m15 R5, battery health, safety concern

Question

Hello, I own an m15 R5 (2021 edition). While battery is at 100% charged and system on idle, the temperature of the system is higher while it is plugged in, in contrast to when it is not. If I leave it on sleep mode and plugged in, with 100% charged battery, the fans kick in after a little while. When the system is pretty much on idle and plugged in, system temperature is kept at about 43 degrees whereas when in sleep mode and plugged in fans where running at 50% and temperature was about 75 degrees.  This, shows maybe that the battery is overcharging and is making me really concerned regarding the battery lifespan/health of the laptop and about safety too. Is there a system that bypasses the battery when the laptop is plugged in and battery is fully charged? Or is there another way to manage battery min and max charging levels in Alienware laptops? All in all is leaving my laptop plugged in all day going to ruin its battery and foremost, is it safe? (The system is up to date) (The system in both states -plugged/unplugged- is on the most energy efficient setting)

DELL-Cares · Accepted Answer

Hi Manolisbouts. I have seen your concern about the battery performance when plugged in.
Your computer counts with different battery charge modes. If you would like to make sure the battery life is extended, I recommend you to access the BIOS and under the Advanced tab change the Battery Charge Configuration to Adaptive. This mode will charge up the computer faster if it is under certain level of energy, and will slow down the charge speed as it approaches 100% charge. Once it reaches 100%, it will stop charging up the battery and begin again when it start battery consumption again following the same pattern described.
Using a charger of different wattage may not be convenient for the computer nor something we have tested, hence we can not support this configuration, but I am positive the changes on the BIOS will do to keep the battery healthy for a long time.

crimsom · Answer

Hi @Manolisbouts welcome to this user to user discussion forum. Dell Support do not usually interact within community forums.

If not using the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5, leaving the laptop switched on in sleep mode is not recommended. You are just making the battery chemistry and system age quicker at elevated temperatures.

Please click on Kudos to say thank you for response from user that is not employed by Dell. Please share an update on progress, so that other users derive benefit from your experience. Thank you.

Manolisbouts · Answer

Is it recommended to leave the laptop plugged in even though the battery has reached 100% charge while I am using it? System temperature is at about 60 degrees when I do so.

crimsom · Answer

Hi @Manolisbouts thank you for sharing update.

It is not recommended to keep the battery on continuous charge. Reduce the battery cycle wear with battery management features. When your notebook PC is always powered by ac adapter, set to a low power charging setting of not more than about 80% to extend battery life.

Please create windows Battery Report to look at the aging characteristics of the battery over time. Utilize power-saving features to extend battery life. How to Check Battery Health Status on Dell Laptops | Dell US

Please share an update on progress, so that other users derive benefit from your experience. Thank you.

Manolisbouts · Answer

I would also like to ask, in case I cannot set a power charge limit, is it feasible to get for example a 90W dell charger for light tasks?

Manolisbouts · Answer

Thanks @crimsom for your reply! I can't find how to set a low power charging setting on an Alienware device since, (from what I know) there is no dedicated software for this.

crimsom · Answer

Hi @Manolisbouts thank you for sharing update.

Not sure what BIOS settings are available for the m15 R5. Dell-SreejithR says which Dell Inspiron 7576 BIOS settings to use Here.

Windows 10 has battery charging threshold setting, hidden deep within its power application settings.

Getting a lower wattage ac adapter, does not stop the laptop battery being charged to 100%.

The best solution is to not keep laptop on continuous charge.

Please share an update on progress, so that other users derive benefit from your experience. Thank you.

Manolisbouts · Answer

Thanks for you reply @DELL-Cares !

When the issue I described happened I checked the BIOS and the charge mode was set to "Adaptive". I also tried the Primary AC use mode, but again I didn't observe any difference.

Manolisbouts · Answer

@DELL-Cares  I am now using the primary AC mode and It seems okay. The charge is is at 100. @crimsom I couldn't find the battery threshold setting.

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