Battery Health Issues | Common Troubleshooting

Addressing common battery health issues with laptops involves a few key steps to ensure optimal performance and longevity. Here are some practical tips:

Here are a few of the reasons why the battery drains out so fast in Windows :

Windows loads too many applications in the background even when they are not used. These apps consume considerable battery power.
Fast Startup feature. Windows enables it by default. It prevents the system from shutting down completely. Instead of shutting down, the system resumes from a hibernation state.
Many external devices like fans, USB devices are connected to the laptop.
The brightness of the screen is high. When the brightness of the screen increases, battery consumption increases. Even the keyboard’s backlight consumes more battery power.

Switch to Power Saver mode:

Search and Click on POWERCFG.CPL in taskbar serarch box
Select Power saver plan

Disable the Background Apps that are not in use:

Open the Run Dialog with the keys Windows+R.
Type the command powercfg.cpl and hit Enter.
In the appearing window, toggle the button to turn off the option Let apps run in the background.
Alternatively, you can also turn on the option Let apps run in the background and then turn off the apps that are not required.

Disable Startup Apps that are not necessary:

Search Startup Apps in Windows search and click on it
Now, disable unwanted startup apps which are eating your battery

Enable the Battery Saver Mode:

Open the Windows Action Menu by holding the keys Windows+A.
Click on the Battery saver option to turn it On. Refer to the image below.

Generate A Battery Report: If you’re interested in getting more technical info about your battery usage and estimated capacity, you can use the Powerfg command-line option that’s built into Windows to generate a battery report.

1-Select Search on the taskbar, type Command prompt, press and hold (or right-click) Command prompt, and then select Run as administrator > Yes.

2-At the command prompt, type powercfg /batteryreport /output "C:battery-report.html" then press Enter.

3-The battery report will be an HTML file that’s stored in a folder on your PC root drive. The file location will be shown in the Command Prompt window.

4-Open File Explorer, go to the folder that the report was saved to, and then double-click the battery report (HTML file) to open it in your web browser.

5-You can get a lot of detailed info about your battery usage and capacity. Some particular sections you might want to look at to get started including the following: Installed battery, Recent usage, and Battery usage.

Tips for Windows: Battery Saving Tips For Windows

Battery Percentage Not Displayed Accurately: If your laptop's battery level isn't displaying correctly, try recalibrating the battery. On Windows, you can use the built-in battery calibration tool. For Mac, third-party software can help with calibration. Additionally, check for any software or driver issues that might affect battery reporting.

1- Recalibrating the Battery: Open your laptop’s Power management settings in the Control Panel. Go to Settings > Power & sleep > Additional power settings > Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings.You can also click on the Battery icon > Battery Settings and then follow from there.

2- This will open Power Options Box where individual settings for the battery can be configured.

3- Now go to Battery section of the Power options box, and then under that:

Click on Critical Battery Action and set it to Hibernate.
Next, click on Critical Battery Level and set it to 5% or even lower.

4- Charge your laptop’s battery to 100% and keep it plugged in for the next two hours. The only reason you need to do this is to make sure the battery is at a regular temperature which is otherwise a bit heated during charging. While you can use it, I would suggest not to unless you don’t have a choice.

5- Unplug the charger from the laptop and let it discharge until it automatically hibernates. As we configured above, this will happen exactly when there is a 5% battery left.

Tip: If you are not using your laptop while it’s unplugged, it will get into hibernate or sleep mode. Makes sure to disable sleep, screen off, and hibernate settings to never.

6- Leave your laptop for as long as possible. When there would be no battery left, the computer will shut down automatically.

7- Now plug the charger back and charge it up to 100% again.

8- Once everything is complete, Make sure to restore the default power settings to normal. Click on the battery again, go to power settings, and this time click on Power and Sleep settings to configure everything back to normal. This will calibrate your laptop’s battery.

In addition to this, you can also check the software and drivers that affect battery reporting to see if there are issues with them. Of course, if the above solutions do not improve the problem, you can consider replacing the battery with a new one. To check Software and Drivers that affect battery:

Click on Start > Settings > System > Power & Battery > Scroll down to "Battery usage per app" to see which app is draining the battery.

Laptop Automatically Shuts Down: This issue might be due to battery overheating. Modern laptop batteries have protection circuits that shut down the battery if it gets too hot or if the discharge current is too high. To prevent overheating, ensure the laptop's vents are not blocked and avoid running heavy applications for extended periods.

Battery Cannot Be Charged: First, check if the charging cable and the laptop are functioning properly. If the battery is rarely used, it might become passivated and lose its activity. In such cases, you can try discharging and recharging the battery. If this doesn't work, consider replacing the battery.

Aging Battery: Over time, frequent use can reduce a battery's effectiveness and shorten its lifespan. If your battery's performance has significantly declined, it might be time to replace it. Once of the easiest ways to determine a batteries potential age is to use the Service Tag Number or Serial Number on the Manufactures Website to determine the age of the device.

General Maintenance: Ensure the Laptop is running the latest firmware and drivers. Avoid exposing the laptop to extreme temperatures and try to keep the battery charge between 20% and 80% to prolong its life.

If you have any specific issues or need further assistance, feel free to ask!