One of the most important parts of our laptops is the battery, and we usually take our chargers with us wherever we go to avoid any trouble. The biggest fear of most users is that they may be left without power. In this case, it will not work even if all other components of the computer are absolutely in working order.
Many computers tend to gradually lose their performance over the years. The same applies to the battery, which becomes less capacious. Sometimes it comes to the point that some laptops, after a year of use, stop working for more than three hours without recharging.
Unfortunately, we are sometimes less informed than we should be about how good a laptop battery is. The fact is that you may not even suspect that irreversible processes have begun to occur with your battery.
Fortunately, there are several solutions that give us the opportunity to extend the battery life of a laptop so that it can last longer. So, you will need third-party utilities to get more information from your laptop battery.
The tools included in the list below will help you stay out of trouble. They will help you monitor changes in your battery's capacity over time. They can also monitor its wear and tear.
| Program | Image | Peculiarities |
|---|---|---|
 | This simple tool provides access to sufficient battery information in a very simple interface. The utility is free software that provides the information you need to monitor your laptop's battery. The first part of this tool is a screen that presents information such as the current capacity of your battery as well as its level of wear. The second component is a continuous log that includes voltage, speed, power status, and capacitance. All of these parameters are monitored as often as you set. This particular tool was designed to focus on functionality, and as a result, it is a very useful tool that gets the job done without much hassle. |
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 | This is a very useful application for those who use Samsung laptops and want to improve battery usage. This optimization will save you money by postponing the purchase of a replacement. There are many things you can do to extend battery life as well as reduce power consumption | |
 | This utility will present the battery capacity and its discharge rate in the form of a graph. Over time, it's only natural that your laptop's battery capacity will begin to decrease, and there are all sorts of factors that contribute to this process. This is why you need to be aware of any changes that occur. BatteryMon does this in the easiest way possible by monitoring your laptop's battery capacity and discharge rate, presenting the results on a graph in real time |
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 | This free tool will help you recalibrate your battery indicator. In order for your battery to perform at peak efficiency, it is important to understand how to best operate your battery. Over time, the battery may show an incorrect charge. This tool is designed to solve this specific problem and it will also be able to offer additional information about the battery and its capacity |
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 | You will notice that this software is included in many UPS CyberPower products. This tool will allow you to control the use of your UPS so that it can support the system along with all data, components and peripherals as securely as possible. The most important features of this tool are self-testing, runtime management, event logging, and scheduled stops |
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 | Quick access to essential battery information. If you click on the battery icon, you'll be presented with valuable data such as the amount of wear your battery has already endured and its total capacity. The basic version of this tool is free, but you can also pay $4 for an affordable Pro version that adds all the customization options. Both options are great ways to get the most important battery information without too much hassle. |
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| This little program can save up to 70% of your laptop's battery. To achieve this goal, it will disable some Windows features. Even though it was made to work on Windows Vista, it also works fine on Windows 7, and the application will disable both Windows Aerotool and the Windows Sidebar. Both of these can affect overall battery life | |
 | This is a built-in battery for the Windows 10 operating system. If you are using this latest version of the OS, you will have access to a new tool. You can open it through the Settings menu. Then you need to go to System > Battery Saver > Battery Saver Settings. Here you must check this box and select the desired battery level for the feature to start working. The tool was originally introduced for Windows Phone and it limits background processes on your device to ensure you get the most out of your battery |
Checking battery life and health in Windows
Find out effective ways to run your laptop on battery power in a new article -
Step 1. Check the battery icon. It's located in the lower right corner of the Windows taskbar. By default, the Windows taskbar is located at the bottom of the screen. If there is a red X on the battery icon, that is a sign that there is something wrong with your battery.
Step 2. Click the battery icon. A window will open on your screen with more information about your battery. If there is something wrong with your battery, the details will be listed at the top of the battery window. If necessary, Windows will tell you whether it needs to be replaced.
Note! In the window that appears, you can configure power plans as you wish, but this section does not contain information about the degree of battery wear.
Battery status report
Step 1. Open your laptop's command prompt.
Step 2. In the field that opens, type powercfg/batteryreport. It will start generating a report.
Step 3. Press ↵ Enter.
Step 4. Open the saved file in your browser. By default it will be saved in C: users username battery report.html.
Please note important parameters:
- Design Capacity - initial capacity at release;
- Full Charge Capacity - capacity when the battery is fully charged;
- Cycle Count - how many times it has been recharged.
Checking battery health on Mac
To always see the exact level of battery charge, set the display to percentage.
If this is not enough, you can move on to the next method.
