Resetting your laptop battery. Self-calibration of a laptop battery

Calibrating a laptop battery allows you to correct controller errors in which the actual battery capacity does not match the values ​​​​determined by the system. As a result of this glitch, the battery life of the laptop is significantly reduced, causing inconvenience to users.

When to do it

Let's look at a specific example: the actual battery charge is 70%. Due to improper operation of the controller, the system displays 40% charge. When the system sees that the charge has dropped to 10%, the laptop will be sent to sleep mode. However, the actual battery capacity will not be 10%, but 40%, which means you could use the laptop offline for another hour.
To fix this error, you need to calibrate the battery. This procedure also helps to get rid of the “memory” effect, in which the battery “remembers” the charge level when the laptop is connected to the network, and subsequently releases energy to this limit, that is, the battery capacity is not fully used.

The "memory" effect occurs in nickel-cadmium (NiCd) and nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries; there is no such problem in lithium-ion batteries.

Determining battery capacity

Before calibrating the battery, check whether the battery requires such measures at all. This can be done using the command line:

If the last full charge is much lower than the maximum capacity, then you need to calibrate the battery. Recalibration will help eliminate a failure in the laptop battery controller. It is important to understand: the battery will not be restored to its original state, you will only eliminate the error due to which the battery capacity is incorrectly determined.

Automatic calibration

There are several ways to calibrate using special programs on different laptops.

Energy Management

Lenovo laptops have a special utility that allows you to calibrate the battery meter. All Lenovo Idea laptops are equipped with Energy Management software, which allows you to manage power supply.

The calibration process will take quite a long time - the battery will first be charged and then completely discharged. You cannot interrupt the operation, and it is also not recommended to use a computer.

Phoenix BIOS

Programs of this kind are also available on other laptops. HP laptops are equipped with a utility that allows you to check the condition of the battery and, if necessary, calibrate it, correcting the error in determining the charge level.

On some laptop models, a calibration program is built into the BIOS. Let's see how to calibrate the battery using the Phoenix BIOS as an example:

It is important that the power adapter is disconnected when performing the battery setup procedure. Otherwise, when you launch the utility in the BIOS, you will see a warning.

If you don’t find built-in calibration tools, you can download a universal program for all laptop models - BatteryCare, Battery Eater, etc. However, it is better to use standard tools, avoiding third-party software.

Manual calibration

If you do not have a program on your laptop that allows you to do calibration, and there is no way to download a universal utility, then you can perform the procedure for correcting the controller error manually. You can calibrate the battery in three steps:

1. Charge the battery to maximum.
2. Discharge it completely.
3. Charge again to 100%.

The problem is that as soon as you unplug your laptop, its power plan will change. Once a certain low charge level is reached, the laptop will go into sleep mode, meaning it will not be able to completely discharge. Let's fix this shortcoming:

The plan you created will be selected automatically.

Another option is to log in and wait for the battery to drain. Almost all laptops do not have charge control in the BIOS, so the laptop will not be able to turn off on its own until the battery runs out.

To do the calibration, use the laptop until it turns off due to a completely discharged battery (power adapter disconnected, device running on battery power only). Next, you should connect it to the network as soon as possible - it is harmful for the battery to remain in a discharged state for a long time.

After completing these steps, the controller failure will be resolved. Calibrating a laptop battery does not increase battery life - it is impossible to restore the physical wear of the battery using software methods. But the battery capacity will be determined correctly, which will allow you to use the available charge as efficiently as possible.

If you are a fan of ASUS laptops, then you have probably heard the legend about the origin of this brand. The name of the brand was given by the ancient mythical winged creature Pegasus, sharing the last four letters with the inventors. Apparently, the creative team initially decided to convey to users the idea of ​​the truly unique performance of this device through a mythical image.

The flight of thought was adjusted by marketers who were looking for a way to highlight their brand, make it recognizable and something that would catch the eye in the first place. Of course, the letter A in any alphabet is guaranteed to be higher than the letter P, so the proposal to eliminate the first three letters was accepted.

What is calibration?

What is calibration and how does it help you? Calibration is the process of zeroing the readings of a battery voltmeter. Resetting allows you to return the controller back to normal if the battery is, in principle, still alive. The point is this. A charge indicator of 100% means that the voltage in the battery cells has reached its maximum value. This is 4.2 V. It is at this moment that the controller - the electronic brain of the battery - signals that the battery is fully charged. However, if the readings are not taken entirely correctly, the signal will arrive much earlier than the battery is charged.

