M17x R3 Battery Wear Issue

Hey everyone,

I have used my battery maybe 8-10 times, and each time I go down to about 5-10% or so. Maybe once or twice I went to like 50% or so so I definitely have the battery "calibrated". Now according to HWMonitor the wear level started off at 2%, then it went to 4% a few weeks later. Now it is at 6%. What is this insanity?

 

Today's LI-ION batts do not need to be 'calibrated'. Simple truth of it is that all of the LI-ION batts today have a 'total # of complete charge cycles'.

Try not to let your batt fall to low levels. When you do, you burn up a charge cycle. My suggestion, leave it plugged in when at home (with the batt in) and don't drain it down to 10%.

There are several battery discussion threads - do a search and you'll find lots of opinions and practices.

As for HWMonitor (and other apps), the battery wear % can be calculated differently depending on how the app is grabbing the data. I tend to not put much stock in this 'reading' and just ignore it for the most part.

Remember, your battery has a 1 year warranty from date of invoice. If it fails before that initial year, call Dell and have it replaced under warranty. Use the system. Have fun with it.

 

I also get weird readings from HWMonitor. I would ignore it and just monitor how the battery is draining when in use.

 

I disable battery charging in my BIOS since my laptop is usually plugged in on my desk. That prevents it from continuously charging all the time. Every now and then I'll discharge it a bit and then charge it back up manually.

 

I see. I figured that Li-Ions don't like calibration unlike NIMH.

Well I have a 3 year warranty so I am good with that. Thanks for the response.

I see, perhaps HWMonitor is a bit inaccurate.

I heard that it doesn't charge at all when the battery is fully charged?

 

Just to clarify, the battery is not included in the system warranty. Batteries only carry a 1 year warranty.

 

That could be right, but most laptops still run current to the battery regardless of it's charge state. Same as your cell phone when you have it plugged into the wall. I figured the R3 was the same so I figured it couldn't hurt to disable charging most of the time.

 

As soon as the battery is fully charged the laptop runs off AC power, not the battery.

 

If you don't use the battery too often store it someplace cool charged at just 50% not full not empty. This seems to be the general ideea on all of the manufacturers. I had an hp for 3 years and stored the battery like this ... after 3 years the battery still held about 2 good hrs of juice ... so it works ! Even if they say the battery doesn't overcharge i still belive the best way to preserve it is to take it out of the computer.

 

Hmm I see.

And BatBoy are you sure that the battery has a separate warranty even if you have the 3 year accidental damage warranty?

Nonetheless, thanks for the responses everyone. The fact that the battery has only a 1 year warranty already indicates to me that it is probably a problematic component. I will just use the battery regularly without worrying about it and when it gets bad at the end of the 1 year warranty I will request a new one.

 

You have to pick, either use the battery a lot knowing it won't last long, and expect to pay for a new one soon, or respect it like mad, keeping it always plugged in as much as possible.

I personally picked option 2, after going through a few laptops I don't want to be caught with a crappy battery at all so I keep it pristine.

Good luck!

 

I agree with you! Just take care of the battery. Personally I prefer to only use my Alienware w/ it plugged in. However when I power down if I plan on not using for a extended period I unplug the system. Just in case!

 

So now here is an update. 10% wear level. I only used the laptop on battery about 15 times.

 

Sounds normal to me.

If you're concerned with battery life, I would do as others suggest and remove the battery while you are running on AC power. Be sure you've discharged the battery down to 30-50% before removing it though as it will prolong the life storing it discharged in that condition.

 

A true "defect" in the battery (such as an internal short in the battery or your laptop misbehaving whenever the battery is installed) might be handled in a slightly different manner from a warranty perspective than "wear" or degrading over time would be handled. That type of thing has very limited warranty coverage. I think it can depend on the circumstances and nature of the problem you are encountering. I doubt you will get anywhere with concerns about the "wear level" as that is just the nature of laptop batteries and it does not indicate there is a problem that would be covered under warranty. As previously indicated, that measurement is not necessarily reliable.

 

Thanks for the responses. However, I have noticed lower battery life throughout the course of my usage. The battery should not degrade this quickly.

 

This common misconception is only true of old, old laptops. Anything remotely modern will not have this problem.