[LAPTOP] Battery not lasting very long

[DoYouKubuntu]

No idea where this should go, so here it is!

My brand-new System76 laptop's battery doesn't seem to be functioning correctly. Wait, let me back up...

Every laptop I've ever had I've killed the battery by always leaving it plugged in. So, THIS TIME, I decided I was going to remember to unplug it once in a while. I'm doing that on Tuesdays. Right now it's been one hour and 26 minutes since I unplugged it, and its battery is already down to 49%. Does that sound right? normal? okay? (And I'm not DOING anything resource intensive. Mostly it's just been sitting here while I've been busy doing other things. I have konsole open and SeaMonkey running, and that's it.)

[TWPonKubuntu]

Yes, that sounds normal. A Lithium battery lasts from 1 to 4 hours, depending on the system it runs.
Your (new?) battery has lasted 1.5 hours and shows 50% (49%) charge remaining, right? That sounds normal.

Be aware that lithium batteries lose capacity at the rate of about 20% per year, which gives them an effective lifetime of about 5 years, with declining capacity (less run time) as they age.

If by 'unplugged', you mean the battery itself has been removed from the case and it STILL loses charge, then you do have a problem with the battery itself.

I assume you meant that you have unplugged the laptop power supply and left the battery in the case.

If you have not done so, you can adjust the power settings to reduce screen brightness under battery power. This extends the run time under battery power. It can make viewing the screen more difficult, but it's your call.

[GreyGeek]

TWPonKubuntu beat me to it. I ditto his remarks.

[DoYouKubuntu]

Okay then, thanks guys. See what happens when you never use a laptop on battery?! I've had laptops for years and truly had no idea how long a battery should stay charged...because I ALWAYS leave them plugged in 24/7!

[millusions]

as above
+ it depends a lot as to what youre doing, for example reading web pages or playing dvd's or movies
you can also tune your laptop to squeeze a bit more battery time with laptop-tools: few config files to it;
and cpu frequency,
for example my i5 laptop is set to run at 800mhz when on batteries


thoughts; SSd would have to be more energy efficient since there's no moving parts?

[GreyGeek]

Okay then, thanks guys. See what happens when you never use a laptop on battery?! I've had laptops for years and truly had no idea how long a battery should stay charged...because I ALWAYS leave them plugged in 24/7!

My Acer is two years old. During that time I have used it while on battery only twice, to show a DVD movie. The battery lasted long enough to play the 120 minute and 150 minute movies. Not bad considering that besides spinning the DVD the battery was also driving the 17" display in vivid colors.

Otherwise, this laptop stays plugged in all the time. If the battery dies I will just take it out and use this laptop like a desktop.

[MoonRise]

Display brightness plays a role too. Usually the display should darken on battery but if you keep the brightness up as when plugged in it will consume quite a bit of battery charge.

[millusions]

You dont know what you're missing out on!

laptops were meant to use without cables hanging off them

i must admit my first laptop i never unplugged / killed the battery,
but once you go tail-less (no cable) its quite nice!

specially when one leaves the house

[SteveRiley]

specially when one leaves the house

What does that mean?

[DoYouKubuntu]

You dont know what you're missing out on!

laptops were meant to use without cables hanging off them

Yeah, but the way I use my laptops it really doesn't matter if they have tails! For example, the one I keep out on my patio--it's just always plugged in [I strung a power strip's cord through the umbrella hole in my patio table; I have 12--count 'em, TWELVE!!--outlets available to me on my patio table]. I never even think about the fact that the laptop is plugged in, it's just there.

i must admit my first laptop i never unplugged / killed the battery,
but once you go tail-less (no cable) its quite nice!

specially when one leaves the house

[DoYouKubuntu]

Display brightness plays a role too. Usually the display should darken on battery but if you keep the brightness up as when plugged in it will consume quite a bit of battery charge.

Yes, I do have its settings to dim the display when on battery...but since I almost never see it that way...