I certainly should have made this post along time ago. One of the things I tell people when I set up a new laptop for them is that it’s very important for them to “season” the battery so that the battery understands the full capacity and can recharge to that capacity.

The typical estimated life of a Lithium-Ion battery is about three to 5 years or 300 to 500 charge cycles, whichever occurs first. One charge cycle is a period of use from fully charged, to fully discharged, and fully recharged again. But long before the Battery begins to fail, the capacity of the battery becomes reduced.

Rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries have a limited life and will gradually lose their capacity to hold a charge. This loss of capacity (aging) is irreversible. As the battery loses capacity, the length of time it will power the product (run time) decreases.  There are some things you can do to a new laptop battery to ensure the battery works to its full capacity.  

Here are the simple steps to ensure you get the most out of that new laptop battery.

1
Connect your laptop’s power cord and allow it to fully charge.

2
Unplug the laptop once it is charged .

3
Use the computer until you receive a warning that the battery is nearly empty. Save any open documents to prevent data loss.

4
Continue to use the laptop until the battery is completely drained .

5
Reconnect the laptop’s power cord and allow it to recharge to full capacity. You may use the machine while it is recharging, but do not unplug it until it is finished.

Once you do that, you can now recharge and use the battery on your laptop as you normally would.  But, to avoid premature reduction in your battery capacity, be sure to use it on battery at least once in a while.

Maximum Battery life is achieved if you charge the laptop fully, then use it on battery until it tells you it needs to be charged.  While we cant use our devices in that way all the time, letting the laptop fully discharge, at least some of the time, is always the best way to avoid early battery problems.