Can I Leave a Laptop Running All the Time?

[@askleonotenboom]

You have choices and tradeoffs.

[@robinclifton4182]

A very clear presentation and without annoying music in the background.

[@themadatheist1976]

I like how my LT bought earlier this year has a option to keep the battery at certain percentages while plugged in. I would've loved that when I had one 10 years ago.

[@JimE6243]

I only use a laptop and it is plugged in about 16 hours a day so this info was really informative. I had often wondered if I was killing the thing or not. When I shut it down at night I just unplug it. Thanks for looking in my head. JimE

[@TomasLKarlik]

I am conflicted with this advice. As opposed to phones, which drain the battery even when charging, laptops commonly bypass the battery and run fully off of grid power while plugged in. That means the battery is getting charged up to 100% and then stays there (disregarding natural charge loss) - it is not getting drained and recharged over and over again (which, again, is what happens with smartphones if you let them plugged in, and which is why you shouldn't use those while they're being charged to avoid overheating the battery). That drain/charge cycle has big impact on battery life, which is commonly measured in drain/charge cycles it can handle until significant drop in capacity anyway. However, you're definitely right that keeping the battery at 100% all the time is not doing it a service either. I don't know which of these two effects have greater impact on batter life. Tbf I thought it was better to have a laptop plugged in rather than force a charge cycle, but I'm not sure about that, only a gut feeling. It would be cool if there was an option to charge the battery to just 80% or similar, to get the best of both worlds. Or, ideally, have it run in a two-step control mode - it stops charging at around 80%, and then retrigger only when it falls below around 40% (which, provided you have it plugged in 24/7, could easily take months to fall that low due to natural charge loss).

[@peppa1492]

Quick note - some modern laptops offer 'conservation modes' which limit the maximum and minimum charge levels of the battery. If you want to use your laptop plugged in for a long time, use that.

[@vampyrkiller]

Lenovo

[@nyx_369_]

@@vampyrkiller yep i use it too...

[@brandoonf6962]

ruined my asus laptop doing that

[@gibon000]

​@@brandoonf6962Can you please discribe how it ruined your laptop? I'm also using same Laptop...

[@brandoonf6962]

%@@gibon000 I would always have my laptop plugged in using it like a desktop. I had it set to where it stopped charging at 80% But it killed my battery longterm. I just got a Lenovo Yoga and trying to figure out what is the best protocol.

[@WyzrdCat]

If it's truly purposed as a desktop role you can avoid the pitfalls of leaving it plugged in by going into BIOS and limiting the total charge to around 60%. This preserves the life ideally, but of course that won't matter much if you forget to turn it off if you ever use the charge because it'll only be at 60% anyway lol.

[@askleonotenboom]

That's a great setting if you have it, but not all laptops do. In fact I'd say that most still don't.

[@MrMac5150]

Another reason to shut off and restart. When a laptop goes into sleep mode and you wake it up, in ( LINUX ) it does not restart the fan and may over heat, I found this out in two Laptops using Linux.

[@edwardmacnab354]

whoa--it's always the comments where you get the best info

[@barryhutchinson3977]

If it helps any, I have mine connected to a wifi smart plug. It's on for an hour, then it goes off for an hour, then back on again. This process repeats itself 24 hours a day. It's been 3 months, and nothing has broken, as yet.

[@adetibakayode1332]

Thanks so much for the Delineation sir

[@MikaelKKarlsson]

To improve the lifespan of todays Li-Po and Li-Ion batteries, avoid primarily having it discharge completely if you can avoid it. Some laptops come with the optional functionality to also keep the charge from ever reaching 100, which is also not ideal. Without that function built in though, it's not really a practical goal to aim for by manually unplugging the charger. Just avoid the complete discharge situation. If you're putting away a device, storing it with a charge around 50-60% would be a good target. Never actually "excercise" modern batteries.

[@MrX-X-X]

My gaming laptop has some option where it slowly drains to 90% before it charges back up. I think it's some feature they do to protect the battery lifespan. Doesn't really matter to me honestly because I literally never use a laptop on battery mode.

[@matiasarenas7475]

Yes i have this problem in my hp notebook, for some reason hp only give this feature for the business line laptops, i can't lock it at 80%, so it is better to keep it plugged in while using it at 100% and unplugge when i don't use it?

[@magnesiafrost1863]

@Kane Foxx battery mode = not plugged in

[@7lllll]

controlling battery levels should be more widely known and used. the default setting of 100% charge all the time is a bad idea for a lot of users

[@StopWhining491]

Thanks for the practical information.

[@vladislavkaras491]

Great tips! Thanks for the video!

