Why Is My Laptop Battery Draining So Fast When It’s New?

Calibration and setup activities, such as system upgrades and background tasks, can quickly reduce the battery life of a brand-new laptop.

Have you ever questioned the rapid draining of your brand-new laptop’s battery? When you unplug your laptop, the last thing you want to see is the battery % dropping quickly. You should know you are not the only person noticing this trend. However, the positive thing is that there are reasonable explanations for this seeming worrying problem, and being aware of them will allow you to get the most out of your laptop’s battery.

Here, we’ll explore the causes of the rapid drain of your brand-new laptop’s battery and offer solutions to the problem. We’ll review everything you need to know, from power-hungry settings to battery calibration, to get the most out of your laptop and its battery life. Keep reading to know how to get the most out of your laptop’s battery life.

Why Is My Laptop Battery Draining So Fast When It’s New?

It’s because of the default configuration and power features. These configurations typically prioritize performance over battery life. You can get longer battery life by adjusting your device’s power settings, stopping unused background processes, and lowering the screen’s brightness.

It’s normal for a brand-new laptop battery to deplete quickly, so don’t worry if you’ve experienced this. Your device’s preconfigured optimization settings and resource-intensive features are likely to blame. While this rapid battery depletion may be alarming initially, it is due to several circumstances. This section will investigate the primary causes of premature battery death in brand-new laptops.

Damaged or Old Battery

If your laptop displays “change battery,” it’s probably time to do that. Although laptop batteries typically last for years without issue, over time, they will provide less time on a single charge until they are utterly worthless.

A laptop’s battery life will decrease noticeably after around three years (often sooner). It may seem that the battery is draining faster than usual, but this is only a normal effect of its inevitable decline with age.

Wrong Power Options

Your battery will drain at different rates depending on your power settings. Select “Power Options” from the context menu when right-click the battery symbol in the taskbar. The “Balanced” profile is the most common laptop choice because it strikes a happy medium between maximum performance and minimal power usage.

However, you can alter the settings to maximize battery life (or boost the performance of your smartphone at the expense of battery life). To enter the menu, select the “Change plan settings” option. To further modify these options, select “Change advanced power settings” after you get there.

Making these adjustments does not require a high level of technical expertise. They are simple to spot, and we can classify them into two groups: those that aid in power conservation and those that boost performance.

Running of Resource-Intensive Programs

Some of the programs and applications you’ll use will cause your battery to drain rapidly. You might not even see some operating in the background while others are always at work.

A computer game is the best illustration of this type of thing. Since more power is required to provide all that eye candy, running the latest AAA title on your laptop at maximum settings will drain the battery extremely fast. Internet browsers (especially with many tabs open) and video and image editing tools also significantly impact battery life.

Type “Battery saver settings” into the Windows search box, and then click the resulting item to see which programs are draining your battery the fastest. To better understand what’s consuming your power, change the time range under “Battery usage per up” in the new window to a week.

Battery Calibration

Laptop batteries can be calibrated to determine their capacity and provide battery life estimations more precisely. Misalignment of the battery’s capacity over time might cause incorrect readings and rapid battery discharge. The battery’s internal circuitry must be recalibrated by fully charging it, entirely draining it, and then charging it again.

Driver Issues

Outdated or unsuitable device drivers cause excessive power consumption and rapid battery drain. Device drivers are pieces of software that allow the various parts of a laptop to talk to one another and the operating system.

How to Fix Laptop Battery Draining so Fast?

If your laptop’s battery drains quickly, consider lowering the screen brightness, calibrating the battery, updating the device drivers, shutting unused applications in the background, and turning off startup programs. In addition, keeping your laptop’s software up-to-date can enhance battery life.

Change the Power Settings

Your laptop may be operating in High-Performance mode without your knowledge. Verifying and adjusting is simple if you think this might be the case. Here are the steps you need to do to put your laptop into power-saving mode. First of all, Select “Start” from the menu. When you click on Settings, a new screen will appear. Type “System” into the search bar to access Power and Battery.

You can check the High-Performance setting by visiting Power Mode. Now, choose the power-saving option. Check the battery life after adjustments and see whether it lasts longer. Only switch to High-Performance mode if you require maximum speed and processing power. Remember to turn it off when you’re done using it.

Lesser the Network Connections

The battery life may suffer when your laptop has several active network connections. Your network connections are likely to blame if your laptop’s battery dies prematurely. You should carry out the following procedures to rectify the situation.

Select “Network Connections” under “Settings.” You can see the active connections by opening the control panel, Network, and Internet and navigating to network connections. To forget or remove a network that isn’t necessary, simply click on it.

Clear Unnecessary Programs and Apps

The Windows 10 battery drains quickly. Problems can occur if many programs and apps are open in the background. Here are the instructions for closing them using Task Manager. To access the Task Manager, press the Ctrl, Shift, and Esc keys simultaneously.

