Before you purchase a laptop, the first thing to do is to check what battery is in a laptop. You must replace that battery at some point due to old age. Like any other battery, laptop batteries also lose the capacity to hold a charge. Soon your laptop battery will not be able to maintain power for more than one hour, and this is the time to check what battery is in a laptop.
How To Check What Battery is in a Laptop: The thumb rule is to replace the battery with a similar one from the company that made the laptop. You can use two methods to check what battery is in a laptop. You can physically look at the information printed on the battery or use special software to identify the battery specifications. Below are details about the two methods.
Method One: Take a Physical Look
This is the easiest method; simply turn off your laptop and unplug the charger. Then gently turn the computer and remove the battery. Be careful with the clips that hold the battery because they easily break. You may be interested in this post also: Easy Ways to Make a Laptop Work Faster
Read and note down the printed information on the back of the battery. You will get essential information like the battery type, maximum voltage, model number, and part number. The battery type and model number are the most significant.
Method Two: Use a Software
Some laptop companies incorporate the battery to be internal, making it hard to remove. Some batteries are removable but do not have adequate information printed. Such cases require third-party software that analyzes the battery and gives you details. There are free and payable software online and battery care sources.
Install the software on your laptop and allow it to look at the battery chemistry. Some software will give you instant results, while others need extra time to analyze the battery life and type. However, the software cannot show you’re the model number and the part number, so it is good if you do more research.
Types of Laptop Batteries
Nickel-Cadmium
Although it is not used nowadays, Nickel Cadmium had about 1500 cycles. This means that it could go from full charge to full discharge 1500 times before it starts to hold less power. This type of laptop battery was discontinued because of poor battery chemistry. The battery had a “memory effect” condition where the chemicals crystalize and stop a full charge.
The memory effect was a bad condition that reduced a big part of battery life, and people could replace batteries at least three times a year. Cadmium was later recognized as a toxic chemical and could damage the environment. Users had a hard time discharging a battery before recharging it fully.
Nickel Metal Hydride
The world environment organizations discontinued the Cadmium batteries, and Nickel Metal Hydride came into existence. This battery looked like an excellent replacement for Nickel-Cadmium, but they found it the worst. It only had 500 cycles and could lose about 25% of the cell power in a month. Moreover, it was heavy, increasing the available laptop weight.
The positive side is that it had more energy capacity and a more negligible memory effect. But it did not do well in high temperatures.
Lithium-Ion
Almost all modern laptops have Lithium-Ion batteries and have excellent qualities. First, it has a good level of energy density which is about 150W; hence it can run for hours. It does not suffer from memory effects and is lightweight.
It can stay for years on the shelf and still lose a tiny amount of power. Statistics show they only lose 10% of the energy in a month. For example, a fully charged battery can stay on the shelf for three months, and it will be about 70% when you charge it again. However, this battery requires good care because it ignites quickly.
Smart Battery
This is also another type of laptop battery. It is still a Lithium-Ion battery but has an in-built circuit. The circuit board is called the battery management system that usually helps to communicate with the laptop. The circuit helps to monitor the battery performance and other factors like temperature and voltage. Smart batteries are efficient and give accurate results.
Care and Maintenance Tips for Laptop Battery
Of course, a good laptop battery should stay for 3 to 5 years. But you can extend the useful life to about 10 years. The essential maintenance tip is to check what battery is in a laptop to understand how to handle each type of battery. Below are some of the practices you can try to increase your battery life.
Keep it at Optimal Temperature.
Laptop batteries die quickly with high temperatures; ensure your laptop stays cool. Nowadays, most laptops do not have cooling fans and use vent holes to cool down. Make sure nothing is covering the vent holes. Once you notice it is getting hot, lift it off the desk or pillow and open the back lid for it to cool down.
The optimal temperature when using a laptop is 30 to 50 degrees. It is also good to maintain the optimal temperature when the computer is off.
Avoid Overcharging and Full Discharge
Once the charge is 100%, unplug the charger. But experts recommend you maintain the charge between 40 and 80 percent, calling it the 40/80 rule. Doing so will increase the life of your battery and the charge capacity. This is a hard rule for those who suffer from charge anxiety.
In the same way, do not allow your battery to discharge to zero percent fully. This also kills your battery slowly. Discharging your battery to zero causes battery stress which is hard to gain charge next time you plug in the charger.
How To Extend Laptop Battery Life
A fully charged battery is supposed to run for about 2 hours before it is below 20% charge. But here are some suggestions that can extend the battery life by about 30 minutes.
