Why Does My Laptop Battery Drain When Plugged In?

Laptops have become crucial business, leisure, and spoken communication tools in our increasingly virtual and cellular world. 

Whether you’re a student, a professional, or a frequent user, you rely on your laptop to be powered up and ready to use whenever and wherever you need it. As a result, you may find it frustrating and hard to be aware that your laptop’s battery is draining even while it is plugged into an electrical outlet. 

Why does this appear? Shouldn’t your laptop charge and maintain its battery life while connected to a power source? In this article, we will discuss all the aspects and let you know the possible solutions. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the topic.

Why Does My Laptop Battery Drain When Plugged In?

It is because of a faulty charger or battery, laptop overheating, a broken or damaged laptop power pin, a short circuit, or corrupted firmware in the laptop. The hardware causes most of these problems, which can be fixed using the appropriate approach. 

Faulty Charger

Faulty power adapters or damaged charging connections can prevent the laptop from receiving a steady power source. As a result, the laptop may draw power from the battery as a replacement, leading to its battery dying. 

A faulty or damaged charger will not provide sufficient power for the battery to charge on time. That will also lead to fast drainage even when plugged in. 

• How to Fix It?

If your charger cable is broken or damaged, you can seek professional help to replace the cable. But if your adapter is faulty, then you have to replace the whole adapter. Using a faulty adapter may also damage your battery and laptop.

Faulty Battery

Laptop batteries can lose their power over time and stop being able to hold a charge. If your battery is old or broken, it may not charge well or hold a charge for long, which can cause it to drain even while it is plugged in. Moreover, old batteries can’t store charge for a long period. As a result, they drain fast, and you even have to use a laptop on a direct power source.

• How to Fix It?

Faulty batteries can only be replaced if you want to secure your laptop. There are some ways in which repairing experts replace the battery cells so your battery starts working again. However, this method is unsafe, as these cells have no definite value. Therefore, always buy a new, branded battery for your laptop.

Overheating

If your laptop’s battery dies even when plugged in, it could be because it’s too hot, but that may not be the case. Too much heat can cause the battery to run out of power faster and use more energy. When your laptop gets too hot, it can switch to a mode that saves energy or slows down the processor. It can put a strain on the battery.

• How to Fix It?

To avoid overheating, you can use laptop fans and stands with the fans. There are many tables available with built-in fans. Moreover, keep an eye on your CPU temperature. If it exceeds dramatically, it’s time to clean your laptop fans and apply new thermal paste on the CPU heatsink. 

Broken or Damaged Laptop Power Pin

A broken or damaged power pin could be to blame if your laptop’s battery drains even when plugged in. The power pin, also called the DC jack or charging port, is where the charger goes into your laptop.

When the strength pin breaks, the charger and laptop may only be able to link occasionally or not at all. Even if the laptop is plugged in, this can cause the battery to die because the charger may not be able to provide a steady supply of power to charge the battery well.

• How to Fix It?

Check your laptop’s DC jack for any signs of damage, such as a loose or shaky connection, bent or broken pins, or a loose socket. If you notice problems, it may be that the power pin needs to be fixed or changed.

Try a different charger or power adapter to rule out the chance that a faulty charger is the cause of the problem. If the battery still dies even with a special charger, the problem is probably with the power pin on the laptop.

If you’ve found a problem with the power pin, it’s best to have a professional fix it. They can replace the broken power pin or perform other maintenance to stabilize the charging link.

Short Circuit In Laptop

A short circuit in your laptop’s power system could be why your laptop battery drains even when plugged in. It could stop the normal charging process and drain the battery. When there is an unintentional connection between two places in an electrical circuit, this is called a “short circuit,” and it can cause an electrical surge.

Most of the time, a short circuit gives electricity a path with little resistance. This path may also go through the intended circuitry, which would cause energy to leak. So, the laptop’s battery can drain faster than usual because the quick circuit pulls power from the battery simultaneously instead of following the normal energy distribution path.

• How to Fix It?

To resolve it, you have to first identify the short circuit. To do that, simply remove your battery and try to start your laptop when plugged in. If your laptop starts without issues, your battery is causing a short circuit. If not, then try to change the adapter. But if the problem persists, then your motherboard has a short circuit. 

To ensure tight connections, you must disassemble all the components and firmly assemble them back on the laptop’s motherboard. As loose connections between components also cause short circuits.

Corrupted Firmware

Firmware is software that lets your laptop’s hardware, like the battery charging device, be controlled at a low level. When the code gets corrupted, or a software bug happens, it may no longer be able to talk to the battery or change how it charges. Even if the laptop is plugged into a power source, this can cause the battery to die.

• How to Fix It?

To fix this problem, install the latest BIOS on your motherboard. The BIOS will reinstall all the firmware and resolve the issue. Installing BIOS is a risky process; we recommend you seek professional help. Any mistake may lead to permanent motherboard failure.

How To Save Laptop Battery from Draining Fast?

Minimize Screen Brightness

One good way to save battery life on a laptop is to reduce the screen’s brightness. Screen brightness is the level of light intensity emitting from your screen. If your screen brightness is high, you use more resources to produce a higher light intensity. That is why your battery drains fast. So, always keep your screen brightness at its optimum level.

