How Long Does Your Laptop Run On The Battery?

[Mike Shain]

How Long Does Your Laptop Run On The Battery?

I love my laptop but my battery is quickly losing its charge lately. It used to last about an hour or so but now it only lasts less than half that time.

Funny my daughter has a cheaper Toshiba that lasts about 2 hours or so.

Looks like I am going to ask for a battery for Christmas.

[skorpion]

about 4 hrs on energy saver setting

[buckapple]

I bought my laptop used and it would hold quite awhile at 2 hours or so which isn't bad for a 2 year old laptop but then when the battery started going down now it's like 20 seconds.

Funny thing is HP batteries for this model are $70 all over the net. With laptop and netbooks dropping to $225, I might just opt for another unit with a new battery and run this laptop off of battery back up...

Cheers!

[JasonP]

I get about a good 6 hours out of mine, but I use a MacBook Pro.

[Mike Shain]

6 hours? I gotta get what you got!

[George Wright]

Hi,

On the netbook, 6+ hours. On my old dell 0 I have to keep it plugged in.

George Wright

[Anonymous Affiliate]

Samsung P210: 12" laptop, Corel 2 Duo (P8400) with 2GB RAM. Battery around 6 hours

[Raiel Schwartz]

Oh wow,

I always thought my computer was faulty.

I think mine lasts about ~2 hours.. Maybe 3-4 on the lowest energy settings.

[Anita Ashland]

I use an Eee PC netbook most of the time and the battery lasts about 5 hours.

[Big JP]

I have 17 inch screen Toshiba, and it provides great performance, but the battery is only 1hr and 10 min MAX! So I tend to keep it plugged in at the mains, unless I go for a quick wonder somewhere

I did buy an upgraded battery from a china ebay seller, but if you use it, the laptop doesn't recognise it, so you have no idea how much life is left, therefore it's no good to me So I just stuck with what I got.

JP

[Ken Snowdon]

Hey Mike makes a big difference with a new battery trust me on this one. I have had the same battery in my Toshiba for the past 4 years, I just went out an bought an ACER lap top for half the price I paid for my Toshiba and it feels so great to have full power. I can sit down anywhere in my home as I am remote, but my new laptop battery lasts for 4 hrs, compared to my old Toshiba battery maybe if I am luck one hour. I gave my Toshiba laptop to my 16 yr old son he reformatted the hard drive, cleaned out all my files and he said DADDDDDD do you know how many files you had saved? He said a few million, YIKES. He tweeked it completely and loves my TOSHIBA, I guess I just like to spend money, I wanted a different look anyways. So this Acer is fine for what I need it for and it's Windows Premium 7 loaded. Go my advice get a new battery, not a NEW LAPTOP..

[Mike Shain]

That is what I have - 17" Toshiba. I run it on the "power saver" mode so I would hate to see how long it would last on "high performance" mode.

Thanks for all the feedback gang!

[Mike Shain]

Originally Posted by Ken Snowdon

Hey Mike makes a big difference with a new battery trust me on this one. I have had the same battery in my Toshiba for the past 4 years, I just went out an bought an ACER lap top for half the price I paid for my Toshiba and it feels so great to have full power. I can sit down anywhere in my home as I am remote, but my new laptop battery lasts for 4 hrs, compared to my old Toshiba battery maybe if I am luck one hour. I gave my Toshiba laptop to my 16 yr old son he reformatted the hard drive, cleaned out all my files and he said DADDDDDD do you know how many files you had saved? He said a few million, YIKES. He tweeked it completely and loves my TOSHIBA, I guess I just like to spend money, I wanted a different look anyways. So this Acer is fine for what I need it for and it's Windows Premium 7 loaded. Go my advice get a new battery, not a NEW LAPTOP..

I just looked it up and its going to cost $150 for a new battery and even then they say it will last 3 hour 12 minutes. Beats the hell outta what I got now. Must be the big screen size or processor I am running or something.

[Oscar D]

Only about 2 hours on high performance, thats why I mainly use my PC

[animator21]

Two years back, it used to last for 2.5 hours maximum and now 50 mins. :| I opted for 9-cell thinking it would last 6 hours as said on the side and with addition of gfx card, atleast 4 hours. Never stayed up to its word. I got Dell Inspiron 1520.

