PDQ Library:  Better Battery Life

Battery longevity: A typical lithium-ion battery will last longer if you charge when it's only partly discharged. Keeping its charge between 60% and 80% will result in longer battery life!

Keep a phone "battery gauge" working properly by doing this every 30 charges:

  1. Fully discharge the battery to 0% (set the display to stay on at full brightness)
  2. Charge the battery to 100% full charge while it's off.
  3. When you power the device on, the gauge should be accurate.

Keeping the battery cool will also extend its life. Run the computer gently, keep fans clear, and never store it in a car. Consider removing the battery if you use your laptop as a desktop. It will run perfectly fine using the charge cord. Before you remove it for storage, charge it to 40%.

In Windows, you can create a new power plan to keep a laptop cool. Open Power Options and create a new power plan called "Power Saving". Click "Change the plan settings", then "Advanced Power Settings". You can reduce the maximum processor state, turn off the display after 5 minutes, turn off accessories, and more. Use this plan for reading email and the Balanced plan when you need to play videos or edit large spreadsheets.

(Read more about batteries at batteryuniversity.com)

Travelling with a laptop

Using WiFi Hotspots securely

Cleaning a Laptop

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