[@MrX-X-X]

I've done it all the time, no issue. Had my first laptop for 7+ years, still have it. Don't use it much anymore because it's specs just can't keep up with modern tech. It only has 4GB RAM. Anyway my first laptop I kept on all the time for all those years, with a restart once every month or so. It's still alive and kicking. I do it with my gaming laptop too which I've had for 2 years. No problem with that either. Unless it has a habit of getting hot or something on idle, it will be fine.

[@jaradhiggins6599]

Removing battery ang plug in that's what you did?

[@KarlUppianoKarlU]

I am a software developer by trade. Since about 2000 or so, my employer's standard developer machines have been laptops. So-called 'desktop replacement' laptops... very powerful laptops indeed. They provided us with docking stations, two large monitors, keyboard, mouse, etc. I generally left the laptops on 24x7, and rarely un-docked them, except maybe to travel to the home office or something like that. So the batteries were on 100% charge literally for years. Even when traveling, I would generally run the laptop on the travel charger and not the battery. By the end of life of the laptop, I might get 20 minutes of battery time. The batteries were practically never used, and when they were used, they were useless. Recent laptops now have a power option to charge the battery up to 80% instead of keeping them topped at 100%. I don't know if that will extend the battery lifespan or not. The feature is too new to tell. We shall see...

[@edwardmacnab354]

I just removed my HP laptop battery because it was swelling . I had the power connected full time so I'm guessing that is the reason for the swelling. The good news is it was a breeze and I might upgrade my SSD from 256G to 1T

[@vitacell1]

@@edwardmacnab354 Swelling because of Li-Po type of battery. It should be Li-ion.

[@msun12000]

With modern laptops, temperature seems to be the main shortener of battery life rather than whether the battery is cycled or not.

[@vanneslee]

mine is always on 24/7 for 1 year now. but i my temp is always 34c because am running it power saver mode. also new laptop today has this feature called "conservation mode" in legion 5 laptop that it won't charge the laptop even if you plug-in in the wall and always stays at 60% battery. last check on my battery life still at 99% capacity only 1% is gone for whole year :)

[@ivangaming3694]

Mate, thank you so much, now I know that i can let my laptop be on all night so i can grind in some games but i will do it just sometimes cuz i want to keep it safe a bit and im not worried anymore.:D

[@noahbrewer2476]

I found this pretty helpful, honestly.

[@Amensatanzero]

excellent video, thank you

[@308_Negra_Arroyo_Lane]

You can cap the charge level with Lenovo laptops.

[@ncrdisabled]

i have a dell laptop that is 1.5 years old and the battery is bad I can not replace it as its soldered in place .

[@PatrickHock-ur5wi]

Your mistake was buying a Dell.

[@stevenbrown8782]

I run my LT w/o the battery. Careful to B/U often. No problems so far.

[@jaradhiggins6599]

What is BU? Removing battery running is safe?

[@hasansamir7929]

i dont worry about my battery , i just want to know this is it harms laptop motherboard or ac adapter for turning on 24/7 on long run.

[@Marc_Fuchs_1985]

I was pleasently surprised, that my new 2024 laptop came with manufacturer specific software, that allowed to stop charging between 60 and 100%. So since very often I use the laptop as a secondary device for 3D rendering, it has no business being charged all the time. So whenever I use it on the plug, I make sure the software is set, so it never exceeds 60% and keeping the battery a lot healthier in the long run. Too bad the software is slightely incompetent. Starting it up won't trigger the charge limit, I need to turn the slider off and back on AND slide the selector to 100% and back to the minimum of 60%, only then will the software be guaranteed to do it's job. I mostly use hibernate, where the software can stay loaded. Sometimes that means, it will limit charging, sometimes it doesn't. Forgot to do this little dance after booting a couple times and unnecessarily fully charged the battery. Oh well, not so bad when it only happens sometimes. With my phone, I always try to stay between 30% and 70%, if unusual use cases don't demand otherwise.

[@NoEgg4u]

The longer your laptop is plugged in, the more it is at risk of getting hit with an electrical spike or surge. Use a quality surge suppressor -- not one from Walmart or the supermarket. APC and Tripp Lite are reputable brands.

[@MineJulRBX]

Some laptops can have terrible cooling, especially when being on for a long time, which causes overheating that can slow down the overall performance of the laptop. At least, this is something you had to be careful about just a few years ago, I know my gaming laptop right now, I can't leave it on for a whole day, it needs to be turned off to cool. I had hoped you went more into that. My fathers laptop would literally melt the keyboard if it was on for too long.

[@askleonotenboom]

Yes, that's bad laptop design. You might get a laptop cooling pad (www.amazon.com/s?k=laptop+cooling+pad) - those have fans that help.

