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Vostro 5620 - How to maximize battery longevity?
Our Vostro runs on A/C 99.9% of the time. Should we periodically discharge the battery to maximize longevity? If so, at what threshold, and how often? Googling churns up tons of conflicting advice.
We've considered installing Dell Power Manager (DPM) and setting it at "Primarily A/C", but would prefer not to have yet another Dell app constantly running in the background. We're also not confident DPM would do a better job vs. a disciplined discharge schedule (or never discharging at all).
ieee488
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June 13th, 2022 11:00
https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000123091/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-a-dell-laptop-battery
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June 15th, 2022 11:00
Thank you @ieee488, but I'm not looking to extend amount of time I can use the laptop on a charge. I'm trying find out how to maximize battery longevity (i.e., years) overall.
ieee488
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June 16th, 2022 20:00
You did not even bothered going to the link. SIGH.
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June 17th, 2022 07:00
@iee488 But I did! There was nothing I saw there that addressed my question - everything was about maximizing usage on a charge. What am I missing?!?
ejn63
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June 17th, 2022 14:00
Best:
Never completely discharge the battery to power cutoff point,
Do not continuously charge the battery (set the system to charge the battery to about 70% and cut off charging),
Do use the system on battery normally once a month.
The other way to prolong the life is to remove the battery from the system and store it in a cool place. That's probably not practical, and since the battery will be in a hot system continuously, the above will be the best you can do to maximize the lifespan of the battery. Expect a couple of years out of it -- not more than that.
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June 17th, 2022 14:00
Thanks @ejin63.
FYI, from what I've read and been told (by Dell Cares) the system will not continue to charge when it reaches any pre-set threshold (e.g., 70%, 100%). We'll do as you suggest and use our Vostro on battery at least monthly, run it down to ~ 50%, and recharge.