When should you replace your laptop battery?
It seems that you have tried everything to preserve the battery life of your laptop , starting from reducing the screen brightness and closing unused applications.. ending with changing the power settings in Windows to keep consumption as low as possible. Despite all that, the device's battery cannot hold its charge.
If you’ve been using your laptop for a year or two, this is not unusual for the battery to deteriorate to this extent. If it’s three years or more old, it’s normal. But in general, let’s agree that rechargeable batteries don’t last forever — how long a battery lasts depends primarily on how you charge it.
So, if you’ve been trying hard to keep your battery in good condition and make it last longer, but to no avail, and your battery capacity is still running out in no time! It might be time to replace the battery. If you need proof or are looking for an “excuse” to buy a new battery, you’ve come to the right place, as we’ll show you how to know if it’s time to replace your laptop battery or not.
Windows notification decides the decision!
Windows often doesn’t give you an accurate report on the battery capacity and current health. If your battery is really suffering, you’ll notice it yourself whenever you use your device, as the battery no longer lasts as long as it used to. After all,
When your battery life is running low, Windows will notify you immediately. You'll see a red X appear on the miniature battery icon on your taskbar (next to the clock). When you click on it, Windows will tell you that you should "Consider replacing your battery."
You'll also notice that Windows tells you that your computer might suddenly shut down because there's a problem with the battery — in other words, the battery can't hold enough charge to power the laptop for long when it's not connected to a charger.
So it's a clear sign that you need to take action, which is to replace the battery. But keep in mind that this warning was added in Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 only, so you won't see it if you're using an older version or Windows 10.
How to check laptop battery capacity
If you want to get another confirmation of Windows' claim that the battery needs to be replaced, or the previous method did not work because you are not using Windows 7, 8, or 8.1, you can rely on external tools that help you know the battery status in detail.
The free Smarter Battery app works very well and we recommend trying it out. It displays the approximate wear level of the battery, as well as the original (designed) capacity of the battery, and the currently available capacity after a period of use.
For example, in the image above, we see that the battery is designed to hold 57,720 mWh of power. However, the current capacity of the battery when charged to 100% is only 52,037 mWh. This means that the laptop battery only holds 90.1% of its original capacity when fully charged.
So, the wear percentage is about 10% — that's what it shows on the left side of the program window, in front of the word Wear. Generally, if you find that the wear percentage is very high, like 80 or 90 percent, this is a sign that your laptop battery needs to be replaced.
You may also be interested in: How to know the efficiency of the laptop battery and its expected life without programs
Is battery calibration an effective solution?
In fact, battery calibration does not magically improve the condition of a worn battery or extend its life. The purpose of calibration is to find out the actual capacity of the battery and get more accurate results regarding the battery health that Windows or programs like Smarter Battery tell you.
In other words, Windows may tell you that the battery is about to run out and needs to be replaced ASAP, while Smarter Battery says that the wear rate is very high at 80%.
But these warnings can only be confirmed after you calibrate the battery — as we mentioned, calibration helps the battery sensor tell Windows the actual capacity of the battery. So, if Windows tells you that it’s time to replace the battery, make sure to calibrate it first, as we explained in a previous post . That way, you can check the actual level of wear; if you skip this step, you’ll be replacing a battery that’s still in good condition and wasting your money.
Watch this topic: How do you calibrate a laptop battery? What is the benefit of that?
What are the causes of battery deterioration?
Laptop batteries deteriorate due to a number of factors including heat, usage, and age – all of which are bad for batteries. Batteries will slowly die no matter what – even if you put your battery in a closet and never touch it, it will slowly lose capacity due to age. However, if you never use your battery – say you use your laptop on your desk most of the time and it gets quite hot, which is bad for the battery – removing the battery can definitely help extend its life.
Tips for replacing your laptop battery
If your laptop has a user-serviceable battery—that is, a battery that you can remove yourself—you can replace the battery fairly easily. If your laptop doesn't have a user-serviceable battery, you'll need to contact the manufacturer so they can open up the laptop and replace the battery for you.