Deteriorating Battery Life on my M11X

When I first received my m11x about six months ago, I noticed the battery life was perhaps not quite as good as advertised- it was good for about five hours word processing on power saver mode (the estimated time remaining was generally rather accurate). However I had the i5 version and simply chocked it up to exaggerated advertising and a heavier processor. I didn't really need seven hours anyway- my laptop is almost always plugged in.

However, the battery seems to be weakening- A few days ago I was astounded to see that, after about thirty minutes of use (word processing, I never game while unplugged), I was at 70% battery life, with an estimated two hours remaining.

What could be the problem here? And, more importantly, how do I fix it?

 

iirc, the advertisee battery life for the i-series was NOT 7 hours. But that's besides the point obviously. Have you actually tested the battery life (ie/charged to max, then used it until it died)? Because chances are the battery metre is not calibrated correctly anymore, and may be reporting the wrong levels.

 

I get 3 hours with my m11x R2, normal use, messenger, youtube, some websites, etc.

I never game in battery, or never had the chance yet...

 

Download and use batterybar. It is very accurate after one discharge, and gives you additional details.

 

That's a very good point- I wasn't sure whether It would be safe to do a full discharge.

I thought I read seven hours somewhere- Might have been a review rather than an ad. Of course the issue here is the levels decreasing.

I will download batterybar and check it out

 

i get about 4.5 on med bright, heavy use (no gaming), and some tweaks including throttlestop turning off TB.

 

Over time, one generally install more, and more things are running from boot. More things running = lower battery life.

Unless you're draining your battery empty regularly or gaming on battery very often, the loss of battery life isn't actual battery wear. Installing Battery Bar or CPUID Hardware Monitor to check battery wear will verify this or prove me wrong. I've had mine since the end of May and have the exact same wear level as when I got it (7% greater than spec), despite not turning battery charging off, and it's run at least 12 hours each day.

The best thing to do is to look through the threads here on battery life and go through the suggestions.

 

also, you mentioned that it is almost always plugged in? does that include when it is powered off? I once accidentally left an XPS m170 (that old tank) plugged in for two weeks whilst I was on vacation. I came back to find its battery life reduced to... wait for it.... forty-five seconds. yeah. IDK if that still happens to newer batteries, but don't leave it plugged in while it's off and the battery is full, otherwise it just wears it out.

ps, im no chemist. that is just what i've learned from experience.

 

The 7 hours you saw is for the Alienware M11x R1 (Core 2 Duo). On the Alienware M11x R2 (Core i5/i7), Dell will probably advertise up to around 5 hours or so. In practice, I get around 4 hours with mine.

But you're doing the right thing with BatteryBar. And of course, you'll want to drain as little battery power as possible when you are unplugged. That means turning off AlienFX lighting, unplugging all USB devices, turning off WiFi if you are not going to be using the internet, disabling any programs that are unncessary, and reducing screen brightness. That will let you eek out a little more life out of your battery.

 

Plus get a power sipping SSD if you're really concerned about battery life.

 

you said it - 'old tank' - XPS M170 = different type of battery, if I'm not mistaken.

 

I downloaded battery bar, the readings are accurate- I've definitely lost some battery life since first receiving the machine. Of course, it isn't the end of the world, but slightly discouraging.

Batterybar says battery wear is at 0%- though that's probably simply counting since when I installed the program, am I right?

Corwincre likely has a very good point- there might be some programs in the background I'm not aware of. Also, does anyone know how to disable the constant LED lighting? It's pretty around christmastime but not something I need on constantly.

 

Right click on your AlienFX 'alien head' in the status bar area and select 'Go Dark'.

 

Most M11x batteries seem to report being above rated capacity for the battery. Mine is about 70,000 where rated capacity is about 64,000, so it will say 0% wear until it drops consistently below the 64,000 mark at full charge.

 

No, the battery reports its "designed capacity" based on its specifications, and BB bases the wear level on that. As htwingnut said, a battery's actual capacity often varies from spec.

 

FN+ Print screen will give the same results if you want a hotkey method.

 

Well to be fair, depending if you left your computer on Hibernate or Standby, there will be a small drain in the battery. Leaving the power running will essientally kill the battery by setting the lithium ions into equilibrium (You know this condition very well....it's a dead battery.)