The controller, like any brain, sometimes needs to be rebooted and rethought its usual algorithm of actions. Simply because after many months of work, this brain begins to lose count and incorrectly count volts and percentages. If you fully charge it, then completely discharge it, and then recharge it to capacity, this may well help the controller restore its functions and no longer let you down with false information about the battery being fully charged. Again, we repeat again, if the battery itself is normal. Myths and legends that calibration will help revive a dead battery are not relevant here.

How to restore the battery?

Calibration didn't help and your laptop battery still doesn't hold up? This means that you will have to disassemble and restore! Consultants of specialized companies - in particular, uabattery.com - warn that repairing laptop batteries should be trusted to professionals. In general, it’s better to buy a new one right away. In any case, it will last longer than the restored one.

Do you intend to deal with unruly equipment yourself? Well, then get your scalpel, soldering iron, multimeter and car light bulbs ready. Divide the battery into two parts along the seam, measure the voltage on each element inside the case, and discard those where the voltage is less than 3.7 volts. In their place, install new “barrel” elements (battery elements are similar in appearance to this household equipment). The marking of new elements should be similar to the old ones. After this, seal the body.

Is the laptop working, the battery is charging and has started to hold a charge longer than before? Congratulations! No? Then the offer from the online store uabattery.com is still valid. Contact us and our consultants will help you choose a new battery compatible with your laptop!

Review the following frequently asked questions about battery testing and calibration.

What if my computer does not contain HP PC Hardware Diagnostics for Windows?

Some computers may not have the HP PC Hardware Diagnostics Windows tool. HP provides diagnostic programs that you can use to check your computer's hardware components. HP PC Hardware Diagnostics for Windows is a utility for the Windows operating system that allows you to run diagnostic tests to determine whether your computer hardware is functioning properly. The tool runs on the Windows operating system and is used to diagnose hardware failures.

For more information about using HP PC Hardware Diagnostics for Windows, see .

How do I run the HP Hardware Diagnostics tool if it won't boot from my hard drive?

You can install the HP PC Hardware Diagnostics for Windows on a blank USB drive with the FAT or FAT32 file system for use if the primary storage device fails or the UEFI files are corrupted.

For more information about using HP PC Hardware Diagnostics for Windows on a USB drive, see Testing with HP PC Hardware Diagnostics on an External USB Drive HP PCs - Checking Hardware for Problems.

What should I do if my computer does not have HP Support Assistant?

How to interpret the results of the extended battery test report?

Review the following list for more information about the results that appear under Battery Information or More Information.

Charged or Discharging: Displays how close the battery charge is to full as a percentage. "Charging" appears when the power cord is connected to the computer, and "Lowing" appears when it is disconnected.

Main battery: Provides a summary of the main battery test results.

Warranty type: Describes the battery warranty.

Cycle counter: number of times the battery can be completely discharged and recharged. In this example, the battery was charged and discharged 38 times out of 1000.

Manufacturer: The code shown shows the manufacturer of the battery.

Battery age: Indicates how many days the battery has been used.

Serial number: Battery serial number.

Temperature: Battery temperature.

Design capacity: Shows the design capacity of the battery.

Fully charged capacity: Shows the capacity of a fully charged battery.

Remaining capacity: Shows the remaining battery capacity in milliamp-hours (mAh), rather than as a percentage.

Current: Shows the discharge current, represented in milliamperes (mA). If the computer is using AC power, the current displays as "0 mA".

Contact voltage: Output voltage at the battery terminals.

Design voltage: Shows the design voltage of the battery.

Element voltage (1-4): Each battery contains a certain number of cells, such as 3, 4, 6 or 8 cells per battery. In this example, the battery contains 4 cells. One element shows "0 mV" because it is static. The remaining elements display the capacity of each individual element.

State: Contains a code that provides additional information about the battery status that technical support may need to know.

AC: Displays "Yes" when the power cord is connected, and "No" when the power cord is disconnected from the computer.

CT number: This number is the identification number printed on the battery barcode.

Extra battery: Indicates the presence of an optional battery.

Why does the battery status show as "Charged" when the battery is not 100% charged?

To protect the battery from multiple short charging sessions when the power cord is connected, the battery does not begin charging until the charge level drops below 94%.

How to maximize battery life?

Recommendations for using and storing batteries are provided in the user manuals for each HP notebook computer model. Additional recommendations for proper handling of batteries:

Store lithium-ion batteries at 20-25°C with a charge level of 30-50%.

