One of the biggest advantages of a laptop is its portability, made possible by the battery inside. However, anyone who’s owned a laptop knows how quickly that battery capacity declines over time, and before long, you find yourself plugging it in every couple of hours just to keep it running.
While it’s true that no battery lasts forever, the way you care for it can make a significant difference in how long it remains healthy. Simple things like how often you charge it, whether you let it overheat, or even what charger you use can make the difference between a battery that serves you well for several years and one that starts failing far too soon.
Keeping it plugged in all the time
When convenience harms your battery
If you’re the type who spends most of the day at a desk with your laptop plugged in, it might seem convenient to keep it connected all the time. But this habit can degrade your laptop battery’s health over time.
Most laptops today use lithium-ion batteries, and these batteries are happiest when they get a balanced mix of charging and discharging. When you keep your laptop plugged in all the time, you interrupt this natural cycle.
A better approach is to avoid charging above 80%, just as you do with your phones. Windows doesn’t offer a native way to cap your charge, but many laptop manufacturers include built-in tools that let you stop charging at around 80%.
Letting it completely drain regularly
Don’t starve your battery to zero
Just as constantly charging your laptop to 100% can harm the battery, letting it drain completely to zero before recharging is equally damaging. That’s because deep discharges put stress on the battery’s internal chemistry and gradually reduce its overall capacity.
A healthier option is to start charging your laptop when it drops to around 20-30%. Keeping the battery within this 20-80% range prevents the ions inside from becoming unstable and, as a result, your battery stays healthier for longer.
Letting the laptop overheat
Keep it cool or pay the price
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It’s normal for laptops to overheat occasionally, but you should avoid prolonged periods of high heat. Heat is a battery’s worst enemy, as high temperatures accelerate chemical reactions inside and cause it to degrade faster.
Heavy gaming, long video-editing sessions, or running multiple resource-intensive apps push your laptop’s components harder, generating more heat. Even something as simple as placing your laptop on a soft surface like a bed, couch, or pillow can trap heat and quietly damage the battery over time.
Overheating isn’t just bad for the battery. It can also slow down your laptop, make the fans roar loudly, and in extreme cases, damage internal components. The good news is that preventing heat damage is mostly about simple habits. Let your laptop cool down when it gets hot. Keep it on hard, flat surfaces that allow airflow around vents. And if your work routinely pushes your laptop to the limit, getting a cooling pad can be a smart investment.
Using the wrong charger
Storing a dead battery is a no-go
Unlike smartphones, most laptops come with a charger when you buy them. But if you ever lose it, or it stops working after a few years, don’t just grab any charger that fits the port. Even if it seems to work fine, using the wrong charger can weaken your battery over time and, in some cases, damage your laptop’s internal components.
Different laptop models have different power requirements. If a charger you use doesn’t match what your laptop is designed for, you risk either underpowering it or overpowering it. An underpowered charger forces your system to work harder just to stay on, while an overpowered one can generate excess heat that stresses the battery. Both are bad for the battery.
The safest approach is to always use the charger that came with your laptop. And if you need to buy a new one, choose the manufacturer’s official charger or a trusted brand designed specifically for your model.
Storing the laptop with the battery drained
Storing a dead battery is a no-go
If you ever plan to put your laptop away for a few days or weeks, the worst thing you can do is leave it with a completely drained battery. When a lithium-ion battery sits at zero for too long, it can enter a “deep discharge state,” which means it may lose its ability to hold a charge altogether.
The healthier way to store your laptop is to leave the battery partially charged before tucking it away. Typically, around 50 percent is the sweet spot, since it gives the battery enough juice to stay stable without sitting at the stressful extremes of full or empty.
Taking care of your laptop battery doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s all about small, consistent habits. By giving your battery the attention it deserves, you can make it last longer and enjoy the freedom of using your laptop without constantly being tied to a charging port.
