How to Fix Laptop Battery Draining Fast

How to Fix Quick Battery and Excess Power Consumption on Your Laptop

For Windows Laptops

1. Check battery health

   • Before making any changes, it’s important to understand the current condition of your battery. Checking battery health gives you insights into its lifespan, charge cycles, and capacity compared to when it was new.
   • Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
   • Type powercfg /batteryreport and press Enter.
   • Navigate to the generated report (usually located in C:\Windows\System32\battery-report.html) to assess your battery’s health and capacity.

2. Adjust power and sleep settings

   • Customizing your power and sleep settings can significantly extend battery life by minimizing energy usage when your laptop is idle.
   • Go to Settings > System > Power & sleep.
   • Set shorter durations for screen and sleep times to conserve battery.
   • Ensure you’re using a power plan optimized for battery life.

3. Use Battery Saver mode

   • Battery Saver mode is a built-in feature that limits background activity and visual effects to preserve energy.
   • Activate Battery Saver to limit background activity and push notifications, extending battery life.

4. Manage background applications

   • Many apps continue running in the background, consuming power even when not in active use. Identifying and closing these can improve battery performance.
   • Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
   • Identify and close applications consuming excessive resources.

5. Reduce screen brightness and refresh rate

   • The display is often one of the biggest power consumers. Lowering brightness and adjusting the refresh rate can result in immediate battery savings.
   • Lower screen brightness via Action Center or Settings > System > Display.
   • Consider reducing the display refresh rate to 60 Hz to conserve power.

6. Disable unnecessary devices and features

   • Peripherals and wireless features like Bluetooth and external drives can drain battery unnecessarily. Turning them off when not needed can help.
   • Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when not in use.
   • Disconnect external devices like USB drives or peripherals that draw power.

7. Update system and drivers

   • Outdated system software and drivers can cause inefficient hardware performance. Keeping everything updated ensures your laptop runs optimally.
   • Regularly check for and install updates for Windows and device drivers to ensure optimal performance and efficiency.

8. Calibrate the battery

   • Battery calibration helps the system accurately estimate remaining charge and improve power management.
   • Fully charge the battery, then use the laptop until it shuts down due to low battery.
   • Charge it back to 100% without interruption.

For MacBooks

1. Check battery health

   • Start by evaluating your MacBook’s battery health to determine if aging hardware is the root cause.
   • Hold the Option key and click the Apple menu, then select System Information.
   • Under Hardware, select Power to view battery condition and cycle count.

2. Adjust display settings

   • The MacBook’s display is a major source of battery drain. Optimizing these settings can make a big impact.
   • Lower screen brightness using the brightness keys or via System Preferences > Displays.
   • Consider using a darker desktop background and reducing the use of dynamic wallpapers.

3. Manage energy settings

   • Fine-tuning energy preferences ensures your MacBook uses power efficiently when idle.
   • Navigate to System Preferences > Energy Saver.
   • Adjust settings to put hard disks to sleep when possible and enable Power Nap only when necessary.

4. Monitor and close resource-intensive apps

   • Some applications consume more power than others. Monitoring their usage helps extend battery life.
   • Open Activity Monitor from Applications > Utilities.
   • Identify apps consuming high energy and close or manage them accordingly.

5. Disable unnecessary features

   • Similar to Windows, disabling hardware features you’re not actively using can reduce battery drain.
   • Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when not in use.
   • Disconnect external devices that are not being used.

6. Reset System Management Controller (SMC)

   • The SMC controls battery and power functions. Resetting it can resolve unexplained battery issues.
   • For Intel-based Macs, shut down your Mac, then press Shift + Control + Option on the left side and the power button simultaneously for 10 seconds.
   • Release all keys and press the power button to turn on.

7. Update macOS and applications

   • Staying up-to-date helps ensure your system and apps run efficiently, using minimal power.
   • Regularly check for and install updates for macOS and all installed applications.

8. Manage startup items

   • Applications that launch at startup can run in the background, draining battery over time.
   • Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items.
   • Remove unnecessary applications that launch at startup to reduce background processes.

By systematically following these steps, you can identify and mitigate factors contributing to excessive battery consumption on your laptop, thereby enhancing its battery life and overall performance.

How PC Macgicians Can Help

If you’ve tried the above steps and your laptop still drains too quickly, it might be time for a professional health check. At PC Macgicians, we offer comprehensive PC and Mac health diagnostics to uncover hidden issues affecting your laptop’s battery life and performance. Whether it’s outdated software, failing hardware, or inefficient background processes, our expert technicians will optimise your system for a faster, longer-lasting, and more efficient workflow.

Book an in-store or remote laptop repair session today, or contact our support team to get help quickly.