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2224
November 19th, 2021 09:00
Using laptop while constantly plugged in
Hi,
I have a Precision 7760 mobile workstation(Ubuntu) and nowadays I almost always use it while plugged in. I was wondering if it could harm the battery and I came across this: https://www.dell.com/community/Inspiron/If-the-charger-is-plugged-in-at-100-battery-life-will-it-harm-my/td-p/7278297
The option to set "50-80%" limit might have been the solution but I have the Long Life Cycle battery and on the BIOS it shows "A long lifecycle battery is currently attached. The charge configuration can not be changed with this type of battery." and the options are disabled.
In this case I was wondering if it would be better to keep it plugged in(constantly at 100%) or manually unplug when it reaches ~80% and plug it back in at ~50%.
jphughan
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14K Posts
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November 20th, 2021 05:00
@linuxdelluser Keep it connected. Manually unplugging at 80% and reconnecting at 50% is not the same thing as implementing those settings, because in your case you would be actively discharging the battery to run the system while disconnected. With the configuration in the thread that you linked, the system would be running from AC power and the battery would simply be idle, and the drain would come from “self-discharge”, a process that could take weeks if the battery was never actively used to run the system. Discharging a battery unnecessarily is going to impose more wear than keeping it topped up all the time.
DELL-Cares
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27.3K Posts
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November 20th, 2021 03:00
We tried reaching you on a private message asking for the Service Tag number to ascertain the warranty but did not receive a response. Please feel free to reply to the private message whenever you are available.
Mess82
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November 21st, 2021 06:00
Have Same Issue With Battery, Lasts nowhere near the expected time.. So I keep it plugged in just incase, cause it drains so fast.... But I Have The Dell Precision M4800.
jphughan
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14K Posts
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November 21st, 2021 06:00
@Mess82 That is a very old system, so its battery may be very worn out by now. And its battery life wasn’t even great to begin with.
nonsocial
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30 Posts
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November 23rd, 2021 02:00
I know this topic says solved, but I think this may be useful:
If you look at Dell Command Power Manager, if it is installed, there is a setting when you click on the individual battery that says Primarily AC Use
This optimises the charging for when you always use mains and is supposed to extend battery life.
I always use this - I think the charging might be slightly slower if you occasionally completely discharge the battery, but it seems to work for me.
nonsocial
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November 23rd, 2021 02:00
I see the original user is using Linux - I don't kow if there is a linux equivalent to the Dell Command Power Manager, but hopefully this will be useful for the other Windows users with the same question.