Give Your Laptop, PDA & Cell Phone Battery a Long Life
Did you know that if you condition your laptop, PDA or cell phone battery, it will last much longer than using it without conditioning it first? Here’s how to take care of these batteries:
For Laptops:
- When you get a new laptop battery, charge it until it is fully charged. Then, let your laptop run, without being plugged in, to use all of the charge in the battery. Once the battery is dead, charge it again. Your new battery may require 4 to 5 charge/discharge cycles to reach its maximum capacity.
- Make sure to fully discharge and charge the battery at least once every two weeks for maximum performance and long life.
- Do not leave your battery unused for long periods of time. You can damage your battery if it is left unused for over 2 to 3 months.
- If you plan to not use your battery for 4 to 5 weeks, please store your battery in a cool, clean and dry place. A refrigerator is a good place to store your battery, do not use a freezer. Make sure to let the battery get to room temperature before you try to charge it again.
For Cell Phones and PDAs:
- When you get a new cell phone or PDA battery, charge it until it is fully charged (turn your cell phone OFF to charge it).
- Once your battery is fully charged, keep the device plugged in or cradled as much as possible. (Your goal is to keep the battery at 75-100%. If it falls to the range of 50 or 60% in a typical day, don’t recharge yet, see step 3.)
- ONLY recharge your battery when it gets down to about 20% of power left. You can still synchronize your PDA without having the power plug connected, on most models.
- Options 3 and 4 above for the Laptop batteries apply to cell phones and PDAs as well.
Last updated: 2/07/07