Batteries, no matter whether it is on a laptop or a mobile, do not last forever. When you charge and discharge them, they go through chemical reactions, making the battery life degrade over time.
That said, our laptops were performing great for a reasonable amount of time. However, recently, we noticed an abnormal rate of battery drain on some of our laptops. So, when one of our team members asked why is my laptop battery draining so fast, we took a deep look into the matter.
Trust us; some of the issues we found needed just a couple of seconds to be fixed. And we were regretting why we were holding it back for this long. That said, we will make things easier for you. We will go through each of them so that you can address the issue adequately and come to a solution.
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What Is the Average Battery Life of a Laptop?
Before we get deeper into the topic, you should know whether the battery life you are getting is normal or not. Usually, the battery life will vary from one model to another.
Each year, the brands are integrating power-efficient components into their system. Some are even bumping up the battery capacity. Both play a significant role in terms of backup time.
That said, if you are talking about an older generation laptop, the backup can be from anywhere between 2 hours to 4 hours. Some might even last higher than that. And for modern devices with power-efficient chips, it would be from 4 hours to 7 hours. In fact, some highly power-efficient systems can even last for 10 hours!
So, as you can see, the backup time is not consistent for each of the devices. To get a fair idea regarding the system, check the official website’s user manual or promotional features.
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What Is Causing My Laptop to Have a Poor Battery Life?
With the topic of average battery back for laptops aside, let us get into the thing that mainly brought you here. So, we had to do a lot of digging when our laptops were not providing the advertised battery backup. And from those research and digging, these are the possible reasons we have found:
Too Many External Devices Connected
External keyboard and mouse is something that is standard for most laptop users. However, did you know that those draw power from the laptop? They do! Without drawing power, they would not be able to send your input to the computer.
However, just a mouse and a keyboard are not the issues — instead, other devices connected to the USB ports are. If you charge up your phone using the laptop, use external HDDs, or anything that draws power, they might be causing an extensive drain. To solve this, we would recommend keeping your computer plugged in when the external devices are connected.
Wireless Connections
Apart from the wired devices, there might be loads of wireless devices connected to the laptop. And just like wired devices, wireless devices drain the battery as well. And to fix this issue, disconnect the peripherals that you do not need to use when the laptop is not attached to the power outlet.
In fact, we would even recommend disconnecting from the WiFi if you do not need to access the internet. Go to settings, check for an option that states Network Connections, and disconnect the ones you do not require.
Brightness
The screen of the systems is one of the things that draw significant power from the cells. However, the power draw becomes maximum when the brightness slider is on the very top! We had noticed a reduction of up to 50 percent of the usual backup when the screen was like that.
That said, this one is an easy fix as well. All you need to do is lower the brightness slider a bit when the laptop is not connected to the power source. In some cases, the backup might increase to 2 to 3 percent more than usual after following this step.
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Screen Settings
Now, modern systems are coming with additional screen settings. Yes, we are talking about the refresh rate. 60Hz is the standard, but many are capable of pushing up to 240Hz. That said, a higher refresh rate can put a good amount of strain on the battery when the brick is not connected to the laptop.
So, if you want to get the usual battery backup, turn the high refresh rate option off when the device is not connected to a power source.
Backlit Keyboard
The backlit keyboard of the laptops is a great feature. They make typing easier during the night and when there is no light source around. However, like any other peripheral, the backlit put strain on the battery.
You can either dim the backlit setting or turn it off entirely to work around this issue. Dimming it will make you see about 5 percent of improvement while turning it off can improve the backup time by 10 percent.
The Power Settings Not Be Right
For both Windows and Mac, there is a power option available. You can access it by clicking on the battery icon that is on the system tray. There will generally be three settings. One is balanced, which keeps the battery life and performance in the middle point. It is probably the one that your laptop came with in the first place.
Then, there is power mode, which throws battery backup out of the window. It focuses strictly on performance and performance only. And there is a chance that your laptop is on this setting at the moment. It will direct all of the power to the components to make them offer the best performance.
As you might have guessed, it is pretty easy to fix this issue. All you need to do is change the power plan. Stick to the balanced if you want to keep an adequate level of backup with performance. However, for the best battery backup, choose the battery saver mode. That will extend the life substantially.
Background Processes
It is pretty natural for a computer to have loads of background processes running in the background. However, not all of the background process is necessary. There might be some drawing power even when you do not feel the need to use them.
However, power is not the only that these processes consume. They will consume RAM too. That might end up not being able to properly use the applications you require.
That said, to fix this, you would need to open up your task manager. See the back processes and close those applications that you do not require at that time. However, do not end the tasks of Windows’ core processes. Without them, the operating system will not function properly.
Eject the Disc
Yes, we know that disc drives are a thing of the past at the moment. However, there are still some modern systems that will integrate one of these. To boost the backup time, you need to first check whether there is any disc inside the drive or not. If there is one inside that you longer need, eject it.
Opt for an External Cooling System
Laptops now have an advanced cooling system that can adequately cool down the components inside. However, when you are dealing with a resource-intensive task, the parts can get exceptionally hot. And to handle the heat, the cooling system would ramp up, which would draw more power.
To solve this problem, you would need to purchase an external cooler. It will support the internal cooler during those loads and can lower the power draw substantially.
However, you should tune the settings accordingly. If you ramp it up during moderate loads, it will draw more than the required power from the laptop.
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When Should I Replace the Battery?
The cells of laptops can run optimally for about two years. After that, the battery life can degrade. And usually, after that period, people recommend replacing the battery life.
The degradation can start occurring before that period. So, if any of the fixes do not work for you, you should opt for a battery replacement. And OEM replacements are the ones that we would recommend in this case. The non-OEM ones will not be that reliable, and they might not last that long either.
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Conclusion on Why Is My Laptop Battery Draining So Fast
Hopefully, after going through this article, you have found the answer to why is my laptop battery draining so fast. Most of the issues can be fixed without investing that much time and without spending any money. Also, if the problem does not get fixed, you need to opt for a replacement.
Hi there! My name is Mohiuddin Alamgir and I’m the man behind of “Laptopvine”. I love learning about all sorts of technology, especially laptops. I find it fascinating how laptops have evolved over the years and how they’ve become essential tools for both work and play. I strive to provide information that is both accurate and helpful to those looking for a new laptop.