The rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power most of our laptops may be the most practical battery tech we have right now, but they naturally degrade over time as their ions flow back and forth \u2014 it\u2019s an inevitable consequence of the way they\u2019re built and the way they work<\/a>. Eventually, the batteries can\u2019t hold as much of a charge. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Most modern laptops now come with some kind of smart charging technology built in, to limit the number of full charges that happen. How this is implemented varies between laptops \u2014 I\u2019ll talk about this, as well as other ways to ensure the battery on your MacBook or Windows laptop stays as healthy as possible for as long as possible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As with smartphones, because of the chemical reactions<\/a> happening inside your laptop\u2019s battery, fully charging it or fully discharging it puts more stress on the battery and shortens its life. According to Microsoft<\/a>, keeping a laptop plugged in at a 100 percent charge isn\u2019t recommended when it comes to long-term battery health, so it suggests that users try and avoid full charges and full discharges as much as possible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Then there\u2019s temperature: Heat and cold aren\u2019t good<\/a> for battery health. They affect the chemical reactions inside the battery and increase internal wear and tear, so make sure your laptop is kept out of boiling hot cars or off of freezing cold balconies as much as possible \u2014 and if you do let your laptop get too hot or cold, slowly bring it down to a more normal temperature. (This also goes for extended periods of intense use \u2014 if your device starts getting too hot, take a break.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You also need to consider temperature and charging if you\u2019re going to be stowing your laptop away for a while. Make sure it\u2019s kept in a cool and moisture-free space, and charge the battery up to 50 percent<\/a> before shutting down the laptop, which limits the chances of damage from a full discharge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Even simple steps like keeping case fans clean and clear can help: the better the air circulation inside your laptop, the cooler the components will run and the less power they\u2019ll draw.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You might also want to reduce the brightness of the screen, too, and make sure all of your software is up to date \u2014 newer versions of programs and operating systems are typically more efficient and less demanding. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Apple MacBooks use a built-in feature called Optimized Battery Charging<\/a>, which will only charge the battery past 80 percent when it thinks it\u2019s needed. According to Apple<\/a>, temperatures and previous charging patterns are used to help make this decision.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Macs equipped with Apple Silicon (as opposed to an Intel processor) have Optimized Battery Charging turned on by default. If, for any reason, you want to turn it off:\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you have a Mac with an Intel processor, the feature may still be on by default, depending on your OS. If you want to check that or turn it on \/ off:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You can reduce battery strain further in the Battery<\/strong> tab: click Options<\/strong> to set the screen to dim and to stream video at a lower quality (reducing system strain) when you\u2019re on battery power, for example.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n There\u2019s also a special Low Power Mode, though Apple doesn\u2019t say much about it, except that it reduces energy usage. Select the Low Power Mode<\/strong> drop-down menu, and you can set it to be on all the time, just when you\u2019re relying on battery power, or just when you\u2019re using a power adapter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n To reduce energy use even further:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Something else to think about is reducing the number of apps you\u2019ve got running at any one time: the less power you use running apps you don\u2019t need, the less often you\u2019ll have to charge the battery. Cutting down on the number of programs launching with macOS<\/a> can help here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Windows offers a feature called Smart charging<\/a> as an equivalent to the Mac\u2019s Optimized Battery Charging feature, though it\u2019s up to individual laptop manufacturers as to whether or not it\u2019s implemented and how exactly it works. You\u2019ll have to check with your particular systems manufacturer if your laptop has it and if you can turn it on or off.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n There are other power management settings on your computer that can conserve energy use:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As on macOS, making sure you\u2019re running only the apps you need to be running will further ease the strain on the battery \u2014 it\u2019s a good idea to double-check the programs starting up with Windows<\/a> to make sure there\u2019s nothing running in the background that you\u2019re not aware of.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nGeneral battery health<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Battery health advice for Macs<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Battery health advice for Windows<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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