Does using a laptop plugged in ruin the battery?

Does plugging in the laptop ruin the battery? Most laptops are made of Lithium-Ion batteries. Lithium-Ion batteries can be recharged but every time you recharge them it loses some of its power.

For example, you just bought a new laptop and it has a battery life of 100%.

This means if your new laptop can stay on for 4 hours with a full battery. Then it will stay on for 4 hours when you recharge it.

However, every time you charge your laptop the battery timing goes down.

So lets say you have your laptop for a few years now. The battery life of it has significantly decreased. Lets say your battery life is now 80%, if you would charge your laptop then it would only last for 4 hours x 80% = 3 hours and 12 minutes.

Yes and no, in the short term, it shouldnt matter so much if you keep your laptop plugged in. However, lithium-ion batteries that are in laptops get their life reduced every time theyre recharged.

It is bad to let your laptop battery die, so you should recharge it before it goes to 0%.

Does plugging in the laptop ruin the battery?

Well, as you know and weve explained above battery laptops are not invincible. Thats why you should never let your laptop battery down.Always make sure you plug it in before your battery goes to 0%.

A charge cycle is when your laptop battery charges from 0% back to 100% again.

Laptops and smartphones only have a finite of charge cycles in them. After that, youll have to replace the battery or buy a new one.

So when you let your laptop drain to 0%, your laptop needs to charge up again to 100% before it has used a charge cycle.

To make it more clear, Ill give you an example of the use of charge cycles:

1stday your battery starts at 100% and you use 80% which leaves you with 20%.

Then you go to sleep and plug in your laptop or smartphone to charge so you can use it the next day.

2nd day your battery starts at 100% again and lets say you use 40% of it because you had a day off.

On the first charge cycle, you had used 80% and on the second day, you used 40% which comes near to 120%. So you used 1 full charge cycle and 20% for the 2ndcycle.

Lets say your laptop has 4 x 365 = 1460 charge cycles. Thatll mean that when your laptop has charged its self for 1460fullcharge cycles, youll have to replace the battery.

To come to a simple conclusion:Avoid your laptop going to 0% and only leave it on when you need it. Because when youre not using your laptop and leave it on, the battery is still using up charge cycles.

What are things that could ruin your laptop battery?

Overall, it depends on whatlaptop brandyou own. Different laptops require different user habits because theyre made for different purposes.

Make sure youve read most of the important things in the manual of your laptop considering battery life and usage. Most modern laptops have a battery optimization mechanic built into them.

This means your laptop is smart enough to adapt to how you use your laptop.

Here are some things that could ruin your laptop:

  • Leaving your laptop plugged in if it doesnt need charging
  • Discharging your battery often to 0%
  • Plugging in your laptop for a long time can cause overheating
  • Not reading the manual and reading random advice on the internet

Well, most of the time you dont need to be worried about plugging in your laptop and using it.

Apple does not advise this though, so if you own an Apple device you might want to keep this in mind. It has recommended its users to only charge it when needed and when its between 25% battery life.

When youchargeyour battery too close to 100%, you will lose most battery life in the long term. Thats because charging your battery when its already 100% youre heating the battery for no reason and this could damage it.

Instead, its recommended to remove your battery if youre using your laptop while its plugged in most of the time. Dont forget to store the battery in a cool and safe place.

Heating kills batteries and you can overheat your battery if you have your laptop plugged in all time.

So make sure you only plug in your laptop when its around 25% and at least under 50% battery life.

Are you gaming on your laptop? Then you might find yourself using your laptop plugged in, but make sure youre laptop is not heating too much. Overheating is one of the more damaging things you can do to your laptop and battery.

In conclusion:leaving your laptop plugged in, wont cause much harm in most cases. Thats because almost every modern laptop disconnects and stops the charging process when the battery is fully charged.

But keep in mind that laptops arent made to be plugged in all the time. When youre gaming you might want to remove the battery (if possible) and keep playing with your laptop plugged in.

Gaming requires a lot of energy from your laptop and if you have it plugged in your laptop can make use of more energy. Another thing is that your laptop doesnt have to enable any power-saving modes when plugged in.

Why do laptop batteries not get damaged while being plugged in?

There are many reasons why modern laptop batteries are a lot smarter and its harder for consumers to mess up their batteries.

Previously, if you had no knowledge of laptops you were bound to ruin it because you had no idea what practices would increase or decrease battery time.

Most modern laptops are only getting smarter, and thats why manufacturers invest in technology that automatically handles laptop battery time to increase it.

Batteries these days disconnect from charging automatically when its fully charged. So there is less probability of overheating your laptop.

Laptop manufacturers have over the years created more user-friendly laptops. Meaning, your laptop automatically enables power-saving modes. Also, if your laptop is fully charged, as we explained above, it automatically disconnects and you cant get more than 100% on your charge.

Once your laptop gets to 100% charging, it hovers between 99% and 100% continuously. This is called trickle charging and modern laptop batteries are designed in a way that is not very harmful to your battery.

In the end, it all comes down to how Lithium-Ion batteries work. These batteries are used in most modern laptops and can be charged anywhere from 300 to 500 full charges.

This doesnt equal 300 to 500 days because one day you might use your laptop for more than another day. Ive explained this in-depth in the first paragraph of this article and wont make this any longer.

So in short: your laptop wont get damaged if you decide to charge it and use it. But it can ruin your battery life in the long term if youre not giving it time to drain the battery and recharge.

Lithium-Ion batteries, that are used in laptops, have a perfect battery range anywhere from 25%-50% where its the perfect time to charge your battery.

If your battery is more than 80% and you decide to charge it you could ruin the battery capacity because you will have lesser cycles. The more battery cycles you can put your battery through, the longer it will last.

Besides that, one of the things that will ruin your battery the most is letting it die. AKA letting your battery turn off because you didnt charge it before it hit 0%.

This is because when your laptop hits 0%, it still needs to use some energy to keep it awake and this is not optimal. Normally, you want your laptop to use as much power from yourmain batteryinstead of the backup battery.

Thats why you might find your phone or laptop suddenly turning off at 20%.

When is it okay to keep my laptop plugged in and use it?

There are many cases where its okay to have your laptop plugged in while using it.

One of the most common reasons is heavy-duty tasks that require a lot of battery juice. Heavy-duty tasks are things like gaming, editing, downloading movie, etc.

Its improbable youre doing any of these tasks without finding out it drains your laptop very quickly.

You can keep your laptop plugged in while gaming, editing, downloading, or any other task that may drain a lot of battery timing.

Doing so does not ruin your battery if youre not doing it continuously. If youre gaming every day you might want to use it plugged in without the battery.

This way your battery has no chance of overheating and your laptop can make use of the AC power.

For these tasks, youre in no doubt asking a lot of your laptop. However, most Apple laptops and more modern laptops dont give you the option to easily remove the battery.

Laptops are only getting thinner and thinner and they require a design that doesnt support these big laptop batteries.