[Ertai88]

For all those with laptops, I've got a question for you guys. When do you charge your notebooks? (at 10%, etc.... and then charge up to 100%, etc). What would the ideal thresholds be to prolong the battery cell life?

[SbuxBlaze]

Not sure if it's ideal or not, but I usually wait until my laptop reaches about 10-15%/I get a warning icon on the battery then I start charging it to 100%.

[chatpristi]

Laptop dealers recommend you to let the battery get as low as possible ans then charge it completely in one go. I even had one advising me to take out the battery when I'm plugged on the mains.
However, doing that on my laptop, it tended to tilt backward because the battery also acts as a counterweight to balance the machine. A friend of mine, whom I advised to remove his battery because he uses his laptop as a desktop, now has problem with the battery connectors of his Compaq.

[GfulDedFan]

I keep mine plugged in if I'm around an outlet. Battery if I'm not. Most of the time I'm around an outlet.

[schmrom]

chatpristi;510843 said:

Laptop dealers recommend you to let the battery get as low as possible ans then charge it completely in one go. I even had one advising me to take out the battery when I'm plugged on the mains.
However, doing that on my laptop, it tended to tilt backward because the battery also acts as a counterweight to balance the machine. A friend of mine, whom I advised to remove his battery because he uses his laptop as a desktop, now has problem with the battery connectors of his Compaq.

Laptop dealers recommend this, because the battery is breaking down faster. A battery needs to be used and loaded, just plug it in if you have the possibility. My Laptop battery is now 2 years old and I have it plugged in whenever I can. I still have 2h batterylife, like when I got the Laptop.

[metallicamaster3]

My main laptop is always stationary, so it's always plugged in. The only time I'm on battery is when the power gets interrupted, or if I'm moving my desk around -- which would only take a few mintues. Since the battery is 99% of the time idle, I still have 100% health, meaning same life as when I got it new last October.

My Mac on the other hand, is my on-the-go machine. It's on battery about 30% of the time, and the other 70% is plugged in. Still 97% health on the battery, so I'm not worried.

[painkilleryusuf]

So phantom when do we know that we have to replace the battery or not...?

[brbrtdbnthbt]

On your first charge, your meant to wait for the battery to go flat, and then charge it to 100% so it can get a proper first charge. But after the first charge, when the sign comes up saying that you should plug your laptop into a power outlet, that's when you should do it. When it's around 10% and then charge it until it reaches 100%.

[painkilleryusuf]

I just keep my macbook pro on plug most of time (95%) when its on with its battery on board.. does that hurt my battery?

[xfifteen]

I start recharging every time when my battery reaches the critical state. Sometimes it even starts to go into hibernation.

With my Acer (my previous laptop), I used to load everytime it reached 15% and after two years, I only got a battery life of 15 min. at most. (it could also just depend on the brand lol)

[painkilleryusuf]

I have the MBP ( the latest one).. apple has the greatest battery?

//edit
I really hope that fuel cell battery technology is developed and is distributed asap. Herd that battery raises the laptop battery life from 4-6 hours to 12-14 hours!! how cool is that?

[osxdude]

Me? Oh, I always keep it plugged in. The battery really sucks, as it's at like 19% health. It only has about 40 minutes of battery life. However, the laptop it 4 years old, so it makes sense.

[rony1434]

Well am Not sure about this, but I usually wait until my laptop reaches about 5%-10% I get a warning icon.
After that i start charging it till it reaches 100%.

[ahtech]

Charge laptop if I can find an outlet. Put the charger always.

[JosX]

I have my MacBook plugged in whenever possible. Sure, the battery lasts a long time, but I'd rather keep it that way for when I really need it.

[Twiggy]

Yeah, i heard that heat is also a main cause of bad battery life, so try to keep it cool. But I plug my Compaq in most of the time, because when the battery is fully charged, the computer starts drawing power directly from the socket, not the battery. So that spares it a bit. You can also use the computer without the battery in, like a desktop if you are realy worried about it's lifespan. Some laptops like Compaq (HP) come with battery health monitoring software that can tell you when they have gone or are starting to go bad.

[Gimzo]

I once read that when start to show a warning, and never let it turn off the machine as this will harm it. but this was just an idea, not sure it is true or not

[tomylee1]

i change when it not work.