My computer s battery life goes flat really fast these days. What can I do to increase its battery life?

The basic rules for maximum battery life are:

Never run it on external power once the battery is full.
Nothing to do with "overcharging" (that's a myth), it's just that lithium cells degrade and lose capacity fastest when at or near full charge.

That process if made far faster if the battery is also hot, as in a running laptop.

Start running on battery when they get to full charge (or near it).

If you need it fully charged for the next day, charge with the machine shut down so no heat.


Keep the machine cool. Never use it on a soft surface that can trap heat and block airflow, that shortens the life of the whole machine - not just the battery.

Using it on a hard surface so air can get underneath is far better; putting something under the back edge to give a bigger air gap helps even more (as long as you don't block any vents).

A battery can be wrecked in months or even weeks if held at full charge and hot.

Always taken off charge and used to run it down again, it can last several years - the ones in my main laptop are 3 -4 years old at least and I still get around eight hours, down from ten on more when new.
(It's a two-battery machine).

Try and avoid running them completely dead, below 20% or so. You will get around four times as many 80% - 20% cycles as 100% - 0 cycles.

Occasionally does not matter, but try and avoid it as a regular thing.

Once a battery has failed, the only "fix" is a replacement; the physical structure of the cells gradually breaks down and it is irreversible.

Hmm! Get a quality battery

You may have additional software which is chugging down battery life. What have you installed lately?

It's also possible you've left it plugged in and charging when it had a full charge. Doing that too much can slowly kill a battery permanently.

Reboot. Find out what is running (Task Manager). Make sure Windows Update is fully up to date.