Laptop battery life

What to expect, honestly

Batteries are consumable. They wear out with use, in every laptop ever made, and a battery in a refurbished machine has had some life already. That’s worth knowing up front, rather than finding out later.

Battery capacity loss is not covered by the warranty. Our warranty is explicit about this: a natural decrease in capacity over time is expected, and it is treated as wear, not a fault.

Here’s the distinction that matters:

• A battery that won’t charge, or holds no charge at all, is a hardware fault, and it’s covered.
• A battery that works but doesn’t last as long as a new laptop’s would is wear, and it isn’t covered.

So: expect good, useful battery life, but not the same as a brand-new laptop. If all-day battery is essential to how you work, do ask us about fitting a new battery before you buy. It’s an inexpensive option, and much cheaper than being disappointed.

Worth adding

If UN Tech tests batteries to a minimum health threshold before sale (e.g. 80% of original capacity), say so here. Publishing a number is a strong trust signal and it sets expectations before purchase rather than after.

Check your battery’s actual health

You don’t have to guess at any of this. Windows can produce a full report on the battery, including how its current capacity compares to when it was new.

1. Right-click the Start button → Terminal (or Command Prompt).

2. Type this and press Enter:

   powercfg /batteryreport

3. It tells you where it saved the report, usually your user folder. Open that HTML file in a browser.

4. Find Design Capacity and Full Charge Capacity. The second as a percentage of the first is your battery’s health.

If that number looks far worse than the machine’s condition and grade would suggest, please tell us. Send the report and your order number and we’ll have a proper look at it.

Getting more from the battery

These are the settings that actually make a difference, in order of impact:

Screen brightness. By a distance the biggest drain. Turning it down is worth more than every other tip combined.

Power mode. Settings → System → Power & battery → Power mode → Best power efficiency.

Browser tabs and background apps. Each one costs power. The tab playing video you’d forgotten about costs a lot.

Battery saver. Set it to switch on automatically at 20%, or turn it on manually when you know you’re going to be away from power for a while.

Habits that preserve battery life

Modern laptop batteries are lithium-ion, and the things that age them are heat and sitting at extremes of charge. A few easy habits go a long way:

• Don’t let it get hot. Heat is what kills batteries. Try not to leave it in a car, or work with it on a doona blocking the vents.
• Leaving it plugged in is fine. Modern laptops stop charging at 100%, so you aren’t “overcharging” it. That’s an old myth from a different battery chemistry, and plenty of people still believe it.
• If your laptop offers a charge limit setting (many business models do, often capping at 80%), and the machine mostly lives on a desk, turn it on. Keeping a battery off a full charge meaningfully extends its life.
• Don’t run it flat repeatedly. Deep discharges age a battery faster than topping it up does.

Battery not charging at all?

Before you assume the worst, try these:

1. Try a different charger if you can borrow one. Chargers fail more often than batteries.
2. Check the charging port for lint or debris. Surprisingly often, that’s the answer.
3. Look for a charging light. No light with a known-good charger points to the port or the board rather than the battery.

If it genuinely won’t charge at all, that’s a hardware fault rather than wear, and it is covered. Have a look at Making a warranty claim and we’ll get it sorted.

Can I just get a new battery?

Yes, and it’s a sensible question to ask. Batteries are usually replaceable, and on a machine that’s otherwise doing its job it’s an inexpensive way to get years more out of it. Ask us for a price with your model and we’ll let you know.