Preserve your laptop battery

Don’t let the battery capacity slide

Over time, the battery capacity, or how much electricity it can hold, will inevitably decrease through degradation.

This post is not about stopping the drop entirely - because it is physically impossible - but instead on slowing it down as much as possible through proper use and maintenance of the device.

1. Always use your laptop with the battery inside

Even when hooked up to the mains, always leave the battery inside the laptop. An empty battery bay is prone to dirt and corrosion (which you really don’t want on your shiny new laptop). Worse still, if the plug comes loose, all your work on the computer will disappear so fast that you can almost hear the “poof” sound. 

2.  Drain the battery regularly. 

A full battery is not always a good thing - if it’s kept that way for prolonged periods of time,  capacity degradation sets in.  This usually happens to users who keep their laptops plugged in all the time. The solution: drain the battery at least once a month. Leave it running on its battery until the battery empties, then re-charge it. You can blast heavy metal music at full volume to speed up the process - what’s losing a few friends when your battery life is at stake?

3. Extreme temperatures are a no-no.

Too high temperatures causes the battery to degrade rapidly, while extreme low temperatures damage it. So don’t leave your laptop in the car on a hot afternoon or it’s your pocket that gets burnt.