Use the Battery Saver Mode
On windows, you will see an icon for battery level on the left of the taskbar. Click on the battery icon, and you will see options to activate the battery saver mode. However, you will notice a slower performance when doing heavy tasks like gaming. But you will not recognize the difference when you are doing simple tasks.
Remove Unused Peripherals
The USB port draws a lot of power, so remove any peripheral device idling on the port. The optical mouse and the external hard drive take up a lot of battery power. For example, unplug the optical mouse when typing and plug in when editing.
Use Your Laptop in Suitable Temperatures
Research shows extreme temperatures force your device to work extra hard to maintain the desired temperature. As a result, your laptop consumes more battery power. Extreme temperatures can damage the battery. For example, high temperatures cause expansion of chemicals in the battery.
Get a Good RAM
The RAM helps the processor to perform its activities. A good RAM can store information instead of a hard disk. The processor will easily access the info; hence less work on the hard drive and more power is saved. The hard drive has rotating disks that consume battery power, and a good RAM will regulate the rotation.
Minimize the Brightness On the Screen
The display takes up the most significant percentage of your battery. So ensure the brightness is always low, and you will have longer battery life. Furthermore, you can adjust your settings to automatic, and it will sleep after some time of idling. Always use your laptop under a shade or indoors to avoid turning your display to be bright.
Switch Off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi When Not in Use
Wireless connectivity takes up a good amount of your battery power. Even when you are not connected, the laptop will be searching for another device nearby. The wireless frequency will consume your battery. So switch off the two options when you are not using them. All in all, wifi consumes more power than Bluetooth.
Use the Solid-state Drive (SSD)
This is the latest type of storage device for laptops. Replace the hard drive with SSD, and your computer will save a lot of battery power. The hard drive is mechanical and requires energy to store and release data, but an SSD is like a flash memory consequently consumes less power. In addition, an SSD is faster and is another way to save battery power.
General Laptop Maintenance Tips For Maximum Performance
Add Protection to Your Laptop
A laptop is a portable device; hence it requires extra protection in case of accidents. You can add hard shells as covers to protect it when it falls. Always ensure you carry your laptop in a soft and cushioned case. Also, consider practicing personal care like keeping food and drinks away from the laptop. And do not leave it unattended when children and pets are around.
Keep Your Laptop Clean
Ensure you do regular cleaning of your laptop to remove dust and debris accumulated over time. When you are not using it, always close the lid because dust mainly gets on the keys. Too much dust can make your keys harden and clog some cooling parts. So ensure your desk is always clean before you place the laptop.
Use compressed air to remove the dust. Or use a soft brush to scrub off hard material add some alcohol when stains become stubborn. Also, ensure your hands are clean before you handle your laptop and avoid moisture around your computer. Remember to clean the keys vents and wipe the screen.
Regular Virus Scan and Update the Antivirus Software
Experts suggest you do a weekly malware scan, and your computer will be safe from viruses that can corrupt the everyday running of your computer. But if you are a frequent web user or downloader, make sure you scan your system twice a week. Also, update your antivirus so that is can handle the latest viruses.
Update the Operating System
Your computer will run with ease when your operating system is up to date. Your laptop will not overheat because the processor is working smoothly. You can enable the auto-update option if you always forget. You will not lose your data when updating your operating system. Data loss only happens when reinstalling or changing the operating system.
Remove Useless Files and Programs
As you use your computer for years, you will install many programs and add files that become useless with time. These ineffective programs take up your hard disk space and processing power. Delete old movies and music files and empty the recycle bin. Remove all temporary files and uninstall essential trial software.
Consider using the disk clean-up software for deep cleaning. Such software will remove all junk, including cache files in the web browsers. Check what battery is in a laptop for better maintenance and replacement.
Always Back up Your Files and Data
Backing up your files is a way of preparing for uncertainties. Your system can crash, or the hard drive can fail, and you will lose all critical documents. You can do a partial or complete backup. External storage devices like external hard drives offer the best backup option. The cloud is also good, especially for a full backup.
Conclusion
From above, you can see how to check what battery is in a laptop is straightforward. Simply shut down your computer and remove the battery. Then you will get all vital battery information printed at the back. On the other hand, use special software to get battery information. This software will give you the battery chemistry all related data.
Nowadays, laptops come with system reports that describe the health of your battery. So frequent system reports mean your battery is drying. Other signs of a dying battery are; slow charge, short battery life when not plugged in, and overheating. In conclusion, always check what battery is in a laptop before buying it and use the care tips above for it to have longer useful life.
