After a about two or so years of owning a laptop you will experience the frustration of a dead or dying laptop battery. With the battery gone your handy ‘take it anywhere’ laptop will be reduced to nothing more than a less than satisfactory desktop – restricted by cables and plugs no matter what you do. Many people miss the warning signs of a dying laptop battery and wait until their battery is completely dead before going to purchase a new one. Ignoring the warning signs can easily cost you a significant amount of money because you will likely not want to wait a week or two for a battery to be shipped to you from online.
If you are concerned about your laptop battery, or have noticed some issues with the battery life not being what it used to be, then read below for some of the common symptoms, causes, and other pertinent information on laptop batteries.
What are the symptoms?
The biggest symptom of a dying laptop battery is a significantly reduced battery life. If you are travelling with a fully charged battery and it depletes at a rapid rate, then your battery is likely dying. This is especially true if the battery is over a year or two old.
If your battery is dead you will experience much more severe problems. If the battery is completely dead then whenever you unplug the laptop it will shut off completely without warning. Also, when it is plugged in it will never show the battery as charging – it will simply state that its plugged in.
What causes it?
The main cause of a dead or dying battery is simply old age. Batteries aren’t meant to last forever and they will eventually run out of juice just like regular AA batteries. One main thing that will deplete your battery more so than usual is warmth. Your laptop can get incredibly warm and this can damage your laptop as well as drain the battery.
Where do you get a new battery?
There are a wide variety of places to get a new laptop battery, however the best place is to search online as you are likely to get a better deal there. Amazon and eBay have numerous sellers offering laptop batteries at cheaper prices. To find your right battery simply check your computer model and search online for the corresponding battery.
Laptop battery care for your new battery
If you’ve purchased a new battery then you need to follow some basic guidelines to ensure its maximum life.
1 – Keep your laptop and battery cool.
2 – Charge it fully when your computer warns you its low (at like 10% or 20%). Don’t wait for your battery to die completely before recharging.
3 – Don’t plug in your battery when your computer is plugged in via adapter.