Since your laptop’s battery is necessary for mobility and productivity, the health of it is important for a solid user experience. Batteries wear out over time, and Windows has a built in tool to help you monitor and keep on top of it.
Follow these steps to generate a detailed report on your battery’s health:
Why It Matters: Laptop Battery Health
A well-maintained battery means:
- Better Mobility: More hours of power away from an outlet.
- Reduced Downtime: Knowing when your battery may need replacing will help avoid unexpected shutdowns.
- Informed Replacement Decisions: Decide if you need a replacement only after you get the data.
Using the Windows Command to Access Battery Data
Here’s how to create a detailed battery report in Windows:
- Open Command Prompt as Admin
- Search for “CMD” on the Windows taskbar search box and right click on “Command Prompt” then choose ‘Run as Administrator.’
Enter the Command - Type the following and hit Enter:
powercfg /batteryreport - Locate the Report
Once you’ve run the command, you will see a path to the report file. Saving in HTML format lets you open this file with any web browser.
The Battery Report gives us information on the following.
Inside the battery report, you’ll find valuable sections, including:
- Recent Usage
You can see your battery’s charge cycles and capacity in the last three days and gain info on daily performance. - Battery Capacity History
Over time, your battery’s original design capacity compared to its current capacity during a full charge gradually degrades. - Battery Life Estimation
And see how your usage affects the battery life and performance of your device. - When to Replace Your Battery
To that point, if the report tells you that the capacity has dropped a lot, or your battery life is very short compared to what you expected, it might be time for a replacement. Regularly checking your battery health will ensure that you don’t have a sudden performance issue during your time on the go.
A simple way to keep your laptop performing at its optimum and utility for as long as possible is by regularly checking the health of your battery. Without this command, you’re seconds away from doing a better job with determining your laptop’s power needs.