When to Replace a Laptop Battery

The most obvious sign that it's time to replace your laptop battery is if your battery is completely drained and unable to hold any charge whatsoever. It doesn't have to get that far, however, as there are ways to tell beforehand that the time has come to find an adequate replacement. In fact, here are 4 specific tell-tale signs that it is indeed time to replace your laptop battery

1. Runtime Significantly Diminished

Does it seem like you're battery isn't allowing you to use your laptop as long as it used to? Are you finding yourself charging your laptop more frequently? If so, it's very likely that the performance of your laptop battery is slipping and it's time to find a replacement.

2. More than 300 Charge Cycles

While chances are most people won't be keeping track of each and every time they charge their laptop, it's not hard to come up with a rough estimate. Simply take the average number of times you charge your laptop each week and multiply it by the number of weeks you've been using the battery. If that number turns out to be greater than 300, it looks like it's time to start searching for a new battery.

3. Over 18 Months of Use

It's a fact; all rechargeable batteries wear out with time and usage. For the typical user, noticeable reduction in run time generally will be observed after 18 to 24 months. The more you use your laptop, the sooner you'll start to notice a dip in the performance of its battery. Keep this in mind once you've been using a particular laptop battery longer than 18 months. If it just isn't performing like it used to, you know it's time for a new one.

4. Battery Check Utility Says It's Time

Almost every laptop comes with a Battery Check utility that will indicate when it's time to replace your battery, or when the storage capacity has reached a "Low" state. At that point, it's pretty clear that the time has come to replace your laptop battery.

So while the most obvious sign that it's time to replace your laptop battery is when it's dead and unable to charge, paying attention to the signs above will help prevent ever having to reach that point. If any of the above applies to you and your laptop battery, you may want to start looking for a replacement as soon as possible.