Dell XPS Battery Health

Dell Support Center software is telling me that the Percent of Original Capacity for my laptop is at 85%. I have been using my laptop for 10 months. However, less than 10 times have I unplugged my laptop and used without AC power.

Is this normal?

 

That doesn't sound normal for a battery to have such a high wear level. Just as a reference my M15x is at least 2 years old and it only has a wear level of 11.4% (in other words full charge is 88.6%). Download hwinfo64 or 32 and run that and make sure you don't check the box that says sensors. See if that shows you the same wear level. Could just be a faulty battery or something. If you have warranty give Dell a call.

Edit: Just checked my cousins laptop, he has the xps 15 l502x which is only about 3ish months old with a wear level of 8%. Could be an xps thing.

 

If you usually run on AC power, you might consider removing the battery when you don't need it. If you google

extend laptop battery life

you'll find info and opinions on the subject, this one is typical.

5 Tips to Extend Your Laptop Battery's Life | BNET

The theory is that when the battery is left in all the time and the laptop is usually plugged in, the battery goes through many discharge/charge cycles. It's fully charged and the charger circuitry shuts off, then it begins to discharge of its own accord because that just happens over time. When it's discharged to the level that triggers the charge circuitry, the charger kicks and tops it off, and the cycle begins again. Newer batteries and laptops may be less susceptible to this.

My only experience over the long haul is the Inspiron 8600 I got in 2004. I never put the battery in except to top it off when I'm going to need it, usually when I'm going to fly. The battery was still good for about three hours last time I used it in May 2010.

 

edit; sorry misinformation... I googled it and learnt something new