Do not disassemble, crush or puncture the battery; Do not short-circuit the battery terminals; Do not throw the battery into fire or water.

Do not leave batteries exposed to high temperatures for long periods of time. Prolonged exposure to heat (such as inside a car parked in the sun) will accelerate the aging process of a lithium-ion battery.

Remove the battery from the compartment if the laptop will not be used for more than 2 weeks (will be without power and will not be connected to AC power).

Remove the battery from the compartment if the laptop will be connected to AC power (via the power supply or docking station) for more than 2 weeks.

To run high-performance applications on a battery-powered laptop, install a high-capacity battery (amp-hour rating).

Calibrate the battery according to your operating conditions. During normal use, lithium-ion batteries should be calibrated at least once every 3 months; A battery that rarely discharges completely should be calibrated about once a month

Keep batteries out of the reach of children.

Use only the batteries that shipped with your computer, replacement batteries supplied by HP, or compatible replacement batteries purchased as accessories.

How to reduce energy consumption?

To save energy, set your laptop's power saving mode manually.

Reduce screen brightness to the minimum acceptable value. Adjust the brightness using the Fn and F7 or F8 keys.

Disconnect unused peripherals. External hard drives, CD-ROM drives, Zip drives, PC cards, and other peripherals also drain power, even when used passively. Disconnect these devices when you are finished using them.

Reduce the processor clock speed. The faster the computer runs, the sooner it uses all the battery power. By reducing the processor speed, you can extend battery life. Methods for reducing performance vary by model and are described in the accompanying manuals.

Turn off your wireless connection when not in use. If your laptop has a wireless on/off button, press it until the corresponding light turns off.

Check programs running in the background. Some programs automatically install the Quick Launch utility and begin running in the background after you turn on your computer. You can reduce energy consumption by periodically searching for unnecessary programs and removing them.

What should I do if the original battery charges slowly, but the replacement battery charges at normal speed?

If the original battery charges too slowly but the replacement battery charges properly, the problem may not be with the battery. Before replacing a faulty or worn battery, follow these instructions to determine whether the battery needs to be replaced.

Over time, the capacity of the laptop battery decreases and you have to install a different power source. But if you know how to calibrate your laptop battery, you can extend its life. The chemical processes will not stop due to calibration, but the charge level will be displayed correctly, which also matters.

Why is calibration needed?

In the system settings, a discharge limit value is usually set, upon reaching which the laptop goes into sleep mode - 10%. When the system sees that the charge is 10%, it will turn off the laptop. In this case, the actual charge can be much higher (30-40%).

The controller incorrectly determines the battery volume and believes that it is on its last legs.

To eliminate this drawback, it is necessary to calibrate the battery several times a year, that is, remind the controller of the real maximum and minimum charge level. To accurately determine whether calibration is necessary, use the built-in battery health diagnostic tool:

1. Open a command prompt with administrator rights.
2. Run the command “powercfg.exe -energy -output C:noutbook.html”.

The value “С:notebook.html” determines where the diagnostic report will be saved. In this case, a text file named notebook.html will be sent to the root of drive C. You can specify a different name and save location.

Once the diagnostics are complete, go to the C drive and open the report. It is executed as an HTML file, so its contents can be viewed through any browser. You need to find the “Battery Information” field, which indicates the battery code, manufacturer, chemical composition, number of discharge-charge cycles, estimated capacity, last charge and other parameters.

To determine if your battery needs calibration, compare the estimated capacity to the last full charge. If the readings differ significantly (by more than 15%), then the battery must be calibrated. You will not be able to make the last charge equal to the calculated capacity for the old battery - the flow of chemical processes cannot be reversed, the battery capacity is constantly decreasing. Calibration is needed so that you see the real charge level, no matter how small it may be.

Automatic and manual calibration

The calibration procedure takes several hours, during which you will not be able to use the laptop, so it is better to leave the laptop overnight. Most often, you can calibrate the battery using the built-in utility that the manufacturer preinstalls on the laptop. For example, on Lenovo laptops you will find an Energy Management utility for battery management. How to work with it:

During the calibration process, the laptop will fully charge, then discharge to zero and charge again to 100%. At this time, you cannot run other programs, turn off the laptop or close its lid, sending it to sleep or hibernation.

If there is no calibration application on the system, try universal utilities such as BatteryCare or Battery Eater. They work on the same principle, discharging and charging the battery.

On some laptops, a calibration utility is built into the BIOS. For example, on HP laptops with Phoenix BIOS, the application is called Smart Battery Calibration. You can find it on the “Boot” tab.

