Ideapad Battery question

Hi!
I bought an Ideapad Y530, it arrived about 3 weeks ago, and I love it.

I have only used the battery about 4 times (and two of those were a rundown test). Now when I look at the battery meter at the bottom of the screen, it shows 97% Plugged In, Not Charging.

Is this an error with Windows, or is my battery already losing some of its charge?!
I tend to use this laptop at a desk, and I rarely ever take it places. The battery is always plugged in.


Thanks!
EnergyXP

 

Hi EnergyXP,

This is normal behavior. Every time you charge/discharge your battery, it wears out a little bit. This happens with all batteries. To prevent unnecessary wear, your system does not recharge your battery unless it was drained significantly. My old Fujitsu S6120 only recharged the battery if it went under 90% of charge.

So don't worry -- everything is fine

 

Thanks! The only reason that I asked this question was that I have an old Acer Aspire 3690 w/ a 4-cell batterty, and it still shows 100% charge after nearly 2 years.

Thanks!
EnergyXP

 

No problem

 

Ok, so today I turned my laptop on and it says 96% Remaining, plugged in, not charging. What in the world?! I don't think that the percentage should have dropped in one day! I don't understand why it is doing this.

Because the laptop is stationary, and because I have an APC-UPS (the backup battery), can I just remove the battery form my laptop and keep my laptop plugged in all the time?


Thanks!
EnergyXP

 

I also have my laptop plugged in almost all the time, infrequently using the battery. I had my laptop report "0% remaining, plugged in, not charging" twice and each time I powered down, disconnected the battery and reconnected. This took care of that problem. Mind you, this happened twice over a span of 6 months.

 

It probably has to do with charging thresholds. By default, Lenovo laptops don't top off until you've reach below 95%. Topping off the battery constantly wears it out really fast.

 

Ok, I will try that!

What do you mean by "top off"?

Thanks once again!
EnergyXP

 

Topping off is where you discharge the battery slightly and then recharge it to full capacity. The lenovo software is designed to not do this so it is a good thing!

Take a gander at this Battery Guide it may answer all of your questions.

Another thing, Lenovo computers when under stress of a demanding application may draw from the battery slightly as well with the ac adapter. Again this is good because it makes sure your computer is getting the required power it needs.

 

I suggest that you remove your battery when you're not using it, as it will slow battery degradation. In fact, if you rarely use your battery, discharge your battery until it is at ~40% charge, and then store it in a cool place. Seeing as you have a UPS, there's no reason for you to keep the battery in your laptop.

 

Hi!

Well, I tried the disconnect/reconnect thing and it didn't work.
After looking at MidnightSun's sig, I downloaded BatteryBar (thanks MidnightSun ). Yesterday I looked at BatteryBar and it said that I had 96.1%, and today when I booted it said that I had 95.9%!

Well, it looks like I am just going to take the battery out!


Thanks!
EnergyXP

 

Update: I looked at NBR's Battery Guide and that helped alot!