How do I extend the long-term life of my new laptop battery?

But, you know - there's so much misinformation out there, and it's all contradictory. So, it's difficult to know what to believe. It makes me wonder if, in fact, lithium-ion batteries are derived from technology we got from aliens, or if there's anyone on Earth who definitively understands how they work.

I'd assume there's heat given off in the gradual discharging and recharging of a plugged in battery. Maybe that's inconsequential compared to the heat generated during use. But I think the tip remains the same - turn the laptop off when you're not using it. Presumably, standby is also better than on from that perspective.

Sounds good to me, though but not all the time, as it will get hot is simply not true. Your laptop is going to get hot as a function of usage, the only reason this would be connected to being plugged in is if your laptop has a power management function for reduced power consumption (i.e. slower processor clock) to extend battery life.

So, I seem to possibly have a conclusive answer. Your battery will lose charge over time, resulting in somewhere between a 2 and 3 year lifespan from time degradation, and over that time, the maximum per-charge capacity will slowly decrease. If you manage to charge cycle the battery more than around 800 times in that time, the life will be even shorter. The cooler you keep it (without actively putting it in the refrigerator), the longer it will last, but still probably not longer than 3 years. Leaving it plugged in and topped off most of the time is probably good, but not all the time, as it will get hot. Does that sound right?

There are different types of batteries, so find out which type, then research that type. That would be why I included "This is in particular reference to li-ion and li-po batteries." in the question.

Batteries are a consumable. There are different types of batteries, so find out which type, then research that type. Except for AA style household batteries, they are very toxic, and it's very important to recycle them.

You guys are totally derailing. Of the question parts: a is completely true and is the reason for e. c is true-ish, I'll give you a better way to say it. Plug into AC power whenever possible. The rest of them as far as I can tell are false or apply to a different battery type.

b1tr0t said: Why not? It sounds like the issue with LiIon batteries is that they are made of a chemical compound that depleats depending upon how many electrons pass through it. I don't think that's accurate. Say you're using 20% of the capacity of the battery in a sitting. Take these two scenarios -- Scenario A: You start at 100%, discharge to 80%, and charge back to 100%. Scenario B: You start at 80%, discharge to 60%, and charge back to 80%. These should both use the same amount of electricity (if the battery is delivering continuous voltage throughout the discharge cycle), but as I understand it, they're not the same in terms of battery lifespan.

Oh, and if you're buying a new battery for a three year old laptop, it'll cost about a third of what the laptop did. My laptop battery hass (the things about 4 years old, battery lasts about 2/5ths what it could when I got it) started to die - your comment promted me to check eBay. Brand new (ie., manufacturer's packaging) batteries for ~$30. I' think I'm going to go grab one. I guess it depends on how popular/widespread your particular laptop is.