Make Your Laptop Battery Last Longer: Three Things To Know

Get reader for sticker shock: laptop batteries are costly. Prices fluctuate from one model to a different, but it isn't unusual for brand spanking new energy packs to promote for $a hundred or extra. I've seen some as excessive as $150. When you think about that model-new laptops now sell for as little as $300, that may be a tough pill to swallow.

Whether you’re already within the marketplace for a substitute battery or just concerned concerning the inevitable day when you can be, here are three issues you should know:

1. Most laptop batteries begin to fail in 1-2 years. This varies relying on your utilization, after all, however the common laptop battery is sweet for round 400 recharges (a.k.a. cycles). After that, it starts to lose its capacity to hold a charge.

That’s why the battery that when gave you, say, 3-4 hours’ price of runtime now peters out after just 1-2 hours. And after a number of years, you might be fortunate to get an excellent an hour.

2. You'll be able to lengthen the life of your current battery. If you use your laptop computer as your primary desktop Pc, you may be wasting battery cycles by leaving it plugged in all the time.

The answer: pop the battery out until you really have to go somewhere with your laptop computer. As lengthy because the latter is plugged into an AC outlet, it doesn’t truly want the battery.

Trust me on this: I’ve seen fairly new batteries that could barely last half an hour, despite the fact that the laptop hardly ever went anyplace. When in doubt, pop it out.

3. Investigate third-get together alternatives. If you do find yourself needing a replacement battery, you don’t essentially have to purchase one from the laptop manufacturer--paying prime dollar in the process.

Instead, search the net for the laptop make/model and "battery" to see if there are much less-expensive third-social gathering options. In case your system is a popular mannequin, there nearly definitely will likely be.

Also, ensure to take a look at Dr. Battery’s Advanced Pro Series. These substitute batteries--obtainable for an enormous vary of laptop computer models--promise 800 recharge cycles (meaning they should last twice so long as your current battery) and include a two-year guarantee. Plus, they’re priced pretty competitively at $88 and up.

By the best way, you should all the time, always, at all times recycle previous laptop batteries. Stores like Best Buy, Lowe’s, and Staples have bins or kiosks the place you'll be able to drop them off.

Okay, your turn: Have you shopped for a replacement laptop battery ? If so, how a lot did you pay? Were you able to find any cheaper alternate options?