Laptop question

[dothackjhe]

Is it good or bad for laptop to be still plugged in after it was fully charged for normal use? Or should the power cord be unplugged as soon as the laptop had its battery charge full? Btw, I'm currently using an Acer Aspire with 6-cell Li-ion battery, if that makes it any relevant to the question. .

 

[sanfranman]

Just a personal option , but I don't think it really matters if you do either. I have several laptops and have over several years , one is an Acer Inspire , and whether they are left plugged in or not , IMHO makes no difference at all.

Just whatever your personal preference is and easiest for you , GO WITH IT

SFM

 

[JaidynM]

You can if you want but it may overheat/overcharge the battery so to be on the safe side, I would un-plug it. What use does it do leaving it in anyway? Better safe than sorry.

Anyway, here's a page that you might find useful. There's a couple of sections there about performance and battery life so just give it a quick read.
Top 15 Ways to Extend Your Laptop’s Battery Life

 

[theog]

Have a read of this guide:
BatteryCare - Proper laptop battery usage guide

 

[dothackjhe]

Thanks a lot with the info everyone, these are exactly what I wanted to know.

 

[DeaconFrost]

There's absolutely no logic behind unplugging it, unless you don't understand how a battery charge works. Even cheap cell phone chargers shut off once the battery reaches full capacity. In addition to this, think of all the business laptops that spend most of their lives permanently connected to a dock and a charger?

It is good for the battery, once a month or so, to use it and drain it down nearly empty, and then pop it back on a charger to give it a full charge again. But there's simply no logic behind unplugging the laptop once full charged.

 

[richnrockville]

I agree with Deacon Frost. I have had lots of laptops and never had a problem with leaving the ac cable plugged in for extended periods of time.

Quite a while ago there was a story about a laptop battery that exploded but no one was able to say it was because it was plugged in and fully charged.

Rich

 

[dothackjhe]

In fact, I do have knowledge on how charging / discharging works with battery and electronics. I may not be an expert in electronics, but I'm definitely not stupid about it. What I'm really concerned about this is the issue of some batteries "claimed" to be overheating and in worst cases exploding just like Mr. richnrockville had stated.

 

[DeaconFrost]

If you are worried about that, make sure there haven't been any recalls on your laptop concerning the battery, and don't use cheap knock-offs.

 

[essenbe]

My wife's laptop is always plugged in, and has been for a couple of years and we have had no explosions. And it's a cheap Dell.

 

[richnrockville]

for info on exploding laptop batteries google is your friend.

HP issues annual exploding battery recall • The Register
Dell laptop explodes at japanese conference- The Inquirer

Granted some of these are old but still valid..

Rich

 

[pparks1]

No problem with keeping it on the charger, but I do recommend unplugging it and letting the battery drain on a regular basis. I use a Dell Latitude E6400 at work, and it sits in a dock all day...thus charges the entire day. I am required by my job to take it home on a daily basis in case I have to work remotely or log in after hours. Most of the time I run on battery at home. I've got a 9 cell battery and when brand new it lasted over 5-6 hours. It's now about 2.5 years old and is lasting about 3-4 hours per charge...so it's help up very well. Usually these batteries stop holding a charge well between 1-2 years and often have to be replaced around the 2 year mark if you use batteries for any length of time.

 

[dothackjhe]

Thanks for the answer everyone. I guess that's all I wanted to know about this battery on a laptop.