Adjust Power Settings

Most laptops have an optimized mode or a mode that saves power. Turning on this mode will optimize your PC’s power settings for the best battery life. This choice is usually in the power settings. Set the show to go on for less time when you’re not doing anything. It will help save battery power by keeping the screen from staying on when it doesn’t need to.

Turn Off the Keyboard Lights

Laptop batteries can be saved by turning off the lights on the keyboard. Even though they use a very small amount of extra power, laptops with lights use more power than other parts. Turning off the laptop lights lets the battery last a little longer, especially if you use it often. There are shortcut keys to turn off or dim the keyboard lights.

Remove Extra Peripheral Devices

Your laptop’s battery powers USB devices like external hard drives, smartphones, webcams, and other add-ons. If you are not using them, you can save energy by unplugging them. If your laptop has a Bluetooth device, turn it off when you’re not using it. 

Also, unplug it from your laptop. Bluetooth uses power while it looks for devices to connect to. Most of the time, you can turn off Bluetooth through the laptop’s settings or by pressing a key on the laptop’s keyboard.

Close Unnecessary Background Programs

Unnecessary background applications use resources like CPU, GPU, and RAM, which causes battery usage. To save the battery, you have to close the unnecessary applications. Press “Ctrl+Alt+Del” and then select “Task Manager,” and go to the processes tab here. Select the unnecessary applications from the list and press “End Task.”

Should You Leave Your Laptop Plugged in All the Time?

You should not leave your laptop plugged in after it is fully charged. Overcharging can happen if you leave your laptop plugged in all the time. On the other hand, modern laptops are made to keep you from overcharging. They have technology that prevents charging once the battery is full. 

One of the most important things to think about when having a laptop plugged in all the time is how it might affect the battery’s health. Most laptop batteries have a limited life, measured in “rate cycles.” 

A charge cycle is the process of charging the battery from 0% to 100% and then draining it back to 0%. After a certain number of charge rounds, the battery’s ability to hold a charge goes down.

When the battery charge goes down a little, it starts charging again. This smart charging system ensures the battery stays at the best charge level without overcharging. It makes leaving the laptop plugged in less of a problem.

When you use a laptop, it gives off heat. When plugged in, laptops get warmer because power is running through the machine. Batteries can lose their power if exposed to heat for a long time.

Can Bad Charger Decrease Battery Life?

The bad charge can negatively affect your laptop battery and decrease lifespan. A bad charger will not be able to deliver the right amount of voltage, which may damage your battery. A charger with insufficient voltage regulation can overcharge a battery.

Overcharging can cause an increase in internal temperature, which can degrade the battery’s general health and decrease its capacity over time.

In contrast, an insufficient charger may not provide adequate charging current to fully charge the battery. Frequent undercharging can result in insufficient charge cycles, diminishing the battery’s capacity.

How Do I Check the Health of My Laptop Battery?

You can use a battery report or status method to check battery health. Checking the health of your laptop’s battery is essential for ensuring its optimal performance and longevity. PC batteries can degrade and lose capacity over time, resulting in a shortened battery life and decreased productivity. 

A battery status icon on most laptops is displayed in the taskbar or system tray. It provides a concise assessment of the battery’s current rate level. If the battery icon displays a red “X” or a warning sign, it indicates that your battery may require attention.

Windows operating systems include a function called Battery Report that provides an intensive assessment of the battery’s health. To generate a battery report, open the Command Prompt by typing “cmd” into the Start menu’s search bar and selecting the result. 

In the Command Prompt window, input “powercfg /batteryreport” followed by the Enter key. It will create a battery file document that can be accessed by navigating to the desired location within the command ignite.

Conclusion

There are various reasons why your laptop battery drains even when plugged in. Understanding such causes helps you diagnose and fix the problem. Charging issues are common. If the laptop’s charger or cable breaks, the battery drains instead of charging. Replace the charger or fix the cable in such cases.

Alternatively, a bad or faulty battery is another reason for battery drainage. You must buy a new, branded battery if your battery is old and damaged. Overheating causes damage to the battery. Overheating can accelerate battery depletion and electricity use. Use laptop fans or stands with integrated fans, and check the computer’s cooling system to avoid overheating.

Another culprit is a broken DC jack or charging port. The charger may drain the battery if the energy pin isn’t properly connected. In such circumstances, check for damage and seek professional repair or replacement. The battery can drain quickly if the laptop has a short circuit. Battery, adapter, and motherboard troubleshooting can find and fix the short circuit. This complex issue often requires professional help.

Corrupted firmware might disrupt battery charging. Firmware controls hardware components like battery chargers. If the firmware is faulty, it may not communicate with the battery, resulting in a malfunction. Update the motherboard BIOS to fix firmware issues, but do it carefully or with professional help.

There are various battery-saving methods. These include lowering screen brightness, optimizing power settings, turning off keyboard lighting, removing unnecessary peripherals, and uninstalling background software. We hope this article resolved your issue for good.