How to make a battery last longer before it needs to be replaced

[Kelemvor]

Got my wife a new laptop battery for Christmas because her old one lasted about 15 minutes. Laptop is a Toshiba from probably 3-4 years ago (best guess) but the battery hadn't worked well for at least a year or two.

I'm not concerned about extending the life or a single charge, I'm talking about the life of the battery itself. I want to make sure the battery lasts as long as possible so we don't have to replace it any time.

I've read a lot of contradicting things online so wanted to see what everyone here thinks.

LI-Ion batteries... DO you need to do a full drain/recharge every so often to make the battery last longer? If so, how often should someone do that?

Would it help to just take the battery completely out of the laptop if you rarely use it on battery power?

 

[corkyg]

LI-Ion batteries... (1) DO you need to do a full drain/recharge every so often to make the battery last longer? If so, how often should someone do that? (2) Would it help to just take the battery completely out of the laptop if you rarely use it on battery power?

The average life of a laptop battery is about 3 years, depending on usage.

(1) Battery calibration used to be the norm, but with the advent of Li-ION batteries, it is not that important.

(2) This is recommended by many techs. If running on A/C, the battery need no be present, and can be stored. The recommended storage charge is 40 to 50% these days.

 

[TheStu]

With regards to 2)

I know that some laptops (Apples definitely, and some others) do not run at full speed if the battery is pulled.

 

[CopperTrail]

One important aspect to Li-Ion longevity is that they not spend too much time at 4.2V. I've noticed that some newer laptops, the Lenovo T61P for example, drains the battery a bit then brings it back up to 99% even while plugged in.

Also, Li-Ion cells don't like full discharge. I usually bring mine down to around 40 - 50% once in a while just to give the cells some use, but I try not to bring them down to 0%. Finally, when I turn my laptops off, I always unplug the power cord.