Laptop Battery Care Guide

Overview

The goal of this guide is to extend the daily runtime and the long-term lifespan of your laptop battery. If you are noticing any issues with your laptops battery life please try the steps below

Instructions

If you are noticing any issues with your laptops battery life please try the steps below.

Operating System Settings

Windows

The "Energy Saver" Mode
Energy Saver mode. It throttles background syncing (like OneDrive or Outlook) and reduces visual effects to squeeze out more runtime.
How to enable: Click the Battery icon in your taskbar and toggle the Leaf icon. You can set this to turn on automatically at a specific percentage like 30%
Path: Settings > System > Power & battery

Energy Recommendations
It will analyze your screen timeout, sleep settings, and brightness, then give you a single "Apply all" button to optimize your laptop instantly.
Path: Settings > System > Power & battery > Energy recommendations

macOS

How to check your battery health
Path: System Settings >Battery > Battery Health (i)
This will show the battery condition as well as the Maximum Capacity

Set a charge limit
To prevent battery ‘aging’ is to set a charge limit.
Path: System Settings >Battery > Charging (i)
From here you can set the limit between 80%-100% Most sources say 80% is the ideal sweet spot for battery health.

Note: if you know you will need a 100% charge you can click on the battery icon and choose “Charge to Full Now” this will temporarily ignore the limit you set and charge your MacBook to 100%

Set Low Power Mode
A great way to improve overall battery life is to set Low Power Mode to Only on Battery
Path: System Settings >Battery on the drop down change it to Only on Battery
Low Power Mode on a MacBook extends battery life by reducing system performance, capping screen brightness, and minimizing background tasks

Web Browser Settings

Chrome

Energy Saver: This automatically limits background activity and visual effects when your battery is low. Memory Saver: This deactivates inactive tabs to free up RAM. They reload automatically when you click on them

Open Chrome and click the three dots in the top-right corner.
Select Settings.
Navigate to the Performance tab on the left menu.
Toggle Memory Saver or Energy Saver on or off based on your preference

Edge

Open Edge and go to Settings (three dots in the top right). Select System and performance. Under Optimize Performance, toggle Efficiency mode on or off. Modes: Options typically include "Never," "Always," or "Always (when unplugged)" to allow for customization. Visual Indicator: When active, a blue heart/pulse icon may appear in the toolbar.

Safari

Safari automatically switches based on the power mode your macOS is set to.

General Tips

	Why it works
The 20-80 Rule	Keeping your battery between 20% and 80% can double its lifespan compared to constant 0-100% cycles. Both WIndows11 and MacOS do this for you by default.
Avoid Heat	Don't leave your laptop in a hot car or on a soft surface (like a bed) that blocks the vents.
Update Everything	Power management drivers are frequently updated in macOS "point releases" and Dell BIOS updates.

When a battery/laptop replacement is necessary

The "Swollen" Look: The trackpad is clicking poorly, and/or the bottom casing is bulging.
Service Warnings: macOS shows "Service Recommended"
Instant Drops: The battery jumps from 30% to 5% in a few minutes.

Additional Help

If you continue to have issues after trying the above steps or see signs the battery needs to be replaced please reach out to OIT. You can use the request support button in the top right.

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