New York Laptop / PC / MAC Repair

When a battery dies it almost always has to be replaced.  Working around a dead battery by plugging it into the AC adaptor doesn’t provide a long term solution either.  In fact, having the laptop plugged in constantly can leave the device vulnerable to other problems such as a power surges.  If the laptop becomes disconnected from the AC adaptor, it will automatically power down.  If enough incidents occur of a forced shut down, it can lead to hard drive failure and damage the other components of the laptop.  In buying a replacement part for the laptop battery, New York Laptop Repair recommends getting a genuine replacement from the same manufactures of you laptop that was design specifically to work with that laptop.

The risk of not buying a genuine replacement is that the laptop battery might not fit correctly into the laptop.  Laptop batteries are not similar and come in different shapes.  If the user searches for a laptop battery by model number for a generic brand, there is also the risk of what quality that particular laptop battery has.  Will the battery have a long lifespan?  How long will the laptop battery’s charge hold?

Each laptop battery is design differently for power usage.  The average charge for the different types of  batteries is affected by the computer hardware found in the laptop, what performance settings the laptop is set to (balanced, power saver or high performance) and what kind of cell battery is used by the laptop.  For example, some laptop batteries have 6-cells and others have 9-cells.  If describing a lower end laptop on the balanced power setting, a 6-cell battery provide on average three hours of charge whereas a 9-cell battery offers an average of six hours of batter life.  Those numbers change if describing a higher end laptop on high performance setting.  That 6-cell battery now provides an average of an hour and a half of charge and the 9-cell battery offers two or three hours of charge.

A unique feature of the 9-cell battery is that it protrudes outward from the base of the laptop (12-cell batteries also have this feature).  The shape almost acts as a laptop stand by putting space between the laptop and surface the battery and laptop is resting on.  Many laptops can upgrade to either the 9-cell or 12-cell battery, from whatever standard cell battery the laptop series comes with.  Another benefit of the extended life battery is that is has a longer lifespan.  For example, a 9-cell battery will outlast a 6-cell battery on average, one year.  A 12-cell battery will outlast a 6-cell battery by 18 months.  The slight disadvantage of the extended life batteries is that because of its design, it is heavier than the standard batteries.

For which ever laptop battery you use, keeping it alive for the complete duration of its lifespan is a skill of finese.  The user has to keep an eye out for when the battery is fully charge and when it’s about to die.  If the user let’s the battery completely die before charging it up again, the  battery’s lifespan will gradually decrease below its intended duration.  This is due in part to the process in the battery that alters over time because of the exhaustion of certain chemical resources.  So overcharging and letting the battery completely die depletes those chemicals from the battery.

New York Laptop Repair recommends following these steps for optimal laptop battery use.  In caring for one’s laptop try not to let the  battery completely die.  New York Laptop Repair suggest letting the battery drain  to 10% then recharge it.  Once it is recharge, unplug the AC adaptor.  By doing so, the chemicals in the laptop battery won’t dissipate as quickly and the battery will more like live for its anticipated lifespan.