Recharging battery

Is it true that it is bad to leave your laptop plugged in all the time? And if so, then why is this bad? My last 2 laptops I kept plugged in all the time, but my new one, I am making the effort to let it run down and then recharge it. It's kind of a pain to do that, as I usually keep it in one place. Is it truly necessary to let the battery run down?

 

I don't leave the laptop plugged to charge because we have a memo in the office not to do that. The memo explained that when charging the laptop, the battery gets heated so overcharging may be conducive to overheating of the battery which can cause it to explode. That happened in my Samsung SIII, the battery got bloated and I couldn't put back the phone's case properly. The tech in the phone shop said that the battery got bloated due to overcharging.

 

I learned from the beginning that I shouldn't keep the battery plugs in all the time, and I just followed that advice. What @Corzhens said, sounds reasonable and make sense. I haven't done what you do, so I don't have any experience to say.

But if you like to keep it plugs in, have you thought of just taking the battery out so it won't get damaged?

 

It depends on the model you have. Some newer ones and select models have a charging circuit that protects from overcharge and stops charging the battery and redirects power to the system board without using the battery at all. It has a small discharge buffer before switching back to the battery again, ensuring that the battery doesn't lose its charge, but also making sure that the battery isn't a safety hazard or risk to the user because of too much heat or overcharging going on.

There are less expensive laptops and other models that still protect from overcharge with a surge protection circuit, but it works without using a discharge buffer...and while these keep the battery safe from overcharging, they will wear down the battery by (over time) using the battery's top part of its cells to take the place of the discharge buffer and use it for a few seconds, and then recharge that area to keep the battery ready if the power goes out to never miss a beat, and to try to keep heat levels reduced.

Then there are the much older systems which are still a risk to overcharge because the battery can be a safety hazard to people near by and catch fire. This happened to Dell laptops, some older Samsung models, and a few others years ago. Some were from faulty battery clones made in asia without matching the specifications of the original battery mfg as they were supposed to, but others were from the charging circuit that never turned off and turned their laptop into a July 4th barbecue.

The problem with not having a discharge buffer with the circuit protection is that although it's just a gradual cycling of the top most cells, it eventually wears them away really quickly. You'll start noticing that insteaed of 100% charge on the battery, in a mere month or two, you're only going to see 99% charge going on. A month later, 98...then 97 or 96. The more this happens with the battery, the faster it starts to go after 75%.

If you have one of those charging circuits without a discharge buffer on it, you're better off using the laptop without the battery when just plugged in or at home, since even if the battery discharges some over an extended period of time no being used or plugged on to the laptop, it won't have used up the top cells to where it can't be charged up to 100% again longer. The only disadvantage is if the power goes out, it will turn off just like a desktop would without a battery back-up, but unless you're expecting that to happen or need it not to, it's usually ok to remove the battery and use it like a desktop to preserve battery life as long as you can before buying a new one.

Some of the manufacturers know that consumers are starting to realize this or may already, and as such, they are trying to build the battery into the case or make it to where the user can't get to it to do this and make the battery last longer. The best way to teach the manufacturers that they shouldn't have power over the consumer this way or make it impossible to fix and control things they purchase is to not buy any of the models with the built-in battery, hit them in the pocketbook, and teach them that the public will only buy items from them as a consumer if they remain worthy buying and worth consuming in the first place.

 

I have heard so many things when it comes to tricks about the battery that I am not really sure what to believe anymore, but the good news is that the computer that I have right now seems to be one of the better ones I have had, so knock on wood there. I think that more than anything it might just be luck of the draw, at least that is what it seems like at this point.

 

They say of you continue to plug your laptop to thee power, your battery life will be reduced. When my battery is new, I use it until there is 15 percent power left. Then after I recharge my battery and disconnect when it is 100 percent. As the battery begins to grow old and does not give good performance, I use laptop by plugging battery all the time.

 

I ruined two laptop batteries before learning this the hard way! Instead of waiting to let the battery run low, I would just go ahead and plug them in. This happened with both an HP and a Dell laptop I have. Now with my new Dell Inspiron, I try to wait it out and then unplug when the battery is full. Hopefully this will save the battery on this one!

 

My sister actually ruined her laptop one week ago because she is one of those people who like using their laptops whilst the charger is plugged into it, that's really harmful for laptops and people do not really understand it, but that's what Chinese developers make them for, they obviously know that people were going to do it even before laptops came out in the market.

 

My laptop is only ever plugged in when I'm using it for something. It can get its charge while it is in use and so I don't feel the need to keep it charging. I think that keeping any laptop on a permanent charge would ruin the battery in the long term. I'm not sure that using the laptop while it is charging is a bad idea, I don't think that makes any difference other than my laptop does get a bit warm underneath.