The location of the utility may vary depending on the laptop manufacturer and BIOS version, so it is recommended that you carefully study the manual for your laptop model to make sure that you even have the necessary software.

Manual calibration

The calibration procedure involves completely discharging the battery and then charging it to 100%. You can perform these manipulations without programs. It is enough to solve one problem - the laptop goes into sleep mode when it reaches a certain low charge level. To do this:

The created meal plan will be selected automatically. Now your task is to completely discharge the battery until the laptop shuts down from lack of power. After turning off, connect the laptop to an electrical outlet and wait until the battery is 100% charged. Calibration is completed, now the system will show the real charge level, which will allow you to use the available battery capacity more efficiently.

Laptop owners who notice that their device is draining quickly are often interested in a process such as battery calibration. What is this process? Is it necessary to carry it out? What types of batteries need to be calibrated? What effect should you expect from battery repair?

What types of batteries are there?

Before calibrating the battery, you need to know what type of battery is subject to this type of “treatment”.

The following types of batteries are distinguished:

• Ni-MH (nickel metal hydride) and Ni-Cd (nickel cadmium) are batteries used in older laptops. They are quite heavy, resistant to temperature changes and have a charge memory effect. When fully charged, such batteries should not be used in conjunction with a direct connection to the mains, as this may negatively affect the operation of the drive.
• Li-Polymer (lithium-polymer) is a completely new type of battery, based on a Li-Ion battery. However, a polymer material is used as the electrolyte. The main role in this battery is played by the charge controller. This type of battery holds a charge for up to 8 hours.
• Li-Ion (lithium-ion) is the most common type of battery, which is used not only in laptops, but also in tablets, smartphones and regular mobile phones. This type of battery has a higher capacity and is smaller in size compared to a Ni-MH battery. It has no memory effect, and therefore the user can charge or recharge such a battery at any time.

It is important to note that the main role in modern charges is played by the battery controller. It monitors the condition of the battery. If you disassemble the battery, you can see several batteries that are connected to a special board. This is the charge controller. By measuring the voltage on each battery, it provides information about the state of the total charge of the battery, and based on this data, the approximate time until the next recharge is calculated.

It is important to note that when calculating battery capacity, the controller performs calculations in Watt hours, not in amperes. The charge in household appliances is calculated in amperes, but not in laptops.

How to determine battery charge?

To determine the battery status, you need to launch a command line with Administrator rights and enter “powercfg.exe -energy -output d:Nout.html”, where d is the drive where the report file will be saved.

The battery test will start.

The system will notify you about the battery status. For detailed data, go to drive D (or whichever you specified).

After opening the file, look at detailed information about the battery.

How can I calibrate my battery?

If the last charge is lower than the calculated capacity, it is worth calibrating. If the numbers are the same, battery calibration is not needed.

Manual calibration is the safest, as it will not harm the battery or negatively affect the operation of the controller. In order to perform it you need:

• Charge the battery to 100%;
• Discharge the battery until the device turns off completely and, with the power off, turn on the laptop until it refuses to start at all;
• Charge the battery to 100% again.

IMPORTANT! As soon as you unplug your laptop, its power plan will change. Once a certain low battery level is reached, the laptop will automatically go into sleep mode. Accordingly, it will not be possible to completely discharge it. You can solve this problem as follows.

• Go to “Control Panel” and select “Power Options”.

• A new window will open. In the menu on the left, select “Create a power plan.”

• Check the box next to “High Performance” and give the plan a name.

• The next step is to prevent the display from turning off and the laptop to go into sleep mode.

• Now you can discharge the laptop battery.

IMPORTANT! After completing the above steps, the controller failure will be resolved. Calibrating a laptop battery does not increase the operating time of the device without connecting to the network, since it is impossible to restore the physical wear of the battery using software methods. But the battery capacity will be displayed correctly.

Battery calibration can be done through BIOS settings. However, not all motherboard firmware versions support this feature. To perform calibration using this method, do the following:

• Reboot the PC and press “F2” and “Del” when the motherboard logo appears. Booting into BIOS.
• Find the “Boot” section and launch “Smart Battery Calibration” by selecting “Yes”.

• Calibration will take several minutes. The system will notify you that the process is complete. Only then will it be possible to restart the PC.

It is worth noting that many laptop manufacturers provide their own utilities to calibrate the battery. You can download them on the official website of the manufacturer. Calibration should be carried out no more often than once every 6 months.

To learn how else to calibrate the battery, watch the video: