Laptop batteries

[Alacrity59]

What is the latest advice on laptop batteries? I.e., is it good to run them down every so often or is it ok to leave the laptop on the charger all the time?

 

[Lightcs1776]

My understanding is that the newer Lithium Ion batteries don't have "memory" the way older NiCad batteries did. Therefore, you shouldn't have to worry about keeping it plugged in.

 

[Toothpick]

If they are lithium ion it’s actually bad for them to be ran all the way to zero. Supposedly it’s best to plug them in at around 20% remaining. And unplugging at any time up to 100. No need to run down to zero and fully charge. Just plug and unplug whenever you feel like it.

I haven’t messed with laptops in a long time but they used to have a feature that would stop charging the battery once it got to 100%. It would run off the AC after the battery was fully charged. So leaving it plugged in all the time didn’t affect the battery as it wasn’t being used.

 

[Toothpick]

Here’s a good article and I forgot to mention - if you’re laptop if plugged in and your battery isn’t charging just take it out. Heat is a big killer of batteries.

Mainly for phones but applies for laptops too -

How to Keep Your Phone's Battery Healthy

 

[Proinsias]

The are often just stacks of 18650 batteries from Samsung, Sony or LG. They like to be used, but prefer not to be drained below a certain voltage....I get the feeling most latops will die long before a battery goes below 3.7v or whatever is deemed critical.