Dell XPS 13 (2015) 9343 - Battery Life

I have the QHD+ version and was just trying to see how much battery life others were getting and whether i got a faulty model. My fan is relatively non-existent since i fixed that problem and in power saver mode I'm only getting about 6 hours of light browsing (firefox) battery time. I checked the Task Manager and nothing is using the CPU in a ridiculous way.

Whats every one else getting battery time wise?

Edit 1: I got the microsoft signature edition and removed all programs with the name dell or mcafee in it.

 

You'll get an extra hour or two by using Internet Explorer instead of Firefox. Chrome is even worse.

 

I also have the signature edition i5/QHD model, but I haven't really been able to sit down with the laptop for much more than an hour each night, so I don't really have a good feel for the battery life yet. I do feel like I can get closer to 7-8 hours (also using Firefox), though I can't be sure. I also run the Power Saving setting and usually have the brightness at about 10%.

I've also read the same thing about having much better battery life by using the windows apps, but I can't bring myself to give up my extensions. At least Firefox isn't as bad on the batteries as Chrome as GoneTomorrow has said.

 

I need firefox for the extensions and its just so much better in general, but Ive tested it with IE and still get around 6 hours. Maybe its just my laptop being faulty, it went down 40% after just watching a netflix movie with headphones for 90 minutes.

Darkie, have you updated the BIOS or kept it the same as when you got it?

 

Yeah, I'm on A01 right now. I installed it while my computer was pretty much brand new, so I don't have any sort of before/after point of reference of whether or not it actually helped at all.

As for your quoted IE battery time, it may not be all that atypical. There are quite a few factors to consider, such as how you have your notebook set up (e.g. settings within power plans, how bright you have your screen, if you had peripherals connected, etc.). Everybody's definition of light browsing will also be a little different as well. If you look at various reviews and battery life tests, the results can vary by up to a few hours depending on their parameters. One thing to note about the IE vs. Chrome vs. Firefox debate is that the differences were most significant only when viewing Youtube videos (if GoneTomorrow and I are thinking of the same article; note this is for the FHD model).

That Netflix figure, on the other hand, doesn't look quite right. I know it's not quite the same, but playing a local 44 minute 720p .mkv through Windows Media Player drained maybe a little less than 10%. No headphones.

 

So I actually loaded up Netflix earlier and remembered this thread. When watching Netflix through the browser (Firefox), I actually found the battery drain to be quite significant. Almost in line with the 90 minute/40% figure you reported. After watching 1 standard ~22 minute episode in full screen, I lost almost 10%.

Later, I tested it out with the Netflix app, and it was much better. This time, I only lost 10% from a full charge after watching for 45 minutes. The laptop also ran much cooler when running the app, despite the fact that the duration of the second session was much longer. I also turned up the stream quality before running Netflix the second time around as well (from medium to high).

During both instances I had the power plan set to Power Saving Mode, with 9% brightness, and ~26-30 volume (no headphones or peripherals attached).

Ultimately, I don't think your system is faulty with respect to the battery life (in these instances). I hope that helps.

 

I got the FHD model from Microsoft Store and it last me around 8 hrs continuously use on web surfing and online video streaming when I set brightnesss to 30%, 6 hrs at 50-60% brightness, both with balance power plan