Step 1. Click on the Mac logo. It's in the top left corner of the menu bar.
Step 2: Click About This Mac. This is the first option on the menu bar.
Step 3. Click System Report. It's located at the bottom of the Overview tab in the About This Mac section. A menu will open on your screen with various reports.
Step 4. Click "Power".
Note! Pay special attention to the number of cycles. This is a very important indicator. Each laptop model has its own limit after which the battery will stop working.
Video - How to find out the wear of a laptop battery
The main advantage of a laptop is that it can be used even without a stationary power supply. The battery is responsible for the autonomous functioning of the PC. A serviceable and fully charged battery can keep your laptop running for more than 5 hours. If you notice that the battery life of your laptop is greatly underestimated, it would be a good idea to test the battery and determine the degree of its wear. The power supply may need to be replaced soon.
How to test a laptop battery at home
The operating instructions for a laptop battery suggest charging it only after it has been completely discharged. Regular violation of this rule over time leads to a decrease in the actual capacity of the battery, as a result of which it runs out faster.
To check the capacity of the power element, the number of remaining charge/discharge cycles and some other parameters, you can connect a special device to it - a portable tester for PC. However, this device is characterized by one significant drawback - its high cost (more than 30 thousand rubles), so it can only be found in computer workshops.
Testing a battery at home involves the use of software diagnostic methods, namely:
- command line;
- additional software.
Determining the degree of battery wear via the command line
To view the current state (charge) of the power supply and the remaining battery life of the laptop, just click on the corresponding icon in the system tray. 
However, the data obtained does not allow us to determine the actual battery capacity. In the Windows 7 and higher operating systems, a built-in tool has appeared for checking the degree of battery wear, which is launched via the command line. To do a battery test with it, you need to:
The file will contain information about the battery manufacturer, its chemical composition, serial number, etc. This data does not provide useful information to you. It is necessary to pay attention to the last two lines: the calculated and actual battery capacity. 
The calculated capacity of the battery (Snach) is the initial state of the battery, that is, the capacity that the power element has after manufacture.
Last Full Charge (Sreal) is the current capacity of the battery. Using these parameters, you can calculate the degree of battery wear on your laptop. To do this, you need to use the formula: (Snach-Sreal)/Snach. For example, if the factory capacity of the battery is 40,000, and the actual capacity is 30,000, then the degree of wear will be equal to: (40,000-30,000)/40,000 = 0.25 or 25%. The condition of such a battery can be considered normal.
Testing a laptop battery using additional software
If for some reason you were unable to check the battery’s performance using the command line, you can use special software. There are many programs on the Internet that allow you to test your laptop battery. The most popular application is AIDA 64.
Battery testing using AIDA 64 is performed as follows:
After testing the laptop battery, you can draw conclusions about its suitability - will it continue to be used as an autonomous power source or is it better to replace it with a new one.
Often problems in the functioning of a laptop arise due to poor battery performance. If the battery does not charge, the cause of the failure should be identified. You should start by checking the cord and voltage in the electrical network, then pay attention to the drivers, which play an important role in the functioning of the device.
It may also be due to damage to the power circuit or connector. If the problem lies here, it is necessary to restore the board tracks, it may also require a complete replacement - this cannot be done without diagnostics.
If you don’t find a problem here, then the problem is directly in the laptop battery.
The battery on the laptop does not charge: reasons
Let's note standard battery problems.
- Probably the most common cause of problems is simple physical wear and tear. Batteries on modern laptop models can withstand no more than 800 charge cycles. Thus, the device is designed to last for 2 years, after which in most cases the battery will need to be replaced. That is, the battery life is on average two years, sometimes three. After each charge cycle, the battery capacity is reduced; over the course of a year, this capacity decreases by about fifteen percent. The battery is a consumable item, so this process is quite predictable and often this breakdown is not even included in the warranty card. However, you can extend the life of the battery by following simple rules of use: the battery cannot be kept in the device all the time if the laptop is powered by an external power source - you must remove it and store it in a cool, dark place;
Important! Carry out a full discharge/charge cycle at least several times a week, otherwise the battery will fail quite unexpectedly and faster than you might expect.
- Also, the reason may lie in the failure of one battery in the battery, due to which the entire battery does not function. In this case, the battery must be restored;
- The next reason is a short circuit;
- If the laptop does not see the battery, but is charging, most likely the reason is the failure of the controller itself - and in this case it is necessary to change the battery;
- If the laptop sees the battery, but does not charge, there are a number of possible reasons:
- The issue is the battery contacts, they may be damaged and may need to be cleaned to prevent oxidation;
- The battery is not inserted correctly, remove it and reinsert it;
- The battery life is exhausted;
- It's a matter of the motherboard's power supply;
- Drivers do not work;
- The cord is damaged;
- The battery is inoperative and needs to be replaced.
