A laptop is a very convenient device that allows the user to connect to the internet, work, or play whenever and wherever they want. But if you lose battery power in the middle of doing something and can’t plugin on the go, it can be quite annoying to say the least. While good quality internet deals such as Spectrum WiFi plans work equally well on cell phones, there are certain activities and tasks that can only be performed and enjoyed on laptops.
To avoid being caught up in situations where your laptop loses battery and becomes more of a burden than an asset, there are some measures and steps you can take. Here are some of them.
1#. Place Your Laptop on hard Surfaces
It’s a common practice for some people to place their laptops on soft surfaces such as thighs and beds. Yes, it is called a ‘laptop’ but if you want its battery life to last long, always place it on hard surfaces like counters and desks. This would keep it from overheating which is a major cause of shorter battery lifespan.
2#. Cut Down External Devices
External devices such as USB pen drives, external mice, and printers consume a lot of power. So if they are not in use but still connected to the laptop, it’s better to remove them. This would certainly improve the battery life of your laptop.
3#. Charge Smartly
Do not let the lithium battery drain out completely. Nor should it be left uncharged for a long time. If you do so, it would become incapable of holding a charge. It’s also important to not have your laptop plugged in constantly. If your lithium battery is 100% charged at all times, it would lose 20% of its capacity every year.
4#. Dim the Screen
Your laptop screen’s brightness level is one of its biggest drain sources. The brighter the screen, the more power it consumes. Dimming its brightness level can increase your laptop’s battery life by 30 minutes or more.
5#. Constant Maintenance
Just like everything else, your laptop battery needs maintenance. It could have served its full time so it’s important to know when it should be replaced. Get a new battery or purchase a spare one and alternate between the two. At times, the new batteries even have a higher capacity than the original ones.
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6#. Defragment the Hard Drive
This is a step most of us usually skip. However, defragmenting the hard drive is extremely important because the process arranges the data efficiently and thus reduces the hard disk’s work to access the files we need. In other words, a hard drive works more efficiently with less load and this increases the battery life of your laptop. Ideally, you should defragment your hard drive once every two months.
7#. Use Hibernate Instead of Standby
Always choose the hibernate mode instead of standby. This is because when you put your laptop in standby mode, it keeps consuming battery power, but in hibernate mode, the power consumption is zero. Besides, the latter ensures all your data is saved automatically.
8#. Turn off Bluetooth & Wi-Fi
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi consume more power than you anticipate as they need external signals to operate. Turning off these external sharing networks would significantly increase the battery backup of your laptop.
9# Disable Apps & Processes
There are some apps and processes that automatically start running when you turn on your laptop, ending up consuming power for things you don’t need. This can be harmful to your laptop battery. Hence, make it a point to close these apps from the task manager.
10#. Check & Optimize RAM
Remember to check if your laptop has the optimum amount of RAM. Ram enables your laptop to run instructions using the system’s memory instead of its hard drive. Having the right amount of RAM means less drain on the battery.
