Could you ruin your laptop battery by leaving it plugged in? In this article, learn the hidden dangers of leaving your laptop plugged in.
Should you leave your laptop computer constantly plugged in, or unplug it? With so much misinformation and conflicting advice out there about laptop batteries, it's hard to know the right answer. For expert advice, we turned to the managed IT services technicians who work on the front lines, repairing laptops every day.
Should you leave your laptop plugged in?
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"It's a common problem when people leave their laptops plugged in all the time," says Stephen Shramo, a Managed IT Services Tech for Intelligent Technical Solutions.
The problem is that some older batteries become faulty when constantly kept at a full charge.
"If you take the battery off the plug and just run it all the way down to zero, that's a full charge," Shramo says. "But if you leave the laptop plugged in all the time, it drops 1% or 2% and then constantly refills. It begins to develop a memory of that, thinking that the 1% is the entire battery."
The problem is worse for older laptops.
"This happened to a user I was working with today. We could see in the error log that the laptop was shutting down because it thought it was low on battery power. But the battery was actually 100% charged," Shramo says.
Unfortunately, laptop batteries don't last forever.
The bottom line is that even today's newest batteries have a limited lifespan. But you can take steps to prevent your battery from failing prematurely.
"Take it off of power. Just unplug it, so that it's not on the power cable all day. Let it completely run down the charge, and then plug it back in. That's it," Shramo says. "Then you won't develop that battery memory issue."
Do as he recommends, and you may never have to buy a replacement battery for your laptop again.
Keep your company's laptops—and everything else—running smoothly with managed IT services.
Intelligent Technical Solutions is a leading Las Vegas managed IT services provider. Find out how ITS can keep all of your IT assets working around the clock. Contact ITS for a free consultation today.
Intelligent Technical Solutions is a Managed IT Services Company here in Las Vegas. We set up, maintain and secure the technology of small and mid-size businesses across the metro area. Our mission is to help businesses thrive by managing their technology. Contact us to get a 2 Hour FREE Network Assessment.
