Is It Good To Use a Laptop While Charging? Truth to know

Is It Good To Use Laptop While Charging?


If your question is, is it good to use a laptop while charging? As mentioned earlier, almost all laptops these days are equipped with lithium-ion batteries. 

These batteries usually have an internal automatic control system that intelligently regulates the charging process. 

That is, when the laptop is plugged in, the battery is never on a continuous charge. Once fully charged, the smart charging IC and the battery's internal control system cut off the current flowing into the battery. 

The battery is completely uninterrupted by power until it drops to a certain charge level - usually 95%. Once it drops to that level, the control system starts allowing current to flow to the battery so that it rises again. 

Now, the problem here is that as long as you're connected to a power source, your laptop can run on that external power source and won't drain the battery. 

So, since the battery isn't under any stress, there's very little chance of it dropping to 95%. Or yes, it takes hours to lose those few percentages. 

But once it reaches or falls below that level, the power trickles again, the battery is at 100, and the inflow is cut off again.

So Is It Good To Use a Laptop While Charging?

#1. Overcharging of a Laptop battery

Today's batteries are entirely made of lithium-ion. Lithium-ion batteries are not overcharged at all. It is designed with a control system to prevent overcharging. 

When the battery reaches full charge capacity, the system will instruct the battery to stop charging. 

So if someone tells you not to use your laptop while it's charging because you might overcharge the battery. If you're using a Li-Ion battery, drop that advice. 

You can charge the lithium battery nearly 500 times.

#2. Overheating of a Laptop battery

According to one study, lithium-ion batteries nearly double their performance when they reach 45C or 113F

This temperature is already too hot for the battery, affecting battery cycling, which is proportional to the battery's lifespan. Research shows that when the battery reaches 25C or 77F, the first 200 cycles of the battery drop by 3.3%. 

But when the temperature was raised to 45C or 113F, the degree of degradation more than doubled. According to the test results, the degree of degradation reached 6.7%. 

The data means that when a battery is exposed to higher temperatures, its lifespan decreases faster. If the battery is repeatedly exposed to higher temperatures, the life of the battery will be shortened. 

If you plan to use the laptop for a long time, it is best to remove the battery if your laptop has a removable battery. However, if it doesn't have a removable battery, make sure you're working in a cold environment.

Does using a laptop while charging affect battery performance and life?

Well, yes, it does affect the overall performance of the battery. Regularly plugging in your laptop while using it has many positive effects and a few negatives. 

The first benefit is that it maximizes battery life by cutting off the load from the always-charged energy pack. 

Also, if you're gaming or doing some other demanding task, keeping it powered on will also improve the laptop's performance. It lets you adjust to the highest setting, which might not be possible otherwise. 

Because battery performance is always suppressed compared to insertion performance. Also, as I said in the introductory paragraph if you want a lithium battery to perform well, never let it drain completely. 

Yes, those old nickel-clad batteries were supposed to only be recharged when they were completely depleted. But doing the same thing to these lithium batteries can seriously affect them. 

According to Battery University, a site that knows everything about batteries, the key to extending the life of a lithium battery is that it must be recharged regularly. 

Because only recharging when fully discharged is not a Lithium battery thing at least. Regardless, that doesn't mean you should stay 24/7. Yes, it's almost impossible, but there are still some downsides.


Should I keep my laptop plugged in (even at 100%)? Is it good or bad?

Keeping the battery charged at all times is a great achievement - especially for me. But it also poses some threats to the battery in the long run. While the question "is it good to use a laptop while charging?" the answer is yes.


Can I use my laptop while it's charging, even if it's fully charged?


The thing of having to disconnect the charger when the battery is fully charged no longer applies today. 

As mentioned above, intelligent control systems in the latest motherboards and lithium batteries control power flow as needed. Advanced Li-Ion and Li-Polymer batteries will never accept more charge than they can handle. 

Also, the battery is not always in charge mode. So you can use the laptop while it's charging, even when it's fully charged.


Always 100% is bad for battery health in the long run

Although it has been discussed, once the battery reaches the 100% mark, it stops accepting more amps and prevents any overheating issues, etc. 

You still don't need to be 100% all the time. Because this thing puts some serious stress on the battery and can ruin its health in the long run. 

It makes the battery more susceptible to some serious temperature shocks and can cause the control system to fail. It also shortens the working life of the battery, i.e. its (working) capacity. 

Figuratively speaking, a battery that is always overflowing will lose 20% more health than normal in a year. When the laptop is constantly plugged in, you can easily feel that the laptop base is emitting too much heat. 

This is normal, but if the temperature exceeds extreme levels, things can get seriously destructive. Because you also use your laptop a lot.


Steps to keep laptop battery in good condition? - solution


#1. Protect your laptop from heat - ensure proper ventilation and use in a cool environment

To keep your laptop from heating up, especially when plugged in, you might consider using it in the coolest setting. Ambient temperature plays an important role in all of this. Keep the laptop away from direct sunlight, etc.


Lastly, make sure that the laptop vents are properly cleaned and that the ventilation process is okay.


#2. Set Charge limit Threshold from 40 to 80.

You can try setting the charging threshold on your laptop. So when the battery power drops to a certain level, it will start the charging process and stop the process at a certain level. 

According to experts, the ideal for this is to stay plugged in when the battery is between 40% and 80% charged. 

40 is the limit at which the laptop (battery) has to start charging, and 80 is the limit at which it has to stop automatically. On the manual side, it's like you should connect the charger when the battery is 40 and unplug it when the battery is 80. 

You can also reach 90. However, this 40 – 80 threshold is ideal when you are working on a laptop.


This is where you can get the most out of your battery.


Well, you can use some 3rd party battery (threshold) management software to set and achieve the ideal spectrum for your battery. However, most of the latest laptops come with built-in apps and all these easy-to-access settings.


#3. You can try removing the battery from the laptop

An alternative to this solution is that you can try removing the battery (if it is removable) when it is fully charged (eg 50% or more). 

Well, this is only possible if you are connected to an uninterruptible power supply. 

Your laptop will remain powered directly from the outside and you can easily continue using it. 

Plus, you can prevent these heat build-up problems. So just remove the battery and make sure to keep it cool. Because the surrounding heat can also adversely affect it.


How to keep the laptop battery good and healthy?

You should buy a cooling pad to keep the lithium-ion battery as cold as possible at all times. You should also avoid overcharging or using less than 20% to get the most out of the battery.


Is the laptop plugged in or is it good on battery?

It's best to use your laptop on battery, as plugged-in use can shorten the lifespan and health of the laptop battery.


Is it bad to charge your laptop while using it?

Using a laptop while the battery is charging is a bad practice and you should avoid it entirely as it drastically reduces its runtime, causes it to overheat, and causes thermal throttling.


My final words

So, is it good to use a laptop while charging? the best articles you will find on the battery university, it's fine and absolutely safe. 

Today's laptops are equipped with smart charging ICs, and lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries also have intelligent control systems inside. 

Therefore, the current flowing to the battery is intelligently regulated throughout the process. If your laptop has a lithium-ion battery then remember the point that keeps your laptop cool and properly ventilated to avoid overheating. 

Although there are some minor issues with using the laptop while charging, such as heat, etc. 

You can easily fix these by turning off the battery or doing some other settings - all of which are discussed above. 

Overall, there are no such issues with charging and using the laptop at the same time. You can even leave your laptop powered on overnight without worrying about things like overcharging and battery damage. 

if you have any ideas about this guide then plz comment below or mail me.

Abbas Khan

I am Abbas Khan, the lead editor of this blog, covering daily interesting stories.

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