[SeanSupplee]

Hour and a half Dell XPS but its about 4 years old but still kicking nicely. Both of my batteries just went out on me I guess they don't last very long Looking to get one of the larger ones though they say it will run for about 5 hours on the new types.

[Swastik]

2.5~ hours on my Dell.

1.5~ hours on my HP.

[Mike Shain]

I almost always have my laptop plugged in so its not a huge deal, however for those times I want to get out, travel etc it would be nice to have a good battery that would work a few hours when I needed it.

[Gary McCaffrey]

I get about 5 hours on my MacBook.

[Big JP]

Originally Posted by Mike Shain

I almost always have my laptop plugged in so its not a huge deal, however for those times I want to get out, travel etc it would be nice to have a good battery that would work a few hours when I needed it.

That's exactly why I purchased an upgraded battery, I hate seeing the battery warning popping up all the time, but i'd rather it pop up than not show at all, so I just get what I can out of the standard battery, and stay plugged in most of the time

[Maverick_]

6 Hours

I'm the proud owner of a 13" Macbook pro. I love that little baby. The thing is damn near indestructible too!

Cheers
- Maverick

[GarryMSayer]

About 2 hours approx.

When I originally bought into the work from home ethos I was totally sold, so I decided to... guess what...?

Only work from MY home. Not on a bus, a train, around the in-laws, or anywhere else for that matter.

A CONSTANT SUPPLY OF ELECTRICITY = ONE HAPPY 'WORK FROM HOME' INTERNET MARKETER!!!

When I do leave home I always carry a dictaphone with me to instantly capture any thoughts or inspiration.

Garry.

[seasoned]

The amount of time is based on....

1. WATTAGE(more lasts longer)(It really has NOTHING to do with cells, in fact FEWER cells would, theoretically, be BETTER for the size, but most companies have the same size cells in the same type battery, and the higher wattage batteries do that by wiring more cells in parallel. So they USUALLY show size based on cells, though the fine print lists wattage. If they made the cells larger, they could maybe squeeze more amperage out. That would cost more to stock though.)
2. Memory(More takes more power)
3. CPU(faster burns more power, newer ones have staged power use, and some families just use LESS power! The Atom uses less power than other intel processors at the same speed)
4. AGE of the battery(They ALL tend to degrade as they age)
5. Use of peripherals(hard drives, WiFi, etc...)
6. Intensity of the screen.
7. PROBABLY even resolution of the screen.

My WORST one ran close to 2 hours, my newest one can run over 9.

They are FINALLY trying to provide a more streamlined CPU to acheive goals consistent with most laptop users. With a few tweaks, which they have ALREADY started doing, it could make almost everyone happy.

Steve

[Bev Clement]

Samsung NC10 netbook, around 9 hours. Only 1 time I used it up, and it automatically went into hibernation.

That day was just under 9 hours at airport, flying, etc and I was using skype, download material, wireless, email, building a website, etc

[cage73]

I'm lucky to get an hour anymore. As a matter of fact, today my power chord went caput. I'm on my second cord as it it. In the beginning I was getting about 6 hours of battery life. Time for a new laptop.

[sashagrey]

2 hours max, it's a 17" desktop replacement.

I'm thinking about switching to one of the smaller netbooks and plugging in a larger flatscreen when I'm using it at home.

[Jhf14]

depends on how bright I have the background set on my computer screen... If it is a little dimmer, I can squeeze another 40 to 60min out of it!

[Orlando Web Design]

My Toshiba Satellite lasts about 3 1/2 hrs, pretty disappointing if you compare to a MAC.

[Raydal]

If I'm not mistaken most laptop batteries can develop a "memory" if
you leave it plugged in a lot, so that when the computer thinks it's
full it's really low. If you take out the battery from the computer or
allow it to drain as low as possible you could get some more life
out of the battery.

The same thing happens to my cordless phone batteries as well
if I leave the phone on the charger even after it is fully charged.
So I just take the battery out of the phone, place the empty
phone on the charger and the then place the battery back in
and you'll get a correct reading and the battery gets fully charged
this time around.

-Ray Edwards

[Mike Shain]

Ha the forum is not letting me post any more "thanks".

So I will just say it here...

Thanks to you all that have replied, there is some interesting replies here.

[abdoue]

i have a macbook with 7 hours battery retention what a blessing

[n7 Studios]

Originally Posted by Mike Shain

I almost always have my laptop plugged in so its not a huge deal, however for those times I want to get out, travel etc it would be nice to have a good battery that would work a few hours when I needed it.