Now, Locate any power-hungry processes you don’t need in the Processes tab, right-click them, and select End task. To stop a background process from running, select it from the Startup tab, right-click it, and then click the Disable button.

Disable the Backlight on your Keyboard

The keyboards of some high-end laptops even include backlighting. Although it aids typing in low light, it has drawbacks, such as rapid laptop battery consumption. You can change the brightness with the help of keyboard shortcuts (Function + F5 key on HP, for example). Additionally, you can stop this feature by going to the Control Panel > Mouse and Keyboard and unchecking the “Keyboard Backlight” box.

Remove any Unnecessary Peripherals

You may extend the life of your laptop battery by properly disconnecting any unused peripherals. Disconnecting a gadget can solve a problem, such as with speakers. To avoid losing any data, though, you should securely erase them.

The following are the proper procedures for removing a peripheral device. To access the System menu, select Settings. Select “Bluetooth and other devices,” and a menu listing all connected hardware will appear. Select Safely Remove from the context menu after right-clicking the device you want to unplug.

Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth

Turn down your WiFi and Bluetooth connections when you’re not using them. They use much more power than they save when they’re on, and you shouldn’t always leave your laptop on. Disabling WiFi while it’s not in use helps conserve bandwidth, eliminates distractions so you can get more done, and protects your laptop from online dangers.

If none of these suggestions help you extend the life of your laptop’s battery, the battery may be severely damaged. You must replace the battery for the device to function normally again. Simply, you can just use airplane mode. 

 

Repair the Firmware

If your laptop is brand new, firmware corruption could destroy its battery life. The consequences of corrupted firmware are significant, and the solutions are not always obvious. If your laptop supports it, you can access the BIOS recovery page.

In most cases, you’ll need to use a combination of key presses to do this. Users have suggested removing the motherboard battery and installing a new one. Both of these options, however, need some familiarity with computer architecture and operation. Consult an expert if you need advice.

Remove Any Inserted Disk Drive

According to research, laptop batteries’ rapid depletion can be due to CD/DVD connections. In this scenario, you might consider removing your laptop’s optical drive. Select Eject from the context menu of the disc drive’s right-click menu.

Pressing the Win + E keys will launch File Explorer; from there, select This PC, right-click the disc drive icon, and choose Eject if that doesn’t work. After that, the disc drive door will open so you may take out the CD or DVD.

What is the Average Lifespan of a Laptop Battery?

The average lifespan of a laptop battery is typically around 2 to 4 years, depending on usage patterns and battery quality. However, it’s important to note that factors such as battery health maintenance, charging habits, and environmental conditions can influence the lifespan.

It is estimated that between 300 and 500 charge cycles is the typical lifespan of a laptop’s lithium-ion battery before it loses capacity. Battery life is largely dependent on how you use the battery. Running power-hungry programs or leaving your laptop plugged in all the time will quickly drain the battery. However, you can prolong the battery’s life by using power-saving settings, reducing superfluous background processes, utilizing the battery-saver option, and avoiding extremely hot or cold environments.

In addition, good battery care and charging routines are essential. To keep the battery’s accuracy in stating its remaining life, you should calibrate it regularly by being fully charged and discharged. You can prolong the battery life by keeping the charge between 20% and 80% of its capacity. You must keep the laptop in a dry, cool place to protect the battery when it is not in use.

The average lifespan can be a rough estimate, but remember that every battery differs. The life expectancy of a laptop battery might vary depending on factors such as the model of the laptop, the battery capacity, and the user’s habits. You can achieve maximum efficiency and longevity by using monitoring software to keep tabs on the battery’s condition and consider a replacement when its performance noticeably drops.

Conclusion

Several variables contribute to the premature depletion of a brand-new laptop’s battery. Still, becoming aware of them and addressing them head-on can greatly enhance overall performance and battery life. Laptops’ default settings emphasize speed over battery life, which quickly drains the device’s power supply.

However, you can prolong the battery life using alternate power sources, terminating unnecessary background operations, and reducing screen brightness. Battery life can quickly be drained by apps that use many system resources and run in the background. Image and video editing software, as well as online games, can majorly affect system performance. Finding and quitting these energy-sucking applications when they’re not in use can save battery life.

One must also take into account the calibration of the battery. The battery’s capacity may shift with time, causing inaccurate readings and premature discharge. More precise and trustworthy battery life estimates can be obtained by fully charging the battery, draining it, and finally charging it again. Excessive power usage and rapid battery drain might result from device drivers that are outdated or otherwise inappropriate.

Maintaining up-to-date drivers is essential for efficient power management and less battery drain. Improving battery life and overall performance also relies on maintaining up-to-date software and firmware. New laptops have short battery lives, but you can fix this issue by identifying the root reasons and following the recommended solutions. Users may get the most out of their laptops and get more use out of their batteries if they take measures to manage resource-intensive programs, optimize power settings, and practice excellent battery care.