News Microsoft finally brings more detailed Power Modes in Windows 11 Settings menu — offers different settings for charging or battery modes

[Admin]

Users no longer need to dig deep in the Control Panel to select different power configurations for ‘Plugged in’ and ‘On battery’ modes.

Microsoft finally brings more detailed Power Modes in Windows 11 Settings menu — offers different settings for charging or battery modes : Read more

 

[vijosef]

Laptops should have a switch to disconnect the battery when they are plugged into a power source to prevent unnecessary battery wear. Ideally, this should be a physical, manual switch that can also be controlled by software.

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

Looks more like it's just Microsoft taking the next step to merging Control Panel and System Settings into one unified app, something they've been dragging their feet with for the last decade, rather than them trying to iPhone-iphize Windows.

 

[cryoburner]

Laptops should have a switch to disconnect the battery when they are plugged into a power source to prevent unnecessary battery wear. Ideally, this should be a physical, manual switch that can also be controlled by software.

Modern laptops shouldn't be drawing their power from the battery when plugged in though, and they should stop charging the battery once fully charged. The only potential issue is that they typically keep the battery charged to 100%, while keeping a lithium battery closer to two-thirds charge tends to be a lot better for its long-term health. All they really need is a software option to keep the battery at a reduced charge level when plugged in for extended durations, togglable to a "full charge" setting for when optimal runtime away from a power source is needed.

And Windows actually has something like this called "smart charging", that can limit the battery to around 80% charge when plugged in for extended durations, though I think it's only available on a limited number of laptops. It also doesn't offer any way to manually control whether the option is turned on or off, instead basing it on recent charging habits, which doesn't give the user much control over it, and actually getting the feature to enable is apparently hit-or-miss, even on supported hardware. Some laptops will also include a similar "battery limit" setting in the manufacturer's bundled software or in the BIOS though, that can be toggled on or off, which would be a more reliable way to do that. It would be nice if a universal toggle like that were included in Windows, though perhaps it might be difficult for Windows to accurately determine the exact charge level of a variety of batteries when not charged to 100% for extended periods.

But even with a physical switch, the heat from the laptop could still degrade the battery at an increased rate over time. The best physical option would simply be a battery pack that's removeable and easily replaceable, something that was the norm on most laptops until falling out of favor in recent years as devices became thinner and lighter. Manufacturer's don't really gain much out of making a device last for an extended number of years though, when a failing battery will just make people more likely to buy a new device from them.

 

[BillyBuerger]

Microsoft is finally putting the "lid and power button" options in Settings? About time. I always change these settings which is one of the few reasons I need to use control panel these days. Initially, they had a link to the power settings in the Settings app. But as is the way for Microsoft, they just got rid of that even though they left these and the other more advanced settings out. Glad they are finally putting them in here. Unless they change their mind before a stable release or do something else stupid with it.

 

[vijosef]

Modern laptops shouldn't be drawing their power from the battery when plugged in though, and they should stop charging the battery once fully charged. The only potential issue is that they typically keep the battery charged to 100%, while keeping a lithium battery closer to two-thirds charge tends to be a lot better for its long-term health. All they really need is a software option to keep the battery at a reduced charge level when plugged in for extended durations, togglable to a "full charge" setting for when optimal runtime away from a power source is needed.

...

But even with a physical switch, the heat from the laptop could still degrade the battery at an increased rate over time. The best physical option would simply be a battery pack that's removeable and easily replaceable, something that was the norm on most laptops until falling out of favor in recent years as devices became thinner and lighter. Manufacturer's don't really gain much out of making a device last for an extended number of years though, when a failing battery will just make people more likely to buy a new device from them.

I used to remove the battery, but newer laptops require to disassemble it to remove/disconnect the battery, and opening the case always causes some harm.
That's why they should include the switch if they don't want to build a removable battery.

Also, I had seen dead batteries that swell, and break the laptop.

 

[DS426]

...Modern laptops shouldn't be drawing their power from the battery when plugged in though, and they should stop charging the battery once fully charged. The only potential issue is that they typically keep the battery charged to 100%, while keeping a lithium battery closer to two-thirds charge tends to be a lot better for its long-term health. All they really need is a software option to keep the battery at a reduced charge level when plugged in for extended durations, togglable to a "full charge" setting for when optimal runtime away from a power source is needed.

And Windows actually has something like this called "smart charging", that can limit the battery to around 80% charge when plugged in for extended durations, though I think it's only available on a limited number of laptops....

I believe this is because smart charging is on the laptop manufacturer. Modern HP and Dell laptops have had smart charging for a while now, some of which is even controllable in UEFI, i.e. not dependent on the OS. HP has a battery power app that also lets you switch it on thy fly in Windows, so there's potentially a lot of ways to go about it.

Folks, let's remember that *should* is different than *is*. I also said for a long time that laptops that are connected to chargers should be able to bypass their batteries entirely, but as far as I know, no one has ever designed them this way. The downside is that even a few-second power flicker could cause them to reboot, which is why I believe they just source internal power from the battery rather than a trickier and more expensive power source re-route.