Repair Battery Life

How to Repair Battery Life on Your Laptop

Laptop batteries are essential for keeping your device running without plugging it into a power outlet. However, over time, batteries can lose their capacity and performance, resulting in shorter runtimes and unexpected shutdowns. If you want to repair your battery life and extend its lifespan, here are some tips and tricks you can try.
Check the Battery Health
The first step to repairing your battery life is to check the health of your battery. Windows 10 and 11 have a built-in feature that can generate a battery report, which shows you the usage data, capacity history, and life estimates of your battery. To generate a battery report, follow these steps:
- Right-click on the Start icon and select Windows PowerShell (Admin) or Windows Terminal (Admin), depending on your OS version.
- Enter
powercfg /batteryreport /output "C:\battery-report.html"
into the window and press Enter. - Open File Explorer and access the C drive. There you should find the battery report saved as an HTML file.
- Double-click the file to open it in your default web browser.
The battery report will show you the design capacity and full charge capacity of your battery, which indicate how much charge your battery can hold when it was new and now. If the full charge capacity is significantly lower than the design capacity, it means your battery has degraded over time. The report will also show you the estimated battery life based on your usage patterns.
Calibrate the Battery

If your battery gauge is not showing an accurate reading of how much charge is left, you may need to calibrate your battery. Calibration is a process of fully charging and discharging your battery to reset its internal circuitry and sensors. To calibrate your battery, follow these steps:
- Change your power settings to prevent your laptop from sleeping or hibernating too soon. You can do this by going to Power Options > Change when the computer sleeps > Never for both display and sleep settings.
- Charge your laptop’s battery up to 100%. When it’s fully charged, leave it plugged in and wait for the battery to cool down.
- Unplug your laptop and let it run on battery power until it shuts down automatically. This may take several hours depending on your usage and settings.
- Plug your laptop back in and charge it up to 100% again. Do not turn on your laptop or use it during this time.
- Turn on your laptop and check the battery gauge. It should now show a more accurate reading of how much charge is left.
You can repeat this process every few months to keep your battery calibrated.
Avoid Extreme Temperatures

Another factor that can affect your battery life is temperature. Extreme heat or cold can damage your battery cells and reduce their capacity and performance. To avoid this, follow these tips:
- Do not leave your laptop in a car or outdoors where it can be exposed to high or low temperatures.
- Do not use your laptop on a bed, couch, or other soft surfaces that can block the ventilation and cause overheating.
- Use a cooling pad or a fan to keep your laptop cool when using it for a long time or running intensive tasks.
- Store your laptop in a cool and dry place when not in use.
Avoid Deep Discharges

Finally, you can repair your battery life by avoiding deep discharges, which means draining your battery below 20% or until it shuts down. Deep discharges can shorten your battery’s lifespan and cause irreversible damage to its cells. To avoid this, follow these tips:
- Keep your laptop plugged in whenever possible, especially when running intensive tasks or gaming.
- Set a low battery alert or enable power saver mode to remind you to plug in when the battery level is low.
- If you need to store your laptop for a long time, charge it to about 50% and turn it off completely. Do not leave it plugged in or in sleep mode.
- If you notice any signs of swelling, leaking, or cracking on your battery, replace