Maximizing Battery Life: Windows Smart Charging Explained

What is Smart Charging on Windows?

Smart Charging is a Windows feature designed to protect your battery's capacity and prevent it from overheating. It automatically turns on when your laptop is plugged in for a prolonged period and turns off when the battery discharges below 20%. This feature limits the maximum charge of your battery, which may result in your laptop not charging beyond 80%. However, this is not a cause for concern as it is just a temporary measure to extend the lifespan of your battery. Smart Charging is available on some modern laptops, such as Microsoft's Surface Laptop 4 and Surface Pro 8, and is built into Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems.

To prolong the life of your laptop battery, many manufacturers have implemented features similar to Microsoft's smart charging. These features work by capping the maximum charge at 80% if the laptop is plugged in for an extended period or charging in a hot environment. However, the specific implementation varies among manufacturers. Some will allow the battery to charge fully but at a slower pace, while others will limit the charging beyond a certain point.

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Yes, it is recommended to use smart charging for your device's battery. This technology, also known as adaptive charging, is specifically designed to extend the lifespan of your battery. In fact, using smart charging can only benefit your device and there is a high likelihood it will improve its overall performance.

Furthermore, smart charging is often automated and adjusts itself based on your charging behavior. Unfortunately, you cannot simply turn it on or off through your device's settings.

If your device offers an equivalent feature to smart charging, you may be able to toggle it manually. In such cases, it is recommended to turn it on if you plan on keeping your device plugged in for an extended period of time.

If you're looking to enable or disable smart charging on your laptop, it's important to know whether you're utilizing the built-in Windows feature or a similar option from your manufacturer. If you're using the Windows smart charging feature, the easiest way to turn it off is by allowing your battery to discharge below 20% before charging it again. This will ensure that your next charge will take your battery to a full 100%.

Enabling smart charging can be a bit tricky. The idea behind smart charging is to automatically activate when your laptop has been plugged in for an extended period of time, as keeping the battery at 100% can be detrimental to its lifespan. However, even after leaving several Surface Laptop 4s plugged in for over a week, we were unable to get them to enable smart charging. It remains unclear how Windows determines when it should be enabled, but it's certainly not as straightforward as it should be.

It's worth noting that attempting to heat up your laptop while it's charging may work, but we don't recommend trying this as excessive heat can be damaging to electronics.

Fortunately, if you're using software from other laptop manufacturers such as Dell, Acer, or HP, enabling smart charging is usually much simpler. In most cases, the feature will be included in the software package for your laptop, and you'll be able to turn it on or off with just a few clicks.

It is possible to limit the battery charging on your device even if the feature is not available through software. Most BIOS/UEFI have an option that can achieve a similar result. For example, the Surface Laptop 4s includes an option to limit battery charging. To access the UEFI, check for an “Advanced” or “Power” section. If you are unable to locate the setting, refer to the documentation for your laptop or motherboard for guidance.

However, be cautious when making changes to the UEFI/BIOS settings as it can lead to system instability or even physical damage to your device.

How Does Smart Charging Actually Work?

In contrast to the smart charging feature integrated into Windows, the options within your laptop's UEFI settings can be manually adjusted. It's important to note that batteries have a limited number of charge cycles, meaning that each time the battery is charged from near empty to full, its total capacity is slightly reduced. This is why over time, the battery life of your phone may noticeably decrease due to physical degradation of the battery.

The lifespan of your laptop battery is affected by how often you charge it, how long you keep it charged at 100%, and how hot it gets during the charging process. However, smart charging can help mitigate these factors and potentially prolong the battery's life. While it may not guarantee that your battery will maintain its original capacity after two years of regular use, it could potentially extend its usability for a few more years. The actual results may vary based on the battery's chemistry and your charging habits.