The rapid advancement of consumer electronics has slowed. A three-year-old laptop in 2010 was outdated, but today, devices last much longer, reducing the need for constant upgrades.
However, this longevity highlights the limited lifespan of certain components, particularly batteries. Battery issues are becoming increasingly prevalent.
"Batteries are consumable," notes Craig Lloyd, iFixit's head of content operations, "and more people are realizing that."
Previously, a dead battery often meant a new phone. Now, battery replacement is a cost-effective solution, restoring devices to near-new condition, capable of handling the latest apps even after two or three years.
Battery problems typically manifest as reduced battery life between charges. Some devices even provide warnings when battery health deteriorates. MacOS, for instance, is known for earlier notifications compared to other operating systems.
Understanding Battery "Death"
Each charge cycle (full discharge and recharge) degrades the battery slightly due to the limited number of full charge cycles it can endure. This maximum cycle count is usually specified online or in the device's manual. When a battery "dies," it primarily means reduced battery life, not a sudden failure.
"My wife's laptop lasted seven years before needing a new battery," Lloyd shares, "and even then, it only lasted an hour or two instead of eight or ten."
[Related: The Inevitable Demise of Cell Phone Batteries: A Physics Perspective]
This degradation doesn't compromise device safety; sudden failures are usually due to manufacturing defects or physical damage, not normal wear and tear, Lloyd clarifies. You can check your battery's cycle count against its rated lifespan (found in the user manual).
For PCs, open Command Prompt (search next to the Start menu), type powercfg /batteryreport
, press Enter, then open the generated battery-report.html
file in your user folder (C:Users[YOUR USERNAME]
). For Macs, Option-click the Apple menu, select System Information, then navigate to Hardware > Power to find the Cycle Count.
When to Replace Your Battery
Essentially, whenever you choose.
Device notifications aside, if performance is satisfactory, battery replacement isn't necessary. Even reduced battery life isn't a problem unless it significantly impacts usage. However, planning for eventual battery replacement is wise if you intend to keep your devices long-term.
Essentially, whenever you choose.
"Think of your phone like a car," Lloyd advises. "Components degrade and need replacing."
Battery Replacement: A Practical Guide
Replacement difficulty varies by device. Some are simple one-screw jobs; others require extensive disassembly, potentially involving challenging adhesive removal (Apple devices, for example).
For in-warranty batteries, contacting the manufacturer is best. Otherwise, repair shops or DIY replacement are options.
[Related: Maximizing Your Laptop Battery Life]
iFixit provides detailed step-by-step guides for DIY repairs. If the task seems daunting, professional repair is perfectly acceptable. iFixit also offers repair kits with quality parts and tools for popular devices.
The above is the detailed content of One telltale sign it’s time to replace your laptop battery. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

Hot AI Tools

Undress AI Tool
Undress images for free

Undresser.AI Undress
AI-powered app for creating realistic nude photos

AI Clothes Remover
Online AI tool for removing clothes from photos.

Clothoff.io
AI clothes remover

Video Face Swap
Swap faces in any video effortlessly with our completely free AI face swap tool!

Hot Article

Hot Tools

Notepad++7.3.1
Easy-to-use and free code editor

SublimeText3 Chinese version
Chinese version, very easy to use

Zend Studio 13.0.1
Powerful PHP integrated development environment

Dreamweaver CS6
Visual web development tools

SublimeText3 Mac version
God-level code editing software (SublimeText3)

Hot Topics











Many users encountered installation issues and some unexpected problems after applying the Windows 11 update KB5060829. If you're facing similar difficulties, don't panic. This MiniTool guide presents the most effective fixes to resolve KB5060829 not

When the Windows Security Center is blank or the function is missing, you can follow the following steps to check: 1. Confirm whether the system version supports full functions, some functions of the Home Edition are limited, and the Professional Edition and above are more complete; 2. Restart the SecurityHealthService service to ensure that its startup type is set to automatic; 3. Check and uninstall third-party security software that may conflict; 4. Run the sfc/scannow and DISM commands to repair system files; 5. Try to reset or reinstall the Windows Security Center application, and contact Microsoft support if necessary.

Microsoft has released Windows 10 KB5061087 for 22H2 to fix some issues. From this post on MiniTool, learn how to install this preview optional update on your PC. Also, you can know what to do if KB5061087 fails to install via Windows Update.Quick Na

Players have been experiencing the PEAK voice chat not working issue on PC, impacting their cooperation during climbs. If you are in the same situation, you can read this post from MiniTool to learn how to resolve PEAK voice chat issues.Quick Navigat

When encountering the "Windowscan'taccesssharedfolderonnetwork", you can usually solve the problem through the following steps: 1. Turn on the network discovery and file sharing function and turn off password protection; 2. Make sure that the target computer is enabled to share and set the correct permissions; 3. Check the firewall rules and service status to ensure that it allows shared access; 4. Use the credential manager to add network credentials for long-term and stable connection.

When you encounter Windows stuck in the "GettingWindowsready, Don't turnoff your computer" interface, you should first confirm whether it is really stuck; 1. Observe whether the hard disk indicator light is flashing, 2. Check whether the fan sound has changed, 3. Wait at least 30 to 60 minutes to ensure that the system has enough time to complete the update operation.

When the Windows clipboard history is not working, you can check the following steps: 1. Confirm that the clipboard history function is enabled, the path is "Settings>System>Clipboard", and if it is not enabled, Win V will not respond; 2. Check whether the copy content type is limited, such as large images, special formats or file paths may not be saved; 3. Ensure that the system version supports it, Windows 101809 and above, and some enterprise versions or LTSC do not support it; 4. Try to restart the ClipboardUserService service or end the clipups.exe process; 5. Clear the clipboard cache or reset the settings, close and then turn on the "Clipboard History" or run the "echooff|clip" command to clean up the cache

Don't rush to reinstall the system when the computer is stuck in the Windows restart interface. You can try the following methods first: 1. Force shutdown and then restart. Apply to the situation where the update is stuck. Repeat two or three times or can skip the lag; 2. Enter the safe mode to check, select Start repair or system restore through troubleshooting. If you can enter safe mode, it may be a driver or software conflict; 3. Use the command prompt to repair the system files, enter the three commands sfc and dism in the recovery environment to repair the damaged files; 4. Check the recently installed hardware or driver, unplug the non-essential devices or uninstall the new driver to eliminate incompatibility issues. In most cases, the above steps can solve the phenomenon of restart lag. If it really doesn’t work, consider reinstalling the system and paying attention to backing up data in advance.
