How to Test Your Laptop’s Battery Health in Windows 10

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Learn to get a report on your PC's battery status

Co-authored by Spike Baron

Last Updated: July 8, 2024

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Creating a Report

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Reviewing the Data

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Video

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Expert Q&A

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Tips

It is normal for batteries to wear down over time. Overtime, the repeated charge and discharge cycles slowly decrease a batteries life.^{[1]
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Research source} It might seem hard to tell your batteries health on Windows 10, but it's actually quite easy. This wikiHow will teach you how to check your laptop's battery health in Windows 10.

Monitoring Your Battery in Windows 10

Search for Windows Powershell in the Start Menu.
Run Powershell as an administrator.
Type this into the Powershell window: powercfg /batteryreport /output "$home\Documents\battery-report.html"
Open the generated report in your Documents folder.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Creating a Report

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This will open the "Run" dialog box.
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This will run PowerShell with administrative permissions.^{[2]
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$Step 5 Type powercfg /batteryreport /output "$home\Documents\battery-report.html" into the PowerShell window.$

This command will generate the report and save it to your documents folder.
This will close PowerShell.
Go to your Documents folder, and then open up the file called "battery-report".

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Reviewing the Data

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At the top of the report, basic information about your computer and battery will be listed.
The "Recent Usage" section is under the "Installed Batteries" section, and it shows the charge and usage history of your battery over the past 3 days.
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Review the "Battery Capacity" section. This section, which is near the bottom, shows the capacity of the battery over a long period of time. You can use it to see if the batteries life has been degraded over time.
- You can tell the batteries health by reviewing the differences between the full charge capacity listings and the design capacity listings.
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Read through the "battery life estimates" section. This section shows the estimated life of the battery at full charge, and at the designed capacity.
- You can tell the batteries health by comparing the at full charge estimates to the Design capacity estimates.

Expert Q&A

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Question

How do you wake up a dead laptop battery?

Spike Baron
Network Engineer & Desktop Support
Spike Baron is a Network Engineer & Desktop Support Expert based in Los Angeles, California. He is the owner of Spike’s Computer Repair. With over 25 years of working experience in the tech industry, Spike specializes in PC and Mac computer repair, used computer sales, virus removal, data recovery, and hardware and software upgrades. He has worked as an IT Systems expert for numerous companies, including Huntington Health, Blackbox, Honda, and Manufacturers Bank. In his spare time, Spike also builds and restores computers. He has his CompTIA A+ certification for computer service technicians and is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert.

Spike Baron

Network Engineer & Desktop Support

Expert Answer

Dead laptop batteries are easily replaced, and trying to revive them is not cost-effective. If your battery is not charging anymore, it is just not a good battery, and you need to get a new one.

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Question

Is it OK to keep a laptop plugged in all the time?

Spike Baron
Network Engineer & Desktop Support
Spike Baron is a Network Engineer & Desktop Support Expert based in Los Angeles, California. He is the owner of Spike’s Computer Repair. With over 25 years of working experience in the tech industry, Spike specializes in PC and Mac computer repair, used computer sales, virus removal, data recovery, and hardware and software upgrades. He has worked as an IT Systems expert for numerous companies, including Huntington Health, Blackbox, Honda, and Manufacturers Bank. In his spare time, Spike also builds and restores computers. He has his CompTIA A+ certification for computer service technicians and is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert.

Spike Baron

Network Engineer & Desktop Support

Expert Answer

Leaving your laptop plugged in all the time isn't always the greatest idea. You want to unplug the power adapter occasionally and let the battery run down to almost zero, and then recharge it. That helps the battery last a lot longer than if you keep it attached to the power adapter all the time. The battery is supposed to be used to power the equipment. If you have the power adapter plugged in all the time, the battery is not being used.

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Tips

To extend the life of your battery, check out this article.

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Just because your batteries' life is a little degraded does not mean that you have to replace it.

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