Does the battery stop charging?

First I would like to say sorry if this has been answered. I have looked around for some time but cannot find a definite answer.

Does the battery in the M11x discharge and charge constantly when plugged in, or does it run off of power straight from the wall once it's at 100%? I am currently keeping my M11x plugged in all the time and need to know if this is going to cause a problem.

Thanks.

 

I would also like to know this. The person I purchased my M11x R1 from got a new battery from Dell because he always had it on the charger and it killed the battery. But I think he said that there was a way to set it so that you can run off the charger once fully charged. But can someone please clarify that?

 

I'm not sure if it stops charging after it reaches 100%. But you can either turn off battery charging in the bios or use this http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/518585-fn-f2-dsable-battery-charging-works.html

 

I have seen this and might try it out. Some forums/posts claim that the battery stops charging at 100% but I haven't heard a definite answer yet so I thought I would start a new post .

 

You know what. I am going to email Dell/Alienware and hunt for an answer.

 

I use the Fn+F2 function and battery bar (which tells you when you are running on A/C power, how much battery, battery wear, etc). When you disable charging battery bar says that you are running on A/C power. When you reach 100% charge battery bar also says you are running on A/C power. I'd assume from this information that the battery is not being charged when this happens.

 

When I hit Fn+F2 it just says Battery Enabled and shows a battery. Doesnt say any other info. In the Bios Battery Charging is Enabled.

Ok I DL'd BTMeter So I have to manually uncheck or check the box if I want to stop charging the battery if I let it sit on the charger for long periods of time?

 

You have to open the btmeter exe then push fn f2. Then a box pops up that lets you check or uncheck battery charging. When you open btmeter nothing will show up but a box should pop up after using fn f2.

 

ok so it has to be manually done each time?

 

No one has a definite answer ?

 

I have BatteryBar installed and I find it best just to go into the BIOS at startup and disable charging. From what I've seen in other laptops, the battery does not stop charging even if it reaches 100%.

 

ok... Im confused here. I have in the Bios Battery Charging Disabled. With that disabled do I need BTMeter to turn on and off my battery charging? If I have it disabled will it still charge it if needed? Right now it shows the battery with the plug by the time and it says fully charged.

 

I thought once you plug it into AC it ignores the battery?

 

download BT meter. when you want to stop the battery from charging, hit FN + F2, uncheck the box, and it will stop charging. if you update your BIOS to A5 (R1), it will remember this setting even if you turn the computer off and back on.

if the battery is low and you want to be able to go without AC power for a bit, enable charging, watch it go up, then disable when it gets to 100 (or to whatever % you want).

i doubt anyone will get a 100% concrete answer as to whether the battery does stop charging at 100%, but one thing is fact: storing these types of batteries at 100% for extended periods of time ends up shortening the life of the battery. i believe optimum % is around 40-50% if you're not going to be charging/discharging it (search google, there are a few good articles out there).

i keep the battery anywhere between 40% and 80% when it is plugged into the wall, and i only enable charging to jack it up to 100% if i'm getting ready to use the laptop on the go (train, airplane, coffee house, wherever).

*EDIT*
keeping the battery % constant or nearly constant (around 40-50%) reduces the number of charge/discharge cycles, which prolongs the battery's life, since all Li-ion batteries have a finite number of cycles. if you compared someone who charged to 100% and ran the battery down to 10% once a day with someone who kept the battery at 50% all day long while using only AC power, you would notice the battery wear with the first user 6-12 months down the road.

 

As with all Li-Ion batteries: When running off the mains PSU The laptop will be powered purely by the PSU and the battery will charge to 100%, report thet it is fully charged and then charging will stop. The laptop will keep running off the PSU until it is unplugged.

 

I have heard that even if the laptop is plugged in the battery will keep charging even if it is at 100% My thing is I want it to stop charging once it is at 100% and only run off the AC. The person that I bought the laptop from got a new battery under warranty because it went dead not even a year into owning it. The tech said that it was because it was always charging.

