Laptops·2,658 discussions

Is it a good idea to keep my laptop plugged-in?

Tags: Cloud, Cloud

Dear All,
I have a question regarding my new laptop and I would be grateful if you can answer it. I have bought a Huawei matebook x pro 2020 and I need to use it around 12 hours per day (home office). I have heard that the new lithium-polymer or lithium-ion batteries have a limited number of charging cycles and so, it is better to keep the laptop plugged-in when it is charged to prolong the battery life. In matebook laptops there is also a good option for battery protection that stops battery charging when reaching a maximum level. But my problem is that when I keep the laptop plugged-in, it gets “very” hot and the fan works frequently and loudly, even when the laptop is idle. So, what is your suggestion? Which one is better: to keep my laptop plugged-in and do not care if it gets hot or to charge it up to a certain level and then unplug my laptop and continue working on battery?
Thanks in advance for your answers,
Best, Majid

Topic

Re: plugged in

In reply to Is it a good idea to keep my laptop plugged-in?

It’s much better to keep it plugged in. But it’s not good at all that it becomes hot then. Return it for a repair under warranty.

My experience

In reply to Is it a good idea to keep my laptop plugged-in?

I don’t know about your laptop, but with my prior laptops I could remove the battery and run the computer directly plugged in through the charging port with no difficulty. Doing so limited the heat problem that you mentioned.

Another option would be to buy a laptop cooling station that is a slightly raised platform with built-in fans to help keep the air circulating on the bottom.

Don’t overthink this as there are plenty of options out there.

RE

In reply to My experience

Thanks for your reply. And if I continue using it on battery (I mean plug-in my laptop just for charging and unplug it when it is fully charged), does it have a big impact on the battery life?
I chatted with two Huawei experts. They recommend using the device on battery and not keeping it plugged-in!

Unless the laptop is defective, not enough gain in life span to bother.

In reply to Is it a good idea to keep my laptop plugged-in?

At my brother’s insurance office with about 100 laptops we cycle out laptops at about 5 years. Just last year we had a few removed at the 5 year mark.

From memory here are the numbers.
Laptop #1 had 98% capacity remaining. Laptops #2 and 3 had about 95% and 88%.

Given this it appears you might not have any meaningful impact if you removed the battery and stored it for 5 years. You certainly would lose the benefit of your laptop not crashing when the power goes out.

2005 Compaq R3000 Presario laptop. Original battery is at 95% capacity.

In reply to Unless the laptop is defective, not enough gain in life span to bother.

At my office we have two of these and we are cleaning out the store room.

Because you asked I checked the capacity and both are at 95% capacity after over a decade of use and storage.

The office uses laptop battery power sparingly but never bothered to unplug said batteries. The result is over a decade and still a good battery.

These laptops in their prime were used for hours every day on mains power mostly. And for a time they did duty as lightweight servers for a custom system we developed.

-> My answer is again you can’t impact battery life by leaving it plugged in. The caveat here is the laptop must be a good design which most have been since about the year 2000.

Yes

In reply to Is it a good idea to keep my laptop plugged-in?

there is no harm if you continuously keep your laptop on charge. It will directly power the system skipping the battery once it is fully charged.

Reply

In reply to Is it a good idea to keep my laptop plugged-in?

It is absolutely safe, but it is not good at all for your laptop. If you let the battery charging constantly, it will decrease the lifespan of your battery. The chemistry of the battery is adversely affected by being charged non-stop. The best way is to use the laptop by removing the battery to prolong its life.

Have to disagree.

In reply to Reply

After dozens of laptops at the office sitting on desks plugged in and seeing single digit capacity losses, it looks like you can only affect a battery’s life span by using it.

Yes

In reply to Have to disagree.

Yes, you are right. As already told, the battery is adversely affected by
being charged non-stop. The best ways are only to remove the battery
while using it non-stop

That makes no sense.

In reply to Yes

I’m using the battery and you want me to remove it? How would my laptop turn on without the battery (I want to use it on battery power!)

As to being charged non-stop, at the office, over 100 laptops on mains power we see little to no battery aging so what situation/condition are you writing about here?

Maybe you are outdated and thinking about some bad designs we saw in laptops over 20 years ago.

[Author]

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