Is it better to leave laptop plugged in 100% of time or run on battery?

[pete6032]

When I am using my laptop I am nearly always by an outlet. Should I use the laptop plugged in and keep the battery charged and leave it on the charger overnight? Or should I cycle it between 80 and 40% like with a phone?

 

[Arkaign]

I'd recommend cycling it at least once a month. That's what I've done with laptops since the 90s, and I tend to get at least 5 years of decent battery life from this.

To do it properly though, you have to disable sleep/hibernation in windows settings so that it doesn't just turn itself off while you're trying to drain it lol. I take it down to like 5%, turn it off, and let it recharge overnight.

 

[corkyg]

My laptop (Lenovo T510) is now about 8 years old, and the original battery is quite good. I only use it with battery for travel, and that is about 1 or 2 times a year. I keep the laptop plugged in all the time, but the battery is removed and stored at about 50% charge.

 

[daveybrat]

I'd recommend cycling it at least once a month. That's what I've done with laptops since the 90s, and I tend to get at least 5 years of decent battery life from this.

To do it properly though, you have to disable sleep/hibernation in windows settings so that it doesn't just turn itself off while you're trying to drain it lol. I take it down to like 5%, turn it off, and let it recharge overnight.

This. I have customer's who run their laptop on AC only and can't figure out why the battery died 3-4 years later.

They do need to be discharged and/or cycled at least once in a while.