Of course, after discovering the cause of the problem, it is better to contact a specialist to fix it. But you can try to rehabilitate the battery yourself.
To get started, we perform a number of simple steps:
- Turn off the device through the Start menu;
- Pull out the power cord;
- Remove the battery from the device;
- Press the power button and hold for 20 seconds;
- We put the battery back in and boot the computer;
If the charge in the tray is at a minimum level, connect an external power source.
We carry out battery diagnostics
Wondering how to check the battery on a laptop? To diagnose battery performance and determine its level of performance, there are many different utilities. By the way, they sometimes help to increase the service life of the battery.
Let's look at several popular and quite effective programs. But it is worth remembering that the causes of problems are quite varied, and the program will not always be able to fix them. Often these utilities can extend battery life by reducing the load.
Monitors the battery status, is quite easy to use, and does not slow down the system. Shows detailed information about battery performance, for example, by what percentage the capacity has decreased. Based on the initial characteristics. You can also find out the number of complete battery charge cycles and the calibration date. The utility also shares tips on reducing battery consumption. The program is free and updates automatically. I think it's worth downloading if you haven't already.
Also a fairly well-known program for optimizing battery performance and maximizing its service life. The utility differs from similar ones in a convenient function - it can tell you by what percentage the battery life can be increased if you change some of the system's services. Changed settings are saved in your personal profile, after which you can easily open them at any time. The utility does advanced monitoring of battery performance, making an assessment of the loss, comparing it with the rated power of the battery. It has a fairly simple and user-friendly interface and does not require special knowledge to use. 
Tests the battery condition, indicates the actual capacity. The program is useful when buying a used laptop; in a few minutes you can find out what condition the battery is in and how long it will last.
Another similar utility. Reduces energy consumption by disabling unnecessary processes, allowing the computer to work up to two times longer.
How to troubleshoot battery problems
If you have problems with the battery, do not immediately go to the store for a new one. It is quite possible to restore it. Of course, the battery capacity is not designed for a certain number of cycles, but there are recovery methods.
Let's look at solutions to the most common problems.
Battery won't charge
Sometimes the battery simply stops receiving a charge. The laptop sees the battery, the charge level is shown in the tray, but when connected to an external power source, nothing changes.
What to do?
Let's return the battery settings in the BIOS to their original values. To do this, perform the following steps:
- Disconnect the laptop from external power;
- Carefully remove the battery;
- Press the computer's power button and hold it for at least a minute;
- We connect the device to the power supply, do not insert the battery;
- We go into bios: when loading the system, press the key combinations that are indicated in the user manual. Often this is Del, F12 or F2;
- Reset the settings to the initial value (Restore Defauts), save (Save), exit (Exit);
- Turn off the device by holding the power button for 5 seconds;
- Pull out the cord, insert the battery;
- Insert the plug and connect the laptop to an external power source;
- Loading.
The method worked if you see a system notification that the battery is charging.
The charge is on, but not 100%
The charge continues, but does not reach its logical conclusion; the battery is not fully charged. Another symptom of the “disease” is that the battery life of the device per charge is greatly reduced. The laptop holds a charge several times less than before.
What to do?
The utilities that we discussed earlier will come in handy here. We check the condition of the battery of one of them. We need to know the following characteristics: the declared power of the battery (also known as the nominal power), the maximum power level that the battery reaches today and the percentage of battery wear. Accordingly, the higher the number, the higher the need to replace the battery. If the percentage is insignificant, most likely the battery is not the main reason for the decrease in battery life. Go ahead.
The problem may lie in some program that you recently installed. It can work quietly in the background and significantly increase the performance of the processor and Wi-Fi, thus closing the transition to saving mode. To check the presence of such utilities, call the dispatcher by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc and analyze the operation of background programs. Deactivating unnecessary utilities can improve battery life.
The purchased battery does not function
The reason may lie in the incompatibility of the purchased battery with the charging controller. Batteries may be the same size, but differ in other characteristics. Try resetting the BIOS settings. If this does not help, compare the markings of the old and new batteries - they should not be different.
Thus, there is no need to panic at the first battery failure. Moreover, you shouldn’t immediately look for money for a new battery; by the way, it costs a lot. Try our recommendations and follow the steps described. Try to diagnose and restore the battery using special utilities or by resetting the system settings. Check various options and analyze the causes of the breakdown. Perhaps it's not so scary. If you do not neglect the rules of operation of the device, the battery will last a long time. By the way, batteries rarely fail so suddenly; more often problems arise in the software or the cause is the power supply/connector. Try all the methods, and only then replace the battery with a new one.
