Speed Up Your Laptop Charging

[nerdslife_team]

Laptops are great because they’re portable, but that portability is tied to battery life. A common pain point is slow charging, which can happen even on new laptops. Here are a few things you can try to speed things up:

Method 1: Charge in Sleep Mode

Charging your laptop while you’re using it can really slow down the charging process, because your system components will keep draining power. Putting it in sleep mode stops all those processes, so the battery can charge faster without overheating. This is one of the most effective ways to ensure fast charging. It also helps keep the battery and laptop in good condition in the long run.

Method 2: Use the Right Charger

Using a third-party charger can significantly slow down charging. Original chargers are designed to provide the correct power for your specific laptop, while third-party chargers may not meet those power requirements. Also, if you’re using an original charger but paired with a low-quality charging cable, that can also slow the process because it may not handle the current correctly. Always try to use the original charger and cable that came with your laptop, or a certified one from a trusted manufacturer to ensure the best charging speed.

Method 3: Limit Laptop Usage While Charging

It’s not always practical to put your laptop to sleep every time you need to charge it. If that’s the case, try limiting what you do when it’s plugged in. Avoid heavy tasks like gaming or video editing as they use more power and will slow down charging. You can do lighter tasks and wait for the battery to get some charge before resuming your regular activities. Also, turn on airplane mode, lower the brightness, and close unnecessary background apps. This will help conserve power and speed up the charging process. Here’s how to enable power saving mode.

1. Click on the battery icon on the lower right of your Windows PC.
   

   

2. Then click on the ‘Energy Saver’ toggle in the pop-up menu to toggle it on.
   

   

Method 4: Perform a Hard Reset

A hard reset can sometimes help with slow charging. The method depends on whether your laptop has a removable battery or not.

• For laptops with a removable battery: Turn off the laptop and disconnect the charger. Then, take out the battery. Press and hold the power button for about 30 seconds to clear any remaining charge. After that, replace the battery and plug the charger back in, then power on the machine.

• For laptops with a non-removable battery: Follow the same steps, but skip the battery removal. Just turn off the machine, disconnect the charger, press the power button for 30 seconds, then reconnect the charger and turn the machine back on.

Method 5: Check and Calibrate the Battery

Sometimes your system might be misreading battery levels, even if the battery is charging correctly. Try calibrating the battery to fix this.

1. Completely discharge your laptop until it shuts down automatically.
2. Once fully discharged, connect the charger and charge it all the way to 100%.
3. Discharge it fully again, then charge it fully again. This might fix any misreporting of charge levels and help improve charging speed.

Method 6: Don’t Let Your Laptop Overheat

Overheating can hinder charging speed, because it can cause the cooling system to work harder, using more power and draining the battery. Overheating also causes thermal throttling, which slows everything down. Make sure your laptop can stay cool when charging. Place it on a flat, hard surface, ensure the room is cool, and keep the exhaust vents clean so that the airflow is not blocked.

Method 7: Verify the Battery Charging Limit

Some laptops are designed to stop charging unless the battery charge falls below a certain level, often around 90%. To see if this is the case, let your battery drop below 50%, then connect the charger and charge to 100%. This should resolve the slow charging if it is related to this issue.

Method 8: Unplug Extra Devices

External devices like hard drives or phones can drain power from your laptop, slowing down the charging process. Unplug these devices while charging your laptop to allow the laptop to focus on just charging its own battery. Consider a USB hub with its own power source if you need to keep devices connected, and only connect devices to your laptop when necessary.

Method 9: Check the Battery Health

Laptop batteries lose charging capacity over time. You can check your battery’s health through software tools. Some manufacturers provide software for this, like Dell’s Power Manager for Dell laptops. Other programs like BatteryInfoView also work.

If your battery is very old, it may need to be replaced. Windows PowerShell can generate a battery health report.

1. Open the Start menu, type powershell and click on ‘Run as administrator’.
   

   

2. When the PowerShell window appears, type powercfg /batteryreport and press Enter.
   

   

3. Open the Windows File Explorer and go to the following location to find your battery health report: C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\battery-report.html. If you do not see it there, check inside the System32 folder in C:/Windows. If your battery health is poor, you may need a new battery.
   

   

Method 10: Test the Charger Voltage

A faulty charger can also cause slow charging. Chargers use capacitors that lose capacity over time. You can use a multimeter or voltage tester to check if the charger’s output is lower than what is printed on the charger, which would indicate a need for replacement.

Method 11: Use a Direct Wall Outlet

Avoid low-quality power strips, as they can cause fluctuations and slow charging. Plug your charger directly into a wall outlet for a more stable and safe power supply and better charging. If a power strip is needed, make sure that it is a high quality one that supports the wattage required by the charger.

Method 12: Update your BIOS

Updating the BIOS can sometimes fix charging issues, but it’s risky. Only do this as a last resort, and proceed with caution.

1. Use the Win + R shortcut to open the ‘Run’ dialog and type msinfo before pressing Enter.
   

   

2. This will bring up the System Information window. Check the BIOS Version/Date.
   

   

3. Now, open a web browser and go to the website of your laptop manufacturer. Download the latest BIOS update and install it. This may resolve slow charging issue of your laptop.
   

   

Things to remember

• Outdated drivers may cause high power consumption, so keep them updated.
• If your battery is fine, consider trying a faster charger from a trusted brand with good quality components.
• Clean the inside of your laptop to remove accumulated dirt and improve airflow.
• Keep your laptop plugged in when updating BIOS and make sure the process is not interrupted to avoid making your laptop unusable.