Laptop Battery Recall And How to Maintain It

5:55 AM // 0 comments // Sajib Barua // Category: laptop accessories , Laptop Battery //

There are subtle differences in design, manufacture, and the operation of generic and official batteries which may or may not cause problems for you. For every person that has had problems using generic batteries, there is another who has had no problems whatsoever. You must decide if saving a little money on a replacement laptop battery is worth the potential risks.

Recently there were a number of reports of exploding batteries. Naturally, you may be concerned about the safety of your laptop's battery. The cause of recent battery explosions has been traced to metal particle contamination of internal components in batteries produced in certain factories. A recall is in place for the batteries at risk of suffering from this defect. If you happened to buy the recalled laptop battery, you should send it back or it is a high risk.

Talking about how to maintain laptop battery and make the laptop battery life last longer, there are some tips sharing with you.

We should know that heat is your battery's worst enemy. Avoid keeping your battery in hot places such as your car during the daytime. A full discharge puts more strain on your battery than several partial discharges. You do not need to worry about battery memory with Li-Ion batteries. Get into the habit of recharging the battery when it reaches 10-20%.  Never discharge your battery to 0% – as this can render your battery useless. Calibrate your battery's fuel gauge by doing a full discharge every 30 cycles. Run the battery to the cut-off point in your laptop to keep the battery's fuel gauge accurate. If you will be on AC power for an extended period of time, you can prolong your battery's lifespan by removing it and putting it into prolonged storage. Prolonged storage should be done with a 40% charge-level and in a cool, dry place. Some experts recommend you place the battery in your refrigerator. Use a sealed plastic bag to keep moisture out if you do this. Do not freeze your battery. Allow a stored battery to warm to room temperature completely before using or recharging it.

And another thing that I must mention: some manufacturers are offering now is "Express Charge", specifically Dell. While I like that feature, a word of warning, Express Charge can be a killer on the battery as the faster you charge a battery the more it tends to warp the cells. So in the long run a slow charge of a battery is better. However, tell that to the guy that has an hour layover in an airport and needs to charge a battery as fast as possible. I kind of wish laptop makers offered a way to toggle how fast the battery charges so you could trickle charge when it doesn't matter and fast charge when you really need to charge the battery fast.

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