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    Dell XPS 15 9550 plugged in always? Does it ruin the battery?

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by awaisuk, Apr 14, 2016.

  1. awaisuk

    awaisuk Notebook Deity

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    Hi

    If I am going to be keeping this laptop on the table 100% of the time, is it better to take out the battery and keep it on power? I do not want to ruin the battery as I ruined it on the last laptop that i had.
     
    awaisuk, Apr 14, 2016
    #1
  2. GoNz0

    GoNz0 Notebook Virtuoso

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    I had my 9530 for 2 years, plugged in 99% of the time and it had 3% battery wear.
     
    GoNz0, Apr 15, 2016
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    secondvision likes this.
  3. twisted89

    twisted89 Newbie

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    My understanding of most modern batteries is that only 2 things cause them to deteriorate - 1. discharging 2. heat.
    Keeping your battery fully charged (plugged in) shouldn't do much, heat from the rest of the laptop may cause some wear but you're going to get that whether plugged in or not.
     
    twisted89, Apr 15, 2016
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  4. kent1146

    kent1146 Notebook Prophet

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    You'll be fine with your battery. As twisted89 said, the biggest influence on battery lifespan (and therefore total capacity over time) is dis/charge cycles. Heat is also a concern, but not as much.

    If you really want to preserve your battery lifespan:
    1) Go into BIOS
    2) Set Charger Behavior to Standard.
    3) Set charge limits betweeo 40% - 50%.
    4) If and when you actually do need to use your battery (e.g. long roadtrip), go back into BIOS, change max battery charge to 100%, and charge your battery to full. When you are done with your trip, go back into BIOS and set the charge limits back to 40%-50%.

    LiIon batteries retain their lifespan the best when kept at about 40%. That is the reason why electronics you buy with LiIon batteries (laptops, smartphones) will come out-of-the-box with about 40% charge. Manually configuring your laptop to do this will keep the battery as fresh as possible over time.
     
    kent1146, Apr 15, 2016
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  5. Chris Wood

    Chris Wood Notebook Enthusiast

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    There is an option in the BIOS for 'Primarily AC Adaptor Use'.
    Should this not be used if you are mainly using External power?
    Or would you still suggest the Standard behaviour above?
     
    Chris Wood, Apr 16, 2016
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  6. kent1146

    kent1146 Notebook Prophet

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    It probably does something equivalent to what I described.

    Personally, I prefer to just use the Standard behavior, and set your own limits, so that you know exactly what is going on.
     
    kent1146, Apr 16, 2016
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  7. awaisuk

    awaisuk Notebook Deity

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    I cannot set the start limit below 50%..?

    So I should set it to standard, and then set the start at 50% and stop at what limit?
     
    awaisuk, Apr 16, 2016
    #7