HP ProBook 6550b notebook battery doesn't keep at 100% charge

I noticed that my HP ProBook 6550b notebook battery doesn't stay fully charged for a long time meaning like in few days it goes from like 98% to 96% does anyone know why? When I fully charge it to 100% it does stay on about the same amount it did as new but it just doesn't stay at 100% charge when plugged in I noticed. Maybe I never noticed the whole time since I didn't care because the notebook charged by itself and it did this since 5 years ago? I mostly have it plugged in so don't use the battery much.


Current specs of my notebook

Intel i5-460m processor
4GB DDR3 ram will soon upgrade it to 8GB
320GB HDD
Intel GMA HD
Windows 7 Pro 64bit



Thank you

 

Most (all?) notebooks stop charging when the battery reaches 100% and, if you leave it plugged in, don't do a top-up charge until the battery charge drops by several per cent. This reduces the number of top-up charges which cumulatively add to the battery wear.

However, it is also possible that the battery is wearing out and the original calibration which gives a relationship between charge and voltage is no longer valid and the speed of natural self-discharge is much faster than it used to be. The real test is how long the notebook will run on battery. This will show if the battery is well past its best.

John

 

Well I know that it stops charge at 100% but when it gets to 94% then it starts to charge it self back to 100%. But strange thing is that why in few days like 3 days it goes from 100% to like 96%?

 

If it's a 5 year old battery then it probably doesn't behave like a new one.

However, I have also come across batteries which report 100% charge and stop charging, on the basis that the charging current is below a pre-determined threshold, but in reality they are not 100% charged and once the charging is stopped the charge level quickly drops slightly from 100%. This helps improve the battery life as cramming in that last little bit of charge cumulatively damages the chemistry.

It's nothing to worry about if the battery is otherwise OK.

John

 

Well Doug my moms boyfriend said that batteries don't use mercury anymore so you won't lose charge like old notebooks did. But just wanted to know if really todays batteries made to last very long time compared to very old notebooks that had mercury.

 

I used the Battery Check app from HP and it says battery is working normal but it says due to age it could be not working it's best and says I should replace it. I see some on Ebay for around $11 to $20 so maybe I will get them and replace mine but strange thing is that it says mine is working normal just the age making it say it's bad.

Do you guys really think it's bad?

 

That model is over 6 years old now. Assuming it is the original battery, yeah, it is that bad.

Simple time (age) will make a battery loose it's ability to hold a charge. Part of a battery's lifecycle...

I also did some research for your mom's boyfriend, Doug, but failed to find any definitive proof of his qualifications w/regards to batteries.

I wouldn't recommend an ebay (anything). Whatever you buy, make sure it is a genuine HP replacement. Don't try to save yourself a few $$ and end up burning down the house.

 

Well I have used generic versions of batteries before from Ebay and nothing bad happened they worked fine. But do you guys think these will work? Over almost 1200 people got it and seller has great reviews overall.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Battery-for...967206?hash=item257cb41766:g:2fsAAOSwq7JUHGzV

 

That's what I would buy if I were in your situation - as you have pointed out, there's plenty of favourable feedback. Old-type notebook batteries use standard cells and I'm sure the chip controlling the charge is also a standard component.

The best way to check the health of your current battery is to monitor the discharge. Install and run BatteryInfoView and then play a long video. Make a record of the clock time, % charge, battery charge level and discharge rate at, say, 10 minute intervals (doesn't have to be exact). Then plot a graph of the time against battery charge level which should be an approximately straight line. Any steps in the graph indicate that the battery isn't behaving according to its calibration. However, if you don't actually need a good battery because the notebook is always running on mains power then why buy a new one unless the test shows the existing battery has lost most of its charge?

John