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My fren installed Linux Mint on my cheap LP laptop six months ago, it works fine. But since a few days ago, it's shutting down without warning at 70% battery level. Computer is one year old, I only use it casually. How do I run a battery test? I don't have HP Support Assistant downloaded. I have read that other people had same problem, even with replacement battery..

My fren installed Linux Mint on my cheap LP laptop six months ago, it works fine. But since a few days ago, it's shutting down without warning at 70% battery level. Computer is one year old, I only use it casually. How do I run a battery test? I don't have HP Support Assistant downloaded. I have read that other people had same problem, even with replacement battery..

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[–] • 0 pt

I have never seen a single laptop that did not keep the battery topped up to 100% (4.2V per cell). That's what's bad for the battery. Keeping lithium batteries at 100% state of charge degrades them very quickly. A lithium battery kept at 100% for a year at around 75°F will lose 20% of its capacity in the first year. If the temperature is warmer, like 100°F like laptops often are, you lose around 35% in the first year.

[–] • 0 pt

Except that they don't take the battery to maximum charge. The "100% charge" displayed is actually some percentage that they determined is the best trade off between battery life and usable capacity. I forget the details but it's probably something like 80-90%.

Allowing the battery to completely discharge and then stay in that state is terrible for the battery yet it routinely happens and still mostly the battery works well enough. Again the battery doesn't have to work 'well enough' forever; just the 4 or so years they expect the laptop to be in use.

I have an old Dell laptop that's more than 15 years old that I pull out maybe twice a year to administer some routers. I plug it in the night before and still get a couple hours of battery time the next day. Yet I've had laptops that started to show significant battery capacity loss after 6 months. Again my point is there are many factors that contribute to battery life and IMO leaving it plugged in is one of the lesser concerns.