Also, it’ll increase battery life and charging capacity.
9. Turn Off Wi-Fi And Bluetooth
Whether you’re using it for work or play, having both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled at once is a definite drain on your laptop’s battery life. So if you want to maximize how long it’ll last between charges, turn them off when not in use, especially when they are activated by default during startup.
10. Don’t Keep Your Laptop Plugged In
Charging your laptop when it isn’t entirely out of power can cause problems with the battery later on, so experts recommend keeping your laptop’s battery between 40% and 80% power. Also, there isn’t any reason to constantly charge your laptop since most modern laptops can last around five hours on one battery.
11. Disable Animations
Certain animations are very pretty, but they are also very resource intensive which will drain your battery faster than before since it has to work harder to process these visuals in real-time without causing lagging or other performance problems.
12. Decrease Number of Startup Programs
Startup programs start whenever your system boots up and will reduce how quickly your laptop powers on when you need it most. These programs can be turned off by opening the “Startup” options (usually located in the Task Manager). Simply turn off startup programs that you do not need to make your laptop start faster.
Conclusion
We live in a world where our laptops are indispensable. They have become an integrated part of both personal and professional lives, so it is no wonder that battery life has been the number one complaint about laptop users. The good news? There are many simple ways to extend your battery’s lifespan if you take the time to implement them into your daily routine. Follow our easy-to-apply tips that will help keep your laptop powered up all day long.
Maryam has been teaching IT as a school teacher for over a decade, and her main subject of choice is Internet safety, especially helping parents keep their families safe and secure online. When Maryam is not teaching or writing she is a big fan of the outdoors, the complete opposite of staring at a computer screen for hours.