[@yadhukrishna9673]

thank you so much🙌

[@yadhukrishna9673]

4:23 facts

[@marcosmcm86]

Leo, why not remove the battery and leave the laptop plugged in without a battery?

[@askleonotenboom]

Sure. An option IF you can remove the battery. Many current laptops don't have removable batteries.

[@NoEgg4u]

It is not good to let a rechargeable battery go dead. If you leave it out for a long enough time, it will go dead. So charge it every few months. Also, if you have a blackout, your laptop will go down, hard (assuming you do not have it plugged in to an uninterruptible power supply).

[@RotatingLocomotive]

Wasn't the battery bypassed when it's full charged and the laptop is plugged in?

[@askleonotenboom]

Maybe. But even if not connected it will slowly lose power, and the charging circuit will kick in again. So down a little, charge a little, down a little, charge a little ... repeat that enough times and it's still wearing on the batter.

[@RotatingLocomotive]

@askleonotenboom Yes my same thought. There should be a switch to complete ignore the battery or just remove it but would be tedious

[@edwardmacnab354]

take the battery out and run the computer from the outlet . This makes sure you never get a swollen battery or, god forbid , an explosion or a fire . Upgrade your ssd and ram while you're at it . Opening a laptop for repairs is not that hard to do !

[@doonguitarlessons]

Hi, thanks for the info. I just wanted to ask if leaving my Lenovo laptop plugged in when I have set the battery to conservative mode okay? By that I mean it won't charge it more than 60%

[@hamidRaven13]

is all the concern just battery ? what about the power supply source?

[@askleonotenboom]

Just the battery.

[@RachelCop]

I'm just wondering what if you have overcharged your laptop for 2 years? That's what I did and my laptop seems fine but I noticed the battery status is draining, I'm unsure if unplugging it will mess it up or not

[@MohammedUmrethwala]

I was told that leaving a Laptop plugged in all time won't hurt battery because technology have changed and most mordern latptop directly uses power instead of battery - is that true?

[@askleonotenboom]

It *really* depends on the laptop. The issue is that leaving the batter charged to 100% all the time can shorten its useful life.

[@bam220052005]

i have an old toshiba satellite it has a bad battery and wanted to know if i keep it unpluged for a couple of days while im gone will it hurt it

[@nimanasehi-qz1ld]

Can I left my lap top on for 8 hours when it's plugged in at the same time?

[@lormor460]

My laptop is my main computer so I leave it plugged in 24/7. Does having it go in to sleep mode help with the battery issue? My battery was replaced within the last year…

[@askleonotenboom]

"the battery issue" -> depends on what issue you mean.

[@lormor460]

@@askleonotenboom I’m sorry. Meaning the battery degrading over time.

[@askleonotenboom]

@@lormor460 My sense is that it wouldn't make an appreciable difference. I'd choose the behavior (sleep or not) based on your own personal preferences and usage pattern.

[@50charactersonly61]

What's your opinion on having a laptop as a NAS/Home Server? wouldn't I need to have it plugged it in 24/7 365 days a year?

[@askleonotenboom]

Depends on how you plan to use your NAS. Could be fine.

[@tesses50]

Is it ok (If plausable) to disconnect battery if you are going to have it plugged in?

[@askleonotenboom]

Sure.

[@ChefTom777]

Aldente solved my worry about macbook battery

[@gibon000]

I have a gaming laptop and its battery life is terrible,even for idle use so, I always use laptop plugged in. Someone please explain if I charge it to 80% and then cap it to 60 so that it doesn't charge unil its below 60. Now the laptop is plugged in and is at 80% and doesn't use battery and run on direct power supply, how does the battery initially discharge from 80 to 60? Where does those 20% of battery goes if you are not using it?

[@markanderson2155]

Interesting, I use an older HP laptop (about 4 years old) with W10. What I do is just remove the battery and leave it plugged in, occasionally put battery back in to check charge level. It's plugged into a battery back up unit anyway in case of power loss, so the laptop battery is really not needed. I don't know if this is right all I know it works so far. I have had some bad experiences with lithium batteries venting - another story.

[@richardyoung5762]

I have a question for Leo I have an adapter that all the wires are hanging out of my laptop but they are still connected do you think it will cause a fire

[@askleonotenboom]

Not nearly enough info for me to say. Depends on the adapter, the quality of the wires, the voltages being transmitted across those wires, and more. If you're at all concerned, then don't do it.

