Are the batteries charged already when shipped?

This might be a stupid question, but I really don't know the answer.

When my T400 comes in tomorrow, will the battery already have some charge in it, or will I have to let it charge for hours before I am able to do anything with it?

Should I let it charge completely before ever turning it on?

 

when my came, it has some juice in it. so i think yours will too, but its better to charge it anyways, unless you are really busy and had to started it on the move.

 

My battery had about a 40% charge.(If I remember correctly). I dont see any reason why you cant just plug it in and use the computer regardless of what the charge is on the battery. At Circuit City, alot of the laptops on display dont even have any batteries at all, they are just plugged in and are working fine.( that is until the bankruptcy procedure begins )

 

mine is also about 40%. Since these new technology Lithium-ion batteries do not suffer the memory effect, just feel free to use them the way you want. The only thing you should pay attention to is that do not ever let it overdischarge. That's all.

 

The batteries are shipped at around 40% on purpose. It is bad for Lithium Ion batteries to store them, or ship them internationally, at the extremes of their charge cycle. If they are left to long at 0% they could eventually lose the ability to charge. Conversely if they are left close to 100%, they will lose WHr capacity, this is particularly true if they get hot. A Lithium Ion battery stored at room temperature and a 40% charge, will hold its capacity and long term life very well.

Back to your original question. I would recommend that you plug your laptop in as soon as you get it. You can begin working on it immediately, but I would let the battery charge fully (all the way to 100%) before unplugging it. You may then want to change the battery charge thresholds (I use start at 60%, stop at 95%) to prolong your batteries life (for the same storage reasons I mentioned above).

 

I don't understand this idea. In the Battery Guide, the author said that we should start recharging our batteries when they reach 10-20%.

 

That is certainly an option, and if you don't need to use battery power too often, then a 20% start/50% stop might be an okay idea. However I use my laptop on battery almost everyday and I need a decent amount of power. For me 60% is plenty (I get 4-5 hours depending on settings), but much below that is inadequate.

The main thing about the 10-20% and similarly about my 95% stop, is that Lithium Ion batteries should not live at the extremes. You shouldn't run them down below 10% (if you can avoid it), and you shouldn't keep them at 95% for a long time (it's fine to top it off before a flight or other situation where you will be using the battery soon and need the maximum life) because both will reduce long term battery capacity quickly. 60-95% is just a threshold I can live with, and prevents my battery from topping off too frequently.

If you are almost always plugged in a 10%/40% would work, and if you only want to run complete cycles then a 10%/95% would work. I just find that the default 95%/100% results in the batteries being topped off too frequently, living right at maximum charge, and thus losing capacity very quickly. I used the stock settings on my T40, and eventually my 5 hour 47 WHr battery, would only last about 30 minutes and was rated at 6 WHr due to abuse (I bought spares and treated them gentler eventually).

 

I unboxed an X200s today and its battery was also charged to 40%.

Good information, Jon, thank you. The battery on my T61 really lost its capacity quickly this year and I'm betting that it's because I rarely exercised it.

 

@jonlumpkin: thanks for your answer.

So, is there a setting which allows us to automatically stop the charge and recharge processes at given thresholds, for example, 90% and 15%?

 

yes, in the power manager, battery maintenance.

 

I received a T61 recently and the battery was charged to a full %100 ... nevertheless, I left in plugged in overnight as a "just in case" before turning the machine on....