Hi Mike,

Unfortunutely, that's the problem. Due to the nature of the batteries and how they work, they're not designed to be charged to 100% and then left plugged into the mains for prolonged periods of time. Over time, it'll cause damage to the battery cells, and therefore shorten the battery's life.

For me, the following tips have worked well:

• When running on the battery, ensure you run the battery right down to a few percent. Plugging in the power when the battery's half charged will reduce its lifecycle over time and condition it to run less and less between charges.
• When charging your near empty battery, ensure you charge it to 100%.
• When using your laptop on mains power, and your battery's charged to 100%, remove it if possible (for my Dell, it's a simple case of sliding two buttons and the battery pops out).

I appreciate that some laptops, such as the MacBook, have a battery that's built in, so this isn't always possible.

Depending on the battery manufacturer, you can get a range of 200 - 400 cycles per battery before it's expected that it would need to be replaced.

For a replacement battery, consider looking via other retailers for official batteries on eBay etc, but make sure you avoid cheap imitations. You should still be able to save some money and have a new working battery, that lasts longer if you follow the above.

Tim.

[Liam Hamer]

Originally Posted by n7 Studios

Hi Mike,

Unfortunutely, that's the problem. Due to the nature of the batteries and how they work, they're not designed to be charged to 100% and then left plugged into the mains for prolonged periods of time. Over time, it'll cause damage to the battery cells, and therefore shorten the battery's life.

For me, the following tips have worked well:

• When running on the battery, ensure you run the battery right down to a few percent. Plugging in the power when the battery's half charged will reduce its lifecycle over time and condition it to run less and less between charges.
• When charging your near empty battery, ensure you charge it to 100%.
• When using your laptop on mains power, and your battery's charged to 100%, remove it if possible (for my Dell, it's a simple case of sliding two buttons and the battery pops out).

I appreciate that some laptops, such as the MacBook, have a battery that's built in, so this isn't always possible.

Depending on the battery manufacturer, you can get a range of 200 - 400 cycles per battery before it's expected that it would need to be replaced.

For a replacement battery, consider looking via other retailers for official batteries on eBay etc, but make sure you avoid cheap imitations. You should still be able to save some money and have a new working battery, that lasts longer if you follow the above.

Tim.

Wow, you learn something new every day - until now I left mine plugged into the mains pretty much all the time No wonder the first battery I had died after just 3 months. I'm now going to follow these steps - many thanks

[Mike Shain]

Originally Posted by n7 Studios

Hi Mike,

Unfortunutely, that's the problem. Due to the nature of the batteries and how they work, they're not designed to be charged to 100% and then left plugged into the mains for prolonged periods of time. Over time, it'll cause damage to the battery cells, and therefore shorten the battery's life.

For me, the following tips have worked well:

• When running on the battery, ensure you run the battery right down to a few percent. Plugging in the power when the battery's half charged will reduce its lifecycle over time and condition it to run less and less between charges.
• When charging your near empty battery, ensure you charge it to 100%.
• When using your laptop on mains power, and your battery's charged to 100%, remove it if possible (for my Dell, it's a simple case of sliding two buttons and the battery pops out).

I appreciate that some laptops, such as the MacBook, have a battery that's built in, so this isn't always possible.

Depending on the battery manufacturer, you can get a range of 200 - 400 cycles per battery before it's expected that it would need to be replaced.

For a replacement battery, consider looking via other retailers for official batteries on eBay etc, but make sure you avoid cheap imitations. You should still be able to save some money and have a new working battery, that lasts longer if you follow the above.

Tim.

Hi Tim,

Thanks for detailed response! I have learned several things from this thread.

I guess I won't be able to post more thanks until tomorrow when the count resets.

[mojojuju]

Originally Posted by buckapple

Funny thing is HP batteries for this model are $70 all over the net.
Cheers!

You might check to see if your HP battery is covered by this recall : HP Notebook PC Battery Pack Replacement Program

I guess there's a problem with some HP batteries catching on fire (Yikes!) and if your battery is included in the program, they'll replace it at no cost.

[Taylor French]

About 45 minutes if I'm lucky, and that's with full power saving settings. Usually 20-30.

[jessiej]

How Long Does my Laptop Run On the Battery?well i guess 1 hr..

[k0zm0zs0ul]

I have a Toshiba..it will run roughly almost 2 hours. Probably more if I had it set on energy saver settings.