[@MarcelVincent]

if you keep your laptop plugged in.. the battery never drains.. so the fact that it doesnt last as long doesnt i use my laptop as a desktop.. plugged in. on 24/7 on 24/7 as well.. so batterly life doesnt matter... will my laptop eventually just stop working and never be able to turn on again if i do this?? ive had it plugged in an on for 2 years 24/7 i have had zero issues. im probably worried for no reason at all .. i would think even if the battery cant hold any chard at all.. with the power cord pluged in.. how much charge the battery holds shouldnt matter?

[@matiasarenas7475]

Using the laptop with the battery plugged in it's bad for the battery, or is it worst than constantly charging and discharging? I have a hp 15 ef2126wm, and sadly don't have the option to lock the charge at 80%, what should i do? Thank

[@jaradhiggins6599]

Hey please update what you did

[@sagivalia5041]

So if I have a 10 + year old laptop that I wanna re-purpose as a file server, it won't be terrible if I leave it plugged in and running 24/7?

[@askleonotenboom]

No. The batter will likely wear down (hold less and less of a charge), but otherwise it'll be fine.

[@jpbeauch1]

Beyong batteries life, these also the life of the laptop internal parts themselves has they wear out due to the heat over them. leaving the laptop on all the time will reduce his span life.

[@Justt_Alex1]

So are you saying that i can leave my laptop on 24 hours without losing performance or making it slow ?

[@Justt_Alex1]

And if I dont have it plugged in?

[@askleonotenboom]

If it's not plugged in you'll train your battery, probably in less than 24 hours.

[@GhostTacos1975]

I have an HP laptop it's only 6 monyhs old and I've already had to buy a new battery charger

[@tiitulitii]

No matter of energy consumption. (2022)

[@jackedkerouac4414]

It seems illogical to leave a laptop plugged in all the time. They were designed to take on the go after all.

[@CosmicHarmony58]

Honestly, now that I think of it. This comment alone just confirms my answer 🤣

[@bjornsahonas7872]

so my laptop battery is no longer working so i removed it and just plug it in it works and i still use it 24/7 without shutting down sleep or hibernate it cause i have anxiety that it wont turn on again if i shutdown so is it bad to do that and also i removed the keyboard cuz every time i press a button on it it literally dies

[@edwardmacnab354]

get a new laptop dude , something is seriously wrong . When I removed my swollen battery I did so with power unplugged for safety . When I plugged it in again a bios screen came up saying bios had gone to defaults and to press enter . The laptop seems to work fine .

[@mirm0n]

Thx

[@justice8563]

Hi Leo, I have been dealing with my new computer and cable companies to get my speed up to 25 so I can work from home. I’ve been told so many different answers from the cable company. They told me that 400mbps would get me to the 25 speed I would need, now I’m being told it won’t. They are now wanting me to buy a higher package. When I do a speed test on my brand new All in one desktop and router the download speed is running around 92 and the upload is 11, it’s connected to a Ethernet cord. My sister has a wireless laptop and her download is running around 200 and uploads is around 11 to 12. On the same router. When I called the cable to ask why that was, the company had me do several speed test, they also wanted to see if I was connected to WiFi which I was.I was then told that they didn’t see a problem with their end so the problem is most likely in the new All in one desk top, and that I need to contact Dell to let them know that something is wrong with my computer. I have been jerked around so much I don’t know where to go, or what to do. I haven’t called Dell yet because I’m afraid they are going to say it’s the brand new computer and now I will be jerked around by them. When I had the cable company come out to install the Ethernet cord the girl did a sloppy job. First off she had problems getting my cord to fit through the hole. The cord was way to long and then she ran it sideways down in the basement to the router and rolled the extra cord and tied it. I asked if I should get one that wasn’t so long and she said it didn’t matter and as far as the cord running slanted to the router and under my duct work in a unfinished basement would not cause problems. I don’t know what to believe, could you give me some suggestions. I just want to work from home and I can’t seem to get there, it’s been one problem after another and I’m losing hope. I asked the operator if the the extra cord or the way the tech who put the Ethernet in was the problem and she said no because she doesn’t see any trouble with our internet on her end. Please help! I lost trust that I am going to get a honest answer from either them. Do you think it’s the new computer because the speed test between the Ethernet and wireless is so different in numbers? I’m so confused and exhausted dealing with this. God knows what answer Dell is going to tell me. I’ve been in tears because I’m getting different answers every time I speak to someone from Comcast. How can the new computer straight out of the box be the problem? I have not done anything except several speed tests on the new computer and it’s disheartening to know it’s that.

[@darkphotographer]

90% of peoaple i know that have laptops will be better serve by desktop computer they actually never move the laptop and have it plug in all day , and watch movies or lesen to music on thow crapy litle speakers

[@markcorrigan3930]

01:18

[@markcorrigan3930]

03:43

[@kingcamilo]

loved the feet shots lmao