Is it better to leave a laptop plugged in while at 100% or unplug it and drain it?
It is better to keep a laptop plugged in at full charge than draining the battery dry everytime use use it. But you should remember that leaving it plugged in at 100 or even constantly draining the battery to zero will cause stress to your laptop’s battery.
Modern laptops are designed with lithium-ion batteries, and they have built-in mechanisms to prevent overcharging. When your laptop reaches 100% charge, it typically stops drawing power from the charger and instead runs on power directly from the charger.
Why is draining the battery bad for my laptop?
Draining the battery completely on a regular basis (also known as a full discharge) is not necessary or recommended for modern lithium-ion batteries. In fact, it can be harmful over time. Lithium-ion batteries have a finite number of charge cycles, and constantly discharging them to zero can reduce their lifespan.
Is the laptop plugged in all the time good for the battery?
If you primarily use your laptop while it’s plugged in and rarely use the battery, you might want to unplug it and use the battery until it drops to around 50-60% charge every few weeks to keep the battery in good shape. This helps prevent the battery from being in a constant state of high charge, which can also lead to degradation over time.
Most high-end laptops have a battery charge limiter built-in to prevent battery degradation and keep the charge at 80%. Different brand and model has a different method of accessing this feature. it is better to check the support pages of your laptop brand whether your model has this feature.
In the unfortunate event that your laptop doesn’t have this feature, you can also consider downloading free battery monitoring applications. Battery Limiter and Battery Alarm & Analytics Free are free apps that can you monitor your laptop charge levels. This is not a perfect solution as these apps will only send notifications to you on when to unplug your laptop to prevent 100% charging to help increase your battery’s lifespan.
ALSO READ: Is Charging Your Phone Overnight Bad?