[paulie888]

Here's something most people don't know. Your laptop batteries (even the latest lithium ion ones) will deteriorate over time, and it will not hold its charge as well as it did when it was brand new, and it will eventually fail completely.

My Dell used to last about 5 hours on a charge, and then the battery slowly deteriorated and after slightly over 2 years the battery is now completely dead. I'm looking for a cheap(er) OEM battery replacement now.

Now THIS is something you absolutely have to know. It is BAD to leave your laptop plugged in all the time, if your battery is constantly topped up it'll be continuously overheated and fail prematurely. You can check with all the major laptop manufacturers, they do not recommend that you leave your laptop constantly plugged in. What you need to do is 'exercise' your battery by letting your laptop run unplugged at least 30 mins or so everyday (if you use your laptop daily.) Your laptop will thank you. I found out too late with my Dell, and as a result I only got slightly over 2 years of use with it. I had been leaving it pretty much plugged in all the time over the last 6 months or so, and I'm sure that contributed to its demise.

Paul

[ced28]

I have a HP pavillon dv9000

My battery is good for about 5 hrs on energy saver setting and about 2 hrs on high performance.

But most of the time I have my laptop plugged in.


Cedric

[Sour]

I used to get a good 3 hours out of my MacBook Pro with screen on the brightest setting, music playing, and a few applications open, but every since my charger broke and I bought a knock off from eBay (I don't recommend this, BTW), it only lasts an hour.

[derekwong28]

I have a lenovo X301 with a soild state hard drive which produces little heat. However, the battery performance is still dissappointing even with 2 batteries (a battery in the CD/DVD drive bay) and a 6-cell main battery. When new, the 2 battery combination will just last 4 hours, now it is 3. However, I always keep the LCD monitor at maximum brightness.

[Lloyd Buchinski]

Originally Posted by seasoned

2. Memory(More takes more power)
3. CPU(faster burns more power, newer ones have staged power use, and some families just use LESS power! The Atom uses less power than other intel processors at the same speed)

I didn't realize that about memory but that makes sense, It would take current to keep it going. For cpu the solid state drive is supposed to be the best, but more expensive and not as large capacity, but think that's what I'm going to get.

Just a couple of things not mentioned yet. Lenovo.com is extremely good for picking out options like a heavier battery, solid state drive, a monitor back lit by LEDs for lower power consumption.

They don't really sell retail (at least not in stores) or advertise to the individual consumer, but you can go to their site and order. The corporate section is for orders of $100,000 or more if I remember right, but you have about 10 times as much choice in their personal section as any other site I've seen (not many). Mostly they serve gov and big business.

One thing that surprised me was that a 17 inch display had a longer battery life than a 15.4 in display in a model I was looking at. Because you get a battery just as wide as the monitor, and you then have a larger proportion of the battery to run the cpu, memory, etc.

[JeffersonB]

Originally Posted by JasonP

I get about a good 6 hours out of mine, but I use a MacBook Pro.

Is your screen on the dimmest settings??

[mastermute]

Originally Posted by Maverick_

6 Hours

I'm the proud owner of a 13" Macbook pro. I love that little baby. The thing is damn near indestructible too!

Cheers
- Maverick

Same here! 13" MBP the perfect companion! 6 (even more if I lower the background light and go easy on the internet surfing) hours on battery!

[wordwizard]

About an hour and a half or so on my ibook. Mostly, I keep it plugged in.

When the battery was new, it lasted around four hours...

And yes, it's a shame that those cheapo batteries won't be "recognized" -- no good if I don't know how much juice is left.

Elisabeth

[Web Warrior]

My HP laptop's battery will last around 3 hours.

[Shaleniie Devi]

i had an acer laptop that lasted for about 45 mins without being plugged and after it crashed, i got a msi laptop that lasts about 2 hours without being plugged. it's still new so i can't tell if it will still last this long after 2 years.

A macbook with 6 hours battery time sounds very appealing...

[Mike Shain]

Thanks for all the feed back gang. I still cannot post anymore "thanks".

I might just have to give this laptop to my son (hand me down) and get me a new one with a bigger/better lifespan while on battery.

Like I said I don't need it much - less than one time per day - but when I need it I like for the battery backup to work.

Great responses by the way!

[Michael Lewis]

6 hours on regular use. Heavy video use about 4 hours. (Macbook Pro)