Battery Pack In When Using AC Power

The VAIO manual says:

"When your computer is directly connected to AC power and has a battery pack installed, it uses power from the AC outlet."

I've had friends tell me that for the good of life of the battery, when I am using AC power, I should remove the battery pack.

Is there a real need to do so?

 

Not especially, but it does help. See the 'battery guide' for more info

 

I've never had an issue leaving it in, others will tell you different. If you're paranoid, take it out.

 

The computer should stop charging the battery once it reaches 100%. Most notebooks then don't commence recharging again until the charge has dropped to, typically, 98% or 95%. This avoids very frequent small top-up charges.

You can quickly do some tests to find out the drop in charge needed to trigger a recharge on your computer. Get software such as BatteryMon and run it. Then pull out the mains power for a minute, see what the charge level is, plug the mains back in and see whether the battery starts to charge. If it doesn't pull the plug out again and repeat.

Some Sony notebooks include battery saver software with which the user can set the recharge to only be up to 50% or 80%.

John

 

I take my battery out when I'm plugged in for several reasons:

1. My Dell likes to top out the charge alot. Even at 99%, it can recharge.
2. It's exposed to extra heat from the rest of the computer. That might not be a big issue short-term, but if you're constantly on AC power I would take it out and store it somewhere cooler to prolong the battery's life.

 

In my experience the battery does last longer when you take it out frequently.

The battery I'm using at the moment is still in good health after a bit more than 3 years.

I've read it's best to store it at 40% charge in a plastic bag the fridge (not freezer).

 

I've also heard, however, that with the SR's and I think Isamu.. (sorry for the misspell) who has already received his Z has said that there is a fair amount of 'jiggle' or looseness with the battery. Is there any fear that constantly removing/reattaching your battery made put added stress on the physical components of the battery compartment?

Also, for those of you that remove your battery when your working on it with AC; do you ever knock the chord out and instantly shut the machine down? I used to have a laptop that didn't have a battery and I was forever losing work because I would accidentally shift positions and knock the chord out.

Just interested in your perspectives?

 

As the Vaio manual (user guide) on Battery Management states, on AC, the Battery will only be charged, but not discharged. Consequentially there's no direct harm...you don't have to remove the battery while having the Ac adapter plugged in. the laptop will switch to battery power once you disconnect the power cord. Hope this helps. Of course, every battery has a limited amount of charging cycles...

 

I guess we are all divided as to whether we should remove the battery when using the AC power! I'm not sure whether it is worth the trouble though, considering I switch between the two often. In any case, there is a slight "jiggle" as jpoe mentioned with the battery pack on my SR. I do think I don't want to be removing and replacing it so frequently it further loosens it.

 

It's quite simple. If you want your battery to last as long as possible remove it whenever working on AC.

If you don't mind buying a new battery in (maybe) 2 years don't bother.

The battery looses charge naturally, in Sony's case a bit faster than naturally. Every time it goes down 95% (or 98%) it will start charging again, and this contributes to loosing cycles.

Heat is another thing that shortens battery life spans, this can be avoided by keeping it in the fridge at 5 C.