Care and Feeding of Laptop Batteries
Laptop batteries should last for several years if maintained properly.
When Your Battery is New...
- Plug in your laptop and allow the battery to fully charge.
- Unplug your laptop and use it until you get a warning that the battery is about to run out. (This may take several hours and does not have to happen all at once. Just don't plug your laptop in during this period.)
- Immediately plug in your laptop and let the battery fully recharge.
Keeping Your Battery Going
About once monthly, condition (recalibrate) your battery by doing this:
- Fully charge your unit's battery.
- After fully charging, keep power connected for a few hours.
- Disconnect the power adapter and allow your system to run from the battery.
- Keep the system on and awake until it goes to sleep automatically because the battery is running low.
- Turn the system off, or let it sleep for 5 hours.
- Re-connect the power adapter and allow the unit to fully charge.
This process will recondition your battery and help prolong its life.
Other Considerations
- Get used to using your laptop unplugged for various periods of the day. This keeps the electrons flowing and keeps the battery healthy. You can plug it in at any time--no need to run the battery down completely unless you are reconditioning it.
- Excessive heat will degrade batteries quickly. Do not leave your laptop in a hot car or trunk for an extended period.
If your battery will not take a charge, refer to the Troubleshooting page to learn how to reset the power manager. If it still won't take a charge, it may need to be replaced. This is covered under your warranty as long as your warranty is in effect.
