How to Save Your Laptop Battery
Unplug devices from the laptop., Shutdown or activate sleep mode on your laptop when not in use., Activate Power Saver Options on your Operating System., Turn off wireless and bluetooth settings., Turn down the sound and brightness.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Unplug devices from the laptop.
Any device plugged into the laptop, such as a USB device or a second monitor through VGA, will require CPU activity to access these devices.
Certain USB devices will require a high amount of power which will drain the battery faster, such as a fan which features moving hardware.
Unplug any devices that you do not need to use. -
Step 2: Shutdown or activate sleep mode on your laptop when not in use.
If you need to leave your laptop off for long periods of time while off the charger, place the laptop in sleep mode to leave your operating system in its current state and will resume from that point.
Shutting down the laptop will require you to go through the boot up sequence that may consume additional power.
You can close the lid or press the sleep button on your laptop to put your system in sleep mode or press the power button to allow your laptop to go through the shutdown sequence. , Your operating system will modify hardware and software behavior that reduces their activities and use less power from your laptop.
Power options have the ability to change the behavior on your laptop’s hardware such as your CPU or hard drive to only become active when needed for certain actions.
Otherwise, your hardware becomes inactive after a short period of time to conserve energy.
In laptops running Windows, you can change the power plans in the Control Panel.
Search and locate “Power Options” in your version of Windows.
You can change between the available plans or customize advanced settings designed to conserve power.
MacOS laptops, click on Apple>System Preferences>Energy Saver to bring up the “Energy Saver” window.
You will be able to adjust screen brightness settings and indicate when the laptop goes to sleep or shuts off., Your laptop is always seeking for a connection when wireless and bluetooth functions are active.
When working away from bluetooth devices or areas with a network connection, disabling these features will stop the laptop from looking for devices to connect to.
Disabling these settings will vary depending on your operating system.In Windows navigate to Devices and Printers in the Control Panel.
Right-click on a Bluetooth-enabled device you want to change and click “Properties.” Click on the “Services” tab and unmark a Bluetooth device you want disabled then click on OK.On MacOS, locate the menu bar and click on the Bluetooth status icon and choose “Turn Bluetooth Off.”, A brighter picture or loud sound will cause more power to be drawn from your laptop.
These settings vary depending on your operating system.
In Windows you can adjust the sound by clicking on the speaker icon located in the taskbar and either slide the volume down or click on the mute icon to turn off sound.
To adjust the brightness, navigate to the “Power Options” in the “Control Panel” and adjust the slider at the bottom of the window to change the brightness setting.
In MacOS you can adjust the output volume and screen brightness under System Preferences.
To adjust the sound click on the Sound icon and adjust the Output volume slider to change the volume or click on Mute to mute all sound.To change the screen brightness click on Displays then click Display.
Change the brightness slider to adjust the brightness of the screen. -
Step 3: Activate Power Saver Options on your Operating System.
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Step 4: Turn off wireless and bluetooth settings.
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Step 5: Turn down the sound and brightness.
Detailed Guide
Any device plugged into the laptop, such as a USB device or a second monitor through VGA, will require CPU activity to access these devices.
Certain USB devices will require a high amount of power which will drain the battery faster, such as a fan which features moving hardware.
Unplug any devices that you do not need to use.
If you need to leave your laptop off for long periods of time while off the charger, place the laptop in sleep mode to leave your operating system in its current state and will resume from that point.
Shutting down the laptop will require you to go through the boot up sequence that may consume additional power.
You can close the lid or press the sleep button on your laptop to put your system in sleep mode or press the power button to allow your laptop to go through the shutdown sequence. , Your operating system will modify hardware and software behavior that reduces their activities and use less power from your laptop.
Power options have the ability to change the behavior on your laptop’s hardware such as your CPU or hard drive to only become active when needed for certain actions.
Otherwise, your hardware becomes inactive after a short period of time to conserve energy.
In laptops running Windows, you can change the power plans in the Control Panel.
Search and locate “Power Options” in your version of Windows.
You can change between the available plans or customize advanced settings designed to conserve power.
MacOS laptops, click on Apple>System Preferences>Energy Saver to bring up the “Energy Saver” window.
You will be able to adjust screen brightness settings and indicate when the laptop goes to sleep or shuts off., Your laptop is always seeking for a connection when wireless and bluetooth functions are active.
When working away from bluetooth devices or areas with a network connection, disabling these features will stop the laptop from looking for devices to connect to.
Disabling these settings will vary depending on your operating system.In Windows navigate to Devices and Printers in the Control Panel.
Right-click on a Bluetooth-enabled device you want to change and click “Properties.” Click on the “Services” tab and unmark a Bluetooth device you want disabled then click on OK.On MacOS, locate the menu bar and click on the Bluetooth status icon and choose “Turn Bluetooth Off.”, A brighter picture or loud sound will cause more power to be drawn from your laptop.
These settings vary depending on your operating system.
In Windows you can adjust the sound by clicking on the speaker icon located in the taskbar and either slide the volume down or click on the mute icon to turn off sound.
To adjust the brightness, navigate to the “Power Options” in the “Control Panel” and adjust the slider at the bottom of the window to change the brightness setting.
In MacOS you can adjust the output volume and screen brightness under System Preferences.
To adjust the sound click on the Sound icon and adjust the Output volume slider to change the volume or click on Mute to mute all sound.To change the screen brightness click on Displays then click Display.
Change the brightness slider to adjust the brightness of the screen.
About the Author
Danielle Simmons
Specializes in breaking down complex home improvement topics into simple steps.
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