Is it Bad to Keep Laptops Charged?

[jordan novice]

I have a laptop and I was wondering, like a phone, does excessive battery charging, make the battery worse? Over time, will the battery rely on being plugged into an outlet, and the battery life wont last as long as it did when it was new?

 

[offbad]

yes

 

[danikerhino]

Bad for you battery and it can get your adapter hot.

 

[jaypesoz]

yep, kept my laptop always plugged in, now 3 years later, it'll only give me 15 min before battery fully dies

 

[jordan novice]

So then when do I use the charger, and when do I not?

 

[epidemik the great]

Originally Posted by Jordan Novice

So then when do I use the charger, and when do I not?

LOL...use the charger when it needs to be charged...don't use it when it doesn't

 

[bee easyy]

I keep my laptop plugged in at all times. I use the battery when I'm mobile or on the go.

 

[leonard109]

my laptop's always plugged in, with the batteries in too.
So it's better to take the batteries out?

 

[anabolic dunk]

i dont charge any of my electronics until theyre on low batt.. if im on the go and need a charge but nowhere to plug in, ive got spare batteries

 

[heartofthacity]

Originally Posted by leonard109

my laptop's always plugged in, with the batteries in too.
So it's better to take the batteries out?

The $$** kind of laptop do you have that run/charges without a battery..

I charge only when its very low (when I get the warning pop up). And preferably not while using it...
Leaving it plugged in whenever you use it isn't good.

 

[calikev34]

*unplugs charger*

 

[mrshadow]

Originally Posted by calikev34

*unplugs charger*

 

[omgitswes]

Originally Posted by leonard109

my laptop's always plugged in, with the batteries in too.
So it's better to take the batteries out?

same here. that's too much work though.
and sometimes it unplugs when I barely move it, so without the battery and it gets unplugged it'll completely shut down.

 

[romedadude]

Supposedly these "newer" laptops switch to AC power once the battery is fully charged, but I ain't hearing that $%%+. I have an HP dv6000 and I'm on battery #3, and I haven't even had the computer 2 years. Now I just unplug the charger once the battery gets full.

 

[dyzzle]

actually it depends on what kind of battery your laptop has. for mine (macbook), for the first year that i had it, i would always unplug when it was done charging. and only charged when fully drained. i was obsessed with losing battery health and i always monitored it using iStat pro or coconutBattery. i racked up 300 cycles in 1 year and still 100% health (it did dip down to 96% but i managed to get it up again through cycling). i got tired of plugging and unplugging all the time so i did my research. ends up, newer batteries do not need to be fully drained before charging and leaving it plugged in all the time is fine, as long as you calibrate at least once a week. i have been leaving it plugged in and just cycling once a month for 2-3 months now and so far health is still at 100%.

stats arent bad for a 14 month old unibody macbook. 313 cycles. 100% battery health.

 

[mronegative]

Pshhh...I knew I had the right idea. I always take it off charger when it's at 100 just to see how long it'll last.

 

[bud dink]

mines be on the charger for coming on 3 years, and its a compaq....i

 

[airkeung88]

laptop batteries tend to last avg 3 yrs in full charged.

 

[mronegative]

Originally Posted by bud dink

mines be on the charger for coming on 3 years, and its a compaq....i

.....**$%%! up....

 

[hypebeast21]

yes

 

[Mister Meaner]

I did this with my old laptop and now we (the fam) treat it like a desktop computer in terms of power. There is absolutely no use for the battery now. It cannot hold 5 seconds of charge. I can have it replaced, but I just replaced the laptop itself.

 

[mronegative]

 

[venom lyrix]

my macbook is weird. I'll charge it all the way and have the screen brightness at 50% and sometimes the battery says 5 hours of life with the internet open, then other times it's 2.5 hours...smh...

Does anyone know how to best optimize Macbook battery life?

 

[jumpman j 23]

i keep my laptop charged all the time..

 

[cidman911]

I was told it's good to let the battery drain once in a while...