 

Try running ThrottleStop in monitoring mode and check off the Log File option. When you are done testing, Exit ThrottleStop and have a look in the ThrottleStopLog.txt file for this column.

PWR_mW

If that column shows a negative number, that means your battery is discharging and when it changes to a positive number, that means you are plugged back in. Most laptop charging systems will show a high positive number when you first plug in and then as the battery gets closer to fully charged, the charging rate will decrease to more of a slow trickle charge. If you continue with your laptop plugged in, the charge rate should eventually decrease and it will show zero in the log file.

Batteries can fail at anytime. That doesn't prove it was always charging.

 

I really dislike the fact that the battery is non-removable within the system. Are there options of replacing it after the warranty has run out should it ever die on me?

 

Im sure that it is replaceable... just dont think it is a cheap part

 

(1) The Alienware M11x battery charging works just like any other laptop battery charging. If battery is <100%, then charge battery up to 100%. If battery is =100%, then stop charging. In either case, laptop runs directly off of AC power. The battery is not drained at all.

If you disable battery charging (via BIOS or BT Meter), then all you do is disable the battery charging. The laptop runs off of AC power, and ignores whether the battery is <100% or =100%.


(2) Whether this causes a "problem" depends on your definition of the word. The laptop will function in AC mode when you keep the laptop plugged in all the time. The laptop will function in battery mode when you unplug the laptop from the charger. There will be no compromise to functionality at all.

The Alienware M11x uses a Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) battery. Because of the chemistry behind Lithium Ion batteries, you shorten the life of a Li-Ion battery by keeping it at constant charge of 0% or 100%. If you do keep your battery plugged in to the charger all the time (and keep the battery charged to 100% capacity all the time), then you can expect to lose approximately 50% battery capacity over 1.5 - 2.0 years. A 6-hour laptop will gradually be able to only run on battery for 3 hours after 2.0 years if you keep the battery at a constant 100%.

There are ways to delay this effect. The best way to store a Li-Ion battery is to keep it cool, dry, and at 40% charge. If you are going to be plugged in most of the time while using your Alienware M11x, then the best thing you can do for your battery longevity is to get it to 40% charge, and then disable the charging behavior (via BIOS or BT Meter).

(3) The battery is a user-replaceable part. If you unscrew the 8 screws on the bottom panel of the laptop, then you can get access to the battery to remove or replace it.

To my knowledge, replacement batteries are currently unavailable for purchase. You might be able to purchase one directly through Dell if you call and speak with the right person, but I haven't seen any batteries that are readily available for purchase (either made by Dell or by a 3rd party).

In general, a battery like what is used in the Alienware M11x (around 19V, around 65,000mAh capacity) will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of ~$100 USD for a new OEM-branded battery. 3rd parties generally make generic versions of these batteries somewhere in the neighborhood of ~$40 USD.

I'm sure that you can start buying these replacement batteries in another year or so. The Alienware M11x will be about 2 years old at that time, and will be around the time when owners of the Alienware M11x who keep their laptop plugged all the time start noticing that their battery life has significantly dropped.

 

I spoke with somepne at dell and he told me thati should unplug the charger when not in use , or it will wear out the battery in about half the normal time.

 

You guys are trying too hard. With a shelf life that promises battery failure no matter what you do, it is very diffucult to expect (promise) any particular result.

I keep my systems plugged in unless going mobile. I think my usage is fairly common either for home or office (from room to room) just being mindful to not fully drain the battery. I get 2-3 years from the batteries this way which is pretty much what one would expect IMO but without extra effort.

How to prolong lithium-based batteries

 

When a charger is plugged in and the battery is fully charged, it is designed to automatically signal the charger to turn itself off and stop charging. You can read the charge rate from Windows which Battery Bar or ThrottleStop can show you. If the charge / discharge rate shows 0.0 when fully charged and plugged in then it doesn't matter whether you are plugged in or not.