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Both total charging capacity and life of a laptop computer’s battery will diminish as you use your computer. To determine your laptop’s current battery capacity and compare it with what it was when you purchased the laptop, install either of the following applications on your computer.

Microsoft Windows users

Battery Eater – This utility performs a stress test on the battery, causing it to drain to 0. After the battery has been drained, running the utility again provides you a full report that compares the estimated capacity of the battery to its current capacity.

Tip: If you plan on using the Battery Eater test, make sure to disable all power-saving features first.

Apple Macintosh users

Coconut battery – If you are using a MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air with macOS X 10.5 or higher, Coconut is an easy-to-use utility to test your laptop’s battery.

 

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When you use a laptop computer and have access to a power outlet, plugging in the AC adapter to power the laptop is a good practice. Your laptop battery takes advantage of the power outlet and saves the battery for situations when there is no power outlet available. While using the AC adapter to power the laptop, you can leave the battery connected to the laptop.

Benefits of keeping battery in a laptop

There is no need to remove the battery and keeping it in has benefits.

First, If the battery is not fully charged, leaving the battery connected with the AC adapter allows the battery to be charged to full capacity if plugged in long enough.

Second, having a battery backup is great for power outages and brownouts. If either were to occur, you would not lose any of your data because your laptop will switch to the battery backup.

Finally, even when fully charged, leaving the battery connected while using the AC adapter will not damage the battery. Over time, all batteries will eventually lose their abilities to power a laptop and need to be replaced. That’s normal for a battery and not a side effect of using the AC adapter with the battery connected.

When should the laptop battery be removed?

Removing the battery from a laptop is only necessary if you need to do a hard reset or when replacing internal hardware. Other than that, the battery should always stay inside the laptop.

Note: Like all devices with batteries if you do not plan on using the laptop for over a year it is still a good idea to remove the battery.

 

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Read First: All laptops are different, however, they usually share similarities when it comes to taking out the main battery. That being said, all of the newer MacBooks from Apple use integrated batteries that generally require service to remove.

If you are using a Windows or Linux based laptop, this page provides a general idea on how to remove the laptop battery. If you are replacing a laptop battery, you can insert the new battery after removing the old battery.

Note: Many ultrabook laptops have batteries that are not accessible from the outside of the laptop. Removing the battery will require the help of a repair technician to open the laptop.

Removing the battery

1. If your laptop is plugged in, either unplug it or disconnect the power cable.
2. Turn your laptop over so the bottom is facing up.
3. Locate the battery latch on the bottom of the computer. The image to the right shows some of the more common battery latches found on laptops.
4. To remove the battery, slide the latch switch to the opposite side and hold it in that position until the battery is released.
5. On some laptops, the battery pops out on its own. On others, you’ll need to pull it out gently with the tips of your fingers.

Other situations

Although most laptops only have one latch, there are some that require you to slide two latches to remove the battery. On these laptops, the latches will still look similar to the examples above, but require you to move both at the same time, usually towards each other.

Finally, there are also some older laptops (IBM laptops) that require the latch to be pulled out and then pushed towards the battery.

No battery latch found

If you cannot find any battery latches or buttons for releasing the battery on the bottom of the laptop, it is possible the laptop utilizes a different mechanism to release the battery. The laptop may also need to be serviced by a licensed repair facility to have the battery removed through partial or full disassembly.

We recommend referring to the laptop documentation or check the manufacturer’s website for steps on how to remove the battery or if servicing is required to remove the battery.

 

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Below are suggestions and tips that can be followed to help improve and maximize the overall life of your laptop computers battery.

Full initial charge

After purchasing a new laptop computer or battery for your laptop, we recommend that the battery be charged for no less than 24-hours. A 24-hour charge makes sure the battery is fully charged and helps with the batteries life expectancy. Once it is fully charged, you should not discharge it fully, if possible.

Remove battery if not in use for a long period

If you are mostly using the laptop computer while it is plugged into a wall outlet keep the battery out of the computer.

If you do not plan on using your laptop for more than a month the battery should be removed from the computer, even if it is kept off.

After putting the battery back in after it has not been used we suggest fully charging it before letting it run off the battery again.

Fully discharge and recharge

If your battery is not a Li-ion battery it is always recommended to fully discharge and recharge your battery at least once every month.

Avoid extreme temperatures

Not only is it good for your battery but it is also for your laptop to keep it out of extreme hot or cold temperatures. For example, do not leave your laptop in your car during a hot summer day.

Clean the contacts

Clean your laptop battery contacts with a cotton swab and alcohol every few months.

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What is “External Laptop Battery” or “Universal Laptop Battery” or

“Universal External Laptop Battery”? How does it work?

