How to Extend your Windows Laptop’s Battery Time

Dennis Snider

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Probably the chief drawback of using a laptop computer, so good for so many purposes, is the fact that battery life is limited. Most people have experienced the frustration of running out of battery when no power outlet is available; below are a number of ways in which you can increase the battery life of a Windows laptop.

Battery Saver mode: Windows automatically activates Battery Saver mode when your battery level drops below 20% (this can be customized). This mode limits all background activity to maximize battery life; you can access it by clicking on the battery icon in the taskbar and using the displayed slider to choose between longest battery life and best performance.

Turn down brightness: the higher level of brightness you have on your screen, the quicker your battery will be used up. You can turn brightness down by clicking on the notification icon at the bottom right of your screen; you’ll find a slider for brightness at the bottom of the action center menu.

Hibernation mode: when you press the off button on your laptop, generally it will go into sleep mode, a low power setting that is still running all your programs, so that eventually the battery will drain completely. Hibernation mode saves all your information on the hard drive and then almost completely shuts down; it will be slower to restart but it saves a lot of power. You can access this by pressing Start + R and typing in powercfg.cpl and changing the settings in the Windows Power Options menu.

Close down greedy apps: if you go into the Start menu >Settings >System >Battery >”See Which Apps Are Affecting Your Battery Life” you can find out which apps are using the most battery life and make sure you delete them or shut them down when not in use.
Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi: most of us leave Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on by default, but they are one of the biggest battery drainers. Consider disabling Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (this can be simply done from the taskbar) if you’re traveling with your laptop or when you’re not using them.

Use the Troubleshooter: you can access the Windows 10 Power Troubleshooter by clicking Start >Settings >Update & Security >Troubleshoot >Power >Run the Troubleshooter. Windows will then run through your settings and let you know about any unnecessary excess battery usage and how you can address it.