Make Your Laptop Battery Last Longer
Your laptop used to last all day, and now it barely makes it through a meeting. Here's how to find the drain and get hours back.
See what's using the battery
Go to Settings › System › Power & battery › Battery usage. It lists which apps used the most battery over the last 24 hours or 7 days.
Open Activity Monitor and click the Energy tab. Sort by 12 hr Power to see what's been draining the battery. Also check System Settings › Battery for usage history.
FIXMake the battery last longer
Try these in order; each helps a little.
- Close apps near the top of the usage list that you aren't using. Browsers with many tabs and video calls are common culprits.
- Pause cloud sync (OneDrive, iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive) while on battery if a big sync is running.
The screen is usually the single biggest battery user. Lower it to a comfortable level and turn on automatic brightness if available. Keyboard backlights also add up.
In Settings › System › Power & battery, set Power mode to Best power efficiency, and turn on Energy saver (or Battery saver) at around 30%.
In System Settings › Battery, set Low Power Mode to Only on Battery.
In Settings › Apps › Startup, turn off apps you don't need at startup. Many apps also have a “run in background” or “minimise to tray” option in their own settings; turn it off for apps like chat and game launchers.
In System Settings › General › Login Items, remove apps you don't need and review Allow in the Background.
System and driver updates often fix battery bugs. Install everything available, then restart.
Open Terminal and run powercfg /batteryreport. Open the HTML file it mentions and compare Full charge capacity with Design capacity. Below about 70–80% means the battery is worn.
Go to System Settings › Battery and click ⓘ next to Battery Health. “Service recommended” means it's time for a replacement.
Laptop batteries normally wear noticeably after 2–4 years. A replacement is usually far cheaper than a new laptop.
If the battery is healthy but still drains fast with nothing running, contact the laptop maker. If it's worn, a battery replacement fixes it.
FAQCommon questions
Should I keep my laptop plugged in all the time?
It's fine. Most modern laptops have battery protection that limits charging to around 80% when plugged in for long periods; turn it on in your maker's app or battery settings if available.
Does dark mode save battery?
On OLED screens, yes, noticeably. On regular LCD screens it makes little difference.
Why does my battery drain when the laptop is closed?
Some laptops stay partly awake in sleep to receive updates. Shutting down, or using Hibernate, saves more battery if you won't use it for a while.
How long should a laptop battery last?
Usually 2–4 years or several hundred charge cycles before it holds noticeably less charge.