As you know a laptop battery consists of a number of battery cells

inside. A pack of cells, produces the correct amount of voltage and

current to power the laptop.  This is the reason laptop batteries are

often called laptop battery packs.

External laptop batteries, as the name suggests, do not fit inside the

battery bay of the laptop.  They simply sit outside, plugged into the

laptop by the necessary cables.  These batteries consists of a greater

number of cells.  Allowing for a greater capacity to power the laptop

for a longer time.

Standard laptop batteries have an internal circuitry with chips to

control the flow of current etc, Universal laptop batteries contain

these circuitry, but the tips that plug into the laptop detect the

voltage and current.  The various tips that are supplied with the

external laptop battery allows it to be used with almost any brand of

laptop.

Universal external laptop batteries, give extended capacity/running

time and if you change your laptop it still can be used.

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Smart batteries have internal circuit boards with smart chips which

allow them to communicate with the notebook and monitor battery

performance, output voltage and temperature.

Smart batteries will generally run 15% longer due to their increased

efficiency and also give the computer much more accurate “fuel gauge”

capabilities to determine how much battery running time is left before

the next recharge is required.

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Always check your computer manual for the correct ratings and the type

of Adaptor that your machine requires.  Adaptors are usually rated by

Watts/Wattage(W).  You can calculate the Wattage by multiplying

Volts(V) with Amps(A).  This information is found on the label on the

underside of the notebook computer.

It is always best to match the wattage of the notebook and the AC

adaptor.  An AC adaptor with a higher wattage can be used with a

notebook with a lower wattage rating. However, an AC adaptor with a

lower wattage rating cannot be used with a notebook with a higer

rating.  The notebook will be underpowered and may not boot up

properly.

The AC adapter will get hot whilst it is plugged in and being used.

This is normal. Any device that gets hot will require ventilation. Good

ventilation prolongs the life of the device and avoids any accidental

damage.

Some points to consider:

The led light, on most AC adaptors should stay constant when plugged in

to the wall socket or AC power supply and switched on and plugged into

the notebook computer.  If the light flickers or blinks then check all

connections and check the power lead.  It may also turn out that the

adaptor is simply faulty.

The AC adapter will get hot whilst it is plugged in and being used.

This is normal. Any device that gets hot will require ventilation. Good

ventilation prolongs the life of the device and avoids any accidental

damage.

If you have several different notebooks, all of which are different

types and made by different manufacturers, you can still use one

charger.  Universal AC adaptors are supplied with different tips which

enables you to plug it into different notebook computers.  However, you

cant charge more than one notebook at a time.

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There are two ratings on a laptop battery, Voltage (V) and
Milliamp-hours (mAh).  Voltage is the rate at which energy is drawn
from a battery and Milliam-hours represents the capacity of the
battery.

The Voltage rating has to MATCH that of the original battery or as
recommended by the laptop computer manual.  Using a battery with a
different voltage setting can damage the laptop.

Since the mAh rating represents the capacity and correalates to the run
time of the battery. If the rating is higher than the original battery,
then the replacement battery will run for a longer time and if the
rating is lower then the replacement battery will run for a shorter
time.

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A question recently asked was, “Can I upgrade my Laptop Battery to a

newer chemistry?”

If the laptop has been pre-configured by the manufacturer to accept

more than one type of rechargeable battery, then the answer is yes.

The different types of batteries requires a different charging patterns

to be properly recharged and used in the laptop.  Always refer to your

laptop computer manual or contact your manufacturer to find out which

battery types can be used in your laptop.

Nickel Cadmium (NiCad,NiCd), Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Lithium

Ion (LiIon, Li-Ion) are the three major types. Due to health and safety

and inefficencies, Nickel Cadmium and  Nickel Metal Hydride batteries

are either discontinued or in the process of being discontinued.

Lithium Ion is relatively new and popular type.  There is an even newer

type, Litium Polymer Ion or Lithium Polymer.  This is much more

efficient and offers better power to weight ratio.

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Do Not short circuit a battery – Carrying or storing the battery withother metal objects like coins, paper clips and hair pins can cause the battery to short circuit and may generate a lot of heat.

Do Not expose the battery to moisture or rain – Electricity and water doesnt go together. Again can short circuit the battery, or when inserted into the Laptop can damage the laptop.

Do Not expose the battery to heat – Keep the battery away from sources of heat, fire and even direct sunlight. Aids the chemical reactions within the battery and can result in an explosion!!

Do Not throw away your battery – Dispose of your battery responsibly. Please recycle all batteries as they contain chemicals which are harmful to the environment.

Do Not mix old and new batteries – Mixing different types of batteries and using different types of batteries is extremely dangerous. Can cause rupture, leakage resulting in personal injury and damage to laptop.

 

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