Note! When buying a battery, it is better to take with you an old battery or a laptop, so it is more likely that you will be offered exactly the element that you need.
Today we’ll look at another popular and frequently asked question: how to find out the degree of wear of a laptop battery. And let’s immediately make a reservation - there is no way to find out the actual wear and service life of the battery - all existing programs only allow you to approximately estimate these values, although often this will be enough. We will look at two methods.
Determining wear and tear using Windows
Opening Start, enter in the search cmd and right-click on the found cmd.exe file, selecting Run as administrator. On the command line enter powercfg energy and click Enter.
After a minute, the assessment results will appear, but they will not be displayed on the screen, but will be saved in an html file. To find it, go here:
C:\Windows\system32\energy-report.html
You probably won’t be able to open this file from the system32 folder, so copy it to any other folder, from where you can open it on the Internet.
The report is quite voluminous, feel free to scroll down and find the section Battery information.
It will indicate the calculated (certificate) capacity of the battery and the capacity at the last full charge. By dividing the last capacity by the passport capacity, you can get the remaining resource: in this case, 36% remains.
Battery wear in AIDA64 program
To determine the degree of wear, you can use the well-known PC diagnostic program -. Previously, with its help we, name, laptop, and so on. Therefore, feel free - this utility will be useful to you more than once.
Open the menu in the program Computer - Power supply, and we see the same values obtained in the first way using the command line. Here AIDA64 immediately shows the degree of wear - 63%. By the way, this is after 5 years of using the laptop, so Windows insistently asks you to replace the battery.
Another screenshot for example is a two-year-old Samsung laptop that has been used infrequently. AIDA64 shows 26% wear and 157 recharge cycles. These figures also correspond to the theory that in the first two years the battery loses up to 30% of its rated capacity.
If you decide to replace the laptop battery, we recommend reading the story of the service center specialists about.
Not many users know that improper functioning of the battery can cause a considerable number of problems related to the operation of the computer itself. Therefore, it is very important to monitor the condition of the battery. If your PC battery is not charging, first check the power cable and drivers, and only then move on to the battery. In this article, we will take a closer look at how to check the functionality of a laptop battery. Let's figure it out. Go!
What are the main causes of laptop battery problems? There are quite a lot of them. The most common is banal wear and tear. The battery does not last forever and has a service life (usually 2-3 years) and after that it does not work so well. So don't forget about this fact. After all, if you have an old laptop, it’s probably time to replace the battery long ago. The battery is a consumable item that can be replaced without any problems.
There are several rules that will allow you to maximize battery life. First, remove the battery when the laptop is running on AC power. Very often, people use laptops as a stationary device without removing the battery, which shortens its service life. The second rule is that it is recommended to completely discharge/charge the battery at least once every couple of weeks, and preferably every week. Otherwise, problems may begin much earlier than the specified period.
Other reasons for poor battery performance:
- A short circuit has occurred;
- The operation of the power controller was disrupted;
- There are problems with the battery contacts;
- The power supply to the motherboard was interrupted;
- Drivers do not work correctly;
- The power cable is damaged.
If for some reason you do not want to contact a technician or service center, you can independently diagnose the laptop battery. To do this, you will need to download and install the special BatteryCare utility. With its help, you can view all the basic information on the operation and current state of the battery. BatteryCare also offers the user tips and recommendations for improving battery performance and reducing charge consumption. In general, the program is very useful, and completely free. So be sure to download it.
Another great utility that offers similar capabilities is Battery Optimizer. Among the advantages and features, we can highlight the fact that Battery Optimizer allows you to increase the battery life of a laptop by making changes to the operation of some services. In this case, the program itself tells all this to the user. In addition, here you will find extensive and detailed information on the operation of the battery.
You can also do without using programs. All you need is a multimeter. Switch it to DC mode and connect it to the battery, after disassembling it. Before disassembling the battery, be sure to completely discharge it. To open the battery, insert a knife into the longitudinal seam of the case and pull apart the covers. After this, check the voltage in the circuit using a multimeter. The display should show a value equal to the number of batteries multiplied by 3.7. If the voltage of an individual cell is less than 3.7, then this indicates that it is time to replace it.
Now you know how to check your laptop battery for performance. Write in the comments whether this article was useful to you, share your own experience with other users, and ask any questions you have about the topic discussed.
