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    How to stop the battery charging

    Discussion in 'Alienware 14 and M14x' started by alienwarebenny, Jul 29, 2012.

  1. alienwarebenny

    alienwarebenny Newbie

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    Hi there. I have just purchased an M14x r2 and it's just occurred to me that I might be damaging the longevity of my battery.

    I'm very rarely going to use it without it being plugged into the mains, so is there a way (apart from the BIOS) to safely disable to battery from charging? Also, is there a specific recommended % to do this on? (I read 40% somewhere)

    Any help is greatly appreciated.

    Thanks.
     
    alienwarebenny, Jul 29, 2012
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  2. laz91

    laz91 Notebook Evangelist

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    the battery should automatically stop charging when its 100% in newer Alienware's. I was recommended by a dell rep to charge only once its down to 60% (Source: This thread). Also check out this Dell guide for more battery-related info :)
     
    laz91, Jul 29, 2012
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  3. Alienware-Luis_Pardo

    Alienware-Luis_Pardo Guest

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    Great answer! thanks for using our articles :)

    I got you some more "light" reading regarding batteries if you want to take a look Battery Care
     
    Alienware-Luis_Pardo, Jul 30, 2012
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  4. alienwarebenny

    alienwarebenny Newbie

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    Ah ok great, thanks for that. I was told that at 100% it will still cycle charge a little bit, slowing dropping charge then recharging it (which is what damages the battery)

    Apparently it was wrong.

    Thanks again.
     
    alienwarebenny, Jul 30, 2012
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  5. Marcymaru

    Marcymaru Notebook Consultant

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    What people are saying here is only partially correct.
    Even though it is true the battery would stop charging when its 100%, it is also true that the battery will still constantly charge and discharge, causing it to deteriorate faster.
    Let's say that your battery is 100% charged and your laptop is on. The battery won't charge anymore.
    But let's suppose that you turn your laptop off, unplug it, you go to sleep, and you plug it and turn it on again after 15 hours.
    Well in that time, even if just slightly, the better will lose that 0,5% of charge, and when you turn it on again, that will be recharged, basically "wasting" one cycle of charge.
    Just to be safe then, I recommend to disable the charge through the Bios, ang just re-enable it again when you need it. ;)
    You can do that through the Charger Behavior option.
    Hope this helped! :)
     
    Marcymaru, Jul 31, 2012
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  6. laz91

    laz91 Notebook Evangelist

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    i've heard this is true. i go to uni most mornings so i take my laptop with me and turn it on for the first time of the day at uni then plug it in at night so i avoid this wasted cycle most days. Though on the days i dont go to uni, for me personally, deactivating/activating charging in bios is not worth the effort for the amount of life im going to save on it. The battery is likely to last quite a long time regardless and i always have the option of buying a new one when it eventually stops performing. If you are dedicated enough though it does lengthen the life of the battery
     
    laz91, Jul 31, 2012
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