Can you keep the laptop charging constantly?

Hey guys, this question may have been answered before, but after doing a search and coming up empty I figured I would ask...

So I keep my laptop plugged in / charging 24/7. Mainly due to using it as a desktop replacement.. So I was wondering, am I damaging the battery by doing this?

Thanks!

 

Typically no, most batteries/devices have circuits in them built to bypass the battery when directly plugged in and in use. I know most lithium ion manufacturers have an integrated chip that tends signal to stop or slow charging when they reach a certain charge percentage in the 90's usually to prevent excessive wear from overcharge.

But heat is a huge enemy of batteries, so just from heat you damage the battery to some extent, but that is not avoidable. I wouldn't overly worry about leaving the laptop plugged in all the time, the technology in itself should prevent any large amounts of damage typically.

 

All the new Alienware laptops have a feature that disables battery charging when it reaches 100%

 

Is this always on and a behind the scenes feature? Or are you referring to the desktop battery mode in the battery settings?

Since swapping to the much needed 240W PSU, I've noticed my desktop battery mode no longer works. My battery stays charged to 100% all the time...which is not good.

 

Generally with the integrated circuits in the battery or built into the hardware, it should be fully charged when it is in the 90-95% area give or take a bit. It reports that to the computer as 100% in most cases. To continually charge a battery to 100% all the time is bad for its life. If the alienware battery is the same, it'll be no controllable from the computer's software. I wouldn't worry about it, battery technology is pretty good these days, worry about heat affecting it more than charge.

Edit:

The interesting thing is before all these posts about batteries I've been seeing lately, I had to write an essay on batteries, so kind of convenient, I definitely got a lot more information from it.

 

I'm pretty sure most modern (and decent/higher-end) laptops have this feature built-in.

The whole "take out your battery" when plugged in thing is somewhat dated.

I have a year-old Alienware 17, the battery wear is around 12%.

 

It's mostly just the temperature you have to worry about, make sure the machine is not left in hot or cold environments or in places with large swings in temperatures.

 

Ok, so if the batteries are circumvented when they get to 100% why does the battery saver option come up if I keep my laptop plugged in too long? Is being at 90-100% for a few weeks bad for the battery?

 

Not generally bad, because the battery's IC only lets it charge to enough to a healthy maximum. What is detected as 100% isn't 100% of the actual battery's charge ability for this reason.
Storing batteries at a maximum is not the best healthy option. Most importantly people stop worrying about your batteries! They're designed well enough for general use.

 

Point taken, I have never had a laptop that had the battery go bad before it was outrageously obsolete. Good to know about the circuitry from AW/Dell.

 

This is all good to know. I was worried about this myself as my last laptop was a Lenovo y510p and the battery died after a year and I did not even use it off the charger more then twice.

 

I would blame it on Lenovo. I have tried a few products from them and they all got returned. I was hoping that a business powerhouse would know how to just make something work. No flash, no fluster...just work.. I was mistaken on the two times I decided to go with them.

 

Yeah I bought an Alienware due to my Lenovo almost catching fire. Where the power cord plugs in there was a loud arcing sound and smoke came out the side. Luckily I got them to fix it even though it was a month out of warranty.

Glad it happened not as i love my Alienware 17 R2. The Lenovo have 2 750m's in SLI but it was inconsistent... got high FPS mostly but was not smooth like the 970m is. There were big dips in FPS a lot of the time... the 970m is smooth and steady, and I do not have to worry about SLI support.

 

Holy Crap man! Glad your OK. Did Lenovo change ownership or management in the past couple of years? All I can remember of them from college was their ridiculously well made business laptops.

 

Thanks. Luckily I was using it and unplugged it when it happened (though it dies before then but I unplugged it just in case the electrical arcing and burning might continue).

I actually really like the y510p, it is a great laptop especially for the price. I just got unlucky... it happens.

 

It seems from my memory they used to be well made a few years ago also. Lately now all I see is how they've been going down in quality and support even more. Maybe budget cuts again.

 

Yeah I used to make e-cig mods and know the dangers of lithium batteries. That "experiment" was like the worst case scenario and a very unlikely one... it was overloading the batteries with opposite currents.

My Lenovo actually did not have the batteries in it at the time... my arcing issue was from the board that accepts the power from the adapter.

 

Yeah. I used to reconfigure LiPo packs for RC vehicles of all types, made some money doing in the college and every now and then I would cook off a bad cell for fun. Anyway, Lenovo is now crap and glad your OK.

To the OP: don't worry, your fine, and sorry for the thread hijack.